I'll be doing a similar trip between April and September but by Land Rover. However, we will only be going as far east as Lake Baikal and will then drop down into Mongolia and head back west through Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.

As you have already found out, travelling through China with a vehicle is possible but comes with its challenges, not least of which is the cost associated with getting the vehicle into the country. As you don't seem to be particularly interested in visiting China and are only looking for an alternate route to Vladivostock, I don't think taking your bike through China is a good option for you.

For me, it seems like a lot of messing about to ship the bike from Mongolia to Vlad, just to avoid riding far east Russia in both directions. But I don't know anything about bike shipping options - it might be easier and take less time than I imagine.

There is a lot of information on this forum about riding bikes in eastern Russia - the BAM Road, Road of Bones, Old Summer Road, etc. It would be worth reading through those posts to get an idea of what is involved and the time required to cover those sections.

During your route planning, you should also be aware of the limitations of the Russian visa (length of time for the various visas and how many consecutive days they allow you to be in the country).

If it helps at all, the route for my trip can be viewed on a map using the following link (you can zoom in and move about the map to get a better look at the various countries) - Bermuda Rover Overland - Driving trip | EveryTrail

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2014 overland adventure to Russia and Central Asia in Land Rover Defender www.bermudarover.com