Okay, I've been umming & arring about a trip recently. You know the thing - the weather's lousy & your jobs sucks and you want to a) make a clean break, b) do something more that a package holiday to Zante ;o)

So after loads of thought about possible journeys I've got a question for the hubb's gurus:

Would this route be possible/do-able?

London to Europe via Eurostar,
Various places in Europe (not worked out yet - but to include Romania)
Ukraine to Russia (Volvograde)
Russia to Kazakhstan
Kazakstan to Mongolia via Russia
Mongolia up to Russia/Lake Baikal then
To Vladivostok - from there either:
flight to West Coast USA the ride to east coast & flight back to the UK
or,
bike in a crate & me on a plane back to UK from Russia.

I reckon the best time of year will be April to set off from London.
Due to being 5 ft 6 & my technical in-expertise (I can do oil & filter changes & replace gear/clutch levers etc) I reckon the best bike would be a bmw 650 dakar.

Other relevent stuff:
I've been riding daily for the last two years (mainly the daily commute into central London & the odd track day) on my SV650
I'll be setting off alone as none of my friends are up for it.
I'm 33.
I guesstimate 4 months.

Can I do it?

Thanks for reading this far!


Dirk

Anything and everything are possible Dirk.
How many miles are we guessing at here in these 4 months ?
Although I suggest you start with Eurotunnel and not Eurostar otherwise you are going to fail at the first hurdle.
Good luck.

I assume you're thinking of going in 2008?
I'm planning a similar journey starting April/May 2009 through Europe, Kazakstan, Mongolia to Vladivostok then on to South Korea or Japan to get to Canada and then to South America.
I'm also thinking of using a 650 Dakar.
How far have you got with the planning?

David

4 months seems a little optimistic. therse journey always take longer than you think and I assume that you will want to enjoy and experience the countries you go through rather than making a mad dash. Also take into account that you have to add in a bit more time for break downs - the possibility of waiting for parts - and troubles with visa's/ entries etc..

its a long way to go and its best to make sure that you have a bit more mechanical experience before you go to.

I ride an F650GSTT and Ive not had many problems with it on our trip so far - but the last thing you want is to be stuck in the middle of Mongolia not having an idea as to where to look for a problem. Just as a note - I take with me the GS911. see 2ridetheworld.com : diary
for information.

also make sure that you get all the up-to-date visa information on these countries that you wish to visit. There is alot of information here but also use the UK foreign office site. good basic, accurate and up to date. Home*Foreign & Commonwealth Office

but......I'm sure you've already thought about all of these points..

__________________
Lisa
www.2ridetheworld.com

Hi guys,

Cheers for the responses!

Hustler/David - I haven't worked the miles out yet as I'm still buying maps/planning routes.

I've got maps ordered via ebay for Kazak & Mongolia that haven't yet arrived. I've made som enquiries about shipping (some mroe enquiries to come) from the states - so I get an idea of my budget constraints.

By Christmas I should have a pretty clear idea of routes/mileage etc In Jan, I'll start getting the visas i.e. for Mongolia, Kazak & Russia are looking more interesting.

Lisa, one of my mates has done this sort of thing before on his big bm - so I'm going to bribe him with booze to show me tappets, fork seals, puncture repair, chain tension.

Hadn't considered the government web site for travel info - stupid I know! Thanks for that tip - worth it for the Kazak border entry points alone!

I've been filling in a note book with all the stuff I think I'll need for the trip - based upon pervious experience, friends experience, thte hubb. I bought Chris Scott's book yesterday & so far a lot of the stuff I've written down has been covered in his book - so at least my planning is on the right tracks (but there's more info that I hadn't considered).

The more I investigate the more I'm looking forward to this!