Sibirsky Extreme 2012 - The Toughest Ride of Them All

Here is the bike you want:



Custom built just for this --> the Weber Rally Twin.

And only $68000. . Oh...my aching sides. Order me two!!


Taxi!!

You just need a better sponsor! LOL

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I wonder how much the Beamster and Purtser have invested in their rides. From what I'm reading their bikes appear to be trouble free.... And the Beamsters smile?, well, it's as genuine as the local hospitality. Which money can’t buy.
Thanks for sharing the humanistic side of this trip..

it's all about recognizing danger, accepting the risks and mitigating them appropriately. I've tried glacier climbing, backcountry skiing, scuba, rally driving, cycling and motorcycling at times in my past. had fun at all of them and continue to enjoy several.

As was said earlier, this isn't a solo adventure. I'd do this trip in a minute with the right group given proper time and funding. Walter, Terry, Rod, Prutser and Beamster are doing it proud.

Excellent job on relating your adventures. Thank you!

Only on page 104,
Great RR Walter as normal.
I did a little write up on using google earth to plot out gps tracks a few years ago. (in my sig but needs a little updating)
Its in the GPS thread someplace.
Unless they've fixed it, gpsbabel does not handle .kmz files (*compressed google earth format) Just save it as .kml and it will convert straight to garmins gdb format.

I've been using a Lowrance gps units for years, though with the discontinuation of the Ifinders, and XOg they are rubbish now.
But they had 10k tracks for years and it would drive my garmin friends crazy cause they woulds have cut down the tracks to less detail to load them.

The Montana is the only Garmin gps I have seen that would truly replace my old XOG's.

It looks like its easy to read in bright light too.

I'm so envious of your treks across expanses like this.

This post is dead on in my opinion of what is going on the Mongolia.

Among the many other reasons we chose to do our trip to Mongolia this year, it was the amount of rapid change happening in the area that motivated us most. Our good friend has been in U.B. for the past 2 years hanging with his wife who works for a major mining company. Just in the 2 years he has been there he has seen major change happening. We almost went the year before but our vacation time was scheduled for late Sept./early Oct. It would have been just to cold at time to cover the terrain we wanted to see. When discussing the trip with our buddy in U.B. He basically said "If you are coming to Mongolia? You need to come now!" things are just changing so fast you don't want to wait..



PS. The luxury cars driving the streets of U.B. is just mind blowing.. You have people living in tents in town and others driving a Maserati. Where does it go from here?

Ok...so I read this and closed my eyes and could picture it as if I was there.........Thanks P!! Awesome job!!!

Their bikes did 6000 km off road, not 18,000 km off road.

All bikes were trouble free after 6000 km, apart from the KTM. My point was that 10,000 km off road seemed to be a bit of a wall.

Prutsers bike was rebuilt from the ground up for the trip, with top quality forks and shock. Engine complete rebuild. Subframe altered. Custom alloy tank fitted. Expensive after market seat, Rizoma handlebars, Excel rims, gearbox had aftermarket gear ratios fitted. The final drive altered, custom bashplate. He did most of the work himself, but the value of the work he put into it is probably in 5 figures.

Beamsters bike too was far from stock, and had the advantage of being near new when we started the trip.

We invested in the same sort of things as Walter.
Most parts for Beamster's bike could be bought, things like the X-tank, bash plate, case saver, the stronger rims....and a lots more small stuff.
For the Airhead its a bit more difficult to find those things. So I had to make most of the parts my self.
That was very time consuming. I spent 6 months preparing both bikes, which did pay off as they were both trouble free.

The list of things we would like to improve for future trips is very short.
Beamster's bike : fork improvement (Because the damping system could be so much better)
My airhead : The air intake must be a lot higher to deal with the deep river crossings.
And I'm working on a lockable tool tube and a higher gps mount.

Other than those things the bikes were doing great.

So long?
How did you manage that with your work?
Ow wait...

Right on Walter any disscusion about this bikes abilities not being up to the task is just bullshit. One suggestion on your groups next trip is for you to install a top box that can hold some ice to keep Rod and Terry's martni ingrediants chilled for their truck rides when they come up!

Hi Hardwaregrrl. Thanks for asking. I managed but I didn't stand on the foot pegs as much as before.
And my foot still hurts but the collarbone I broke a few weeks later gave me something else to think about...

Hi Packer. She just wasn't that tall I'm only 175 centimeters.

The biggest thing that speaks to the longevity and the issues Walter was having with his bike was his reference to aircraft and the useable lifespan of the airframe. They can only take so much flexing, before it's time to retire them for safety reasons.

I'd bet that if he'd been able to magnaflux a new X frame and parts, then do his bike before this ride, the results would have forecast the issues like his subframe. But who has the cash to get that done on a bike? I'd love to see the data, but be damned if I could afford to do it.

NDT is expensive, and only used when safety/cost concerns are high enough. Wish it weren't so, but...

OH no,.....i,m watching you......

Thanks for the thoughtful replies Walter and Rod. I wasn't at all trying to say that your particular bikes are not up to the task.
Quite the contrary.

Anyhow, the fact that I have followed every post in this report means I am in awe of your work. Thank you for sharing.

I too have enjoyed reading this thread daily from the beginning. Thank you for the time spent in all aspects.

Comment about the social aspect of getting along:
I would just like to say how good an attitude everyone had on this trip, and even now discussing this trip. It's hard to get a group of folks together, that can get-along for that many days over that type of stress daily. I'm not sure how you did it. There are so many "trying" situations. Language barriers, gender styles, wet bodies, stinking bodies, hungry bodies, cold, hot, bathroom situations, choices of where/when to stop, the list is absolutely endless. Y'all are to be commended. Great job, great time, great example of sharing!

Thank you.

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<o> Hi Purtster. I was sure you had invested in your bike money and time, I just didn't know to what extent</o>
I'm enjoying the adventure and particularly the part where you make time to observe as many wild creatures as you possibly can. Your photographic skills my friend is second to none.
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All of the bikes made it to the other side but these crossings were real time-consuming.
And we had loads more to come



This was another one, Beamster was getting the hang of it and IMHO by now she could call herself an expert



The valley kept showing us loads of moments.




Later we had to take a few steep trails were Beamster came off the bike while trying to do things with her G650 where using a trial bike would have been a far better option.
In this steep climb just before the top there were several huge rocks sticking out of the track.
She made it over the first few, but kinda landed in the wrong place hitting the next big rock which threw her over.
The bike fell right on her foot that was now stuck between the bike and a pointy rock, just as Rod told in post #2294.

Is it just me or does anyone else hit F11 (full screen) and make binoculars out of their hands so they have no peripheral vision other than the image on screen and try to imagine what it would be like to be in these amazing places in real life?

No?

OK, it's just me being a weirdo then...

Don't catch yourself doing it now


Prutser: out of curiosity, what binoculars do you use? Ever since I was a kid I had a love of raptors. I can only imagine the thrill of seeing a wild Saker. I have to make do with the odd Peregrine or occasional very Hobby...

Cheers, Andy