131 1103 Suzukis Across Siberia - russin Tv Interview - Photo 30021704

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Before we left on our journey the local TV and print news wanted to interview us about our plans. It seems that most of the people in this area have never made the trip, which isn't really strange when you consider that it's like driving from Denver to Anchorage. The difference is that our trip would be over mostly gravel roads and through isolated wilderness.

Before we left on our journey the local TV and print news wanted to interview us about our plans. It seems that most of the people in this area have never made the trip, which isn't really strange when you consider that it's like driving from Denver to Anchorage. The difference is that our trip would be over mostly gravel roads and through isolated wilderness.

Our Trip began in Vladivostok, Russia, after a long flight by way of Beijing. We met up with our crew of 10 at the local Sumotori Suzuki dealership. Our posse consisted of me, two writers from Motor Trend, a writer from Motorcyclist, a photographer, a videographer, three rally race technicians, the program director, and an interpreter. We had two cars, two trucks, one motorcycle, and an ill-fated adventure trailer.

We hit the road, but quickly stopped to shoot photographs and video next to an idyllic pond (magazine road trips involve many photo stops). A Russian man came out of the woods and started talking to us before leading us off a narrow trail to his cabin. He then cut a hefty watermelon from his garden and gave it to us. The Russian people always seemed friendly to speak with us and enthralled with our trip.

Our Equators were equipped with Old Man Emu suspension, BFGoodrich KM2 mud-terrain tires, and ARB Bull Bars with Warn winches and IPF off-road lights. One of the trucks had a bed-mounted rooftop tent, while the other towed an Adventure Trailer with a second rooftop tent. The adventure trailer was kitted out with an ARB Fridge Freezer for cold drinks and a small propane stove to boil water for coffee, tea, and freeze-dried camping meals.

Our Suzuki entourage would blend in here, but in eastern Russia we might as well have had two heads. The Kizashis are all-wheel-drive sedans that made the entire trip from Tokyo to Los Angeles while different bikes and trucks accompanied them. Coverage of the trip can also be read in Motor Trend and Motorcyclist magazines and can be seen online at each magazine's website.

The cities of eastern Russia range from amazing to amazingly dilapidated. Many of the smaller cities have seen a loss of residents after the Communist government collapsed. With this exodus, many buildings fell into disrepair.

The larger cosmopolitan areas are wonderful tourist destinations, with nightlife, historic buildings, monuments, and plenty else going on. It is not the dreary Communist state we grew up learning about.

Our Suzuki vehicles were not alone in Russia. We came across a fair number of the small, nimble Suzuki Jimneys. These foreign-spec 4x4s are modern Samurais but now with coil-sprung suspensions. This particular one reminded us of Ultimate Adventure alumni Tim Hardy's dented red Zuki.

This older-model Suzuki was found by a schoolyard in the town of Belogorsk. Every town big and small had memorials to the Russian soldiers who fought in World War II.

If you think there's a plethora of beautiful Russian women waiting for American husbands to find them, you are mistaken. They are beautiful, but they are not waiting.

Our convoy had to be ferried across some major rivers. One such crossing was a lesson in Russian politics. It seems no one in Russia understands the concept of waiting in line. It didn't matter who arrived first; when the boat was open, it was a mad dash of vehicles. Trying to get our entire group on board took some politics, as the boat captain wanted to be sure his local friends were on before the American tourists. We were the last ones on, and the price we paid may have been slightly inflated, but it was all part of the adventure.

As we wound our way through the countryside and up into the mountains, the trip felt more like and overland expedition than an urban road trip. Most of the tracks were gravel and missing amenities like guardrails along high mountain passes. This wasn't a concern except when the massive Russian Kamaz trucks came from the other direction.

The Russian Kamaz truck is a cab-over-diesel 6x6 that shares chassis designs with our military deuce-and-a-half. They're known for their robust components and have been raced in many Dakar rallies. They earned their stripes crossing these high mountain passes with ease, delivering fuel and supplies to the many mines and oil fields that support this area.

Remember how we mentioned no guardrails? This poor truck driver tipped his mobile crane off the edge while passing a Kamaz in the dark. All was well when we arrived, though he was drinking up some courage before heading back to tell his boss about the slight problem.

The smaller towns had many large wooden buildings serving as homes and apartments. These old structures had ornate woodwork around windows and doors. Most were replaced by drab concrete housing under Communism.

The Russian wilderness is beautiful, and our Suzuki Equator kept trucking along. We did have a slight power steering leak that, we deduced, came from installation error when the Bull Bar was installed. Otherwise it pulled the trail with confidence. When really revving up hills it seemed to hold a gear for an exceptionally long time, but even when we loaded the bike on during muddy sections it never complained.

Our adventure trailer was a different story. The rack that held the rooftop tent to the decklid fell apart after miles of corrugated roads.

Then the suspension fell apart until it failed completely. We dragged it the whole length of our trip, and it was nice to be able to cook a hot meal, but our next trip to Russia will not have a trailer, just a Suzuki.

At some high-water crossings the Equators did more than haul our stuff. On several occasions we hooked tow straps to lesser-equipped locals and helped ferry them across rushing streams.

Our biggest obstacle required a little more might than all our Suzukis combined. We came to a giant washout in the road. The recent rains had literally washed the road away, and local mining dozers were called in to build a bypass. We fired up the kettle and had a cup of coffee while we waited five hours to continue.

After passing the washed-out road we continued to our final destination, Magadan, arriving late at night. This port town would be the end of our 3,159.8-mile trip across eastern Russia. The trip took us through amazing countryside, and we met many different types of Russian people. Our destination was even sweeter when we later learned that more of the roads had washed out and other travelers were trapped for several days.

The historical significance of our trip became clearer as we viewed the Mask of Sorrow, a monument to all the prisoners sent to their death under the rule of Joseph Stalin. These prisoners of unknown number (estimated between hundreds of thousands to millions) were shipped to Siberia to lay railroads, dig mines, and most notably build the Kolyman Highway. The Kolyma (the same road we traveled) is commonly known as the Road of Bones for all the prisoners who lost their lives in the harsh terrain and weather of these wilderness prison camps known as gulags.

The trip was an amazing adventure that culminated in a flight to Moscow for the Moscow auto show and a visit to Red Square. Russia is not the evil bear many of us grew up learning about. The countryside is rich with wilderness perfect for all types of outdoorsmen (and off-roaders). There is a dark history there, but most of the people we met were ready to move on. We can't wait to return.