Sibirsky Extreme 2012 - The Toughest Ride of Them All

Yup, can't wait to read about part two.

Thank you one and all that are contributing to this thread but of course most importantly Walter! It is not easy to document a trip to the level that y'all are and then to come back and post it for the peanut gallery is GRAND.

There are not enough thanks.

As much as I would enjoy seeing the beautiful country that you are traveling through I don't see it happening except through the eyes and stories of adventurers other than myself.

Thank you for the journey.

Now that the world is lightening up on me economically, I need to get your book and DVD for your 2009 trip and stash some moola back for this one.

I've been enjoying going to Google Earth and trying to trace your route based on the squiggles that you have posted. It is not easy and I cannot imagine how hard it was to make the route in the first place.

I also need to get a Montana as that sounds like the way to go as far as a GPS. My 72CS is long in the tooth although it still works.

Thanks again!

And secondly, an OSCO. Whats an OSCO you ask? A One Second Chain Oiler .... Its a dutch chain oiling system that operates by hand, and lubes the chain for about 10 seconds. This was great for the type of riding we were doing, cause we would ride all day in the dust, then just before evening, as we are pulling into town, we could ride for a few hundred yards on asphalt and operate the Osco ... which would lube the chain, and most of the excess would drop off harmlessly overnight ... leaving just the joints nicely lubed.

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Great RR, enjoying it from start to... well here :)

One quick question regarding the OSCO, what sort of lube were you using?

The OSCO has a special oil ... but cause Prutser and Beemster arrived with just hand luggage, they couldnt bring any ... I shopped around for some chainsaw oil but couldnt find any in Astana (its the steppe .. what would anyone need a chainsaw for there), so ended up using what I had on me .... Motul glow in the dark 300V 15w50 engine oil

When I was using a Lubeman on my KLR , I used ATF . An old zip tie broke and the chain ate the application end. Never did fix it and put it back on. Made quite a mess when Using it on dusty roads. Never though of just giving the chain a few squirts on sealed roads on the way back home.
Phase two >

"The OSCO has a special oil ... but cause Prutser and Beemster arrived with just hand luggage, they couldnt bring any ... I shopped around for some chainsaw oil but couldnt find any in Astana (its the steppe .. what would anyone need a chainsaw for there), so ended up using what I had on me .... Motul glow in the dark 300V 15w50 engine oil"

Well, I use ATF as well. Any concerns what negative effect engine oil or in fact ATF might possibly have on O-rings?

I understood that you carry a dedicated charger for Shoray batery but if it's dead, isn't it posible to start the bike with some power cables and then let the alternator do the job ?

Why do you carry 15 W 50 ? Did you shifh form the standard 10 W 40 to 15W50 ? If yes why ?

Your report is awesome like always.

No it isnt. Cy can give more detail. But if a lithium iron phosphate battery gets below about 10 volts at any stage it's not possible to recharge it properly using the alternator. It will only take a tiny charge unless it is properly restored using a special charger and cell balancer

Mine went down to 6 volts after an 'incident'

Cause it was hot

Since the subject of oil is at hand...How did the Oil Cooler work?

Gearbox OIL 90W

"...
Any kind
Of lube will do
Maybe from another
Part of you
From the north
From the south
Take a little slobber
From the side of
Your mouth

Roll it over
Grease it down
Here come that crazy
Screamin' sound..."

Frank Zappa, Keep It Greasy

Auto transmissions are full of O ring seals and they get on just fine. Transmissions run a lot hotter than chains, too.
There have been auto trans that ran engine oil, such as the original BMC Mini Auto frinstance, (not the VW based things) and they worked ok too.

you ever tried getting 90w through a small tube?

Actually it works fine. That's what I use.

Now back to the ride report.....

Likely the reason for the similarities between the Michelin and Mitas is that they are made in the same factory...

I'm a big fan of the EO 9 rear, especially now that I can get them in a 140/80 x 18 size...

I've got to agree with your observation of lack of aggression on the T 63/EO- 9 front tire: I also found the tread depth too shallow for my liking and the low profile of the tire give a higher risk of pinch flats and dented rims... I won't run these up front anymore ...

This thread is top shelf, keep it coming...

How did the Oil Cooler work?[/QUOTE]

The oil cooler worked very well, giving us extra oil capacity whilst helping to keep the oil cool as well.

Stephen shefellmeire is in the process of fine tuning them for the market.

The oil cooler worked very well, giving us extra oil capacity whilst helping to keep the oil cool as well.[/QUOTE]

Was it instrumented for performance understanding?

For such roads we now use Mitas C02 and C05. For heavy motorcycles of anything more aggressive doesn't exist. BMW GS800 has about 10000 km with them.

So did mine.
Charged with a common electronic tender, came to a steady 13.35v meaning about 90% capacity.
Started a K12 very easily several times. Hope she might come back from a possible dead situation and be ready for a few years service.







In the growing process of migration to the new technology, might serve someone the way I adapted mine.
In this photo is missing another plus. On the front pannel was fitted a "loudspeaker box pressure connector" for GPS and other fused low amp's aplications. There's plenty of room.



Colebatch,
Your rides and reports are most appreciated. A great source of information, entertainment and dream feeding, they are.
Many thanks to you and the gang.