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And Chris, I actually done part of the north road, not the beginning which is supposed to be the hardest part, but still bumped into Matt & Ed from "We come in pieces" on my way to UB. Also meet 2 italians which did the whole road in fiat panda on the way... The important thing is not to be solo. I am sure you will appreciate to have someone help you pick up your bike once you let it fall in the river hey Chris? ;) |
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I suppose I could say, at least there was a river to cross, rather than lost sandy dusty nothingness, but that wouldn't be relevant. :cool4: I helped Moritz edit the video. Glad you like it. Please write a RR of your trip to share with others. I'm sorry if I was incorrect as to your route. The itinerary of the Dutch guided group you joined was definitely south in the desert. You were also texting/ facebooking to say you were (had been?) lost in the south somewhere and that your luggage was falling apart around you. So actually, you had no idea where you were. Fair enough. There are lots of tracks in Mongolia. |
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This is now totally off topic. We went to the Gobi. Left the "guided group of dutch" in the middle after spending 4 days with them, we refuel with the spare fuel we put in the car and then me& riding partner went our own way, all the way to the north. If you want more details PM. Concerning the report, I will maybe write one when I am done with my travel. Still in Japan at the moment. To resume all what I have said so far: -K60 is enough in Mongolia, no need to carry extra set of tyres. -If you have a light single cylinder bike with good suspension you can probably do all the roads in Solo. -If you have an heavy bike, find someone to come with you and you can also do all the roads, but SOLO with such bike it is dangerous. If you are SOLO with that kind of bike better only consider the south road. I don't think that, so far, anyone has contradict those points. BTW thanks for the straps still have them. |
Mmmm... This thread is kind of putting off the northern route!
I'm planning to enter Mongolia from the west (Tashanta) and take the northern route to the capital. It will be in August, and I will be riding solo on a Vstrom - the 650 one, so it's lighter than a 1000, although far from single cylinder bikes. I have hard luggage and I have upgraded the suspension: I changed the springs back and front for progressive, stiffer ones, rebuilt the rear shock and replaced the oil, inner seals and dust seals on the fork. The transmission kit, brake pads and brake discs are also new, so the bike is as good as possible. I'll be taking K60s. Should I think twice and take the southern route? |
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On either route, N or S, I wouldn't ride solo. IMHO, by far, the most important factor when deciding where you go is your off-pavement riding ability. One person's "nightmare" is somebody else's "I had no problems, it was a piece of p!ss". You know what you can/can't do. 2 wheels is a lot harder than 4. Any novice can drive a car to most places, but novice off-pavement riders, particularly if riding a shed, will struggle. The N route is rockier and more likely to be damp. Also a lot more interesting. The S route is dryer and allegedly boring and anything will (and does) get through. You may be an enduro champ already. Great, you'll have no problems N or S. If not, your profile says Barcelona, so ride the length of the Pyrenees off-pavement on your loaded VStrom and if you can do that you can easily ride the length of the Mongolian northern route. |
Northern Route
I took a Ural Sidecar outfit through Mongolia on the Northern route in 2011. The worst part for a solo (in my opinion) would be the desert of stones after you come through the cutting after Tsagaannuur. The river crossing is very deep and I travelled about 25k's North to cross the river and had to be towed through by a local "super guy". The cylinder heads on the Ural only allow you to go through water a foot/30cms deep with the engine running.
As for tyres, the tracks are stoney enough to get away with trail tyres instead of the fast wearing TKC's. As I've already done the Northern Route I'll be using the direct route, via Olgii, in June and I'm using Mefo Explorers on my XT600E. But then, I'm just another idiot on a motorbike having fun so it may be better to listen to the voices in your head than take my advice. :wink3: |
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Tires
Unbelieveable mileage on the K60. You can't beat them.
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Milage is not the only point I am looking for.
If I only want milage, I'll take concrete rims:rofl: And i was not asking for only milage |
I use a TKC80 on the front and a Mitas EO7 on the back. They took me from Vladivostok to Poland, via the Giobi and 5,000kms through the Kazikstan Desert. About 18,000kms, although they were stuffed at the end of it!
I feel the TKC80 has more "feel" than a Mitas EO7 on the front. |
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I now use this combination as planned, but I am very disappointed of the K60 Scout on the rear. Well, for longer mileage I use the 140 K60 Scout one size bigger than original with the solide middle band in the tread. What's supposed to be an advantage in mileage is in fact a big disadvantage in grip on "nice and easy" gravel. When the road is hard and the tire can't sink into the dirt it's like a slick, because of the solide middle band in the tread. In mud when the whole tread can dig into the dirt the tire is as good as a TCK80. And, the mileage so far is not much better than on my previous TCK80 as a 140. TO BE CLEAR, this statement is for the 140 "K60 Scout" with the solide middle band in the tread, not the 130 which doesn't have this NOR the normal K60 without the word "Scout". Just my experience. sushi |
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I'm no threat to the memory of Roger DeCoster but do ride an EXC 530 in horrendously technical areas of the Sierra in CA and have mountain biked a lot on very technical terrain. The issues are just competence. It's not a 2-hour moto. It's 1600km and long stretches require concentration. A tired or distracted rider is simply just less than themselves, in all things, including judgement. Balancing skills, fitness, rest and concentration (or the ability to do so) is what these long "off-piste" rides are about. I met a couple on a 90's boxer with marginal tires that had done the Southern Route. It's not a horrible option if you're just gassed or your bike's a bit beat. In UB I saw not a few "wrecks" that had come just a part of the northern route and one of those was an overloaded V-Strom. It wouldn't be my first choice, not the least because it wouldn't be fun, even in great conditions. The big Katoom was a hoot ! And it IS a holiday - have some fun. As for the K60 - incredible mileage. Lightly loaded KTM ADV 950 with 100kg rider from Frankfurt to UB via the Stans and plenty of side runs "off-piste" - 18,000km and still and 1/8" from the wear bar. Not great in mud but anything that is won't give the necessary mileage. |
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That was my 3rd K60, and they were in two different sizes (150/70-18 on 4.5" rim and 140/80-18 on 2.5" rim). I've noticed no difference in wear, with or without the center band. The larger difference was the amount of time on tarmac - that REALLY wears tires. At least it does when a tube is present and speeds are elevated (>140 kph). FWIW, both tires came with recommendations to keep tire pressure above 38PSI if speeds would be above 140kph. There have been MANY reports of K60s chunking at lower pressures. I believe Herr Strom is correct re: tire composition at least with the introduction of the new 'Scout' K60. |
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