RR from Zhejiang to Poland
Hi everyone,
Few months ago Ive left my sweet, sweet home in China to ride to my sweet, sweet home in Poland. I did have a prep thread here on mcm and all the info was great.
I didnt manage to ride all the way to Poland as my entire fuel system got clogged up in Georgia. I just needed parts to fix it but after analyzing the cost, time and other factors I decided it will be better to leave the bike behind. I tried to sell it with no luck as there are not many bikes in Georgia so the market is thin. Im actually still struggling with that bike there but anyway....
My route took me from Zhejiang to Yunnan and Sichuan and on to Xinjiang, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia.
In Sichuan I joined with another MCMer and we rode a couple of weeks together before we decided to go our separate ways.
Im not good at writing and Im hungry at the moment so going to keep it short.
Here are few pictures from the trip. Hope you guys enjoy
China
http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/...psofrfewd7.jpg
http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/...psfcv0zpn4.jpg
http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/...psynunt2pi.jpg
http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/...psuzu4otg2.jpg
http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/...psyo1hqysw.jpg
http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/...pso8bc6piw.jpg
http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/...pst6bio2fk.jpg
http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/...psgbtrs7hf.jpg
http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/...psiv3qieb3.jpg
http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/...ps22u5lapf.jpg
http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/...psdnkr72ax.jpg
http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/...psrfbqq0vz.jpg
http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3kn93pji.jpg
http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/...psrnimpsbk.jpg
http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/...pseyzg01ac.jpg
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http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0j2ksokv.jpg
http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/...pszzawiwkx.jpg
Re: RR from Zhejiang to Poland
Re: RR from Zhejiang to Poland
Yes that's a shame.
Did you get out of China ok without a ATA?
Yes I made it ok out and into 26 country's all over the EU and some none EU..
Made it to your country as well Poland very nice like Krakow very very nice city had a big service done there good guys at the garage.
Made it back to China 1 weeks ago with over 45.000km clocked up with the bike still running like new.
Sorry to hear about you trip .
As you know my route was bayway off Russia then into Finland .
Love the pictures I have over 6000 to post here at some time.
Yes lads I will post but I need to be on my PC you just can't do a good thread from a phone ?
Re: RR from Zhejiang to Poland
WOW! STUNNING! :clap:
It's nice to see someone actually making a ride report on MCM. Even better, you linked your photos to a real server so we see full size images from your ride.
I can't get over the conditions of some of those roads you were on, :eek2: I'd have second thoughts about taking my WR450 into places like that and you did it fully loaded with gear :crazy:
Thanks for sharing.
Re: RR from Zhejiang to Poland
ChinaV ....
You forgot to say the most amazing part was the fact he done the ride alone?????.
To ride to places like these is one thing with other.
To ride to places like these alone that is truly amazing. 10 out 10.
But once again a Chinese lemon bike has let the side down?
Bike 2 out 10
Re: RR from Zhejiang to Poland
AMAZING pictures! Thanks for sharing! :thumbsup:
Re: RR from Zhejiang to Poland
Thanks!
Road conditions were mostly not bad with few exceptions and the Pamirs were not it. In Kyrgyzstan Ive spent some time in Osh with a Swiss mechanic, he has a bike workshop/bike travel agency/bike winter storage and there were many riders who came down from the Pamirs. They said Ill die there on my wee road bike. Said I was delusional or brave or stupid. Said their BMWs and KTMs have barely made it through. Said there are nights with temperature around -20. I was shitting my pants at the sound of the word Pamir.
Got there and it was pleasant. Roads were dirt but ok, no major river crossings, nights were cold but not freezing, all good. I guess all these people add a bit of imaginary difficulty to the road to give themselves more credit for completing it.
My YBR was great and had no problems until that fuel system issue. I did put some weird stuff there tho. In Uzbekistan I was told I could fill up before a desert ride in one particular city. It was supposed to be good quality petrol. when I got there I had only about 50km left in my tank. All the petrol stations were empty and after 2h Ive found a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who sells some petrol. Ive filled my bike and went across the desert. I think it was kerosene or something. The bike went mad. Stalling, spitting, overheating. I got rid of that shit the first chance i got but it wasnt soon enough and the damage was done already I think. Should have gone back 120k to get better grade fuel, but hey.....what if, what if
So the Chinese lemon bike is not all to blame ;)
p.s.
Prince waiting for your RR and pics ;)
Re: RR from Zhejiang to Poland
Modron,
Outstanding pictures and an even more outstanding ride. I salute you!
Re: RR from Zhejiang to Poland
Plugged fuel system just basic syndrome of shitty fuel. http://www.motorfans.com.cn/thread-17001129-1-1.html Stunted rings/ Valves bent ... also possible.
Re: RR from Zhejiang to Poland
Dont know what really happened there but it looked like clogged EFI. From 3l/100km it went down to 2l and it kept on struggling. when clutch pulled a little it was better, didnt have enough power to pull but still starts (with difficulty tho)
Re: RR from Zhejiang to Poland
Yamaha are only part lemon :riding:
Benelli are full lemons.
When we spoke about each other rides back to the EU and you told me about the route you was taking that was my main worrie was getting good petrol that why our group decided on the Russia route.
But saying that looking at your pictures I would consider that way next time, but only on the correct ADV bike and loads of extra petrol.
Will you be trying again next year and was you not surposed to meet you farther in Turkey.
P.s Have a great report lined up and with a good insight into doing trip like this with over 6000 pictures at hand and over 6 TB off videos.
But as I said the other day I need to be on my PC at home to complete the RR and I am sorry to say I am in Sichuan just now waiting to start round 2 .
Then after this I will be back in Shandong to do the RR .
In the mean time everyone including me are excited to read more about your Ride.
Re: RR from Zhejiang to Poland
On my ride into Russia 80 octane is still being sold ? And I would imagine the Stans country's get there petrol from Russia.
The 2 guys was that not the Monkeykings RR
www.monkeyking.jimdo.com
Re: RR from Zhejiang to Poland
Back in 2010 we had a discussion about bad fuel in China...
http://www.mychinamoto.com/forums/sh...s-likely/page2
I recommend carrying the internal fuel filters for your EFI system if you're headed out on a major trip. It won't help with poorly blended fuel mixes, but it's great insurance against destroying your fuel pump in questionable areas.
Re: RR from Zhejiang to Poland
Quote:
Originally Posted by
ChinaV
...It won't help with poorly blended fuel mixes...
Bring some octane booster ahead... If can't find the proper stuff, somthing like http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=43469630240 (It's refined naphthalene NoT the modern formula mothballs) is good enough
Re: RR from Zhejiang to Poland
Would be nice if Yamaha offered one of these for the YBR. I have one for my KTM1190.
http://www.contactdi.com/2016/dongle.jpg
Re: RR from Zhejiang to Poland
That dongle sounds very interesting bit of kit ...
Re: RR from Zhejiang to Poland
Quote:
Originally Posted by
prince666
That dongle sounds very interesting bit of kit ...
I didn't buy it for bad fuel. It's main feature is disabling the built in lawyer that KTM had to put on the bike. The 1190 has ABS & Traction Control which you can manually turn off. The lawyers at KTM decided that consumers are too stupid to remember to turn it back on, so every time you stop the bike and turn the key off, the ABS and Traction Control go back to the default "On" setting. This is a real pain in the ass when you're doing a full day of riding offroad with frequent stops. The Bad Fuel Dongle saves the ABS & Traction Control settings between stops.
I'm willing to bet a person with a little electronics insight could easily duplicate the fuel mapping feature for any EFI bike. There can't be more than 8 bucks worth of materials to make one.
Re: RR from Zhejiang to Poland
Just take one into your local Chinese copy shop and I am sure there could copy it ok .
But the down side it won't work and I will need to stat one more lemon thread.
Re: RR from Zhejiang to Poland
Modron,
Thanks for sharing the photos. I'm very envious. That's the ride of a lifetime in my opinion. I hope I'll be able to do a similar ride some day.
Cheers,
Dan K.
Re: RR from Zhejiang to Poland
I realise that I am late to this but there are some incredible vistas in there! well done!
