hah absolutely... I was just wondering what the 'Window' was !!

I'd want to spend a decent bit of time getting there. Enjoying Eastern Europe, Turkey and the stans before getting into Mongolia and the further wilds.....

I'm trying to work out a start date really. If it's early 2014 then I doubt my finances will be in place. I'd be better off waiting until 2015 in that case.

HOWEVER !!

What's the weather like South of the Black sea and in Azerbaijan in November/December ??

I'm guessing that if I want to cross Mongolia/Siberia in Summer, with only a 5-6 month time period, Id be leaving the UK sometime in Early May. Sound about right ???

That's about 12 months from now !!!

How much would this trip cost, spanning six months ? I'm guessing about £7000 with flights and shipping.

I might even just put my feet up in Turkey for the winter. However, this is pretty unlikely with a girlfriend waiting at home, sticking pins in a voodoo doll.

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Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

Hi everyone!!!
Just to drop few words/thoughts.
Watching DVD’s from people who done this sort of trip, one thing is common, they all start mid April. Mondo Enduro, charley and Ewan, kev sanders, that Irish guy oisin huges......all of them leave UK around second half of April, and all had dry and good rides..(More/less...more more than les)
Money is issue, but ask Austin Vince (mondo enduro) what he think about it, and i believe him, money is not that all important, it helps but going to unknown and overcoming obstacles is what is all about, and will always stay in the memories, tarmac and hotels are all the same.
I agree that £7000 should be enough perhaps £1000 per month, but i am afraid that means no Iran (carnet) and china (guide). I don’t think i will have more than that...For everything else there is mastercard....
My idea of the route is based on Kevin Sanders ride from London to Beijing (if someone wants to see DVD let me know), that part of their ride from turkey till entering to china.
Would love to spend time in Turkey, Pamir highway, all this STANS(kaza,taji, kyrgy....unameitstan) and Mongolia, road of bones and back to Vladivostok at late July or august, ready for shipping...
On this forum is few other guys planning similar route at the same time so maybe all link together and this trip may happen.
Today i started my new job and i hate it, and only thinking (daydreaming) about this trip will keep me going till next spring...
Thanks and Keep it real...

For roads like the Road of Bones and Western BAM There are two windows ... the window of possibility and the window of ideal weather.

The window of possibility is early June to early September. Beyond that it will be sub zero on the Road of Bones. Already now (late August) in Yakutsk the daily minimums are 4 degrees C. You have an extra two weeks or so on the BAM Road before it gets similarly chillly. The Trans Sib Highway is usually OK till end of September and Vladivostok itself which is further south again, is OK till the end of October. Note also that if there is a late spring thaw, the meltwater that normally peaks in May can still be high in the first half of June.

The window of great weather is basically July. June 20th to first week of August at a stretch. This is when you are most likely to get warm sunshine, clear blue skies, seemingly endless 30 degree days (which actually end in a few short weeks).

Whether or not its a long term trend, I would note that the last few Augusts in particular have seen a LOT of rain.

The window is small and it is quite critical in terms of your planning. As is the weight of your bike for those roads. I strongly recommend you work with that info, rather than against it.

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As Walter says, think very carefully about bike weight, luggage weight and quality of suspension on the bike, as well as timings as described. It's real expensive if you end up borrowing a mate's bike because yours is shagged. The chances of getting a bike to borrow are rather small unless your friend is otherwise engaged in the shagging department and needs his bike ridden.

That's my story from this year and the expense was worth it.

I haven't even got to the ridicule I will suffer in the coming months considering the brand of the borrowed bike and my previous utterances regarding it. ;-)

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TBS.com

Look, I will cut you a break ... you rode an Italian Aprilia built bike with an Austrian built Rotax engine on swedish supension, a bike that retailed for about a third of the typical bike of that brand ... there is pretty much none of your feared brand in there. So dont beat yourself up too much mate! There is nothing to fear. Its not a REAL one of that brand of bikes. In fact it was so lacking in that brands DNA that they refused to recognise it, and kicked it out of the family home. !!! You did a good deed. You took an unloved bastard, orphan of a bike, a bike whose German father kicked it out of the family home cause he thought it was useless, a bike whose Italian mother, from whose loins it sprang, has never shown any interest in since birth, ... and you made it feel loved - you gave it a purpose - you showed it what its good at !

Ted: another thing I DO recommend you consider strongly, as its inevitable that there will be MANY deep puddles and river crossings, is to make sure your air intake is located as high as possible on the bike. I dont know how the 650L is set up, but if it isnt somewhere up near the fuel tank / upper head stem, then you have time to think about how you can relocate it or make a semi permanent snorkel.

There are many of these small things that back in the comfort and good weather od Europe you think ... " naaaa ... a couple of water crossings ... its no big deal. Worst comes to worst I will push the bike thru".

When you realise you have 20 of them a day, for a week, and how each puddle or river is full of football sized boulders that are a real struggle to push a bike over, you will wish the air intake was such that you can ride your bike thru anything less than "nuts deep"

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Thanks so much for putting my troubled mind at rest Walter. I can sleep easy now without worrying about what people might taunt me with.

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TBS.com

1994 Honda XR650L. Fully restored and rebuilt by yours truly.

Nice, simple bike with good off road capability. I only use softbags too.

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.