WEDNESDAY 17th JUNE 2009 (ANTON KOVONEV's)

WEDNESDAY 17th JUNE 2009

Another day in downtown Cherkars. Getting frustrated now...!!! We were told to be ready by 9.00am, possibly 10.00am but we weren't holding our breath - we're beginning to learn the drill...!!!

It took Paul a long time to convince the people concerned that he really wanted to go to the bike and see for himself what was happening. I chose to stay at home as I figured it would be another long session of sitting around for the WHOLE afternoon.

When Paul got to Igor's there was no Igor and no bike. He soon learned that the bike was taken to Anton KOVENEV's place - a well respected mechanic. He was also a friend of Bodya's which pleased us as he is the only person we've met that Paul has any faith in.

Tony's 'shed' is situated in the Industrial side of town and all around is thick with pollution. BUT...he had a reasonably set-up garage (with tools) and so work began on the bike. When the job was finished Paul was able to ride out (with Igor and Roman as passengers) but they only rode 50 meters and then the (bloody) exhaust cross-over pipe blew off...!!! Bottom line...Paul was back in the garage till midnight repairing the 'new' problem and tuning the bike.

What on earth is going to happen next...???



TUESDAY 16th JUNE 2009

The bike is in pieces again due to a rear diff leak caused by corrosion on the uni joint as these were obviously assembled dry at the factory - sitting around for 40 years hasn't helped either!



When we arrived at Igor's everything was spread over the drive-way and we thought we'd never get to leave Cherkassy!



The seal was replaced and corrosion removed, then reassembled, only to strip one of the mounting studs during the process. An 'electrical master' came by to inspect the charging system. Paul couldn't seem to get the message across that he CAN do all this. Serge, the master, fiddled with wires and replaced the generator. All appeared okay (but this was to be proven incorrect in the following days). Hours slipped by and it was 7.00pm before the daily 'technical survey' could take place.



FIVE kilometers up the road during the test ride smoke surrounded the bike and it was soon apparent the brake had been adjusted incorrectly and over-heated the rear hub and diff to the point of melting the other seals. (Paul is now SUPER-HAPPY...NOT, NOT, NOT). "We had to sit it out on the side of the road till the parts concerned cooled enough to allow us to ride back to Igor's."





Parts needed were ordered from Kyiv and were to come to Cherkassy on the overnight bus. Stay tuned...