Korea, Russia, Stans To East Europe

Someone's great idea to spend a summer in Siberia with the added bonus of elephant-sized mozzies to try and steal the bike.

It all starts with the purchase of the WR250R being the getaway vehicle. 

Plan is to ride South korea, Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Bulgaria then come home.

Now, if you are a stalker type then you can see within ten minutes of where I am 

https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=1d9d45cc6a8257096a&hoursPast=0&showAll=yes  

Full specs of the build and gear is as follows, 

Motorcycle

WR250R 2018

Panniers: AltRider 

Pannier Racks: Happy Trails SU

Wheel: Tubliss Front & Rear

Screen: KTM 690

Pegs: Pivot Pegz

Grips Oxford Heated.

Bars: Sunline

Protection: Barkbusters

Protection: GYTR Skidplate

Lowering: Zetalink

Large Tank: IMS18 L

LED Lights: Mox Lights

USB Power: Ali

Throttle: G400

Camping

Tent: Hilliberg Staika

Sleeping Bag: Exped Down Bag

Pillows: Sea To Summit

Bed Rolls: Exped 7 SL

Camping Cooking Equipment: (Non-hazardous).

Aluminum Bottle: (open, no lid or top)

Chair: Mox Chair blue

Head Torch LED Lenser

Bungies: Various

Wire Rope 4mm Stainless 4.5M

Riding Gear

Helmet: Klim Kros White

Jacket: Klim Adventure Rally

Pants: Klim Balands

Gloves summer: Klim Adventure Goretex

Gloves winter: First Gear Electric heated

Socks: Klim Covert

Boots: SIDI Crossfire 2

Wet Weather Gear: Motoline Jacket, Pants

The Start

Doing east Russia, ROB, Mongolia etc has been on the list for a while, this is one trip that Ellen would not enjoy doing being, wet, muddy, frustrating etc and involving sandpits and mud is above her pay grade.

Fast forward to permission granted I originally had my sights set on a Yamaha XT250, simple air oil cooled and basic, epic fail on the fuel tank capacity saw a rethink and the purchase of 45, the WR250R.

A very enjoyable few months prepping and building her up to my specs and requirements and a few challenges sorted along the way. I am fussy and I like things to be done properly to the best of my ability to avoid trouble on the road as best as I can.

While most things went well I did have a slight issue with the new Garmin 276cx which seemed to randomly turn itself off for no reason, full credit to Garmin they replaced the unit instantly and we received the second unit.

While fabricating a larger footplate for the side stand I had the bike up on a the bike lift, in order to get the perfect angle for the side stand plate I kicked the side stand forward then lowered the bike down to set it on the plate and tack it in position...that's went shit really went pearshaped BIG TIME.

The bike was due to go that following Wednesday, today was Thursday.

As I lent the bike over onto the stand side the bike rolled forward and went down like a lead balloon with the GPS copping the full weight of the bike right on the screen edge against the corner of a cupboard and smashing the new GPS and bending all the GPS mounts, yes ....that is what I was thinking too.

Totally my fault for not pushing the stand forward enough but now my day had really caved in, I quickly took some photos of the bike and the GPS and contacted the insurance, I also contacted Motomox and got a new one ordered regardless of the outcome from the insurance as the trip would be difficult without it.

With outstanding customer service Motomox got one overnighted to me so the very next morning I had GPS No 3 in my hand which was a relief and a half, I remade and lowered the GPS bracket 50 mm lower to tuck it in a bit from suspicion