m32 kazajstan road condition?
 

Hello,

How is the M32 road during the summer? Is it doable? Fun?
Would you recommend that to get from Samara to Almaty (through M39), or is there a better route?

Thanks a LOT

The M39 is OK and de M32 OK between Shimkent and Aralsk, between Aktobe and Aralsk it is bad over 250Km. From Samara it is better to go via Orenburg to Aktobe because de M32 from Uralsk to Aktobe is also bad with a lot of road work.

Hi and thanks for your message. So, just to clarify, the best route to get to Almaty from Samara will be Samara --> Oremburg --> M32 --> Shimkent --> M39 --> Bishkek. Right? Thank you SO much, this info is very valuable.

Does anybody know if the 250-km bad stretch on the M32 has been improved?
I came to know about some road works in the past periods there and I was wondering if someone has "fresh" news...
Thanks!

the road is not that bad at all. loose gravel and can easily be covered, I did it with a honda CG125 with no problems, met others on big trail bikes and it was just fun for them

Mate of mine road that last year. Said it was no bother to him or the group he was leading. he'd been expecting poor conditions / road works but instead found good tarmac all the way to Shymkent...

Said if he'd known it had improved to that degree he wouldn't have swapped his road tyres on his 1200 GS to the Heidenaus until he got to Shymkent or Tashkent

Really? So they paved the stretch Aralsk-Aqtobe? Great, fantastic news!

Thanks for your reply, mate!

Yes, but my bike is this here below, so... not "so proper" for off-road fun :biggrin3::biggrin3:

Thank you for your post, Dmitrij!

http://i56.tinypic.com/zvdddw.jpg

Good to see a Harley
 

Doing the tour ..

you should be fine with that puppy, will just be slow going. No fuel for 400km so take plenty- many chaihanas to relax in, spelt in one and the guys who were making the new road sleep there, I asked why they were soooo slow- they said this is quick by Kazhak standards

I've read that the last fuel station coming from Aqtobe is at junction between the M32 and the road to Astana (so, about 200 km east of Aqtobe): wasn't it there anymore when you were there?

Just out of curiosity: when did you ride that stretch?

So... latest conditions.

Aktobe to the border between Aktobe and Kyzylorda regions (about 140km short of Aral) is perfect.

From this point to Aral and on to Baikonur under repair, some stretches are great, others bad, some awful. Overall, it;s not a pleasant drive with many diversions. Heading from Baikonur towards Kyzylorda the road gradually improves.

Will update further once I pass Kyzylorda.

Daniel

Great, Daniel!

Thanks for the update.

Not so bad as it was 2 years ago but... From last year:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_x...0/IMG_5680.JPG

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_x...0/IMG_5688.JPG


about 200 km of some difficulties.

Road is okay
 

Just ridden the M32 all the way to Almaty.

There's indeed a lot of construction going on between Aktobe and Kyzylorda, where you are diverted to service roads. Most of the time these are good hard gravel roads, but a few stretches are badly potholed or can get muddy when it has rained. There's also some short stretches of old road left with more holes than asphalt. Haven't encountered any sand. Overall, no problem for a dual sports bike, a road bike (or a Harley!) will be quite a bit slower but it's doable.

About the fuel, the station at the Aralsk-Astana junction is still there. From there to Aralsk, we haven't seen any decent fuel stations for 400km, although we did pass a very old looking station, don't know if it's still in service so don't count on it.