Hey there folks

After a failed attempt due to logistics(APEC summit in Vladivostok in Sept last year) I will be returning to Mongolia/Siberia next year as I have 'unfinished business'. We missed out on a huge area we wanted to see so wish to return and try to finish our travel plan. However this time we will be on motorbikes instead of in the Land Rover.

We plan to start in UB head North into Russia and go around East side of Lake Baikal. Onto Lena River barge and follow Vilyuisky Tract. Magadan BAM etc.

We have Xchallenge(for myself) and XT250 (for my very short legged partner michele). We are about to buy two Husabergs (FE570/450 )

We would like to take the Bergs on this trip just for a bit of fun even tho they are not the best choice and the other bikes are more 'sensible'

However Michele copes better with less weight (and more power!!) and she is actually the one pushing for the 'enduro' spec bikes to go!!

Would you risk taking these bikes and minimal gear for a 6-8000km trip with potential for crap fuel. We would run low power mode and change filters etc.

Realise there is lots of info on ADV about set up but I am looking for advice from you guys in the field.

FE570 is known for its reliable engine and I really like the idea.

Your thoughts??

Walter C you out there somewhere?? I know you have talked of it but not done it - yet??

I guess the worst that can happen is we break down a lot so no difference to taking the poor old Land Rover really ;-)

Thanks in advance

Callum

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I would do it.

If I was going to Mongolia this year it would be on my Husaberg 570. If I get back to the BAM again it will be on my 570.

Add some aftermarket fuel tanks and lightweight luggage and its perfect. I dont know how the berg will run on the occasional 80 octane fuel .. maybe buy a litre or two of octane booster in UB.

I wouldnt let it put you off the idea tho.

You would have a total ball in Mongolia on a 570.

I am a bit distracted with other things this year otherwise I would be spending my time working on Adventurising my Husaberg for exactly that sort of ride.

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Thanks Walter

We are actually looking at next year before we travel again.

Yes from what I read (although no Berg experience-yet) there is no reason the bikes could not do this sort of trip.

I agree about Mongolia. Lots of big wide open spaces to let the bikes 'fly'.

What would be the impact of running low octane fuel? Would they just run like a dog and potentially get hot?

Lots similar boggy Siberian type areas here in Tasmania to get some practice in. Mossies are a little less fierce however!!

It does look as if Adventure riding is heading down the enduro end of the spectrum - at long last

Thanks again

Callum

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Well my take on it .. is that in the 1990s, it was enough to ride across a continent - be it Africa, South America or Eurasia ... back then when many of the main roads were dirt, there was no communications, and no info on what to expect ... just riding the main route down Africa or across Russia was already a supreme adventure and you were one of just a handful of people that did it - even locals didnt do it. That was cutting edge. Thats where the notion of Adventure Motorcycling was born. I remember doing the Tokyo to London trip in 1994, on main routes across Russia, Siberia and Kazakhstan etc, and every major motorcycle magazine in Europe wanted to buy and run the story. We sold that story a dozen times in Europe alone in different countries. If you did a story TODAY about riding a bike across Russia or Kazakhstan on the main routes, there would be zero interest from the media. Its no longer interesting. Its no longer an adventure. Its no longer cutting edge. Thousands of people do it every year.

Today, all these main routes are asphalted, lined with truck stops, motels and coffee shops, and interesting sites are surrounded by hawkers selling chinese made tourist tat. The concept of "adventure motorcycling" has to move forward or else it will become meaningless. I couldnt do the same ride today and still call it an adventure. The developing world is changing fast, and Adventure Motorcycling has to keep ahead of the development if it is still to be an adventure.

In my view, if adventure motorcycling is still all about trying to get to interesting rarely seen places, then it has to get off the main routes, and that means getting off the highways and the asphalt. Thats why it has to become more off-road focussed. That means lighter bikes, capable of reaching places tourist buses cant get to.

There are two concepts around today ... Motorcycle Travel/Touring (overlanding), and Adventure Motorcycling. They are both perfectly valid and great fun and have their own adherents. And if you want to travel the world, then seeing it from the back of a motorcycle is the best way to do it. But realistically, its not really credible to call a ride to the Dolomites in Northern Italy "Adventure Motorcycling". Almost by definition, Adventure Motorcycling has to be the sharp, pointy, cutting edge of Motorcycle Touring.

The idea of exploring Mongolia on a couple of 70 degree Husabergs is a really cool one and gives you so much more scope to really get out into the wilds and explore.

There were a bunch of ride reports on Mongolia I read this last year and I am really pleased to read more and more people getting off the "Northern Route or Southern Route" standard take on the country and taking some risk by venturing into the wilds. One of favorite reports from Mongolia this last year was this one ... http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=818258

Interesting not for the fact that the authors are Americans (you rarely meet Americans there ... foreign bikers in Mongolia seem to be about Europeans 70%, Russians 20% and Aussies and Kiwis the rest) but because they have just flown in there, grabbed some local Chinese made bikes and just really went out exploring and adventuring. A great read - take a look.

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Thanks Walter

A great reply and I tend to agree with you.

No doubt you have seen some of the MotoSiberia stuff from the two Polish guys. Between yourself and them certainly pushing the boundaries and its great to see.

The term 'adventure motorcycling' is perhaps no longer appropriate is it becomes more 'mainstream'.

I have found a 2009 'brand new' Husaberg so it just needs my name on it as I will never find another.

Fuel range is no issue as there are plenty of tanks available. Fuel filters similarily widely available. I guess the issue is carrying gear really. Its all very well going 'minimalist' and 'light' but there is still a bare bones minimum tent/mat/sleeping bag/water/food/spares/change of clothes and photography+nav .But it still takes up space. And the big Berg was certainly not designed to carry gear.

My partner (Michele) 5'1'' and a bit!! and 50 kilos struggles with getting her feet-or even foot- down so we need to lower one of the bikes and thats a dilemma too.

However the rewards will be worth it I'm sure .

Thanks again for taking the time to reply

Regards

Callum

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Hi Callum,

I you need some advice adventuring it - talk to Richie Nyhouse at Valley Force Husaberg - Home he has worked as a mechanic for a Husaberg Rallye team. Nice guy I grew up with him.

Cheers,

Craig

I kinda disagree with your premise that Adventure biking may finally be turning in the enduro direction. I disagree with it, because for me Adventure Motorcycling historically always was enduro and off road focussed.

Chris Scott in the Sahara on his Tenere's in the 80s and 90s, Austin Vince and gang on their DR350s - all just dirt bikes with big tanks. And the bikes that really kicked off the first adventure motorcycling boom: Honda's 750 cc Africa Twins were just a derivative of the Dakar winning NXR 750V. BMW won the Dakar in the 80s on their dealer ready Adventure bikes - R80 G/S and R100 GS. Cagiva won it in the 90s a couple of times with its adventure bike, the Elefant 900, that you could also just buy from your local Ducati dealer. Adventure bikes historically always were tough, off road, enduro bikes with long range fuel tanks - historically VERY closely related to the exact kind of bikes that could survive and win the Dakar - just with engines and suspensions in a different state of tune. KTMs 950 Adventure is the most recent example, very closely derived from their Dakar winning 950 Rally.

The Adventure concept has been hijacked in the last 9-10 years by marketing folk who naturally enough are looking to maximise profit - as is their job. Maybe cause "Travel bike" or "overland bike" doesnt sound sexy enough.

For me Adventure Riding/Biking/Motorcycling always was and still is off road focussed. The other stuff, like riding from London to India on a big GS on main routes loaded up with aluminium boxes is "overlanding" - and these days its all asphalt. (mind you, I think Overlanding too has to move forward lest it become "Lonely Planet on 2 wheels" tours - a completely predictable process of travelling to the next lonely planet hostel, day after day - seeing the same sights, eating at the same restaurants, and photographing the same scenes as everyone else, because thats what the guide book recommends - at some point you lose the ability to call it independent travel.)

I have heard the argument that adventure is subjective ... and that one persons adventure might not be an adventure to others, but that simply dilutes the concept and makes it meaningless. Valentino Rossi might call it an adventure after returning to the pits after a track training session on an oily track. A Scooter riders definition of adventure riding might be racing thru the laneways of London's West End at full throttle at midnight while trying to avoid drunk pedestrians. If urban scooter riding and professional track racing can also be adventure riding then the concept has no meaning.

I personally have always loved reading the reports from guys like Sambor on his exploratory rides in Central Asia and Afghanistan, Swinarski's 2009 ride to Chukotka, Pete Forwood's rides, Sjaak Lucassen's rides. They all share something with videos like Austin Vince's Mondo Enduro or Terra Circa or Chris Scott's Desert Riders that makes them so enjoyable: the fact they were not even sure what they were trying to do was possible ... thats the common thread ... thats the essence of adventure -at least for me.

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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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