[MINI] Travel in the Urals to Novosibirsk.

After quite a long time, I decided to take charge of myself and write an article about how my friend and I went to Novosibirsk in the Urals) The trip was not an easy one, but at the same time very, very interesting and exciting for us, about what happened to us what happened on the P-254 highway, what difficulties we had to face, what we saw, and where we were, all this is in this article. I would like to make a reservation right away, this article probably does not mean that I will fully return to Moto2 and continue with the same tenacity to write 3 articles a week, no, I have reasons because of which I am unlikely to I’ll come back here in full, but still, this journey is, after all, my friend and I’s story, which I would like to leave somewhere, and I think that Moto2 is the most relevant platform today. Okay, enough of the lyrical digressions, let's go.

In general, like all people, of course, I watch YouTube, I watch many bloggers, among them there are very interesting people, people who, despite everyone and everything, are not afraid, are not afraid to travel on equipment that they made themselves. Using a technique that has been around for decades, these people, with incredible energy within themselves, gave me a direction that I still follow to this day. One of these people is Alexander Shut, aka MotoSancho. I’ve always been amazed by how persistently this guy goes towards his goal, seriously, to drive 15,000 km on our Soviet boxer, from Gomel straight to Lake Baikal, these are strong comrades, and driving with a friend to Novosibirsk, we were convinced of this more than once. It was very interesting for me to watch Sasha’s journey, however, the man not only tells and shows how to make the Urals more reliable, beautiful and functional, but also shares his impressions and experience of how it all works, charges him with incredible energy and the desire to do what -not ordinary, looking at his journey, and drooling at my monitor in the cold winter, a spark jumped inside me, which ignited a fire inside. I told myself, in the summer of 2021 I will also do something similar.

No, I, as an ordinary motorcyclist, of course, did not dare to go to Baikal; my lack of experience in terms of motorcycle travel will not allow me to do this, but a round-trip distance of 700 km, which adds up to 1400 km, is what I need for the first experience.

In general, of course, it is necessary to make a reservation that it was not only YouTube that gave birth to the idea of traveling on a motorcycle with a sidecar, no, watching the video certainly instilled in me most of the desire, but even before YouTube I had my own, inner desire to go somewhere further my home district, I’ve been on two wheels since I was 9 years old, and believe me, after 12 years, I get tired of the same routes, I want to learn something new for myself.

The beginning has been made, but what next? And then I began to think about who to take with me, not to say that I was afraid to go alone, no, my friends who know my nature will say that I’m still that crazy crazy guy, and sometimes such thoughts come into my head, from which would make a normal person’s hair stand on end) I didn’t need the second number for “safety” on the road, the second number was needed, first of all, for communication on the road, and only then for help and other important factors, however, to travel 700 km , at a speed of 72 km/h, that’s another activity) And I, as a person who loves communication, probably couldn’t stand it alone)

Long thoughts began about who to take with me, and then I remembered my friend Sashka. Sashka, like me, is not an ordinary guy, despite his rather young age (17 years old). Sashka, like me, loved to think about unusual things, he was also drawn to beauty, drawn to go somewhere, to think about something, something... then to do, I knew that only he could support such an unusual idea, to travel on a Soviet boxer over such a distance, and yes, I was not even surprised that after I shared the idea with Sashka, he immediately gave the go-ahead. Also, a significant role was played by the fact that at the age of 17, Sashka had not been anywhere in particular, I wanted to show the young boy at least some part of our vast homeland, maybe not the Ural mountains, but still at least something, so that later, after a while, when he is old, he will have something to tell his grandchildren about how my friend and I drove to Novosib in the Urals) This is a story that has the right to exist in our heads. I even covered the main expenses myself, I don’t feel sorry, honestly, in life I adhere to the principle of doing good and helping people, albeit not as a help bureau, but at least somehow. I never stop believing in people, that’s how I was raised. After thinking about it and talking about all the “household” matters, we began to prepare. I won’t write here about how I prepared the motorcycle, there’s enough information there for another article, maybe someday I’ll force myself to write about that too... I hope so. I’d rather tell you about something else, about what we took with us, what we were preparing for, etc.

MotoSancho has covered this issue more than once on his channel, but still, my motorcycle is different from Sasha Shut’s motorcycle, and in general, the Ural and the Ural are different, so of course I listened to Sancho’s advice, but also added something of my own.

We took with us almost the entire garage of all kinds of keys, hammers, screwdrivers, etc., we just couldn’t imagine what could happen to us on the road, not that I wasn’t confident in my stroller, no, the road is such a thing, never you don’t know what awaits you there, ahead, and in the end, not only can something go wrong with you on the way, there are plenty of people on the road besides ourselves who may need help, so almost ALL of the trunk space is in the stroller was occupied by tools and spare parts, as it turns out later, this is superfluous. More on this below. Next, a large part was occupied by food, things and equipment. equipment, camera, chargers, batteries, headphones, etc., for these technical little things I bought a tank bag from Scoyco, an indispensable thing when traveling, it helps to unload useful space in the stroller and in the panniers, the latter, by the way, I did not install, because There is enough space, I have a SideCar, after all) I need to use it. A set of tools was thrown at Sashka’s feet, turtles were also thrown there when it got hot, as well as replacement shoes, etc., a person with experience in traveling is now reading this and laughing his head off) Now it’s funny to me too) But then, to us It seemed like we were almost going to war, and we tried to plan for everything that came to mind. Also, I would like to share one good life hack, if you don’t have money for equipment that protects you from the rain, ordinary stretch film can work for these purposes, it’s cheap and cheerful, you wrap yourself in it like a spider’s web, and move on) It’s good for us Fortunately, it never came in handy, but the fact that we had it with us gave us peace of mind.

Still, I think something needs to be said, and the first and only thing I would like to mention here is wind protection, if you don’t have it, don’t even think about driving for distances of more than 100 km, fuck yourself from the flow air from trucks, and simply from the wind. For me, this was a whole epic, because not all windmills were installed on my motorcycle, with a handlebar from the Ural Wolf. The only thing that really suited me was a tent windmill, which I bought for 3,000 rubles. new from storage, I’m wildly infuriated by how the Ural looks with it, but it served its function, so it was decided to leave it. In general, I put the entire motorcycle in complete order, hung a canister for 10 additional liters, filled the tank full, checked all the oils, which, by the way, you should definitely take with you in reserve, washed everything, hung up the luggage racks to further unload the internal space of the stroller, I equipped the motorcycle and we were ready to start. The launch was scheduled for the early morning of July 6.

On the morning of July 6, they promised beautiful weather, clear, the sun was favorable to go and rejoice, the only thing that didn’t suit me was the incredible heat of 29 degrees, for Sasha and me it’s a thrill, but for the Urals it’s not very good, to put it mildly, it’s cooling it was airy, from the oncoming air flow, all this, in a cube with a curb weight exceeding half a ton, alarmed me to grab a grip somewhere, then everyone arrived, and purely for themselves it’s unpleasant, they’ll also laugh at home, by the way, about it.

Despite Sasha and I’s rather bold idea, almost all of our friends and relatives did not support our idea. No one believed that we would finish the meal without breaking down, or that we would finish the meal at all, my best friend and my father teased me, saying that they had prepared a rope for us, we would just have to wait, and they would definitely drag us in... ha ha ha funny, o** It's easy to give a shit. Similar jokes flew at us from all the mouths of our friends and acquaintances, but this did not stop me, I always said, and I will not tire of saying, I am sure that I collected MYSELF. And as it turns out later, Sasha and I will laugh. What was going on in my friend Sashka’s head at that moment, what he was thinking about, I could only guess, at the end of our journey, he admitted, they say, “Zheka, I honestly wasn’t sure that we would even leave the aisles of our district, I’m sorry, but these thoughts really couldn’t get out of my head,” Sashka told me. And I understand him, traveling such a distance in the Urals with a stroller loaded for dumping is really an abnormal idea, but I am still grateful to my friend that he didn’t bother to go with me and didn’t refuse me. Thanks friend, I appreciate it.

The morning of July 6 came, it was 6 am, I was already on my feet inspecting the motorcycle, hanging up the last necessary things, calling Sashka, he didn’t answer, could he have fallen asleep, I was in a panic, how could it be (Sashka loves to sleep), I was ready to go to him home, my foot was already on the kick starter, and my hand turned the key to the “ON” position. As someone knocked on the garage door with their hands, I exhaled, Sashka arrived on a bike) Sharing our emotions with a friend, we began to inspect the motorcycle together, and make final preparations. After about 30 minutes everything was ready, it was 7 am, my Mom came out to see us off, we took the last photo from the beginning of the journey, and the start was given.

Already after 3 km, it began to feel like it was not easy for the motorcycle, the barely run-in engine was simply going crazy from the load, it was only 7:09 and the air temperature was already 20+, near the village of “Maloomka” a little smoke came from the breather, I became worry, Sashka looked at me from the stroller, smiled, turned his head, like, “Well, bitch, we’ll get there anyway,” this gave me even more confidence that we are really crazy guys) By the way, we also took a digital thermometer with us, which we used every minute, checking the temperature of each cylinder, here we need to make a reservation that under our conditions, the exhaust temperature is 180+, this is generally the norm, looking ahead, a spoiler, that then the temperature reached 207) This, of course, bothered me, and Looking at Sashka, I saw some kind of excitement in his eyes, and we crossed a railroad crossing and found ourselves on the P-254 highway. Sasha was delighted, and I was no less.

By the way, it should be noted that at the beginning of the journey, we stopped almost every 25 km, later I will still get used to the fact that a pace of 180+ is the norm, and our stops will be every 40-50 km, but still I felt sorry motor, and I couldn't help it. After 10 minutes of parking, we headed out. Meanwhile, the 19 wheels of the Urals carried us forward, every second bringing us closer to the goal. After already 100 km, I began to feel in my head all the charm of my new direct flows produced by KBMTS, guys, never, never drive over distances with direct flows, or you, like me, will have this bass hum for another 2 weeks after the trip in my head)

After another 100 km, I began to feel tired at the 5th point, the Ural saddle is, of course, much more comfortable than the CB400 saddle, but still the 5th point stiffens no less, only later, I thought of putting the bag back and securing it with flexible cables, thereby creating a support for my back, but nothing, plugging an earphone into my right ear to at least somehow diversify the sounds surrounding me at those moments, we drove on. After 400 km of travel, I was tired.

Honestly, I'm very tired. I’m tired of the roar of direct currents, of the sounds that accompany the Urals when moving, it’s impossible to describe it, comrades) If you have no experience of driving in the Urals, you won’t understand) Sashka couldn’t find a place for himself in the stroller, every minute he was stuck trying to find a place for him. I was in at least some kind of comfortable position, I was actually shocked that he hadn’t jumped the hell out of this stroller yet, because the Ural stroller is still a “comfortable” place, not to mention the original factory saddle, it’s truly terrifying .

Having driven most of the way, we stopped at a cafe, a little later a guy arrived in a brand new Africa, and what do you think? Did she have all the attention? Not at all) I was wildly surprised at how people reacted to my Ural, in general, after 3 years of ownership, I had already developed an immunity to these “Oohs” and “Aahs” of passers-by, but what was going on at the cafe then, and in general at all public stops on our way, it was something, a ring of grown men was created around the motorcycle, with only one question: “Are they still being produced?”, at first I said it as it is, no, it’s a restored motorcycle, I listed all the improvements, how and how much, but then I was just tired, and my answer was simple - “Yes, they are releasing.”

We drove 550 km, my face at a halt, it looked as if I was galloping on a camel to Novosibirsk, Sashka’s face looked no better, but we were overwhelmed with all the emotions, we looked at each other and repeated every time: “Man, we Let’s do it!” The distance covered gave us strength and hope that we would actually cover 700 km in a day, and as it turned out, that’s exactly what happened.

We didn’t go into Novosibirsk itself, we drove around it a little to the north and stopped at my sister’s dacha, where my relatives and girlfriend were already waiting for us, that moment, their faces, when we arrived at the gates of the dacha, I will remember them for the rest of my life) , just like I was overwhelmed with emotions, like, FUCK IT! In the Urals?! You guys are crazy!) But we did it! We were actually able to get from our Nizhnyaya Omka region to Novosibirsk in the Urals! And all this in 14 hours! My hands were shaking and my legs were giving way, the sensation at the 5th point was as if the blood flow there had completely stopped) It’s good that our friends took care of a good bathhouse, cold beer and good company, my sister’s dacha had a very cool location, it was located right on the banks of the Ob River. We immediately took a steam bath in the bathhouse, drank a liter of beer and rushed to swim, it was an indescribable thrill! I read shock in the eyes of my friend) It was the first time he had moved so far, but on what?! In the Urals with a stroller!) He was positive, so was I, we had a good chat with people and went to sleep in tents, yes, exactly in tents) The fact is that there were not so many places at the dacha, the guys took care and set up us a tent, but we had our own, in the end we set it up 2) As I fell asleep, I couldn’t believe that I had done it, I thought for a long time that it was possible to actually get there on our boxer without breaking down, without incident, I was shocked by the very myself)

Having stayed in the “capital” of Siberia, after 3 days, it was time to go home, we began to get ready for the journey, nothing special, we were no longer in the first place, the only thing that Sasha and I immediately decided was that we were going at 5 in the morning, it was cool. The path from the dacha passed by beautiful, beautiful places. We were surrounded by beautiful, tall spruce trees, as well as the morning fog and the beautiful starry sky creating a simply unique sensation! I have never felt as wonderful and cool in my life as I did at that moment.

Unfortunately, we didn’t take more than one photograph of those beautiful places, either we were sleepy, or admiration overshadowed our minds at that moment, I don’t know, but something like this...

The only thing that worried me was the wild cold, the motorcycle was just wonderful, the pace did not rise above 155 degrees, but Sasha and I were not so comfortable, we were freezing, after 40 km, traffic police officers stopped us, checked our documents, talked and wished us good journey, “I also had a Ural, right now it’s standing in the village with my grandfather, I need to get it too,” said the junior lieutenant) We caught tongues a little and talked about general things) The Ural brings us closer together After some time, they once again wished us smooth roads, having warmed up, we set off. Then, we drove 200 km without a single stop, my back began to remember the road here, and began to “cry” again, we stopped on the side of the road to rest, and meanwhile the air temperature began to rise again, the stops returned again after 40 km. Despite this, we continued our journey, after 400 km, I noticed that some kind of extraneous knock appeared, in fact it was there before, but at high speeds, at speeds above 80 km, but here it seemed like 72 km/h, and again he, I began to become wary. After some time, we stopped for a rest again, Sashka shared with me that he also heard something, looking at the left cylinder, I saw that the gasket of the left cylinder began to press. To be honest, all the tools and spare parts that we took with us allowed us to completely rebuild the engine in the forest) But we didn’t want to do this and waste 2-3 hours, and I knew what kind of knock it was, it’s a new-model piece of shit the crankshaft was knocking, or rather its left connecting rod... And then there was also pressure on the gasket on the left side, my mood dropped, but nevertheless, our faithful 3-wheeled horse continued to carry us forward, no doubt I was monitoring the situation on the left cylinder, and having reduced the speed to 60-65, I began to observe that there seemed to be no more pressure, the oil didn’t seem to be leaving, the level was normal, we moved on. At the next stop, I noticed an oil leak, but not from the engine or gearbox, I have a new gearbox, from the Dnepr MT16, the seals are 20 years old, it’s not surprising that they have already dried out from time to time, Sashka and I thought, but as it turns out later, these are not oil seals, it was the kick spring cocking cover that leaked, but the oil did not leak as much as it could, and after adding it to the transmission, we continued our journey, at a distance of 50 - 70 km from the house, at a stop near places already known to us, we did not could believe that we had almost done it, in fact, I had already accepted that we might simply not get home, but the distance was no longer 200 or 400 km from home, but only 50, this is nonsense, here and on the cable not for long... BUT! He didn’t die and didn’t let us down, this heavy, healthy 3-wheeled friend took us all the way to the gate of my garage, I couldn’t believe what I did, my hands, head, sleep and legs were shaking, this time we got there a little faster, in 13 hours. My Mom came out to meet us, she couldn’t believe her eyes) They returned, but they returned on their own, he took the wheel of the motorcycle and said: “Thank you for bringing your son home,” to be honest, I almost shed a tear) Well, really, emotions were overwhelming then, as well as wild fatigue, later I would walk like a zombie for another 3 days, but guys, it was worth it! The emotions that my friend and I experienced are indescribable. We remembered these feelings for the rest of our lives, even though my motorcycle ended up on the motor capital, it’s not entirely his fault, I was younger and didn’t want to buy a Soviet crankshaft, didn’t trust the sellers on Avito and took a brand new, supposedly “Russian” crankshaft , who turns out to be another bastard, in total he lived 2000 km.

Nevertheless, the Ural took us to Novosibirsk and brought us home, allowing us to enjoy those landscapes that you simply don’t notice when traveling by car; you drive and drive, it seems to you that it’s all the same, but on a motorcycle everything is different.

Travel friends, learn something new for yourself, and never, never be afraid of anything. Any trip is an adventure that you will remember more than once and tell your friends and family, adventures that will more than once make your winter evening a little warmer. After all, the body can grow old, the main thing is to remain young in the soul.

I would also like to say thank you to my friend Sashka for not giving a fuck and supporting my crazy idea, I appreciate it. Thank you.

Thank you all for your attention! Don't sit on a chair within 4 walls, travel comrades!

Five brave

Anne Knödler laughs, remembering how people in Russia clutched their heads at the sight of the old motorcycles on which the “brave five” from Germany rode. “Why did you go on such a long journey in these ruins and not in a BMW?” - the local bikers asked in surprise. Meanwhile, the guys from Halle consciously chose Ural motorcycles.

Anne Knödler, Efi Zeniu, Johannes Fötsch, Kaupo Holmberg and Elisabeth Ertel (from left to right)

“We chose them because a significant part of our route passed through Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Russia, where such motorcycles are not uncommon, and in case of breakdowns, spare parts for repairs could be purchased there,” explains Anne Knoedler. “But the main reason is that we wanted to communicate with people along the way. And if the motorcycle malfunctions, such an opportunity is guaranteed - after all, you need to turn to someone for help. And so it happened: our motorcycles broke down exactly 972 times (we documented everything!), and thanks to this we met a lot of wonderful people.”

Without driving experience and sponsor support

None of the group members had ridden motorcycles before this cruise. So, the guys first specially signed up for a driving school, learned and literally before leaving, received a driving license. The Ural motorcycles were purchased in Germany, and a friend from the Ural fan community helped find them. Travelers keep these old stories to this day.

Off-road in the Siberian taiga

The young sculptors spread information about their project via the Internet, but did not look for sponsors: they provided funding from their own wallets, earning extra money along the way wherever necessary. The expedition was constantly documented in photographs, video diaries, travel notes - and all this was posted on the project website. Somehow, part of the footage was sold to one TV channel, which provided an additional injection into the budget.

In Spartan conditions

During the trip, the five tried to get out of their comfort zone as much as possible - in order to fully experience life in extreme conditions. “We swam and washed clothes in mountain streams. Hot water and showers are a thing of the past. We were interested in other things: we wanted to challenge ourselves, our circumstances. By moving a little every day, repairing motorcycles, and often freezing—for example, snow fell in Magadan in early September—you test yourself and your capabilities,” says Anne.

At a rest stop

Travelers stayed in hotels only during prolonged rain. Usually they spent the night in the open air. “We settled in sleeping bags, but not in tents, but under an improvised canopy. The fresh air is great. But the mosquitoes were annoying,” Anne laments.

Russian vodka and getting rid of stereotypes

When it comes to Russian roads, the girl just sighs. How many times did she and her friends get stuck on dirt roads washed out during the rain! It was possible to pull heavy motorcycles out of the mud only with the help of an all-terrain vehicle. That's when travelers remembered German autobahns with nostalgia! But after each such adventure, one of the local residents always invited the guys to visit them - so that they could warm up properly and relax. There was rarely a feast and strong drinks here.

“But no one ever got sick! - Anne laughs. — By the way, it is generally accepted that Russians drink a lot. We didn't get that impression. On the contrary, in Russia we met quite a few people who did not drink at all. Of course, Russians sometimes have drinks on their tables, but, as a rule, only during holidays, when they have guests. We haven’t encountered alcoholics drinking alone in Russia.”

According to the girl, participation in such projects not only strengthens, but also helps to get rid of stereotypes and reassess life values. “In any case, after this trip we became completely different compared to what we were as students. And we are happy about these changes, because they are, without a doubt, for the better,” Anne Knoedler shared in an interview with DW.

Endurance record on a motorcycle Ural Patrol Gear Up