Solo trip on a Java motorcycle. Peter-Elbrus-Sochi. 6000 km.
Greetings to all. I decided to write my little story about my motorcycle trip to Java. I have been driving my Java (2012 onwards) for 4 seasons, during which I have driven more than 55,000 km. I made my first serious long-distance trip in 2015, rode along the route: Peter-Gelendzhik-Peter, covered 4500 km, the motorcycle did not let me down and there were no breakdowns. On that trip, I even set my own record, driving 2200 km in 40 hours.
So, when the 2021 season arrived, I also decided to go on a solo motorcycle trip, I decided to go along the route: Peter-Elbrus-Sochi-Peter, this is 6000 km.
I'll try to tell you about this long-distance trip. It was in July, I went on vacation for 3 weeks. I packed my things and hit the road. On the first day I drove 700 kilometers and stopped near Moscow. No matter how strange it may sound, I had nowhere to put up a tent, but while I was looking for a place to stay for the night, a woman came out of a country house, I started asking her where I could put up a tent, she suggested coming to her site, and when I rolled the motorcycle to her, she offered to spend the night at home, I naturally agreed, she fed me and I went to bed. Many thanks to her for the warm welcome. The next morning I got up, got ready, and moved on.
I was driving along the M5 highway, my dear. On the second day I met with my friend, a Yavist, who lives in the city of Zaraysk. We stood there for a while, chatted, and I moved on.
After I passed Zaraysk, a strong thunderstorm began; after driving a little, I realized that it was better to stop. There was a heavy downpour, instead of asphalt, there was just a sea of water, the motorcycle was scouring the entire road, and nothing was visible through the visor. As a result, I stopped at a bus stop and waited out the entire storm there. When the rain stopped, I drove on; it was getting late in the evening. I didn’t get to Penza by only 90 km. I stopped in some village and pitched a tent next to a river. Then I had a little snack and went to bed. There were a lot of mosquitoes there, they just ate me! Even the spray didn't help.
I woke up early in the morning, it was raining heavily outside, after waiting it out in the tent, I got ready and moved on. The third day was completed, I was driving through very beautiful and picturesque places. Almost reached the city of Volgograd. This time I stayed at a hotel. I spent the night in good conditions and went to Volgograd to Mamayev Kurgan, I had wanted to go there for a very long time. Arriving at the place itself, I met motorcyclists, two guys and a girl, on 2 motorcycles. As I understand it, they were traveling from Yekaterinburg to Crimea, naturally in Japanese. We chatted, ate ice cream, and went upstairs. A very beautiful place. And it was terribly hot outside.
After we parted ways, I drove towards Stavropol, got a little lost, but the traffic cop at the checkpoint showed me the way, thanks to him. At first there was a good road, but then, completely destroyed, I thought that the bike would break in half, but in the end I drove these ill-fated 150 km. I stopped in a city with the interesting name “Grateful”, this was the 4th day of my trip, during this day I covered 550 km. And he stayed at a small hotel. Day 5 came, I had to get directly to Elbrus. And everything worked out. Mountains appeared, beautiful places, a mountain river, in general grace!
Having reached Elbrus, I stopped at a hotel called “Smile”. I got the impression that the hotel was recently built, new furniture, luxurious renovation. In general, I decided to stay there for 2 days, walk around the surrounding area and climb Elbrus. The next day when I woke up, it was raining. There was a strong wind at night and the motorcycle fell from the center stand, this news was told to me by a hotel employee. He helped me lift the motorcycle, and to my surprise the motorcycle barely made any effort. The only thing that happened was the front brake lever was bent and the cover was torn, but that’s okay, nothing. Since it was raining, I asked the hotel staff to take me by car all the way to Elbrus, they took me without any problems. Having bought a ticket, I went to the top. What a beauty! The only thing that let us down was the weather, since it was raining, visibility was not the same. And it was snowing at the top and it was very cold. Very cold. But it was worth it!
I spent the whole day walking through these beauties. Returning to the hotel in the evening, I went to bed. In the morning I set off further on my journey.
The next goal was the city of Sochi. Since the road conditions were quite difficult, mountain serpentine roads, etc. , and the distance is about 800 km, I realized that I would not have time to get to the final point. As a result, I contacted my friend from Krasnodar with a request to shelter me. By the way, he also has Java. He met me at the entrance to the city, and we went to his house, laid out all our clothes, went to the garage, installed the bike and had a great dinner in a good company of friends.
The night passed, we woke up and had breakfast. Misha saw me off and I drove towards Sochi, it was hot outside. The target was approximately 200 km. But again, the mountain serpentine was a waste of time for me, as a result, not far from Sochi, a thunderstorm began to begin, it was already dark, and a heavy downpour poured down. Visibility is zero, and there is also a mountain serpentine! It was tough for me. In short, in the end, I didn’t get directly to Sochi, but stopped in Lazarevskoye, there was a Volga on the road with a sign “housing”, I turned to the guy, we agreed on a price and I went after him. Stayed in a good hotel. I rested for several days at sea. The weather was very good. Sun, sea, light breeze...beauty...
After resting for several days at sea, I began to get ready for home. While traveling, I had already traveled 3500 km, and there was still 2500 km left to get home. I drove back along the M4 highway. When I got to Voronezh, I stopped at the cemetery to see Yuri Klinskikh (Khoy) and laid flowers on the grave.
I was driving back in intense heat, and then the worst and most unpleasant thing came. Not far from Moscow, my motorcycle stalled. As I remember now, it was VERY hot. The temperature exceeded 40 degrees. And I have an air motor, after all! In short, the engine stalled in the middle of the field, it was already evening. I rebuilt the carburetor, looked at the spark plugs, but nothing helped. A man stopped at some Japanese man and tried to help, but to no avail. I was dying from the heat and fatigue. The water has run out, but the motorcycle fraternity exists. The guy poured me a whole bottle of water, which I almost drank right away. As a result, I started calling my friends. A friend of my friend whom I called came to help, he didn’t come alone, he came with a man (either a friend or a relative, I still don’t understand), they towed me to where the drivers rest. It was already dark, evening. I also called my friend Lesha, whom I met near Zaraysk. Since he was close enough (about 250 km), he promised to come by car with a trailer. I waited...time passed. In the end they arrived. Everyone was nervous and in a panic, in short, a bunch of dozens of sportsmen gathered around me, a car with a trailer, they didn’t leave me in trouble. And the funny thing is that I don’t know almost everyone. In short, they began to pick at the mot in the darkness, but in no way. After removing the spark plug from the left cylinder, the motorcycle started well. As soon as you screw it in, it won’t start even if you crack it! It was decided to load the motorcycle and go to Zaraysk, and in the morning to see what happened. With shouts and screams, they loaded Java.
Late at night we arrived at the garage and unloaded. And went home to sleep. In the morning we started making a motorcycle. We disassembled the piston, there was a strong scuff on the left piston and the top of the piston was packed like a chisel, exactly in a circle, although the rings, pin and separator were intact.
Having installed new pistons, we packed everything up and went to the lake to test the motorcycle. After driving around the area for 15 km, we returned to the garage. The motorcycle worked, but rather poorly, with unnecessary noise. We disassembled it again, and as a result the new piston had the same patterns as the old one... Then it became clear that the engine had come to an end. And it was decided to remove the engine and send it to a mechanic for repairs.
The engine mileage at the time of the breakdown was 48,000 km. and never capitalized. And that's quite a lot of mileage for a two-stroke. We removed the engine and sent it to a repairman by transport company in Volgograd. I had to return home by train, because they couldn’t make the engine that fast, and my vacation was coming to an end. In general, we tinkered with the motorcycle for a couple of days, and then I went home from Moscow to St. Petersburg. All in frustration and worries. The motorcycle remained with Lesha. A month has passed. The engine was made, a full engine capital was produced. Lesha received the engine and assembled the motorcycle, preparing it for the journey. And then one day I went to pick up the motorcycle. I arrived in Moscow, from there by train to Zaraysk. There were only 1000 km left to go home. (5000 km are already behind me) I collected all my gear, everything was checked, and I hit the road. My Yavist friends accompanied me to Moscow. I had to drive slowly, no more than 80 km/h, just a break-in. We left Zaraysk in the afternoon, and near Moscow we got into the rain. My friends saw me off, I was left alone again, and drove towards home. It was decided to go without stopping for the night. Having passed Moscow, it began to get dark and evening was approaching. But I moved forward, home. There was heavy fog at night, I have never seen anything like it. It was very cold, the visor was fogged up, visibility was zero! Hell!
As one song sang: “but we will walk a dangerous path through the fog.” In the end, in 20 hours I drove 1000 km and at 8 o’clock in the morning I was at home. All tired and frozen, I fell into bed.
Despite the breakdown, this motorcycle is still my favorite. I really enjoyed the trip. I saw a lot of beautiful places, had a good rest and gained even more experience. Thank you all for your attention, I hope you liked my story. For those who want to know more, there is a full-length film on YouTube in 7 parts; to find it, just enter “Motorcycle travel in Java” in the search engine. Peter-Elbrus-Sochi"
Hiking trip on Java 350 (mod. 354) 1964 from St. Petersburg to Kuzbass.
Hello.
Today I was sent a guest post with a report on the trip on the Java-Starushka from St. Petersburg to Kuzbass. Vladimir Serov, who sent it, wrote so modestly that he said “I’m still a writer,” but I couldn’t put it down until I read it to the end
