Central Asia - what bike?
 

Hi all,
I'm planning a 4-week trip to central Asia (Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan) and would like to know from anyone who has been there whether smaller capacity bikes like the XR250/DR200 are going to be capable enough or do you think they will struggle in some of the higher passes? We will have around 15-20kg luggage too.

Forgive me if this has been discussed elsewhere.

People ride there on CRF 230, CRF 250L and Himalayans.

Are you ready to rejet it? choose EFI bike? It isn't as much about power loss as it is about tank range decrease at altitude.

Does this mean two people on one bike? Not that it really changes much, I have toured Nepal two up on a 150cc but perhaps something in the 250-400c range would be better than a 200cc if there is going to be two of you.

No, one rider per bike plus a bag on pillion seat

Actually you can ride with every bike.
It depends on the routes you want to go.

I have seen people with Harleys, BMW K100 and also small bikes, Big and small enduros.

But routes like the Bartang I would not do with a Harley :scooter:

Personally I would use fuel injected bikes instead of carburator versions

Great

Hi. This guy goes through Bartang Valley on a small Honda SuperCub.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_sbhqbIpwg

Sydney-London an a CT 110 Postie
 

https://www.redbull.com/au-en/sydney...bike-interview

Nathan once got questions about the bike.
And he said that it was the perfect bike for that trip.

Cheap
Easy maintenance
Easy to find spares
Cheap spares (Tyres for £5 each !!)
Reliable

And I quote him on one sentence.
=
Out there you have no use for horsepower. You need a bike that you know starts every morning
=

So do not worry about horsepower.

Many years later, he road in USA with a passenger,
And used a completely different bike. That was better for that purpose.

Thank you for that and yes, I have read his books. I have ridden Atlas mountains on a 250 and have done Vietnam south to north on a 150cc bike but have not quite ridden at 4000m + altitudes. Hence the question. You have reassured me, so thank you.

If you aiming at Pamir military road do it counterclockwise. I was initially planning to start from Osh but was talked out of it by locals; they were telling me stories about altitude sickness because you are going from ~700m to 4300 in very short time. Coming from other side gives you almost a week to adjust.

The stories of loss of power I have heard were from people who were on carbureted bikes jetted at sea level and didn't rejected them. If I were to use carbureted bike something like DR I would go for Lectron or Smart carb or at least carry jet kit and do the airbox hole/duct tape trick.

The other issue that in some places they sell gas by bucket so if it's carb get an inline filter or if EFI spare filter or fuel sock. I have heard more than one story about burnt fuel pump or carb float getting stuck and pissing precious fuel.

Also once there don't expect to find anything higher than A-92 (and it could be mixed with A-80) so make sure your bike isn't finicky. I carried a can with A-98 but my bike wasn't picky and I ended up giving it to a truck full of locals when they ran out of fuel in exchange for them taking italian cyclist who broke chain. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...5b3afc7510.jpg

Ride whatever you want mate, whatever you feel comfortable with is the right bike for you. Personally I like bigger bikes for long distance work. I would never ride a Postie bike ( I ride one everyday to commute) but want something better and more powerful for overlanding.

Good tip! But I don't know where that road is. Is it the road that runs beside Karakul Lake in Tajikistan heading towards the Kyrgyz border and Osh? If so do you mean ride from Karakul lake to Osh?

As for the carbs, we will be hiring the bikes and the guy has said he will rejet the carbs and install appropriate sprockets to be able to cope. I have to trust him and take his word for it as he lives there and I guess he knows what he is talking about.
Nice photo by the way!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M41_highway

Look up M41 and yes you pass on it on the way from Murhab to Sari-Tash. It goes by the salt lake and over 2 high passes Akbytal (white horse) and Kyzyl-Art.. later one could be a bitch if rains.. red clay. And be ready there is something like 26mi (km?) between kyrgyz and tajik border control. I just strapped my docs after passing border and managed to loose it in no-man land. Good thing I stopped to take pic so it was only a couple miles back before it was found [emoji81]

And section of M41 to Kalai-khum is abandoned not sure if it is possible now; there were 5? bridges out and in one place road was down to 3/4 lane with steep cliff in the side. I was there in September so river crossings were not issue but I was told it was pretty full during snow melt

If you do Wakhan valley stop by in Bibi Fatima hot springs. IIRC it was $15 for bed, dinner and breakfast. And hit springs to get a break

https://central-asia.guide/tajikista...a-hot-springs/

Also beware Master Card doesn't work in Tajikistan there are only few ATM/banks which take it mostly in Dushanbe and Khujand

All very very useful information. Thank you so much! I found the road section you are talking about. Note to self - head north from south.

Hot springs sound fabulous!

This is a really good point. I did it from Osh up to Karakul Lake in an afternoon....and was a very sick boy for a few days, in part due to this and in part due to some kind of nasty stomach bug at the same time.

Ed

That's the other thing: everyone who goes to Pamir gets shits even guys from Kazakhstan and kyrgyzstan.. noone knows why. I have heard different theories.. tomatoes, water.. etc. Just make sure to stock up on TP and bring some meds for running stomach. LoL

Surely you want something Japanese, reliable and capable.

Ask yourself. Do you want to enjoy the ride or just ride the road. That may answer the question if small asthmatic bikes are still for you ?

FI vs Carb. That old question.

My DRZ400S coped just fine at 4000 meters. It had a CV carb. I didn't need to rejet. THOUSANDS of carbed bikes have been doing this route for decades before FI even existed. When the roads were worse and the infrastructure far less.

FI does adapt better. But then you add complications to a bike. An FI bike requires a lot of electronic sensors to always work correctly. A fuel pump never to fail and an injector never to block.

However, FI is INCREDIBLY reliable now. Especially if you bought something a new Honda CRF300L etc.

Arguably, a new FI bike is probably as or more reliable than an older carbed bike now. But it will never be as simple or as easy to fix.

People often recommend small capacity, cheap bikes. Unfortunately, with these bikes comes cheap suspension. And cheap everything else. And I imagine that you will spend a lot of time on tracks and poor roads. So lots to consider.

Thanks, yes I've heard/read that many times too. Some say it's the oil they use for cooking?

You make it sound such an appealing route [emoji1787]



Rachel

Absolutely. We have settled on Honda Bajas despite they being carbed. As you rightly say we want something reliable with a good pedigree and if things go wrong we need to be able to fix them.

As the matter of fact yes; I will be going there as soon as restrictions lifted.. for Mangystau, Tash-Rabat and Bartung valley.. then to Tuva and Altai

Virus and borders permitting I plan to go through Central Asia in '22 - first through Siberia to Magadan, then returning via MN, KZ and the Stans. I chose my bike a while ago, KTM 790 Adventure, and it has strengths and weaknesses. Most of the mileage will be on road so the bigger engine will be relaxed there. However it also has quite good capability off road (nothing extreme, just dirt roads). It has more electronics than I'd ideally like but as the man says modern electronics are extremely reliable. Mechanically it should be sound (it's a proven unit) and with a tank range of over 400 kms it'll do some of the longer stretches between gas stations.

In an ideal world I'd go for something in the 500cc class, properly ruggedised with less electronics and long range, but there isn't really anything that fits the bill ATM.

KTM had right idea with 701LR