Just a few teething problems to report... 1) the sidecar wheel nut came off and the wheel stayed on until I got home. It then came half off as I pulled into my drive. It looks like an oversight that the split pin hadn't been fitted! 2) I changed the headlight assy for a UK spec one and fitted the Russian bulb. I then went to my daughter's for Christmas afternoon/evening and when I came out to go home I'd lost dipped beam. I tilted the headlight down to ride home on main beam and managed to get about 3 miles before that packed up. I staggered along the A38 until it got too dark and I rang Kt & Mike (my daughter and husband) and they came out and drove in front of me, at 45mph, to get me the 6 miles home. I took the bulb out and found it totally white with a really small crack at the base of the bulb where the air had got in and oxidised the gas inside causing the elements to fry!
F2 got the new axle nut and washer onto a carrier overnight and I received them on Christmas Eve morning.
The outfit is really oke I think. But if I can and may suggest one thing : Change the seat into something more comfy. Something like Hubert has on his rig or for that matter Jean-Louis has on his. For short trips the original seat is okidoki. But on long hauls........hhhhmmmmmm
Just wondering what you will use to inflate your tyres. There are good electrical airpumps. But the standard handpump does the job also perfectly. At least that is my experience with that thing. I will never forget the look on my wife's face when I took the handpump out of the luggagecompartment to inflate the spare. That was big fun. For she had untill moment not seen such a thing.
Ref the seat. It's actually very comfotable so I'm quite happy with it. This is froma guy that's ridden 887 miles in one go on a narrow leather seat on a pushbike! Perhaps I'm not the one to ask?
As soon as I spotted this adventure in MCN it gripped my attention being a previous owner of several soviet bikes including a cossack ural and dnepr. I sincerely wish you all the very best of british with this personal challenge and hope that you enjoy the experience. Although I didn't venture beyond the borders of old blighty on my outfits I did cover some decent miles on them enjoying every second (Breakdown included). My outfits did tend to provide me with plenty of time fixing silly little things but the good thing about anything made in the former soviet union is the simplicity of repairs. One day the engine started to run a little on the rough side and tickover was erratic, when i returned home and investigated it i took off the timing cover and to my amazement the points plate was just hanging inside the casing, not even near the cam lobe. On another occasion the base nuts an the left hand barrel had all worked loose and before i noticed it the barrel had worked itself further off the studs and the nuts fell completely off. Just the force off my boot wedged in to hold the barrel & head on was enough to get me back. In hindsight there would be a couple of items I really would invest in before you embark on your journey. No 1: Spoke Key and check the tension every morning. Due to tow in of the sidecar there are more forces exerted on the wheels than a solo bike and I was forever rebuilding wheels. No 2: Some U.S Dollars carefully hidden somewhere on the bike. These are like a universal currency which any of the countries you are transitting will take. 3: British cigarettes, everyone from border guards love english fags.
I second the above. A pack of Marlboro got me out of a speeding ticket in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) back in the day. Nasty habit but worth the expenditure. Also agree with the dollars comment, still highly valued currency in the former soviet countries. I remember getting a 10 to 1 exchange rate on dollars as opposed to the official exchange rate of 1 to 1 at the time. I'm talking early 90's here.
When i revisited the place in 2003, found not a lot had changed. Expect long delays at the borders while paperwork is dealt with, be patient and keep your fingers crossed.
