That is consistent with my experiences in Russia. I have never ridden a motorcycle in Russia, but I have transited eastern Russia (Anadyr - Petropavlovsk - Magadan - Khabarovsk - Vladivostok) many times during the past 3 years during my "day job", which is delivering new aircraft from the factory to customers in various parts of the world.

My experience with Russian officials is that they are scrupulously honest, but that it is essential that all the paperwork be in order, as they will check it very carefully. They don't cut any slack whatsoever on the rules, but as long as you have followed all the rules, they are professional and friendly, all in all pretty easy to get along with.

You must be talking about a Pan with a terminal case of anorexia. Heck, my ST1100 weighs 633 pounds (290 kg) without any fluids in it. Add a full tank of gas, coolant, and engine oil, and the darn thing is close to 700 pounds.

Eh, not so sure I would agree with that. I've been all over Europe with my ST1100, 160,000 km from Bodo Norway to Gibraltar, the west coast of Ireland to the Syrian border, including all of the Balkans.

A Pan is a great long-distance bike provided you can stick to paved roads. It can cope with gravel or dirt roads for limited distances, but that's not a pleasant experience, nor is it what the bike was designed for.

But, it copes well with poor quality paved roads. I have had no problems in the past month going through all of the former Yugoslavian countries and Albania... and I mostly stuck to secondary roads, not the motorways.

Having said all that, I don't think it would be an appropriate choice for a trip from Europe to the east coast of Russia.

You are kidding us, right? The temperatures in Siberia regularly hit -40°C in the winter. That's not just cold, it is unbelievably fuggin' cold. In January and February, it was not uncommon for me to have to pre-heat the aircraft engines (using a kerosene-powered heater) in order to bring the oil temperature up above -30°C, which is the minimum oil temperature permitted for engine start. I would often take the aircraft battery into the hotel with me at night, to keep it warm and thus keep the cranking power up.

If you are asking that question seriously (meaning, innocently), I honestly don't recommend you go to Siberia in the winter without doing a heck of a lot more research on the subject.

Michael