I've been to a bit of Russia, by car rather than bike. Going east is always a possibility, but 1) I'd have to actually arrange a visa in advance, and 2) I speak the language, am fairly familiar with the culture (I think I also still have a standing offer of a couch at a cabin on the shore of Lake Baikal), so Russia is much less of an exotic wondrous place for me as it would be for others.

There's a fairly fascinating discussion to be had on the pluses and minuses of traveling in Russia as someone who doesn't speak the language, an obvious Other - compared to someone who is a native speaker but with an accent and general demeanor that definitely marks them out as Not From 'Round Here. Even the most friendly and open Russians still carry the influence of life in a place where safety requires constant counter-aggression to the environment.

The problem with even Morocco, much less Mongolia, is that my ride right now is very clearly road-focused. I've taken the VFR down farm tracks and sandy pine-forest paths, and I've reached every campsite I wanted to so far, but it's not the bike to go have fun in the dirt with. But yes, the easy option so far would be to start heading North (I've been promising to visit a friend doing a PhD in Lapland), check in to Nordkapp again, then go down the Norwegian coast with no hurry this time. Done a bunch of long weekend trips out there, but never had the luxury of zero deadlines. Keep heading south till I hit... Lisbon? Istanbul?

Africa also needs a carnet (easy enough via ADAC) and visas (seems to require a lot of forward planning). Been eyeing those guys in Peru who will sell you a rebuilt, ADV-prepped Chinese bike for 2,5k with a promise to buy it back for 1,5k. Cheaper than airfreighting just about anything. But that's more of an October idea.

Anyway, it'll be another month at least till the bike can safely come out of storage.