This thread should be required reading for any rider starting out! It should be of help to new travelers on several levels, both practical and metaphysical. Kudos to all the experienced riders who've contributed!

I hope our BIG EXPENSIVE BIKE BROTHERS are not too put off by some of the comments ... but reality is ... sometimes you do just have to walk away from your bike. Even carrying massive stocks of spares ... you still may not be able to manage a complex repair in a remote village without expert help.
Not all of us are experts.

But as said by several experienced guys here: If you start off with a reliable bike that you know well and that is 100% trip ready, with many NEW components to start, then you are ahead of the game and improve your odds. Also, carrying appropriate spares for suspect components is also wise.

As far as getting a ride somewhere from remote location, I think it's easier than we may imagine. I've read Walter Colebatch's Sibirsky Extreme report
(the latest one):
Sibirsky Extreme 2012 - The Toughest Ride of Them All - ADVrider

Several of their party hired a truck to drive their bikes all the way from Outer Mongolia (?) to Russia or the EU (??) at the end of their ride. They took 2 or 3 bikes IIRC. Of course the driver was paid. It really helps that Walter speaks Russian.

The KTM 690 rider did have some problems. He got towed a few times and eventually was left behind. IIRC, he got a truck ride to some town to get parts. Then, once the bike was fixed, he powered on and caught up to the group! (I think he had a bad fuel pump?)

Colebatch and friends are probably the premier expert explorers of that region. I imagine any local with room in his truck would be happy be make easy money carting a light weight travel bike any distance.

This is certainly true in Latin America where I have personal experience getting both bikes and injured riders trucked hundreds of miles to help. We ALWAYS insist to pay ... even if refused, we find a way to pay something.
It's just the right thing to do.