Hello people,

in a few months, my RTW motorcycle trip is starting. I can repair a flat tire and fix some regular things myself.

But.. what if something really nasty is happening in the (larger) backroads of e.g. Mongolia or the Pamir highway? What if your motorcycle just doesn't work anymore?

How did you get back to a larger city to have someone with more knowledge, get it fixed? Hitchhike and arrange a truck to get it? Have it towed? Just wait a few hours until someone passing by arranges a transport?

I usually find crying followed by curling up in a tight ball and rocking back and forth helps. Sorry, you mean after that right?

Any of the above. You make it up as you go along. Sometimes a really nice blonde lady in a Porsche pulls up and not only drives you to the bike shop and buys you coffee but gives you a ride back to the bike (she was married but I had to ask), other times you hear stories of guys pushing for miles or getting asked for cash by truck drivers. I think the only advice is to try and be honest but also gauge the chances of a better or worse deal coming up. If there are roads and vehicles someone somehow will be up for sorting the ones that aren't happy.


Andy

I too tried crying followed by curling up in a tight ball and rocking back and forth the wife wasn't impressed. Swearing and throwing spanners was the next step.

Perhaps that's where the techy stuff comes in useful satphone / spot tracker etc.. I'm not a fan but I see where it comes in useful.

You won't know what you need to do until it happens. Every situation is going to be different. Unfortunately it can happen and all you can do is trust in peoples kindness and reduce the risks as much as possible before you commit to remote routes, prep the bike etc.... The more risk you take the more chance of something happening, but surely that's why we do it, go on adventures I mean.

In general a lot of the time we worry about stuff that probably won't happen. When it does happen its never as bad as you think ........mostly

__________________
Regards Tim

Learning my craft for the big stuff, it won't be long now and it's not that far anyway

One thing I have learned. It is pointless carrying a load of new spares if your bike is about to need them anyway. Some examples

Start your long journey with new chain and spark plugs. Tyres/tubes and rim tapes also if you are doubtful about their ability to complete your journey to some place where it would be simple to change them. By all means carry spares. If the plugs and chain you removed are still good for 3,000 miles then carry them as spares. they will "get you home" (home being somewhere easy to fit new). Usually I run chains as a pair. get both at the same time same make/batch /supplier and fit one carry the other.
Same with cables, fit new, carry any used ones if they are Really good.
On cars this includes belts (not toothed ones).

Also if your vehicle need special tool for a job, it may be worthwhile to take the special tool.

For really remote areas with no traffic, like desert-crossings abroad - get a Satphone or Satellite-Messager.

For any other roads there is some traffic. The people will help you or offer their help for money.

Read some blogs of other travellers and you will see - there is a solution.

Surfy

__________________
About Overlanding, Travelogues, Equipment
Trans-Africa over the west coast

having recently watched one of Oisin Hughes videos in Mongolia, where his GS broke down several times until he couldn't go any further. He was picked up by a couple of guys with a truck. One of the guys had a mobile phone who managed to contact someone who spoke English - she told Oisin how they could help.
It wasn't easy, the truck broke down several times too but eventually he got to a place where he could pick up a new parts (sent via a variety of HU contacts).
......
where there's a will, there's a way

__________________
Elaine

Striving to live the ordinary life in a non ordinary way

It depends...
Is there anywhere to walk? To start walking you need somewhere to walk. If the chances to meet people increases if you walk then start walking.
Your need of water will increase when you walk and this will limit your time, so if water is an issue it might be smart to wait (and hope). Walking at night might be an option.

I've walked 36km through a forrest (lightly injured) in mx-boots and it wasn't nice.
Always use a battery-powered GPS.

IMHO the cost of the bike is not an issue, it's always cheaper to stay at home.

I don't really want to add much to the practical information that others have given as it's all pretty much on the nail but whether a breakdown becomes a disaster or just an interesting day is down to how you approach it. Notice I said breakdown and not accident. It's a different matter if someone gets injured or becomes ill. That takes priority over everything (in many cases you may not have a choice).

If you're away for any length of time everyone has good days and bad days and one of our rules of thumb has been that whoever is having a good day takes charge if there's a problem - even if all they can do is provide some sort of upbeat "we'll get this sorted" message. It's one of the advantages of travelling with other people.

My approach had always been to try and anticipate what might go wrong and work out in advance a kind of graded response depending on how severe the problem is. You have to be prepared to go to the end step on the list though. For example - the bike grinds to a halt in the middle of nowhere. My first concerns would be more about me than the bike - is it 50C in the shade or -50C in the sun and do I have enough water / warm clothing to spend any length of time in this environment. Only after I was happy about that would I turn my mind to what had gone wrong.

Just about every breakdown or problem will fit into one of the following categories -

1. I can fix this myself, here and now.

2. I need better facilities, a base, maybe some spares, some help moving the bike / car etc but I know what's wrong and can sort it out.

3. I need professional help, this is beyond me

4. This is the end of the road for it / me. All I can do is remove the tax disc for refund purposes and head for the airport.

Categories 1 and 4 are the easy ones - if a luggage strap has come undone or the bikes's gone up in flames your options are fairly straightforward - from the bike's perspective anyway. If its a burnt out wreck in the middle of the Sahara and you were on your own you really should have thought it through before heading off. Many years ago I had a bike catch fire in the middle of Athens. I jumped off and ran but someone came out from a local garage with an extinguisher and put it out. I got towed back to my campsite and spent the next couple of days rewiring it. In a more remote area I'd have let it burn - but, I was travelling with other so wouldn't have been stranded.

Ultimately though you have to be prepared just to walk away. I have gone off on so many trips where the interesting part wasn't where I was going but how far I would get. For last year's Elephant rally (a 1700 mile round trip) I went on a bike I'd riden six miles after it had been sitting in a garage for over 25yrs. My backup plan was a kindle and some movies on my ipod while I waited for the breakdown services.

If you're British the breakdown services are easy to use in the UK. One call and they swing into action (kind of). It's what they're there for. It's lightly harder in mainland Europe with language issues etc but it still works eventually. In both cases though, when you phone up, they're expecting to be told about some kind of problem. You don't feel as though you're putting upon the kindness of strangers - it's their job.

For many of us though, having to involve a total stranger moves us well outside our comfort zone. The realisation that, despite all my planning, all my forethought, I'm now dependant on someone taking pity on me. Every time I've been in that position I've had to move mental mountains to kick things off and subsequently been amazed by how generous people have been. OK, often (but not always) cash changes hands (even a couple of times from them to me!) but I've no problem with that as long as it's proportionate. The most important thing though is to be in charge of your own destiny and decide what you want to do

Had the outlet/inlet rod fail on an Enfield in middle of Nubra Vally near Pakistan boarder in India. Hid it behind a rock and next day two helpful Germans helped me toe it to town. Mech did a seriously questionable botch job which resulted in the outlet rod blowing a hole in the head the size of a two penny piece on a ride the next day. Should have walked away from that bike there and then but you live and learn. In the end switched the entire head and was enough to get me back to Leh over kardungla, one of the highest motorable passes in the world. Now to remember it, I ran out of fuel 1k from the top and had to push it to the summit and then coast down to Leh with a full moon for a headlight.

Only want to add,the motorcycle is the tool for the journey ,so dont be too eager to leave it behind,a tool has much more value then its pink slip.

There will allways be a truck or car to bring you back ti zivilisation. If you cant load the bike on the truck too save its position on your gps and get it later. I had a hard crash too and this was one of the nice times when i got to know soooo many helpfull people:

http://afrikamotorrad.de/?report=en_transafrika

one can allways get rid of a vehicle wich is not on a carnet at the boarder between two countrys.

I was traveling by foot, not motorcycle, but I did have a breakdown of sorts in Leh many years ago when I got hepatitis (A) and could not do anything. I'd spent 3 months hiking in and could not even bus out with my liver swollen and hard - "breakable" I was told. Wound up renting a room in a house up the hill, already has a stove and plates and such and I had no choice but to move in and set up house. In a year and a half of traveling, I can almost say that the the time I was very sick in Ladakh was some of my best time because I was not driven to move on. I made friends, made tea, and enjoyed where I was.