Sibirsky Extreme 2012 - The Toughest Ride of Them All

[EtronX]

Originally Posted by kiidrockk

Second question is to XC pilots: why did you choose the KTM rally fairing over the touratech one and do you think the XL x-tank is needed for rideing in russia?

The Xtank that Erik Bok at HotRod Welding makes is a must for the XC. Without it you only have 10 liters of fuel.

As for the Rally Fairing, Erik has that one to. As Walter mentioned, it makes life more comfortable when doing long stretches.

Both Erik's and my bike has saddles from Rayz. Same has Walter. Ray lives a few clicks north of Erik Bok. From the standard saddle, which is like a 2X4 clothed with some plastic, to Rays is an universe apart. On the transport stretch from Norway to Krasnoyarsk Erik and I regularly did between 800 and 1.000 km per day. Not possible with the standard saddle. Unless you are heavily into S&M

From Scheffelmeier Metall we ordered some protection equipment. Aluminum Bash Plate, Stainless Steel Wheel Spacers, Front Sprocket Case Saver. Remember to bring extra brake pads. When on dirt road and rain they can be worn out in a day.

[stemic01]

The Xchallenge need the extra fuel capacity and from my opinion it is a must for adventure riding. I have the HotRod tank on my Xchallenge and am happy with it. Whatevery you do - the 9litre stock tank is just too small unless you have a following car with fuel and supplies :)

Other: Renanzco seat (Quite nice), Rekluse clutch, Pivot pegs, Touratech protection, Cyccra billet probend guards, Windshield, Adventure spec Magadan softbags, Giant Loop fandangio tankbag, Garmin Zumo 660 GPS unit.

[kiidrockk]

Originally Posted by stemic01

The Xchallenge need the extra fuel capacity and from my opinion it is a must for adventure riding. I have the HotRod tank on my Xchallenge and am happy with it. Whatevery you do - the 9litre stock tank is just too small unless you have a following car with fuel and supplies :)

question I had was: did you have XL x-tanks (9,3l) or the regular (6,5l) ones and is the 9,3l tank overkill for the XC rearframe including luggage.

I have touratech fairing with Infinity projectors and zumo660 on the upper edge- I love this setup.

[Gravel Seeker]

Originally Posted by Colebatch

Terry and Geir were chatting up Ice Cream ladies in the nearby shopping mall.

The Emperor's new ice cream ?

[Blader54]

Steve, I think you're to be applauded for taking on this challenge. You had planned for different roads altogether, a different style of trip, and outfitted accordingly and then this opportunity presented itself. And you joined! And then prepared your gear for this completely different journey! That's the spirit!!! Hope you'll keep chiming in.....Rod, P, and Beemster set a high bar but I'm hoping the biking Vikings can match it!

[Gravel Seeker]

Originally Posted by EtronX

On the transport stretch from Norway to Krasnoyarsk Erik and I regularly did between 800 and 1.000 km per day. Not possible with the standard saddle. Unless you are heavily into S&M

And perhaps with a fondness for the M part more so than the S.....

[YetiGS]

Walter, the video seems to not be working. Could you re-post it?

[EtronX]

Originally Posted by kiidrockk

question I had was: did you have XL x-tanks (9,3l) or the regular (6,5l) ones and is the 9,3l tank overkill for the XC rearframe including luggage.

Yes, we had XL tanks.

No, but you need the steel subframe.

[tee bee]

Steve, theres no need for excuses, you rode your 800gs amazingly well ! , i was quite surprised how tough that bike is.

[Colebatch]

Originally Posted by YetiGS

Walter, the video seems to not be working. Could you re-post it?

[YetiGS]

Thanks! Wouldn't work in IE so I switched over to Chrome.

Nice video! Looking forward to Part 3 of this report, looks like the best is yet to come.

Minus Rod's Scottish humor.

[max384]

When do you expect the DVD to be available Walter?

[Colebatch]

While we set up camp in the evening and listened to the partying Russians nearby, Steve was asking about tyres.

I cant remember what front tyre he had on (might have been a TKC80), but he was looking at the front tyres Terry and I just bought, and was wondering if he would be better off with those.

There were a stack of tyres in Irkutsk at the tyre dealer - I had ordered 5 sets to be there waiting for us. Terry and I had taken a set each, which left 3 front K79s tyres at the dealer.

In the end Steve decided he would go back tomorrow morning and get a new front to fit when we approached the BAM Road. Geir was going to take him first thing in the morning, while Erik, Terry and I would cruise slowly up to Olkhon Island.

Well that was the plan anyway ....

[Colebatch]

Originally Posted by max384

When do you expect the DVD to be available Walter?

Good question. I have just finished my Morocco DVD (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvqgPrPN2x8), so will be able to put more time into this one.

Hopefully May?

[gbtw]

Originally Posted by K88

Now that the Bongo hysteria has died down, I thought y'all might want to learn a bit more about the beast.
Wikipedia.

Sorry to hijack the topic a bit, been reading for a few weeks now now and then when i can spare the time, really enjoy it, BUT i think we must get the bongo truck picture on wikipedia as a typical use for this mighty adventure (hauling) machine!