So after finishing the bam road from bratz to Tynda i've blown my engine 300km north of Tynda. befriended a trucker to give me a lift back to tynda. I've got contacts here in Tynda so getting the bike to Vladivostock seems the easy part. (i'm also at the crossroad where i can put the bike on a train to Vanino but then we've got Sakhalin and north japan to ride with a blown motor and no power) Anyway i have a few questions.

1) My bike isn't going to pass the SHAKEN roadworthiness test, am i able to take it out of customs via a truck/ rental van if i can organise somewhere to store it in Osaka/ Tokyo, ultimatly i'm going to fix it myself and don't want to pay a mechanic. Then once put back on the road then have it inspected and registered. What does the shaken test truely involve

2) i need to leave the bike in Japan for 2-4 weeks to return to England and pick up a japanese work visa, any advise?

3) An alternative is to dump the bike here in Tynda ( only an old dommie, with more problems than just a blown motor) and buy another in Japan. I'm not bothered about getting money for the bike, just another avenue to explore. this seems like the cheapest option, i have no import documents for my second entry back into Russia only a stamp atop of my visa, is the bike tied to my visa number or is a stamp the only knowledge of me having a bike here.

I've tried to do my research previous to this post but what i need is quite specific and i haven't really found the information out there to answer my questions.

thanks for your help

Alistair

Not sure if I understand your comment about "no import documents"--if you mean that you have no temporary import certificate, you won't be able to take the bike out of Russia, at least until you "fix" this problem. How did you get in the country without a temp import cert? I know other people have had this problem because they come in through Kazakhstan, which has a customs union with Russia...

As far as leaving Russia without the bike: I live in Moscow and have a bike here on a temp import document, and come and go all the time without any problem, so I don't think you'll have any problems leaving Russia without the bike.

exactly the problem you descibed, came in through kazakhstan no one understood my want for import documents/ cared about sorting them out. My import documents from my first entry into Russia we taken off me by Kazakhstan. Motoreiter what about the stamp in your passport regarding bringing a bike in?

why not try to find someone to repair the engine in Tynda?

You didnt say what was "blown" with it. Rings?

The Dommie engine is a pretty simple unit. I would be surprised if a Russian car or truck mechanic couldnt get it back on the road for you within a few days. Its a 100mm bore ... which is reasonably common. There may well be rings to fit 100 mm bores in auto parts shops in Tynda if that is the problem. If not, there is a huge railway workshop in Tynda where they could probably make you just about any metal part under the sun.

You have nothing to lose by giving it a try. I doubt they will charge you much. It will surely cost you loads more to fix it in Japan even if you do all the work yourself.

__________________

my passport has a stamp with a little car, not a moto. All this means is that you came in via a road border, rather than airport, etc. You could have come on a bus, or as a passenger in a car, etc. I guess the same if your stamp has a moto.

Ali
the same thing happened to me with the import docs. I was just fixin to write a thread warning others, & I saw yours. Im in Chita now, heading to Tunda.
As far as getting into japan, it doesnt matter if its broke, 2 years ago I went from vladi-japan with 2 other guys that had broken BMW's (I'd like to point out that my 45 year old Harley was still running fine )
Anyhow, they didnt have a problem with japan, & had a truck take their bikes to the dealer in Tokyo. (I'm assuming you have a carnet?)

You need to contact Yuri in Vladi, to get the bike out. You will have a few problems with getting the bike out w/o the import docs, but its not too bad, you'll probably have to write a letter to the boss, explaining what happened, they will check your passport stamps, make copies, etc. I did the same thing 2 days ago at the Mongolian border.

Its good you werent checked by the police while riding, & asked for the doc tho, then its bigger problems.

Doug

__________________
www.motosapiens.org

My Motorcycle Hotel/Cafe in Bulgaria

Alistair, hi there ....

what you definitely want to do concerning your Japan questions - check out the HU Japan community! Lots of helpful people with even more knowledge! Chris in Tokyo is the person you want to contact! He is the number 1 POC over here in the "land-of-the-not-always-rising-sun"!

__________________

colebatch it's rings, but i've also found metal deposits on the inside of the valve caps. Here in tynda the guys to speak to are at the kamaz centre. Max, the director, has a bmw 1100 and a drz 400.They can make everything. I also know the crankshaft bearing is on its way out. All avenues are being explored.


Doug, absolutely fantastic news cheers for that.I've been stopped by the police since but passport and V5 satisfied them. Doug when you get to Tynda, come say hello, i've read your blogs before and would be lovely to put a name to a face. Hotel wise, as you come over the river into Tynda, take the first major right and just ask for a hotel, it's well know and i think the cheapest in town.

A russian truck mechanic who happens to be a biker?

Youve hit the jackpot.

Keep us updated with the state of mechanical repairs.

__________________

Back from a week on the road to answer your question.
Am I right to assume you do not have a Carnet, and you want to permanently import the bike to Japan?
I am sorry to say, but that is close to impossible. Import itself is not problem if you pay the taxes, but you would never be able to ride it.
You can possibly temporary import from Sakhalin w/o a carnet. It seems Wakkanai customs allows temp. import without a carnet (what most people need) or a guarantor (that Doug had a friend be). In any case, temp. import is a max of six months.
As for permanent import, you have to go through a long process of detailed emissions and brake tests that cost a LOT of money and are only done in a couple of places in Japan before you can register. Not even I who can speak fluent Japanese would attempt that. SHAKEN is for vehicles that are already registered.
Your best bet would be to ship the bike back to England. If you import it to Japan, registration would cost you as much as or more than buying a used bike.
As an aside, I ask that you please don't even consider temporary import and abandoning/riding illegally. We get only a dozen or so bike/car visitors a year, and any paperwork problems stand out to the authorities. That, in turn, makes it more difficult for the next person...

__________________
Japan touring information

Alistair,

Dude - sorry to hear the Dommie has finally let you down. Keep us posted on what problems are actually found in there - if the rings have gone and there's metal shavings up round the cams, it seems likely that something else has gone and the shavings have taken out the rings - bore scuff on it's own would be unlikely to send swarf up to the cams (and are they OK in there, or also trashed/scored by the swarf?)

On the import docs front, I suspect that as you don't have a declaration, there'd be no problem leaving the bike, so if that becomes the best option, don't worry about it. The problem is more likely to be related to not having a declaration at all, but it sounds like other people have got round this before without major hassles.

Dan-with-big-beard-a-few-days-ahead-of-you-again...

__________________

colebatch - more than rings

chris in tokyo - we have a carnet

big bearded bloke - dumping here was high on the list but ultimately we don't want to return to England to work so once we've got her to japan i'm returning to England to apply for a working holiday visa then ship her back to siberia next summer and do the bam again and finally the bones

everyone - thank you very much

Good plan buddy, best of luck with it!

__________________

That is good news. It will get your bike into Japan. But you are still limited in the time you can keep it here. The maximum time according to the Japan Automobile Federation is one year. JAF For Visitors Bringing Vehicles with Carnet de Passages en Douane
Neither shaken or any other inspection is not required for temporary imports. Be sure to take the bike out of the country by the time your carnet expires. If you need to truck it somewhere for repairs, this company handles such services: Bike Hitchhike Service (site in Japanese only).

__________________
Japan touring information

thanks chris that bike hitch looks like it could come in useful