Hey Nath, grand, I like the reply a bit more balanced, unlike your previous postings (21 and 27) or maybe I picked up your previous posting wrong - but you do sound angry and certainly rebelious -if i got you wrong -.sorry but you did come across pretty heavy in the way you worded them for that I make my apology. The way you have worded your stuff this time makes the reading much easier and you come across a bit better - As for speeding yes I have in the past - oh the folly of youth ! and at times paid the price not only financially but also in some pretty big injuries and bent bike. However no doubt I will speed a little - here at home where I know the area well, the road well and am well experienced in the way things work, (well if the bilge pump can wind herself up quick enough to get there - that would be some achievement eh!) -(bilge pump being my old r80gs) but if I am caught - then fair play I take it on the nose as for the other rules of the road I stick to them here and abroad always do - i don't want to cause myself or anyone else hassle or a problem - so I don't feel too hypocritical on our difference of opinion. Nor do I accept that laws/rules (mainly on the road) have no reason or purpose, I generally accept they are there for some reason however obscure they may appear to me or anyone else. I agree with you on not paying bribes and so far never have but also have never been pushed on that one, so on the day depending on the circumstances I maybe might stay open and flexible on that viewpoint. Still it be good stuff to debate over after a few and then put the whole world back on track. Regards Jake.

Aside from fines being justified or not, I believe the moment you leave your home country and venture abroad, you become an ambassador of your home country, your culture and, in our case, the motorcycle riding community.

I find it somewhat sad if this is overlooked for selfish reasons. And, no, one does not have to put up with nonsense either. But, there are ways to go about it. Acting stupid or ignorant is not one of the ways I would consider.

...just saying

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Thomas

"Hey, ...I'm just ridin' shotgun"

Before you hurt your arm patting yourself on the back, I thought I'd point out that:
--no one has ever recommended paying "dodgey coppers" for "made up offences". Most people correctly resist paying in those circumstances; and
--the reason that Central Asian police were probably so friendly was not because there are so many "two wheeled cash machines" (how many foreign motorcyclists do you think the average Uzbek policeman sees in a year?), but because the whole thing was a lark from the beginning, their only cost was a few minutes of their time.

Also, I just want to say again that it is really not a good idea to drink and ride and Russia. You didn't get caught, but I can tell you from personal experience that they seem to focus more on checking motorcyclists than drivers, at all times of day (presumably because they assume motorcyclists like to party). And getting busted for having any alcohol in you is guaranteed to ruin your day...

I begin to worry for my trip to Samarkand of end of June.

Even if I don't drink and drive, my biker vest that I always wear when riding has some enamel pins that may be... suspect : Guinness, Kilkenny, Newcastle Brown Ale, Duvel...
Better to REMOVE BEFORE FLIGHT!

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Nick and his 2010 Yamaha XT1200Z Super Ténéré