Road quality in Russian, especially in eastern Russian

As said, pretty good. Russian roads are far better than they are reputed to be (in terms of surface quality, lines etc). There is a nasty bottleneck on the M5 between Ufa and Chelyabinsk, lots of lorries and police, be careful, stick to the speed limit and do not overtake on a solid line.

Transporting the bike from the UK to Vlad (I'm awaiting a quote from James Cargo)

No idea about this

Safety in rural Russia

Very safe, though as always it's best to be discrete when camping. There used to be a little problem with banditry on the eastern sections between Chita and Khabarovsk, but these days it's largely apocryphal, I've never ehard of anyine getting in trouble there.

Visa situation

There is no point asking about visas unless you state your nationality. Obviously the website of the Embassy / Consulate in your native country is the best place to ask. In general they are easy to get, but you need to do it in the country you live in.

Any places to visit along the way


Lots, we're talking about the world's largest country. Why not buy a guidebook?

The backroads of the Urals, the Republics of Altay, Tuva and Khakassia, and Lake Baikal and the nearby Barguzin Valley are my personal favourites. That said, with only 3 to 4 weeks you will spend most of your time staring at an asphalt road.

I just finished a report from my 2010 trip to Lake Baikal, the Barguzin Valley and the Buddhist monasteries south of Chita. You can read it (and many more articles on the region) here:

http://eurasiaoverland.com/2010/10/10/23/

Good luck

EO

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EurasiaOverland a memoir of one quarter of a million kilometres by road through all of the Former USSR, Western and Southern Asia.