Ivan, our truck driver we met at the Ukrainian border, was constantly asking questions, looking for new words and trying to pronounce words as Janet and I spoke. Inside the cab of his IVECO tractor it was warm and dry and it was almost as if we were old friends talking for the first time after a long absence. Sometimes reality comes as softly as a sunrise and in moments one experiences a kind of gestalt where everything becomes crystal clear and the mind is refreshed. Sometimes it comes with the stopping power of a boxer’s body blow with devastating physical and mental consequences. Jay’s news for me was closer to the latter. We had accumulated $9,000 in cash withdrawals which hit the MasterCard bill all at one time.Kiev, Ukraine

September 25 – November 3

Ivan, our truck driver we met at the Ukrainian border, was constantly asking questions, looking for new words and trying to pronounce words as Janet and I spoke. Inside the cab of his IVECO tractor it was warm and dry and it was almost as if we were old friends talking for the first time after a long absence. We joked and laughed; we learned about each other’s families and lives, we talked about our hopes for the future and plans for tomorrow. We talked about riding motorcycles and he told us about his broken bike and that when he had saved about $100, he could get it fixed and ride again. We had become friends after a very brief encounter at the Ukraine border and a few hours in his truck.

Vladimir had given me the name of a contact at BMW in Kiev and after a series of calls it was decided that Ivan would stop just outside Kiev where we would be met by Svyataslos (I have butchered the pronunciation of his name and now the spelling as well) who would help us get the bike off the truck and find lodging for the night and a garage where we could work on Max.

We pulled up to the appointed place and parked, I got out to smoke and after a few minutes I saw a single headlight approach. A man in full leathers on a Dnepr (the Ukrainian version of the Chang Jiang) pulled up and introduced himself. A few minutes another bike, a Honda sport bike stopped. “I’m Svyat.” We fought to pronounce his name correctly but failed miserably. “OK, you can call me Swat.”

Phone out he made a series of calls and in short order about eight more bikers pulled up on bikes and in a truck and once again, Max was lifted off the back of a truck and safely placed on the ground. I offered beer but all refused “We are here to help a fellow biker, no thanks needed,” and they were gone.

“Follow that truck.” And off we went—against traffic. A left turn and the lights of the main road faded more turns and worsening roads and finally only a badly rutted road filled with deep puddles. The engine finally stopped and I had to be towed. Then I lost my front disk brake and had to use the wet rear brake to keep tension on the towline. Finally, a large double door swung open to reveal a sloping gravel path to a garage—Max’s home for a while. We were at Syiat’s mother’s home, our home for the evening.

Evidentially, Svyat had called his mom and said, “I’m bringing a couple of old bikers home, can you put them up and cook something for them to eat?” The soup was excellent as was the rest of the meal with heavy brown bread and a kind of pancake. We could do nothing to help so it was off to bed with an early morning call to move Max to the BMW service center where genuine Motorrad mechanics could look at Max and determine what was wrong.

The next morning a large truck showed up at the house and took us to the BMW service center, an incredible place with real mechanics, hydraulic lifts and the latest in equipment. I guess this kind of facility is common in the west but because of the years spent in China where workbenches are cleared areas of floor where workers squat to clean/assemble/fix whatever it is they are working on in front of and between their feet it seemed magic.

No matter where we take Max, he always seems to draw attention. Piled high with bags and riding gear from the previous day, technicians, clerks, sales and service people gathered round to take pictures. Alexander Timofeev, the General Director of this BMW facility introduced himself and offered any help he could. Later I found out that this facility serviced the bikes of Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman of The Long Way Round when they passed through the Ukraine. Max was in good hands.

From Moscow to Kiev the shock on the new Earles fork broke, the right carb fouled the plug and we lost power. In Kiev, one of the new brake pads just fell off of the reworked front disk brake and now we found out that the valve clearances were set incorrectly, the wrong plugs were installed and there was a problem with the valves. Then there were problems with the lights. All things we thought were fixed in Moscow.

It was recommended that we take the bike to an independent to have the valves reground. “No.” I was adamant. I had spent enough on this bike; I would go to Germany and get the bike that Vladimir in Moscow had found.

That night we were invited to join a group of Kiev bikers at a local bar for beer and dinner. The contrast of people in attendance was startling. Business men in suits, hard core bikers in leather and Cordura and a wild collection of bikes, Ukrainian to Japanese. We were welcomed to the group with cheers and raised glasses and within minutes large, liter glasses with dark beer were set in front of us.

During the festivities a large man walked into the restaurant and many assembled waved, shook hands and hugged him. His name is Oleg but is known as Chee-ssh. He carried a small paper bag with pictures from his last ride—Ukraine south through Romania and Hungry to Istanbul and through Syria and Jordan returning via ferry from Istanbul to Odessa. Then we met Valeriy Chuykov, general director of MotoDrive magazine whose test rider, Dennis, had interviewed me at the BMW sales facility two days earlier.

There were Vladims, Sergis, and a host of other people with name I couldn’t pronounce and others that I couldn’t hear above the din of the crowd. They all knew we has having a lot of problems with Max, some interested if I was going to sell him others interested because he is so very different.

Saturday morning Oleg and Valeriy showed up at the hotel and all the plans changed. Max was worth maybe $500 in a city where a new Dnepr cost $500. Then there was the problem of selling a bike and the 50% duty that was charged on imported vehicles. Finally it was decided that we would transfer Max to a private garage and make one last effort to get his straightened out before I junked him. I even told this to Max, “This is your last chance, Go or GO!”

Valeriy took me on his Honda TransAlp to BMW where they had finished their work. Outside the service bay, the technicians wished me well and safe journey. Then following Valeriy through the streets of Kiev we went to the garage where Max would be looked at by yet one more mechanic.

Kiev
Kyiv, called by some the greenest capital in all of Europe, sits on the Dnieper River and is the first time we have seen recreation sites on a river or lake since we left China. The city is about 1,500 years old and was founded by three brothers, each of whom built separate fortifications on three separate hills on the right bank of the river. Unfortunately, because Kiev’s location, it has had a troubled past being sacked by local warlords, Mongols, Vikings, Cossacks, Lithuanians, Poles and others.

Kiev is a beautiful city with many parks, memorials and historical structures. But perhaps the most remarkable structures are its churches, cathedrals, and the ruins of ancient castles and fortifications.

Of course, during WWII, Kiev suffered badly under Nazi Germany rule and suffered great damage. But after the war the city was reconstructed and resumed its place as one of the chief Soviet economic and cultural centers. With the fall of the USSR in 1991, Kyiv became the capital of independent Ukraine.

The Decision is Made
Vladimir Tchaykovskiy called me to see how we were doing and a part of that call was to tell me that that he and Heiner (the man with the BMW sidecar in Germany) had spoken. He said that Heiner had told him the bike in question was a 2003 BMW R series bike with only 26,000 km on the odometer. This is a far cry from what I had originally thought.

Janet and I talked about the trip so far, what everybody was silently telling us, that we should go to Europe, probably Germany, where we could get a decent price for Max so we could afford a bike that was a better fit for the Dragin’ Run and my skills. Neither of us really wanted to give up Max but the data was overwhelming. In three and a half months, we had only ridden twelve days and most included some sort of breakdown or serious fault.

It was time for a new bike. That meant I would have to drive west from Kiev through Poland and into Germany but I would do it without Janet. There were two reasons for this. First, I wanted to reduce the weight to lessen the stress on Max and to be able to go a little faster. Second, I can ride for much longer periods without Janet thereby reducing the time on the road.

Last night I caught the weather report and it is getting colder by the day and the first snows have already fallen in Europe and I don’t look forward to freezing or driving in snow.

Janet will take much of the equipment that we are carrying and go to Istanbul on Friday where she can bunk in with Tamara until I get the bike in Stuttgart and ride the 2,000+ km to Istanbul.

The last thing to do was to get our cash reserves replenished. We found a bank and asked for a $2,500 draw on the Wells Fargo Platinum MasterCard Jay, our oldest son had arranged for us—Insufficient funds came the reply, Lets try $2,000—Insufficient funds! How about $1,000—Insufficient funds. Something was wrong; not a big problem except for the fact that we were out of cash. I would call Jay and find out.

Sometimes reality comes as softly as a sunrise and in moments one experiences a kind of gestalt where everything becomes crystal clear and the mind is refreshed. Sometimes it comes with the stopping power of a boxer’s body blow with devastating physical and mental consequences. Jay’s news for me was closer to the latter. We had accumulated $9,000 in cash withdrawals which hit the MasterCard bill all at one time.

I woke about midnight and started to consider our expenditures since the start of the trip:
Beijing hotel – three nights – 300
Erlian Hotel – 16 nights – 200
Truck Max to Beijing - $100
Beijing hotel 5 nights - $500
Zamin Uud Hotel – $200
Trucking costs - $20
Erlian hotel waiting for parts - $65
Train from Zamin Uud to Ulaan Baatar about $600
Gana’s Guest House 30 nights - $360
Trucking Costs in UB - $45
Renew Russian visa - $300
Train to Moscow - $800
Hotel in Moscow – 21 days $1,680 (only hotel we could find with a vacancy)
Trucking costs in Moscow – can’t remember which may be a good thing
Train to Riga, Hotel and new Russian visa - $1,200
Customs - $1,000
Bike repair – MotoHouse - $1,600
Hotel in Kiev - $750
Bike repair at BMW - $180 (thank you BMW)
Bike repair at the private garage - $100
Telephone - $500
Food – Who knows?
Taxi – No idea but substantial

Total expenses to date are about $13,000 or about 65% of our total budget. Add to this the new bike and it means that we are about 140% of budget with 15 months to go. But that has to be OK because we will finish the trip. Later today we get Max back and that is a good thing. Then Saturday, after we get some travel cash I am off to Germany.

“If only…” is an exercise that I rarely engage in but I did that last night. The truth of the matter is that we had virtually no choice in our actions to date. I certainly could not have afforded a new BMW in China; the prices there are just prohibitive. I couldn’t have nor would I have had a Chinese shop attach a sidecar to a new BMW and without a sidecar, Janet and I couldn’t have started the ride.

Once we started there was no turning back. The customs delays in Erlian were unavoidable as was the fact that EMS lost our parts causing a seven day delay. Trying to get Max on the train in Mongolia was a real problem and getting him off the train in Moscow was an even bigger one. The delays, in expensive cities, especially Moscow, were unavoidable.

Another realization is that had I abandoned Max in Mongolia and tried to find a new bike somewhere could have saved us big money. If only I could look into the future. But I can’t so I have to consider where I am and what the next indicated steps are and do what is in front of me and that’s ride.

MotoDrive Magazine, BMW and Oleg
Janet and I have said many times that it is the people we meet on the road and not the scenery that is important. Once again, even in light of massive expenses, having to face my own shortcomings and an incredible set of problems that we have had to face, the people have made it worth it and they need special mention.

First for Svyat and his mom who went so far out of their way to see that we were fed and watered and had a place to sleep until we could get situated.

Next are Alexander Timofeev, the General Director BMW here, and his crew who did a lot more work on Max than I was charged for.

Because of Valeriy, General Director of MotoDrive, his test rider Dennis and Oleg, we were carted from place to place, introduced to the biker community, taken to the right shop for additional repairs and so much more.

Their reason for doing this – “It is Ukrainian tradition.” “You are bikers and we stick together.”

Whatever it is, thanx guys, you saved our asses and we shall forever be grateful.

Now all I have to do is figure out what the next step is…

Jack and Janet
Back On the Road