Iron Tigers
 

Hello my bikie friends!!

Very excited, bought an Africa Twin yesterday and getting closer to the Tran Siberia journey!! Can any of you tell me how to get in touch with the Iron Tigers in Vladivostok?? Much appreciated if you can!
Cheers and safe riding!
Malcolm
P.S. Grant and Susan if you're reading this, keep up the fantastic work and I shall contribute£££

Thanks Malcolm!

Contacting the Iron tigers once in Vlad is easy - they'll find you!

Otherwise tricky, their English is minimal.

Do a site search on "Iron Tigers" and you might find something.

Good luck!

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Grant Johnson

Seek, and ye shall find.
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One world, Two wheels.
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

Hi Malcolm. Are you coming to Mongolia, or just straight across Siberia? If you're going to visit Mongolia let me know. I live in Ulaanbaatar and might be able to help you with info on riding in Mongolia.

-Scott

Yes definately comming to Mongolia!! Can't wait!! How can I find/get in touch with you?? Any ideas on what a cheap hotel costs?

Thanks for your reply Scott!!
Malcolm

Hi Scott,
I am heading east across Siberia in June. I have a double entry visa for Russia and planed to get a Visa for Mongolia in Irtutsk or Ulaan-UDE. I have a British Passport. Do you know if either one of these is easier / quicker than the other for a Visa. There is a Mongolian Consul in Kyzyl but I can't find the address.
Can you recommend a couple of rides in Mongolia? I am travelling on a KTM 640 Adventurer.
Do you know if it possible to re-enter Russia on the North east?

Regards

Steve

Malcolm: Cheap hotels can be had for $10-15 a night in Ulaanbaatar (UB), as long as you aren't too picky. Some have shipping containers nearby to use as a locked garage for your bike. Outside of UB hotels are even cheaper, but camping is OK anywhere, and free.

Steve: I'm not sure whether Ulan-Ude or Irkutsk is better for visas. I would just apply at whichever city you visit first on your ride. You don't want to wait and then be told you have to go back to the previous city to get it.

There is a Mongolian Consulate in Kyzyl. The head of that office is the father of a friend of mine. You should be able to get a visa there as well. The contact info for that office is: Kyzyl- General Consul Mr. D.Puntsag, Tel: 007-39422-10430
Fax: 007-39422-10445. The only address I have is in Cryllic script, but Kyzyl is not a big place so you can probably ask anyone "where's the Mongolian Consulate."

Basically all of Mongolia is great for riding. From Russia, foreigners can only enter/exit from northen Mongolia at Sukhbaatar/Altanbulag. From there it is about a 4 hour ride to Ulaanbaatar on the best road in the country.

Where else to ride depends on how much time you have in the country. The Gobi desert has some great riding, and so does western Mongolia.

-Scott

Steve: Forgot one thing: The email address for the Mongolian Consulate in Kyzyl is mongolconsul --(at - of course) ---tuva.ru

-Scott

[This message has been edited by Grant Johnson (edited 27 April 2004).]

Hey, Malcolm, Grant Johnson is right.
When you will be in Vladivostok, we'll (bikers from Vladivostok) find you. http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb/smile.gif))
If you'll don't know, whoa ask to any help, call us, we'll help you.

+7 (4232) 233995
(our friend Grandy, home number).

Hey Guys,

I'll be in Mongolia for July (coming from Vlad).

Scott, I had a question about tires. I have a BMW R-100 GS (17 inch rear), but I had someone else ask me about availability of 18 inch rear tires as well. Any advice?

OK man, we'll wait you in summer. http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb/smile.gif Don't forget to write us before arrival, ok?
Good luck!

Pete: I've got an R-100 GS too. Looks a bit like yours, but no fairing, and in black.

Tires (any size) are tough to get here. The best bet is to have them sent in by DHL from Japan or Hong Kong. DHL is expensive but pretty fast and reliable to Ulaanbaatar.

-Scott

Thanks guys,

I'll contact you again when I know exactly when I'll be passing through. I've just come from California to Argentina now and my bike is on a slow boat to Japan. When it gets there, I'll fly over and take the ferry to Vladivostok. I should get there in the first or second week of June.

Scott,
thanks for the info, I will take your advice and apply at the first Consulate I come to, good thinking.
I may try and get a visa before I leave the UK, I am trying to get away on the 17th May but my passport is tied up with Russian and Ukrainian visas at the moment.
The bike is about ready, just needs an oil change and loading up.
I have a picture of the bike at
http://sada.users.btopenworld.com/IMG_0036.JPG
When I get to UB maybe we could meet up for a yaks milk or whatever.

Steve

Steve: I sent you an email a few days ago (4/27), at the sada@.... email address. Did you get that? The bike looks good! Let me know if I should re-send the email.

-Scott

Scott,
Yes, please resend it.
I have been killing spam on the server and it looks like I have deleted it by mistake.

Steve

OK Steve, re-sent today.

-Scott

Please note that there is now an HU Vladivostok Community!

Contact them from the Community pages, link on left. There is only one member (Shustrik) "in" the Community, since most of the local people don't speak English AND have internet access, so be patient.

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Grant Johnson

Seek, and ye shall find.
------------------------

One world, Two wheels.
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

hello,

yeah, as somebody said above, the IRON TIGERS will find you :-)

ask any biker in Vladivostok for Mikhail Slushkin, he is the president of the IRON TIGERS, he speaks English - I am not going to publish his email address here. He also is one of the owners of VLADMOTO with a website in Russian only.

getting help in Vladivostok as a biker is not a problem, you maybe dont want to leave again.

make sure your visa is valid, your custom bike papers are ok, you speak a few words Russian and you drink vodka and beer.

I spend a lot of time in Vladivostok, ok - two weeks in the year 2000 and five weeks in the year 2003. I rode with them to two mc meetings and I can call some of them good friends now.

Enjoy Russia, the woman, the bikers and the wodka.

Mika from the Dominican Republic

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Hi Scott

I just wanted to ask more about travelling by m/c in Mongolia. I live permanently in Hong Kong and am getting some awfully itchy feet. Can you email me direct?

best rgds,
john

Just a heads up for anyone going to Vladivostok. The Vladivostok HU community is NOT affiliated at all with the Iron Tigers. There are acutally a few biker groups in town and Iron Tigers is just one of them. Sinus was formerly one of the big shots with the IT, but broke with them a while back. You can't help but meet Sinus when you arrive. Its a rite of passage and everybody here knows the man.

I only knowingly met 1 Iron Tiger member while I was there, just as I was leaving Vladivostok. He was a really nice guy, and I'm sure that whatever inter-biker politcs caused the split won't affect foreign bikers in the least.


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Improvement makes strait roads, but the crooked roads without Improvement, are roads of Genius - William Blake