First question, do you need a carnet for Russia? Looking at other traveller's tales I guess not but it would be nice to confirm.

Secondly, in which month(s) is it tolerable to cross the Zilov Gap, and indeed Siberia?

Thanks in Advance,

Ian.

See Greg Fraziers story on crossing Russia. (Travellers Stories, Greg, 'what's new' on his page)

To answer your questions, No carnet, and the middle of the summer only!

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Grant Johnson

Seek, and ye shall find.
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One world, Two wheels.
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

__________________
Grant Johnson
Seek, and ye shall find.
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Inspiring, Informing and Connecting travellers since 1997!
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

no, you don t need carnet for russia
they give you a piece of paper with the records of your bike at the border when you eneter
and you have to give it back when you leave the country
keep it with you for police checks

happy trails in russia
it s really great very nice people
http://vincent.danna.free.fr/

i don t know sorry about the rest of your question

__________________
--
Vincent Danna

* www.va-project.com
Sept 2008 - dec 2009 : Voyage et art contemporain en Amérique du sud.

* http://vincent.danna.free.fr/
2002 - 2004 : Un tour du monde en moto.

In august 2002 you didnt need any carnet ...

Hi Ian,
You don't need a carnet. You get a paper at customs when you enter Russia. Make sure you don't loose this, because you need it to leave with your bike.
We rode the "zilov gap" in august 2002. The only time would be june-september. The road workers are building the Trans Siberian Highway that connects Tschita with Chabarovsk. Depending in which state the construction is you will be riding on sand, gravel or rocks. If you are not allowed to use a part of the highway road workers will tell you. At time of travelling there were no signs to the villages to get petrol or food. Ask the road workers. The longest part is about 190 km without fuel (Mogotscha-Tschernyschewsk). There are no river crossings to make. All the bridges are ready to use.
We found the Siberians the most friendly people. Have fun and say hello to the mosquitoes...
for some pics see our homepage: www.geocities.com/bikebrothers


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See you on the road...
The BikeBrothers Harald and Udo.
www.geocities.com/bikebrothers

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See you on the road...
The BikeBrothers Harald and Udo.
www.geocities.com/bikebrothers

I went across the 'Zilov gap' (be aware no one in Russia calls it this) in late October - it wasn't that bad a time to be there, but might have been due to a later than normal winter. Damn cold but water levels at the bridges (most of them on the new road are still under construction, there is always some kind of bypass road) were lower than what it sounded like in summer. I think the best time conditions wise would be early fall. The amount of people driving Japanese cars back from Vladivostock at the time seemed to confirm this.
I used part of the new road and parts of the old road as the locals directed me...this is one country where you NEED to speak some of the language. Talk to the drivers of the Jap cars, the guys working on the road are trucked in and trucked out, and often know very little about what is going on past their own worksite. They have their own diesel dumps so don't need to know about petrol. They didn't tell me which roads I wasn't "allowed" on, just interesting facts like there wasn't petrol for 600km (the next fillup point was 40km away and had been there for years). There were "no entry" signs on some sections but like most roadsigns in Russia they refer to an imaginary concept only.
The signs I saw said something about 2003 completion...while this might be ambitious there are a LOT of people out there working on it and some sections are ready to be paved now, so not sure how long it will stay dirt anyway...