A Freeride eh! I assume you are talking the 350, great little bike, if I wasn't such a fat bastard I would have one of these for trail bike riding (when I eventually finish travelling). I wonder if you can get something to increase the range (ie bigger tank).

When I was in Samara I met a bunch of blokes into Enduro Racing so I think there is one. Remember the Russian's also made to the Speedway World Cup - so they have an active dirtbiking scene.

In terms of recovery I think your right, Walter told me you can't go anywhere in Mongolia without seeing people. (Different to the Australian outback).

A lot of octane boosters are crap - and dont really boost octane rating much at all. Australians ones seem to be the best out there. You might want to ship some with your bike.

Take a look at this article on octane boosters:
Octane Boosters | Fuel Tech Experts
The top two in this international test were two Australian products.
1st NF Octane Booster Racing Formula – 250 ml treats 80 litres RRP: $29.95
Octane Improvement: 99.6 (+2.8 RON)
1st Nulon Pro Strength Octane Booster – 500 ml treats 60 litres RRP: $20.95
Octane Improvement: 99.6 (+2.8 RON)

The former appeals to me as it gives more bang for volume buck. If you took a litre of that stuff each you would be able to boost 320 litres by 2.8 points ... or to put it a more sensible way ... about 100 litres by about 10 octane by using it in stronger concentrations than standard. Carrying a litre of the stuff each would be light and easy, and you are unlikely to be buying more than 100 litres of 80 octane fuel. The main towns in each aimag (region) have 92-95 octane fuel which will be fine.

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Thanks Walter

Sounds great if we could get the bikes via sea and land to UB but we are trying to send them airfreight. I guess we could just sneak it into our checked in baggage???However that could go badly wrong too!!

But logistics for this sort of thing is fun so where there's a will etc ....

Was reading yesterday that mapping software is available via official Husaberg web site but haven't had a chance to look at that yet.

Off to the whoooosaberg dealer in Tasmania tomorrow

Callum

Craig - yes the 350 KTM Freeride - just the right size - same block as 350 EXC so maybe an engine swap could be a goer?? If michele decides to go down that route then I reckon we will just build a tank for it ourselves. but I'm still pushing the lowered Berg idea. Its easy to bribe Michele with the thought of more horse power ;-)

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Might try airfreight into Novosibirsk/Barnaul as UB is proving a headache!

It would be real nice to travel through the Altai again.

Only adds another few thousand ks to the overall trip plan ;-)

Callum

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Don't think you'll need to worry if you add the ignition mapping switch. Not unlike the ignition retarding switch/connection on the KTM ADV 950s (which has only two options, "normal" and "retarded" (spark). My 950 rode fine on premium from Frankfurt to near the Russian/Kazakh border south of the Aral Sea. Then retarded spark timing went from there to UB via the 'Stans without any issue. The bike sat for 11 months with delicious 80-octane (!) and fired on barely a kiss of the starter button.

Anti-knock sensors use piezo devices tuned for a certain frequencies . . . fuel impact is metered dynamically. On the Husaberg the manually switched variants (TrailTech, etc) there are three options -"mild", "wild" "stock". Presumably "mild" is fairly substantially retarded. These switch are inherently hackable (add a resistor) for further ignition retarding. The engine will make less peak HP but . . . both the 950 and FE570 have considerable unnecessary reserves.

Finally, the simple fact of throttle body FI will help reduce low-octane impacts, though perhaps marginally in cooler or more humid environments and more in hotter/drier climes.

FWIW - I'm riding my FE570 in Mongolia/Siberia next year and fuel quality is not even a small concern (after appropriate filters have been added to the bike) though fuel CAPACITY is.

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Orange, it's the new black.

Well the first and most important part of this project was to get a Berg!! Husabergs to Mongolia/Siberia would not exist without 'The Bergs'!!

So I just bought a brand new 2009 FE 570. The last new 570 in Australia!!!Result

Michele will go 450/390 so plenty of them around. About to go home(to Scotland) for a few weeks so more to follow as things progress.

Genghis thanks for the info on fuelling. Thats good to know. Fuel range for the FE570 and other 70degree Bergs is no big deal really as there are plenty of tank options.

Callum

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Progress? Or not!!

Finally one new Husaberg FE 570 in the shed having a few little tweaks!

As far as flying bikes goes.... A BIG DEAD END!!

Somebody somewhere out there surely wants to rid me of a few $$$ to stick a couple of bikes on an aeroplane to UB???

Will keep at it.

Callum

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Ok so finally getting somewhere.

I have found and Australian based company called Cargo Master (Air Freight, Freight Forwarders, International Freight, Sea Freight, Sameday Air Freight, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide,Hobart | CargoMaster | The Smart Choice) who are happy to freight the bikes by air to UB in Mongolia.

I slightly over estimated the size of the crates we will use as 2 square meters which gives us a weight each of 334kilos!!! Basically they go cubic size vs weight and whichever is the larger we get charged for that size/weight. So the estimate for 2 crates of 2 cubic meters is approx $6500 Australian dollars.

I reckon we can get that down with small crates (We have two used for Yamaha WR 450s) and obviously weight is no problem as we will be no where near what is allowed.(Husabergs only weigh approx 120kilos with bigger tanks bash plate etc)

Next thing we need to try and figure out is how we will go with customs at UB airport(last time we were there to collect a package it was a nightmare!!)
Will they have the paperwork we need to temporarily import the bikes as they will already be 'in' the country rather than coming in from the border.

Will use the guys at Oasis as a contact and see how we go from there.

Anyways now for the fun stuff. Planning a rough route and building bikes.

Callum

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Hi Callum,

Man that is pricey - what about sea freight to Sth Korea (I would imagine there are plenty of empty RORO returning there for another load of Hyundais). New SK ferry to Zarubino and ride to Chita and enter Mongolia in the east? A bit longer but $6500?

Whose tanks are you putting on the Bergs?

Hi there Craig

Yes it is pricey but I reckon we can get that down to $4500 all up with careful packing of the crates - maybe!!??

I guess we are looking at air freight as opposed to sea for a number of reasons.
1 - a one way route
2 - getting into Mongolia is relatively easy
3 - the SK ferry to Vlad route (from chatting to those who have done it - a couple of Aussies we met at Oasis last year - Andrew and??? maybe) said it was a pain in the ass and they wouldn't do it again
4 - if we ship direct to Vlad from Aus there is potential to be hanging around for a couple of weeks to get our hands on the bikes
5 - if we start in the UK again the bikes will have blown up by the time we reach Mongolia ha ha!!

Just a case of looking at cost , simplicity and time and weighing all up. Plus it would be good to know how easy it is to fly bikes into UB as it could save a few rather boring kms and wear and tear on non ADV bikes.

Will be using the front and rear Safari tanks to give us approx 25 litres . I have been liasing with Vally Force Husaberg in Ferntree in Melbourne and they will help us with the bike builds.

I have looked at the 70 degree tanks from the states but they fill so slowly that filling them up from a Russian fuel bowser could be an explosive nightmare!!! Will pass on that idea.

Good to hear from you. You coming with us ;-) ??

Callum

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That sounds good - is Richie N still at Valley Force?

I would like to come - still tooling about in North America riding the TCAT on my big 990 (300kgs on the scales the other day, but still fun), but I need to go back to work I think.

I am planning a cross Russia trip in a few years so need the brass for that. Thinking on a WR450. I want to do some of what Walter did last year but exit through eastern Mongolia up to Chita, then to Tynda and then try to follow the way Anadyr the MotoSyberia guys did a while back, something a little different to standard BAM/ROB everyone else is doing.

Yeah we have looked at MotoSiberia stuff. Not sure what I think about the raft idea though!!

Difficult times for Valley Force at the moment with the impending demise of Husaberg.(A bad move on KTMs part IMHO but there we are!). Not sure what their plans are. Will be visiting them over the next week or two.

One of our problems is Micheles physical size. She is 5'2'' and weighs 50kilos. Much as she never gives up(she rode with a broken leg for 3 hours last weekend - fibia - riding a WR450)it just makes picking bikes up and man handling them around difficult.

We will be going to the HUBB meet at Cavendish VIC in mid October so might see if I can find a couple of other willing parties that need would like to come along. Everybody I have spoken to in Australia about this trips feels Siberia is too far away too dangerous and the trip will be too hard. What a shame. They don't know what they are missing- from what I have seen anyways.

We would like to get as far North as we can and just do a bit of exploring really. Will have a rough route figured out and just go from there.

It does seem like the ROB/BAM area is getting 'popular' but that can work for and against I guess. We didn't make it last year so still need to go visit.

I'm still trying to tame the 570 as it is different animal completely compared with the docile Xchallenge!!

Enjoy the TCAT.

Safe travels

Oh did you know Sibylle is almost finished at Oasis and has a one way ticket to Germany. That will be a change!!

Callum

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Stuff me Siberia dangerous? Idiots. St Kilda nightclubs are dangerous Siberia is safe by comparison. I know which I would rather take my wife to. As far being remote parts of central Oz have less people than Mongolia. Some people have no clue.

I knew from being in Oasis last year she was planning to go home. (She had few D&Ms with my wife).

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Hi Callum,

I think you made a good choice with the Husaberg for this kind of trip.

Make sure you test the luggage setup well before leaving home, with the rear Safari tank it might need some fiddling. Also the fuel line routing from the rear tank can be problematic (I met 2 stranded riders at the Tuareg Rally this year because of this issue), although Valley Force should have experience with that.

In any case I would highly recommend the 70° subframe tank, given that it adds 4 liters capacity without any additional weight or bulk the extra 2-3 minutes per fill-up should not really be a real deal-breaker for you while traveling - if it wasn't for me on a long-distance race!

Enjoy the prep and later the trip,
Lukas

I reckon it sees 15-20 a year now doing the BAM - Tynda - Yakutsk - Magadan. Some of those are in groups of 5, most are in 2s or 3s. It may seem crowded but its probably because pretty much all trips are active in the area in the 6 weeks between mid July and late August

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