Kunming to Beijing - catching a 5.30am flight out of China, Sep-14th

**euphonius** · 08-17-2011, 12:26 PM

Originally Posted by slabo

do we have an emoticon for riding with a hard-on ? :lol:

Yes:

**slabo** · 08-17-2011, 02:29 PM

riding with viagra .. err... now I can't get that image out of my mind.

But most probably I won't need any pills, one way to beat altitude sickness is gradual ascend instead of flying somewhere. Which is exactly what I'll be doing.

**slabo** · 08-18-2011, 05:41 PM

Originally Posted by humanbeing

Can you tune the carb by urself for those altitude onroad ? IF can't bring a spare (shitty brand is enough) tuned is safer bet.
Also try to meet up "long haul" biker for "tips" in Kunming ASAP via motorfans.com.cn.

Thanks HB, I didn't forget I'll be passing high altitudes, but didn't cross my mind to get an extra carb .. I'll be at +4000m for about 500km ..

I'm not sure what size needle, pilots, mains... I'm confused. Can you also write the Chinese equivalent please.. A good mechanic should know, but I'd appreciate your input also.

**humanbeing** · 08-18-2011, 10:32 PM

Originally Posted by slabo

I'm not sure what size needle, pilots, mains... I'm confused. Can you also write the Chinese equivalent please.. A good mechanic should know, but I'd appreciate your input also.

Just told for (上高原用) high altitude use . smaller jet/ as Lean as possible when buying new parts in Kunming or visit ANY mechanic in 3000+ m that already knows the quick trick: placing copper wire(s) in jet

**slabo** · 08-19-2011, 11:36 AM

I'm screwed .. Started noticing the bike is slipping from 2nd to neutral quiet often. After some time trying to explain my problem, and after insisting he opens the left side cover, all the time he keeps insisting .. no problem here, no problem... we finally understand each other .. actually he needs to open the right side to check.
I call him a wrench monkey, but he's the best I could find around Kunming. If I don't trust him, who else can I trust around here. I wanted to change the engine when I come back to Beijing next year. .. oh well.. I should get the bike back tomorrow, but I'm not sure they'll get everything right from day1 on a job like this. For good measure, I asked them to change the bearings as well, I'm starting to feel the rear end wobble slightly at speeds +60km/h

Screwed .. I don't know how many washers and nuts will turn out to be extras .. mei wenti .. mei wentii ...

**slabo** · 08-26-2011, 06:44 AM

Thanks to these guys that I called wrench monkeys, the bike is running strong upto now. No problems that I could think of. The main light bulb burnt out first night, even though I just changed it a week before I left Kunming. I suppose it's because of the good wash they gave it after they rebuilt the engine.

I have to put in a good word for these guys. Over two days, they rebuilt the engine, changed the faulty 2nd gear, cleaned the carburetor(i'm surprised it was that clean) serviced the bearing in the rear wheel, I was feeling a bit of a wobble at high speed, cleaned the chain, gave the bike a good clean, looked brand new for the first 50km after that ..

Really, I can't find enough words to thank these guys. Car mechanics work on a piece of equipment that you use passively, while you listen to music, drink coffee, or whatever it is people do while driving to take their mind of the boredom of being stuck in traffic. Motorcycle mechanics are a different breed. They have to put up with a fussy bunch like us, and we're all fussy and passionate about our bikes. You go them to tell them how you 'feel' on the bike, as opposed to a car to the service station for an oil change or calling them when you break down. Well these guys put up with me for a whole 6 hours while they worked on the bike, asking questinos and poking around..

On the other hand, if my engine explodes and burns me in the saddle, you know how to avenge me.

**slabo** · 08-26-2011, 07:21 AM

Right now in Zhongdian, or recently renamed Shangrilla. I'm suffering a acute altitude sickness.. i keep forgetting what I'm doing.. where are my keys, oh, right, in my hands ..
I can't stay long here.. have to get going. Here's a teaser for you>>

**euphonius** · 08-26-2011, 07:45 AM

Dear Slabo,

Thanks for the update! Fantastic you've already reached Zhongdian! Did you connect with Kevin Skalsky there? He runs Turtle Mountain Gear.

So happy to know you put some work into the bike before leaving on such an ambitious ride. Does the engine feel better, apart from the 2nd gear no longer slipping? Better power? Did you use a bore kit for a bit more displacement and ooomph?

Thanks for the picture. Great strategy for not losing your sleeping bag (again) -- lash it to your handlebars! Sweet!

Really admire your gumption to make this really long ride as your first long ride, and impressed that you already have surmounted some mighty high mountains. Take it easy with the altitude sickness. Lots of water, don't over-exert.

Stay in touch!

**slabo** · 08-26-2011, 02:34 PM

Originally Posted by euphonius

Dear Slabo,

Thanks for the update! Fantastic you've already reached Zhongdian! Did you connect with Kevin Skalsky there? He runs Turtle Mountain Gear.

So happy to know you put some work into the bike before leaving on such an ambitious ride. Does the engine feel better, apart from the 2nd gear no longer slipping? Better power? Did you use a bore kit for a bit more displacement and ooomph?

Thanks for the picture. Great strategy for not losing your sleeping bag (again) -- lash it to your handlebars! Sweet!

Really admire your gumption to make this really long ride as your first long ride, and impressed that you already have surmounted some mighty high mountains. Take it easy with the altitude sickness. Lots of water, don't over-exert.

Stay in touch!

The photo above is taken off a cliff on the way to tiger leaping gorge. I have more pics but can't upload thru gprs. I didn't go all the way, as I thought just passing through a place like this is not enough, especially since it was almost dark. Again, i wish I took andre's advice. Well, the sign cheated me into thinking it's just a 20km ride.. but that was to the entrance only..
I'll be writing reminders and tidbit updates in this thread when I have a proper internet connection I'll start proper RR..

In Lijiang I had to send back the toolkit back to Kunming. It only weighed ~3kg but the weight was concentrated at one point and it was givign me trouble keeping the bike balanced. Also not stable with the kickstand. I dropped the bike on my leg two nights ago as I was looking around Lijiang for a place to sleep. I wish I took Andre's advice and stayed out of that town, just a waste of time getting there and out.. maybe it would be more interesting if I didn't roll in at 10pm.

I had no idea about Kevin Skalsky. Where is this Turtle mountain gear? I could sure use a local's help now. I lost a day around Zhongdian, figuring out how to get in and then finding a motorcycle mechanic and getting out. I wish I knew someone here to help me out, but I now I'm fine. Fixed the carburetor and the bike runs just as well as it did in Kunming. Simple fix like Humanbeing said, they put a piece of thin copper wire, as thin as a thread, into the whatchamacallit part of the carb. Bike feels great! Finished with the mechanic at 6.30, it was raining, spent 30 minutes putting on my full rain gear only to ride in the opposite direction of the storm! Anyway, the day is lost and I'm about 40km out of Zhongdian, but I think I have to double back as I'm on the wrong road going north-west instead of north-east..
As for navigation, I couldn't find a proper GPS device in Kunming, and I didn't spend enough time looking. With my phone I can only check where I am, but cannot get navigation directions. For some reason, my android device is missing google maps! Oruxmaps is iffy because I can't figure out what levels to download and ... it hurts to think about all of that.. I'm find once I get out of towns, then the ride of 100~200 km to the next checkpoint is too easy.. actually most of the time there's only one road between these towns, so not easy to get lost. If only I could figure out how to get in and out..

I think I'm a bit north of point A.. arrrggg http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Ch...sz=8&via=1&z=8

**Pat** · 08-27-2011, 01:42 AM

Glad to hear the bike is holding up - all that work in Kunming is paying off. And glad you're looking at that northern route - the road up to Litang is spectacular. Sorry to hear you're suffering a bit of altitude sickness - be safe, stay hydrated and breathe deep!

I wanted to add a quick story from before you left:

The day before he left for the trip (or, what ended up being two days before, as Slabo scrambed to get ready), we rode out to a nearby market to stock up on gear. It was a shop he'd been to several times before, and everyone in the shop knew him. After sorting through their stuff, he decided on a helmet, jacket, leg guards, plastic rain covers for his boots, a bungee and an antenna (normally used to fly a flag - he planned to use it to try his clothes in the wind after washing).

When it was time to pay, the shopkeeper brought out the calculator and punched in a number. To open the negotiations, Slabo told her "I buy a lot of stuff here, give me a better price!" The shopkeeper was stubborn and wouldn't budge on the price: this was already their best price, they couldn't go any cheaper.

Unfazed, Slabo proceeded to go *behind* the counter, get on their computer, and look up prices on Taobao! He even made the shopkeeper read the model number of the helmet and jacket to him so he could look them up! The shopkeeper had no idea what to make of it. As he searched Taobao, he told me "You can't talk to them too much, it's useless. Just give them the price and that's it." He found the items, showed the shopkeeper, and proceeded to write down what he was willing to pay for each item. They went back and forth a bit, and he finally got his price.

I'm quite sure the shopkeepers there had never seen anything like it - I certainly hadn't!