6/5/2004, evening number 40 of this adventure and we have had days of unending drama. Let's consider tires. We all left Shanghai with new "shoes" and things started to happen very quickly. Warren Broomfield, (Albany, NY on a new R1150 Adventure) started the flat parade in Jinan, China. Then Hans Muellers' (Saddle River, NJ on an R1150GS) picked up a small bolt, (no sharp point) that drove it's way through the tread. Not to be outdone, our co-leader Mike Paull, (Seattle, WA and riding an R1150GS) flatted out and picked up a used tire in Krasnoyarsk. Bob Love, (San Francisco on a 1992 R100GS) had one fixed with a plug and then our fearless leader Helge Pedersen, (Seattle, WA on an R1150GS Adventure) rounded out the flats, -up until today. Incidentally, all flats have been on the rear. When we started the tire change exercise, all of the new rear tires were tubeless but a nasty glitch supplied some of us with tube fronts. I did not change mine but looking at today, 6/8/04 I must cave in and mount a new front tube tire --  with a tube
             We are all now with 6,000 miles behind us and this two-day stop in Ekaterinburg is our tire change weekend. New "skins" were sent here by prearrangement from Moscow. We are in one of the nicest hotels of the trip, - The Transhotel and it backs up to the British and American Consulate. Our machines are safely in the Consulate garage and well guarded. Tomorrow we change many tires!
             Tires have not been the only thorns of the trip. We have spent hours on roads that are badly pot-holed or gravel/dirt/mud or under contruction/repair or all of the aforementioned. Shock absorbers, saddlebags and anything else that is attached to the motorcycle wants to shake loose and/or destroy itself. Rear shocks have been the worst problem. And the strange part is that it has not been the OEM shocks, (original equipment manufacturers) components that have given us all fits.
             Pavel Chrobok, (F650 BMW TourATech) had the first aftermarket shock to go when a Works Performance shock setup for his machine ate the O rings and ceased to function. His machine spent almost a week in the van moving along with us waiting for a shock Fed-Exed from the USA. It arrived two days ago and Pavel, (Canadian but living in the USA) is now back in the saddle. Hans Muellers' rear Ohlins next destroyed itself and he replaced it with his old standard BMW unit that he had the good sense to bring along. Bob Love then had his rear Ohlins try to disassemble itself but he has made some temporary silicone repairs to keep going. Finally our co-organizer, Mike Paull lost all of the damping function of his Ohlins and is pogosticking down the road waiting for a replacement part. This is the third loss of an Ohlins for Mike and he is not a happy Cossack. In all fairness we have subjected our equipment to some extremely severe road miles but these aftermarket parts are advertised to perform in the very severe situations that we have encountered and they are not holding up.
             Saddle bag or box mounts are also coming loose. Both the TourATech and Jesse mounts have failed with broken attachment cams and attachments. Personally my right Jesse top attachment failed about 4 weeks ago and today, 6/7/'04 the left side fractured. Both are now securely bolted into place. The TourATech and other aluminum bag models are not doing well as it does not take much of a drop to dislodge a bag and as it bounces around, it does not keep it's beautiful form. A few of the group are becoming aluminum blacksmiths. A lost cover on Bud Lahitte's aluminum bag was a real challenge and at the Irkutsk oil change garage one of the mechanics fabricated a new cover from a sheet of steel, latches and all. It doesn't win any beauty contests but it works!
             Our worst day from a mechanical failure standpoint was going from Tulunn to Krasnoyarsk. The road was a long series of potholes, mud, loose sand, broken pavement where the road was paved and the worst, - DUST to the point where you could not see 20 feet in front of you while traveling with trucks, busses, cars and the rest of the Cossacks. My riding buddy Hans met a miserable deep hole of loose sand while in one of the dust storms and dropped his mount. No pain but a need to repair the bag mounts. Everybody had something shake loose but the worst toll was with the aftermarket shocks, the damage was probably a total of $ 4,000.00 and the worst part of the whole thing is limping along and waiting for FedExed parts to catch up. Now I hear you muttering, "why don't you go slower" and it just goes to show that you just don't understand. In truth we all loved it! It's part of the challenge.
             Krasnoyarsk was an enjoyable town populated by handsome people, fair skinned, blonde and tall. The same can be said for Novosibirsk,(New Siberia) and it must have something to do with the genes of all the people who were forced to move east to occupy and settle the territory, (in 1900 23 % of the population were exiled convicts and politicos).  
             The city is located on the mighty Yenesei River which marks the boundry between east and west Siberia. There are two massive hydroelectric power stations there and some of the power is used to produce aluminum, of interest to me as you might imagine. Anton Chekov was an admirerer of the Yenesei are and in 1890 stated "without wishing to offend the jealous admirers of the Volga, I have not seen in my life a river more beautiful than the Yenisei....the Yenisei is a powerful thundering Hercules"
            Slowly but absolutely, as we travel west, we see many changes. There is more evidence of  prosperity (albeit on a very basic level) in Novosibirsk and Krasnoyarsk than in Irkutsk and Ulan Ude. In almost every large and small town there are empty concrete shells, once apartment houses or factories that were supported by Moscow during the CCCP years that are now empty. The people that once lived in government housing and worked in an industry or agriculture or mining have since moved back into small houses and have reverted to subsistence farming. There are relics of failed central planning everywhere if you observe carefully. Beautiful eighteenth and nineteenth century buildings abound in the Irkutsks and other similar cities but most are in need of repair and maintenance and are not getting it.
             There are more new cars, (European cars) in Western Russia. Old Ladas keep the Eastern section moving and the true and basic prime people mover is the bus system, busses everywhere. There are also rail streetcar systems in some cities. And a superb rail system still moves people and goods all over the country. Gasoline prices are also dropping as we go East.  92 octane is now  $ 1.57 US, cheaper than the USA.
             And, have I mentioned that 50% of all Russia consists of permafrost earth?

Enough for now...  xoxoxo norm

Back to the Beginning of Norm's Adventure

1st Journal Entry - Beijing China
2nd Journal Entry - Shenyang China
3rd Journal Entry - Towards Russia
4th Journal Entry - In Siberia Russia
5th Journal Entry - Continues through Russia
6th Journal Entry - Marches on through Russia
7th Journal Entry - The Great Potato Field of Russia
8th Journal Entry - Russia Final (next Poland)
9th Journal Entry - Motorcycle Accident in Russia
10th Journal Entry - The Crimea - Ukraine
11th Journal Entry - We have Crossed the Finish Line
12th Journal Entry - Update on injuries
13th Journal Entry - Poland, Czech Rep.
14th Journal Entry - Returning Home