|
30 Mar 2010
|
Registered Users
HUBB regular
|
|
Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 41
|
|
good welder in Russian far east / siberia / mongolia
Hi guys
We are setting off Vlad-London in 3 weeks time on our Suzuki DRs. Our bikes are currently being shipped to Korea. Unfortunately 5 days before shipping I had a fairly major accident on a busy stretch of motorway. My bike was fixed up by a local bike shop but they missed the more significant structural damage - my rear subframe has been shifted sideways. If you look at my bike from the back, the seat looks about 50mm out of alignment with the rear wheel.
By the time we found this out (due to hospital, waiting for the initial repairs, and busyness with shipping the rest of the bikes) we had about 5 hours until the bike needed to be on the ship. I didn't have much choice other than to put it on the ship and deal with it over there. It still feels reasonably manageable to ride, however I'm aware that riding 25,000kms on a weakened frame might mean I need some urgent repairs at some point.
So - I'm wanting to pull together some information on good, reliable welders/engineers along our route. We're arriving in Vlad around April 20, will be there for about 10 days, and then heading Chita - Ulan Ude - Irkutsk (we will stay in Irkutsk for a few days too) - Ulan Bataar - NW Mongolia - Kazakstan (Eastern) - Almaty - Bishek.
If anyone has any recommendations of places I could potentially get my rear subframe fixed (it is not a bolt-on subframe so needs to be pulled back into shape and strengthened) I would be very stoked. Any thoughts on how much it is likely to cost would also be appreciated - I will be pretty tight for cash and it'd be good to have a heads-up of how much that sort of thing is likely to cost.
Cheers!
Rob
51st Traverse
|
30 Mar 2010
|
|
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
|
|
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: London / Moscow
Posts: 1,913
|
|
every man and his dog is a good welder in Siberia. Might as well get it sorted in Vladivostok.
I will try and get Terry to send you details for the Iron Angels bike club there. Probably 90% of them weld to some degree.
The word you need for welder is "svarchik"
Is it alloy or steel subframe?
|
30 Mar 2010
|
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
|
|
Join Date: May 2007
Location: London
Posts: 621
|
|
Try PM-ing Alexei Gadyukov (sp?) - on this forum as Shustrik - he would know good people in Vladivostok. Also try PM-ing Tony Pettie - on this forum as TonyP - he could probably help. He definitely knows people who are good at welding in Magadan, cos I've seen their handiwork.
|
30 Mar 2010
|
Gold Member
Veteran HUBBer
|
|
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Tokyo
Posts: 147
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by colebatch
every man and his dog is a good welder in Siberia.
|
Same thing in Mongolia. Without easily access to frequent welding most of the vehicles in Siberia and Mongolia would be dead within a few months. I had my R100GS subframe welded in Mongolia and it's still solid 5 years later.
Scott
|
30 Mar 2010
|
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
|
|
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Canada
Posts: 738
|
|
Welding
Hey Robbie,
Ditto for the recommendation of the bike club in Vlad as a good resource, I would make them my first point of contact. My poor memory seems to recall they are called the Iron Tigers, but that may be wrong. They do a lot of work on their bikes so would have a very good idea of which out of the way shop to take you to, especially if you are looking for more finicky work on sub frames and the such as opposed to more straighforward projects like luggage racks, etc. And a local guide does make your life a lot easier as the streets have no names and the workshops are pretty hard to find if you aren't from there so they can make a time consuming process much shorter.
If you need substantial work done, I would get it figured out in Vlad as it's your biggest city for a while and it is a gateway for cars imported from Asia so there is a lot of automotive/mechanical work being done in the city. After that, as previous posters have commented, every small town has a gas station and welder as staple road side services. I could never figure out if that was a comment on the quality of the roads, the vehicles, the drivers or all of the above
One last suggestion, the road side welders are masters and making things run and getting you to the next town. Having said that, their opinion of acceptable "tolerances" and "straight" vary from welder to welder and you want to keep a very close eye on the process. I have fond memories of a nice Mongolian man welding without goggles, using stolen power from a straight feed from the overhead power lines as his welder to fix a luggage rack
Ride safe.
|
30 Mar 2010
|
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
|
|
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Moscow
Posts: 1,117
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by MountainMan
Hey Robbie,
My poor memory seems to recall they are called the Iron Tigers, but that may be wrong.
|
I believe there were two clubs in Vladivostock.
Certainly the Iron Angels were splendid hosts to us - the other could well have been the Iron Tigers.
The Iron Angels had their own mechanic and workshop. For what they can't do themselves, they would know someone who can.
As Colebatch and others say, you are never far from a highly able welder in central and east Russia. The smaller the community the more their lives depend on it! However for specialist materials and alloys you would need a larger city.
The welding I needed was done in Krasnoyarsk (central siberia) by Zenya and his team. They are a small independant moto workshop run by keen off-roaders who fully understand the forces, stresses and requirements to travel in that environment. Let us know if you need their contact details.
|
31 Mar 2010
|
|
Gold Member
Veteran HUBBer
|
|
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Lands End, Cornwall, UK
Posts: 675
|
|
Russian Welding
HI Rob
The guy to get in touch with at the Iron Tigers in Vladivostock is Andrey.
pechorskaya8 {{aaatt]] mail.ru
Excuse the feeble attempt at hiding the fact there's an email address in this post!
I had several encounters with various welders in Siberia - some more professional than others, see the farmyard scene below. What I like about them is they will tackle anything.
Good luck with your trip.
Best wishes
|
31 Mar 2010
|
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
|
|
Join Date: May 2007
Location: London
Posts: 621
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by MountainMan
I have fond memories of a nice Mongolian man welding without goggles, using stolen power from a straight feed from the overhead power lines as his welder to fix a luggage rack
|
Hahahaha - you couldn't make it up!
Reminds me of that cardiac arrest scene from M r Bean when he used a cable from the streetlight to defibrillate someone...
|
4 Apr 2010
|
Registered Users
HUBB regular
|
|
Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 41
|
|
Awesome, thanks for the info guys. I will email Andrey in Vlad and try and sort things out with him. I would never have thought of contacting the local bike clubs - are they usually pretty welcoming in Russia?
Cheers
Rob
|
8 Apr 2010
|
Contributing Member
Veteran HUBBer
|
|
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Sydney N.S.W. Australia
Posts: 147
|
|
Matey,
Ring Max or Mikhail from Vladmoto. These guys are the head honcho's of the Iron Tigers Motorcycle Club in Vladivostok. Bloody good blokes as well. Their phone numbers are: 8(4232)367514, 8 902 557 2588 or e-mail them at: vladmoto [ATT] mail {DDOTT} ru
__________________
Chris
Last edited by Chris in Tokyo; 9 Apr 2010 at 01:48.
Reason: Mail in posts attracts spam to these people. Please, no unedited addresses
|
9 Apr 2010
|
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
|
|
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Moscow
Posts: 1,117
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by robbie.gray
bike clubs - are they usually pretty welcoming in Russia?
|
EVERY biker in Russia will assist any biker. It matters not if you are on a moped, scooter, enduro, sport, or Hardly Tasseldson.
If it has 2 wheels you are their brothers and they will do anything they can to assist.
Two good examples are on pages 5-8 The BAM Road - ultimate test of man and machine - ADVrider
And in more remote areas it is everybody, not just bikers, who will do all they can to get you going again (and provide you with food and beds) - read page 32.
|
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 Registered Users and/or Members and 1 guests)
|
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|
Next HU Events
ALL Dates subject to change.
2025 Confirmed Events:
- Virginia: April 24-27 2025
- Queensland is back! May 2-4 2025
- Germany Summer: May 29-June 1 2025
- CanWest: July 10-13 2025
- Switzerland: Date TBC
- Ecuador: Date TBC
- Romania: Date TBC
- Austria: Sept. 11-15
- California: September 18-21
- France: September 19-21 2025
- Germany Autumn: Oct 30-Nov 2 2025
Add yourself to the Updates List for each event!
Questions about an event? Ask here
See all event details
Check the RAW segments; Grant, your HU host is on every month!
Episodes below to listen to while you, err, pretend to do something or other...
2020 Edition of Chris Scott's Adventure Motorcycling Handbook.
"Ultimate global guide for red-blooded bikers planning overseas exploration. Covers choice & preparation of best bike, shipping overseas, baggage design, riding techniques, travel health, visas, documentation, safety and useful addresses." Recommended. (Grant)
Ripcord Rescue Travel Insurance™ combines into a single integrated program the best evacuation and rescue with the premier travel insurance coverages designed for adventurers.
Led by special operations veterans, Stanford Medicine affiliated physicians, paramedics and other travel experts, Ripcord is perfect for adventure seekers, climbers, skiers, sports enthusiasts, hunters, international travelers, humanitarian efforts, expeditions and more.
Ripcord travel protection is now available for ALL nationalities, and travel is covered on motorcycles of all sizes!
What others say about HU...
"This site is the BIBLE for international bike travelers." Greg, Australia
"Thank you! The web site, The travels, The insight, The inspiration, Everything, just thanks." Colin, UK
"My friend and I are planning a trip from Singapore to England... We found (the HU) site invaluable as an aid to planning and have based a lot of our purchases (bikes, riding gear, etc.) on what we have learned from this site." Phil, Australia
"I for one always had an adventurous spirit, but you and Susan lit the fire for my trip and I'll be forever grateful for what you two do to inspire others to just do it." Brent, USA
"Your website is a mecca of valuable information and the (video) series is informative, entertaining, and inspiring!" Jennifer, Canada
"Your worldwide organisation and events are the Go To places to for all serious touring and aspiring touring bikers." Trevor, South Africa
"This is the answer to all my questions." Haydn, Australia
"Keep going the excellent work you are doing for Horizons Unlimited - I love it!" Thomas, Germany
Lots more comments here!
Diaries of a compulsive traveller
by Graham Field
Book, eBook, Audiobook
"A compelling, honest, inspiring and entertaining writing style with a built-in feel-good factor" Get them NOW from the authors' website and Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.uk.
Back Road Map Books and Backroad GPS Maps for all of Canada - a must have!
New to Horizons Unlimited?
New to motorcycle travelling? New to the HU site? Confused? Too many options? It's really very simple - just 4 easy steps!
Horizons Unlimited was founded in 1997 by Grant and Susan Johnson following their journey around the world on a BMW R80G/S.
Read more about Grant & Susan's story
Membership - help keep us going!
Horizons Unlimited is not a big multi-national company, just two people who love motorcycle travel and have grown what started as a hobby in 1997 into a full time job (usually 8-10 hours per day and 7 days a week) and a labour of love. To keep it going and a roof over our heads, we run events all over the world with the help of volunteers; we sell inspirational and informative DVDs; we have a few selected advertisers; and we make a small amount from memberships.
You don't have to be a Member to come to an HU meeting, access the website, or ask questions on the HUBB. What you get for your membership contribution is our sincere gratitude, good karma and knowing that you're helping to keep the motorcycle travel dream alive. Contributing Members and Gold Members do get additional features on the HUBB. Here's a list of all the Member benefits on the HUBB.
|
|
|