Hello all!
I am planning a RTW from ist april 2017 thru 365 days or some. my route is as below:

India to Vlad/Russia to Moscow : april ( Is it Cold/undoable in Russia?)
Europe in may-june-july
North Am in aug-sept-oct
South am in Nov
Ocean transport to Australia dec (20 days abouts)
Australia in dec-Jan
Bali to India jan-feb-march
End

Some questions and thoughts for help from all of you:

Russia: will it be unbearable cold from 10am thru 4pm (my estimated riding day)
i am planning a top of 50,000km as i cant afford more than that.( i cant afford that as well/but i dont know that yet!)

where will the weather be against me.

i am planning couchsurfing and hostel-dorm mix of overnights. is this good?

I am as of now going 1Up/alone and shall hopefully meetup with riders along the way. (does that really happen)

Is the carnet respected in all places/or is there still a 'Fixer' amount?

As of now i have excluded China as its extremely expensive with a local guide etc. Though i keep hearing of changing rules/any ideas?

I am planning crossing the atlantic and pacific on container ships/any ideas?

I shall be riding a Royal Enfield 500cc!

i have been planning this for over a year and am as of now ready to roll in april 2017. so do pour advise.
my best wishes to all
FuseBox
(thats my call sign)

Forgot to add: looking for Route Partners along the way.

aditya

I live on about 60 North latitude, and over here (southern Finland) proper riding season usually gets underway in April, sometimes early April, sometimes late April, it depends on the year. BUT, this is not far from the Atlantic, and the Gulf-stream, and its extensions make this area warmer, than it would otherwise be. Most of Siberia will not have such luxury, and during winter, it is among the coldest places on this planet. March, I would say, would definitely still be too cold to ride west from Vladivostok. April, it will fully depend on your luck. Also note, that if there is a lot of snow, it may make wintry road conditions last a long time, even though temperatures might already be warmer. The sun melts the snow in the daytime, it turns to water, which flows on the road, and if nights are still below freezing, the road will be icy. If you have no experience about riding in very cold/possibly wintry conditions (or do you?), I really do not think that is the right place to start getting such experience. Could be a wise idea to plan doing this a little later in spring, when it should be a little warmer.

Here is for example the climate chart for Chita, in eastern Russia and should be on your route or close:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chita,...y_Krai#Climate

......

Crossing the oceans on container ships is very rare these days, you can´t just go and ask to work on a ship to pay for your transport, it has all become much more complicated than it perhaps was back in the Seventies, for example. And there are extremely few international ferry routes to be found outside Europe. Now, by far the most common way to get across an ocean is, you put the bike forward as freight – by air or by sea), and get flights for yourself to go meet the bike at the other end. Shipping the motorcycle is always some sort of pain in the *ss even when pretty much everything goes to the plan. And it costs money. But it can be done.



Good luck, and if you´re planning to visit Finland, do get in touch!

Wow....Pecha....thnx for the details and opinion. Most valuable. Vlad will be 15th april onwards and hopefully a warming route as spring summers. I have done ladakh black ice riding and know the risks. Keeping a 45 day window for vlad to moscow or st Petersburg. Container freight..I have looked at as a paid ticket and not work onboard. All such freight ships keep rooms and the total cost is maybe 20% more than air options...so it is to be viewed as a 40 day full board ocean holiday..finland: shall come as I want to see Scandinavia...

aditya

Sea freight and air passenger crossing is also the best cost effective option. Looking at all....

aditya

Will be tracking russian route for weather n other elements from april this year so I have information. Shall be doing it Ist April 2017 onwards for 365 days. Ciao!

aditya

Just wanted to say that this looks like a really amazing trip! Hope the enfield holds up

Sea freight may not always be the best, or even the most cost effective option. Especially on any shorter routes (eastern US to western Europe is not a very long route, for example), airfreight has some clear advantages, like being MUCH quicker, and just generally better suited for handling such small shipment as one MC. Big seaports can be a real pain, as they are made to handle enormous volumes of freight. Costs at the receiving end have brought bitter surprises for many, especially when sending by sea. Also if there is a delay, by air it should most likely mean a few hours or a few days maximum. By sea, delays are easily counted in weeks. And then you wait somewhere to be able to continue your trip, that will cost something, too.

I sent my MC by sea from Australia to Finland, and it got delayed for 3 weeks (so it ended up taking just about two months!)... was not a big problem, as my trip was already finished, but in the middle of the trip, would have been a different story. It was quite cheap though.

Hmmmm, yes didnt think of that...will monitor the sea freight plan..if I am looking at it...thnx

aditya

I hope so too....

aditya

I am still monitoring container vessels that take bike freight as well..so that the bike n I are on the same ship. All options are open ....

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