From the editor: Readers continue to send us stories of their motorcycle travels, and we, in turn, continue to publish the most interesting of them. Today’s story will immerse us in the memories of ourselves or our parents, when “Java” was the ultimate dream and the perfection of technical thought, and thousands of journeys on it were the lot of the most desperate daredevils and the main event in life. The author of this text, perhaps due to inexperience, dared to take a long and slightly extravagant journey and, despite all the obstacles, achieved his goal (both geographical and adventure). And, perhaps most importantly, I made quite the right conclusions for myself in the end. We are publishing this text for those who are just about to embark on their first long-distance journey and do not yet know all the subtleties and difficulties that await a traveler along the way. For them it is science. But also to those who, a long time ago, set out in the same way on their first hike, with almost no money, equipment, experience, and on a very old and half-dead motorcycle, obsessed only with a dream and a thirst for wandering. For them - warm memories.
It all starts with a dream... And the dream was simple - a trip on a motorcycle, the further and longer, the better!
I've been a traveler since childhood, thanks to my dad!
I traveled quite a lot by car, a lot by bicycle, but little by motorcycle (even as a child, trips through the fields on hikes can hardly even be called travel). I love motorcycles, I have a special relationship with Java, as a child I had a Voskhod 3M-01, and Vasya, my older brother, rode my father’s Java-634. Then, when I grew up, I rode it a couple of times, but I didn’t come home to the village often, and Java in my thoughts always remained a dream motorcycle, the sound was different from any motorcycle, in the city I always turned around and sighed when Java passed by... [ td]
Without much background: I ended up in St. Petersburg, and the thought of a motorcycle visited me all winter. I looked through the advertisements, and most often I looked at Java. And then “The Old Lady” caught my eye. As in Vysotsky’s song “I saw her and died...”! When I was a child, no one had “Old Ladies” in the village, and I really liked her appearance.
When choosing a motorcycle, I really hoped that I would go on some kind of hiking trip on it, and I especially liked the idea of using it on the Old Woman. It is clear that I was partly aware of all the possible difficulties associated with the age of the “Old Lady” - its current technical condition, spare parts (their cost and availability) and possible repairs when traveling long distances. The main hope was in skills and knowledge about repairs from childhood (although, I must admit, I mostly “brought the keys”; everything was repaired by older boys with Vasya). I didn’t plan to replace half the engine on the road, and everything else seemed easy to me.
Then everything is very simple - “bought from a photo” in Vyborg (200 km from St. Petersburg), they didn’t even start it. I arrived on the May holidays, washed the carburetor, installed new mufflers (Anatoly, the previous owner, bought mufflers, a piston and a carburetor, everything except the mufflers was of no use, since the cylinders were bored out for the third repair, the pistons were Polish and for some reason - then not for this repair, they were very weak in the pots. And the carburetor was from a Java-250 with an enricher, also from China or Poland. It started up well, but after a short drive it stalled. Actually, I was driving the Starushka under my own power with thoughts to go to St. Petersburg, but in the light of new circumstances they played it out, and Anatoly asked his friend to help take the Old Woman.
In St. Petersburg I found Sergei, the owner of the Retrocycle workshop, who restores various motorcycles, but mostly Javas. They took me to him - he quickly brought me back to earth with the words “And how much did you buy this bucket for...?” I was sad, but the dream took over, and, based on my financial capabilities, Sergei met halfway, and Vanya (who worked for Sergei at the time) went through the engine, threw out the entire “collective farm” (Chinese fogs and the “wrong” BSZ), changed the piston, installed the cam ignition and a more lively carburetor (many spare parts were not new, but in “working” condition). Considering Vanya’s workload at another job and personal issues, I only started testing her in mid-June. During the run-in process in St. Petersburg, some weak points became clear: first, the generator burned out, since the landing grooves where the generator fits were ground off by the installers of the “wrong” BSZ, and the generator was hanging loose. They changed the crankcase - they installed it without a number (thanks to Vanka again, they did it very quickly), but the generator that burned out was, as it turned out, a track generator, and the other used ones, although “original,” turned out to be not such track ones. Then a couple more times there were little things with charging, but in principle the run-in went well.
On July 6 I went to Vyborg to deregister - I planned to go on transit. An employee of the local MREO for a long time and persistently did not want to remove it, since the engine number was in the title, but it was not visible on the engine. In the end, thanks to him, I agreed, because according to the new law, the engine is a spare part and can be changed, but in the law everything is at the discretion of the traffic police officer. Over Saturday I went back and forth, almost 400 km - it had a good moral effect, since I plan to do 600 km a day.
Before describing the trip itself, I’ll write what I took with me (I was helped by the experience, advice of Sergei and Vanya, and an article by a traveler from Lugansk, handsome - to Baikal and back!!!) - in case it comes in handy for someone:
- Tools: wrenches from 7 to 24 (duplicated 10 and 13), screwdrivers (small, large flat and which can be hit), an ax (aka a hammer), a candle holder, a large wrench for tensioning the chain, a set of feeler gauges, a set of socket wrenches, a pump , sandpaper, control light, electrical tape.
- Spare parts: 2 generators (Vanek gave one with him, the second one he took from Anatoly), used rear chain, spark plugs (4 pcs.), wheel bearings (2 pcs.), clutch cable, semi-automatic clutch, 2 spare chambers, Repair kit for cameras.
- Sleeping equipment: utility awning (a very necessary thing in the rain), tent, rug, sleeping bag.
- Two sets of shoes, two sets of clothes, a raincoat, flip flops. Soap and soap accessories.
- Kitchen: pot, bowl, mug, spoon. Soups in bags, 3in1 coffee, sugar, salt, buckwheat, pasta, canned fish, ketchup.
- Gasoline canister (5 l), oil canister (4 l), tripod for fire, cover for motorcycle.
- Camera, tablet, documents, first aid kit (bandages, Levomycetin - don’t go hiking without it, brilliant green, plasters.
Preparations for departure were chaotic, I bought a lot of things on the day of departure, and it’s great that I came across an awning (and it’s dry at night, and to cover things on the motorcycle - no rain is scary). I didn’t buy a notebook and pen, so when I arrived I had to write everything down from memory and from photos.
I removed the fairing glass while I was still running it in, it’s hard to see through it when it’s raining or glare from the sun and headlights.
We kindly ask you not to criticize too much for the Sparco mudguards and homemade trunk - there was really no time for beauty. By the way, the trunk (bottle box) is simply super in capacity.
Day one, Sunday
In the morning I went to Lenta, bought an awning, a tripod, a canister, everything that was very useful on the road.
At about one o'clock in the afternoon I went out to pack, there were a lot of clothes, but I managed to cram everything in, I drove to the center, bought a raincoat, dishes, a flashlight, a rope and hit the road. I left St. Petersburg at 16:30.
While still in St. Petersburg, I stopped by to buy a SIM card for my tablet.
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At one of the gas stations I asked where to spend the night on a pond, they advised me to go to the lake where the monastery was, thank you very much to this lady. I walked around the monastery, then found a place on the shore, set up a tent, found firewood, which was not so easy... I didn’t swim in the evening, but in the morning I had such a great time swimming! Ducks, fog, clean and warm water - the soul sings and rejoices. On a funny note: in the evening, a motorcycle fell while I was eating near the lake, the ground was not very hard, the center stand went deeper and the motorcycle lay to the left. The mirror broke, I had to get smart and move the right to the left, and simply fix the broken one.
On the first day I checked the raincoat, it rained two times in two hours. One is so-so, and the second, although not for long, is strong. The sneakers got wet in one fell swoop, it’s good that I have sneakers.
Day two, Monday
Although I got up early, I lit a fire, ate, washed, tightened and lubricated the chain - I didn’t look at my watch, but I think I left at about 11, maybe even later. On the first night, I hid the Old Woman separately, and later they slept next to each other. There were neighbors on the shore, so I put a tripod behind the tent, in case they stole it.
That day I was driving around Moscow, I wanted to go around Dmitrov on the A-108, but one on a sports car (Suzuki, but I’m not very good at models) said that he was driving and that the A-107 was better, but after ten kilometers my speed became strained for him 85-90, and we parted ways. Then we saw each other a couple more times - he flew through turns. The first serious traffic jams due to road repairs, it’s hot and steamy outside in the morning, I can easily avoid all traffic jams. After 16.00 the downpours began, I was soaked through, cold as a dog, no raincoat could save me. The downpour was such that the cars stopped, I sat on the tail of the chopper, and we drove for 50 kilometers in the rain, the speed was 80-90, I, as always, had no light. The trucks in the next lane were pouring water as I drove past them.
Separately, I want to say about the helmet: my feet were frozen - I warmed them up, put them on the engine, all the clothes on my body were also wet and it was very cold, my hands didn’t care, although it was cold, but my face was always warm and not a drop of water got inside. Thanks to the helmet!
Vladimir drove by, spent the night in a village on a river, first at a gas station a man who was repairing a pump said that there would be no normal overnight stay on a reservoir for 40-50 kilometers, and it was already dark outside, and the cloud from which he ran away was on his heels, lightning , thunder, beauty... If only I had time to set up a tent. I returned from the gas station about a kilometer before the turn to the village, drove into it, asked the boys, they showed me a good nickel by the river, a lot of firewood, in the evening I also found ropes at the gas station, since a cloud was on my heels, and spent the night according to the “cover myself with a tent” scheme to motsak."
This is what the first night in the rain looked like (sticks on the sides so that the Old Lady wouldn’t lie down again).
I cooked dinner, accidentally turned the pot over, so I didn’t get to eat much, I didn’t want canned food, I limited myself to coffee. At night, as expected, there was rain, in the morning without it, both sneakers and sneakers were wet, but the sneakers were less wet, so I put them on.
Day three, Tuesday
The day had not gone well in the morning, I dried it out a little by the fire, lubricated and tensioned the chain after the rain. I was driving through Nizhny Novgorod and took a wrong turn, the sign for M7 was hung in the wrong place, I ended up winding up 70 extra kilometers and I don’t know how many nerve cells. Closer to lunch, I remembered that I had to make a call at work, and I also wanted to eat. I stopped at a cafe and dropped my motorcycle, already on the right side (I got off and slipped). During the first fall, I broke the mirror on the left, I had to swap them, and then I tore off my finger, broke the handbrake handle, broke the brake foot and bent the right footrest, plus it turned out that I knocked off the steering wheel and pierced the tank. In general, the mood was lousy, and it was still raining again.
The rest of the day was uneventful, the only thing was that in the evening it was a bit difficult to refuel the AI-80, I was driving on reserve and there was no water, I stopped when the road was already hard to see, and so was I. I had dinner without water - canned fish and bread; there was no rain at night.
Why were they so loved?
Motorcycles of the Czech brand came to the Soviet Union in 1962.
It was a lucrative contract for the plant - only until 1982, more than 90% of Czech-made bikes were supplied to the USSR. The country was able to absorb much more than was produced. The first Javas that went on sale in the Soviet Union created a sensation. Not only were these “foreign cars” – this in itself was prestigious, the motorcycles looked stylish, were distinguished by their endurance and build quality. And they broke down much less often than Izh, Kovrovets, Minsk and other Dnieper and Urals.
Among motorcyclists in the 1960s, the Jawa was known as a bike that didn't break down. Of course, Java also had problems, but compared to the domestic motorcycle industry they were rare.
Day four, Wednesday
In the morning I got up in St. Petersburg at five, did not start a fire, there was no water. I was very happy about the sun, I laid everything out to dry and repaired it myself. I lubricated and tensioned the chain, cleaned the carber, changed the spark plugs, checked the ignition, and left at nine in St. Petersburg. I was thinking of stopping somewhere for lunch... By the way, in the morning I poured five liters of gasoline from a canister, without them I would have dried out.
I drove through Naberezhnye Chelny and got up, the battery died, the time was about 12-13, I pushed it (later I was never able to push it, at least this time I was lucky), I went back to the service station, I put the battery to charge, I ate in a local canteen. Very tasty and inexpensive, you need to remember it. Then I changed the front bearing with the local guys; in general, the traveling guys came along and helped me do everything. I put the Akum on, started it up and drove off in about three or four hours. It didn’t take long - after 70 kilometers I got up: Akum died again. It turned out that the relay sticks only at 2-3 thousand revolutions. I changed the generator, adjusted the ignition and drove on. While it was being repaired, the truck driver treated me to tea. In general, there were well-wishers at almost every parking lot. While I was driving to Vladimir, there were a lot of people on motorcycles, everyone greeted me (it’s a good habit after all), if you stopped to go into the bushes, they stopped to find out if something had happened, how to help, suddenly it broke down. In general, it’s nice to feel part of the fraternity of motorcyclists!
Spent the night 70 km from Ufa. Dinner was cooked, but didn’t taste good, so I decided to leave it for breakfast.
There are a lot of mosquitoes. At night I had a stomach ache... I had indigestion and Levomycytin came in handy (my stomach was probably complaining that I wasn’t feeding it). Whoever says that mosquitoes sleep at night - don’t believe them; if you go for a walk at night, go with a can of mosquito repellent. This “walking” looks very funny, but then the tender parts of your body will be very grateful.
Model 350/638 Features
The last “Soviet” generation of motorcycles, the Jawa 350, appeared in the USSR in 1984.
The bike was thoroughly redesigned not only externally - it received a new engine with aluminum cylinders. A significant change for Soviet motorcyclists was the appearance of a 12 V on-board electrical system. This had long been expected; 6-volt bikes were already outdated by that time.
Jawa 350/638 seemed something ultra-modern, foreign and inaccessible. Until the end of the 1980s, there was still demand for this bike, but after the collapse of the Soviet Union, all partnerships of the Czech plant with the former USSR countries ended.
Model 350/638. Photo: Youtube.com
Now the cost of a Jawa 350/638 motorcycle starts from 30,000 rubles. For options in perfect condition they ask from 100,000.
For many, motorcycles were a cheap alternative to a car. When the opportunity arose to bring an old foreign car from Europe at an inexpensive price, two-wheeled vehicles lost their relevance. No, the bikers remained in spirit, but they preferred inexpensive used Japanese models. Comparison of the level of motorcycles from the Land of the Rising Sun of the 1980s with Java was expectedly not in favor of the latter.
Among single motorcycles sold in the Soviet Union, with a displacement of 350 cm3, the most expensive was the Izh Planet Sport. But Java was in second place - 950 rubles as of 1976. The modification with a stroller was more expensive - 1,360 rubles.
Day five, Thursday
In the morning I only drank coffee, food still doesn’t come. For these cases, you need to take honey and some cookies with you (well, buy water, otherwise I drank local water, and this is the result, apparently).
I tightened and lubricated the chain as standard, added oil to the engine (it leaks through the seal on the shifter) and off I go.
I drove through Ufa, after 40 km I got a little lost again, I had to drive through the whole city, I felt that the Akum was dying again, I stopped for gas and it wouldn’t start.
I found someone to charge the Akum from, the men gave me some cold welding to seal the tank (although it still dripped afterwards, but less). While I was setting up the ignition, the man bought me some coffee, but he hadn’t eaten anything yet, an hour later he took the Akum and was on his way, ahead of the Urals...
The entire Urals were driving under terrible downpours, Java with water cooling! Sang Vysotsky. An old woman was running into the Ural mountains 80, in the middle of the Urals the truck lay on its side, traffic jams in both directions for 5-7 km, I drove around quickly, and then there was an empty road and rain. We flew past the Urals with a bang! I went to get gas and it wouldn't start again. I lit a cigarette from the truck's 12-volt batteries, started it up, and flew 70 km to Chelyabinsk in one breath. I stopped by at 9:30 p.m., went into one store, but I can’t turn off, I won’t start. They said there was no six-volt battery and no chargers. And I’m in the center of Chelyabinsk...
Then I already sinned on Akum that he did not take charge. I decided to go look for 24-hour stores. On the left, a guy with his wife was driving Kalina and was smiling, I stopped him, found out where to buy a battery and where to spend the night. In the end, it turned out that Edik has his own service station. We got there, put the Old Lady in the box, drank tea, got to know each other (the sausage and cookies we were treated to were the first food of the day, not counting coffee), and I went not far to the dam to spend the night. There were beaches that were bought out and they were not allowed on them. The rain was already drizzling heavily, we walked further along the path to some sports base, a young guy, a security guard at the base, allowed us to hang his soaking wet pants and raincoat for the night and set up a tent near the fence. The tent got wet quickly, but the awning saved the day again. The photos would have been funny (practically in the camp parking lot, the awning is tied to the fence and there is a tent under it), only in the evening the rain prevented me from taking photos, and in the morning there were competitions there and I woke up to a noise 5 meters away from me - I looked out, and there were cars There are already about 20 of them standing and people are walking around with oars. It turned out that it was the day of the kayak and canoe competition...
Day six, Friday
A morning without rain, a little sun and wind partially dried the awning. He quickly got ready and took the almost dry things from the guard. We laughed with him at the reaction of his superiors.
At eight in the morning I went to the store to buy Akum, thanks to 2Gis and Edik (showed me a store that definitely had it). I bought it, came to Edik, there Igor pulled himself up from the next box and did the usual maintenance. The guys offered to stay and go to Jura - this is a local motorcycle mechanic who would fix everything for me. I had a desire to stay, but since I had to wait until 2 p.m., plus the repair itself, I would hardly have gone further that day. And it was already Friday, according to the deadlines, I had 2 weeks to travel and rest in my homeland, in Kuzbass, and every day of delay meant that I simply might not meet one of my friends or relatives. We looked: charging is in progress, the voltage is 7.5 V, the relay is sticking, and what else do you need to be happy?
I left at 12:30, the Old Lady is running just fine, it’s warm and sunny outside, sometimes clouds and rain, but then you dry out quickly and it’s not cold. It’s already a plain, the mountains are left behind.
When I left for Ishim (the fork after Makushino), I stopped at a gas station and realized that Akum had died again. I refueled before the dead section of the road (20 km of cobblestones and gravel, rolled very unevenly) and to Ishim. Poor Old Lady... In such potholes we get warm in first gear, but we can’t turn off - I won’t start, plus the dead Akum makes itself felt - as soon as the speed drops, one cylinder turns off. I had to drive in 2-3 gears, I hit the already broken rear left shock absorber, I’m generally silent about the fork... All 20 km I apologized to the Old Woman and mentally cursed myself that I didn’t stay in Chelyabinsk to get repairs.
I arrived in Ishim at nine, everything was already closed, there was no one to recharge, and in general the city was kind of empty. Let's move on. A traffic police car was following me about five kilometers, and I had no lights, and it was already getting dark outside, I thought that he would stop me, but, apparently, he regretted it, blinked, overtook me and drove on.
I picked up some water at a cafe along the way, and without stopping, I made my way to Abatsky. While looking for an overnight stay, I almost fell a couple of times while turning around the fields. I was driving in second gear along a field road to the forest, there was tall grass on the right and left, the speeds stopped turning off (I checked the clutch in the morning, it was tensioned as it should). I had to turn around the second time, reduce the speed - it stalls. I had already moved a fair distance away from the road, and I didn’t want to push back (the forest seemed closer than it actually was). In the end, everything worked out well. I returned to the highway and switched off. I turned onto a country road towards some houses, pushed the Old Woman to the nearest “forest” - and there were young birch trees and hummocks everywhere, on the central step she was sinking into the ground and wanted to lie down, but the birches couldn’t stand her, they were kind of frail. Immediately the mosquitoes flew in. Oddly enough, the mood was excellent. Again I pushed the motorcycle out onto the dirt road and up to the houses. I noticed one under construction and, just in case, asked the neighbors across the street if they “would mind if I put up a tent here.” As a result, the man came out and I briefly explained everything to him. If earlier, when asked where from, you said “From St. Petersburg”, where – “In Kemerovo”, the reaction was more emotional to “In Kemerovo”, but now they reacted more to “From St. Petersburg”. After all, 3200 km.
I asked the owners for boiling water, and in the end they brought me a liter and a half of fresh homemade kharcho and half a loaf of bread in a plastic container. Apparently, it was clear from me that I hadn’t really eaten for a long time, it was the first meal of the day, and my optimistic answer to the question of whether I had anything to eat, that I had bagged soups and canned food with me, didn’t convince him . I pitched my tent in the dark, ate some kharcho, and was in a great mood!
There are different thoughts in my head about the Old Lady at this time. I think that the engine inside suffered from bumps, and maybe overheated. After Ishim, the engine began to shake terribly at medium speeds, at high speeds - everything was fine. Well, plus, the clutch is gone. I’m thinking about plan “B” - there are a lot of truck drivers. As they say, the morning is wiser than the evening!
Java 350/634 and its features
At the very end of 1973, the first batch of Jawa motorcycles of the new model 350 typ 634-01 appeared in the Soviet Union.
It was space, and the lucky ones who managed to purchase such a bike were proud of their exclusiveness. The new model was developed specifically for the Soviet market, so it received a number of features:
