Hi Forestwiz,
Depending on your itinerary you should not need a carnet and you can bypass Iran, which requires one.
From Mongolia (Olgii town), you can cross the Siberian Altai, then turn south toward Shemonaika small crossing to Kazkahstan (very fast small border, no hassle). No visa or fee required for most passport holders and no registration. You have 15 days.
The East part of Kazakhstan is beautiful, with comfortable towns to rest. Once again, from the southern town of Kegen, you can cross into Kyrgyzstan (small border crossing, no hassle, friendly staff). Kyrgyzstan is magnificent. No visa required.
Tajikistan you need a visa but can do it online, hassle free.
You can then either cross Uzbekistan or get back via Kazakhstan (not sure what the situation is now with UZbek, probably still need a visa).
Uzbek has magnificent ancient towns, like Khiva, Samarkand or Bukhara. Entering Uzbek is long and bureaucratic though, but free!
Kazakh you can get another 15 days to cross.
From Kazakh, you can get back to Russia. You then have lots of choices. Either go down via Georgia (no visa required) and into Turkey, or explore Russia and enter Europe via Scandinavia/Ukraine/ Baltic states…..
None of these alternatives require a carnet and only few (Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan) require a visa.
As you can see there are many options. It is a very big part of the world. Border crossing can be long, if you pick a busy one. Avoid the main ones with millions of trucks and locals. I usually pick the small ones.
Keep in mind that Russia, Kazakh, Kyrgyz (and Belarus) are part of a custom union, so the Temporary Import document for your bike, issued to you when you enter the Zone, you must keep it until you leave the Custom Zone. Only get it stampeded at borders within those countries. It means fast border crossings and less red tape.
Regarding weather, last summer, it was horrendous. Even in Kazakhstan in July, when I expected very hot weather, we had massive storms and not that hot! In Russia, the weather was terrible too. Rain, cold, storms. It never really stopped that summer L . Unlucky.
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