Originally Posted by John Dip Yates (Post 255448)

Hello Carole, It seem's your getting plenty of advise which is to be expected & valuable, but dont get too bogged down with details & structred planning, it will spoil the trip. I rode an 18 year old XT 600 25000 miles through Kazakstan, Mongolia, along the 'road of bones' up to Magadan, with out any real poblems, the roads were fine if a little challenging, particularly in Kazakstan & Siberia.Petrol is available pretty much everywhere even in ' outer Mongolia ' as many of the nomadic indiginous peoples have generators to run the satelite receivers, & the land cruisers ! Inner tubes were a problem as Russian rubber is very poor quality, tubless would be best as easily fixed in situ on the rim. 4 wheel drive not really needed if you look ahead & use your common sense & farmers experience. Shaft drive best, chains need quite a lot of maintainance. Insurance will be purchased at borders ( normally ) wether you want it or not, I paid $5 at the Mongolian border, for sure, not worth a wiggle ! Border crossings can be a real b***ard so be prepared to wait, dont get stroppy, it will slow you down even more. anything else ?, regards, john

Originally Posted by gs1200mike (Post 255554)

Hi Carole,

I work in Atyrau so am here most of the time. I have done the route from Uk to here 3 times, the last being in September 2008 just to get the bike back to Europe but a bit on the quick side, 4 days! (Bike now back here but I did the sourthern route, Croatia, Turkey, Baku and ferry across to Aktau in June/July)
I have a spare appartment here which is available most of the time so if you need it and it is free you are more than welcome. Also have secure parking and know a few people if you need any repairs doing.
When you cross the border you can get a 6 month pass for your vehicle, they normally try to fob you off with 2 month but if you are persistant they will give you 6.
As you are taking a year to do this I assume you will not be in this neck of the woods until the spring at least, if you are planning on getting here any earlier be aware that the average temperature for Jan and Feb is around -20 so everyone drives on the thick ice that forms.
If you need any more help just drop me a line.
Mike

Originally Posted by doosey (Post 255601)

Hi

I could well be in Atyrau myself in nov with work,im flying out for a week from the 14th sept so will spread the word that you are about to invade their country:) i live near to richmond

Originally Posted by coxy (Post 255655)

Hi if you are looking at the Artic Cat in the UK they are marketed by MF tractor dealer,your nearest dealer i think will be Robson Tractors at Kirkbymiserton or Thirsk.
Have a great trip John Cox
coxmorganoverland.co.uk

Originally Posted by Alexlebrit (Post 256247)

Carole

Do you know what the Quadzilla is "underneath"? I know they import from various, usually Chinese, manufacturers and re-brand them. I was just thinking that if you should in the end opt for them it would be well worth finding out what it is, to check about its availability in other markets. No doubt at some time you'll need spares, and if the only option is shipping from the UK it might be a bit of a pain, and a drain on resources.