Tuesday, 29 November 2011

RtW Map - Andy

Here's a rough map knocked up on Bing Maps (thank you Bing)




The pushpins are as follows..
1   Lands End - Cornwall - UK
2   Andy's House - Ivybridge
3   Dover - UK
4   Calais - France
5   Linz - Austria
6   Riscani - Moldova
7   Ekaterinaburg - Russian Federation
8   Tsaagannuur - Mongolia
9   Ulaangom - Mongolia
10 Moron - Mongolia
11 Ulaanbaatar - Mongolian Capital
12 Ereentsay - Mongolian Border to Russia
13 Magadan - Russia
14 Vladivostok - Russia
15 Anchorage - Alaska
16 St Johns - Newfoundland
17 Nev's House - Canmore - Canada

Yamaha XT600E - Andy

This is a picture of my Yam XT600E but I won't be getting it for another week!


Pretty isn't 'she'?

Introduction,

Nevil here. Hello!
So.....Where to start?
I think Andy has pretty much summarised our trip, who we are and what we'll be riding so I'll get straight down to it and start by blogging my bike and the stuff I'm hoping to do to it. Firstly though, you need to meet Twiggy.
Twiggy is a 2004 Suzuki DR650 that i purchased recently with the intention of riding on the trip. Why Twiggy? Because she's a lot skinnier than most of the bikes I've had in the last 20 years :0)


I also own this, much bulkier BMWR1200GSA. In fact I rode it to Inuvik, Canada and Prudhoe Bay, Alaska last year and did around 5000kms of dirt up there on multiple roads.


It really is a lovely bike but it's going to stay in North America where it can be fixed easily if it breaks down. There aren't too many BMW "doctors" where we'll be going.  The simplicity of the DR and also Andy's XT600 make them an attractive choice for crossing Mongolia and Siberia where there aren't too many motorcycle garages. Also they are a LOT lighter and we're not getting any younger (at least our bodies aren't anyway) so when we crash, drop or stall them ...which I'm sure we will, they should be a bit easier to deal with. Oh yes, the parts are a lot cheaper too.
All that said, I'm considering the following for the DR :-
1. Upgrading the stock suspension front & rear. The factory stuff is very soggy and needs to be stiffened up a lot. I am currently looking into Cogent Dynamics rebuilding my rear shock absorber and sending me the DIY kit for my front forks. Remember, we're doing a lot of rough roads on these bikes.
2. Replacing the existing fuel tank with a 6.9 gallon Safari Tank. It's nice to have the range if you need it. Also, you don't have to fill it every time if you're just travelling between towns.
3.Replacing the seat. I'm entertaining the idea of buying the DIY kit from ProCycle USA. It looks fairly comfy and you can fit it to your stock seat pan.
4. Wider foot pegs. Need to be able to stand for a few hours every day and don't want to kill my arches!
5. Small windscreen. The DR doesn't have one but once again, ProCycle sell one that you can attach to the headlamp cowl without too much bother.
6.  Fork brace. I don't want the front end flapping about like a rogue supermarket trolley wheel on gravelly and rocky roads. I think the Happy Trail fork brace will be the one because of its simplicity. I also like the fact that it bolts together and thus can be fixed if I can find a welder.
7. Handle bars. The stock ones are a bit weak. Fortunately my friend Grif came over the other day and gave me a set of Moose racing bars complete with brush guards and....
8. ......A bash plate for the engine (see photo below).

                                      
 Thanks Grif.... I really owe you big time!
9. He also gave me a magnetic oil drain plug too.
10. Heated handlebar grips. I got spoiled having them on the BMW and now can't live without them! I don't like the idea of a heated grip being mounted to a plastic throttle sheath though.
11. Aluminium throttle sheath.
12. Happy trail Pannier kit & rack. I like the Happy Trail product and it faired well on the trip last year on my BMW. The new ones will be a either 71/2 inches wide or 9 inches wide. That depends on how much stuff I intend to carry.
The list I have is almost endless but I really don't want to bore you too much at this point! The items listed above are there for starters so watch this space to see how I get on with buying and fitting.
Priority #1. I need to raise the bike on its suspension though. Somewhere in the last 7 years, someone lowered it by the factory method (upper bolt hole on the rear shock absorber and spacer removal of the front forks) photo below.

Now.....I need to find somewhere to work on the bike because at present I have no garage, live in Canada and it's WINTER! So, if you're in the Canmore area and want to donate a bit of space to a quiet reserved guy who just wants to strip his 650 down and make your premises look like a yard sale then please contact me :)
Please watch this space for more updates.
Also please feel free to offer advice on the bike stuff or critique my blogging style if you want.

Monday, 28 November 2011

The Bikes - Andy

The bikes....


Nev's - 2004 Suzuki DR650
Andy's - 2003 Yamaha XT600E


Both big-bore thumpers that are air-cooled. No radiator problems, no water pump problems, no "water in the oil" problems, no worries.
Both ultra reliable, as they do not produce loads of power but depend on longevity. 
Why Nev on a DR and Andy on an XT....simple...The DR does not meet European emissions so hasn't been imported into the UK since about 1992 making it very difficult to get a good used one. The XT was never imported into Canada so we ride different bikes. 
The tyres are the same size 17" rear and 21" front as 18" tyres are very difficult to find in Russia where we will need to get more.

Sunday, 27 November 2011

Explanations required...

Hi everybody
My name's Andrew E Lander Stow and I'm 59 years old. My brother, Nevil Stow - 48 years old, and I will be going for a little trip in 2013 and this blog is to keep all of you up-to-date with the ideas and preparations we do as we build to our first "StowsAway".
As we will both be blogging to this site we will be signing our blogs so you know which, blithering idiot, is talking.
A bit of background...
In 2010, Nevil rode the Dempster and Dalton Highways on his BMW Warthog. An easy first expedition for him as he is a Naturalised Canadian and lives in Canmore...Canmore is usually white! He has his previous blog here www.mytb.org/nevil 

I Bought Babs (Babushka) and 3 days later it snowed - Yippee!
In 2011, I (Andy) rode from the UK to Ereentsay in Eastern Mongolia and back on a Ural Cross sidecar outfit. I became the first person to ride a sidecar outfit all the way across Mongolia. The website for that adventure is www.joatmoa.com.

Babs in Irbit, Siberia, Russian Federation
At the top of a 7000ft pass on the way to Ulaangom, Mongolia

The large statue of Temujin Borjigin (Chingis Khan)

Babs taking the air at Lake Baikal between Ulan Ude and Irkutsk

Armed guards at a petrol station. Yes, that's a machine gun!