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Matt Splatt has now headed off on his 89 Honda CBR1000 to head for Mongolia. He is sending updates back to Betablocker of the Disturbing the Peace Streetfighter forum (www.disturbingthepeace.co.uk), and with their permission I am going to update this site too every now and again.
So he left Hatbury field park in London on July 5th 2008
No wonder he needs an operation!First day he covered 640 km and got a good way in to Germany…….thing is it rained ..yes it rained a lot
2nd day he did another 460 km and to the German And Austrian border…
Can you guess what yes it rained all over again and our matt is rather wrinkled more than he should beDay 3 matt has done another 550 km and now is in Budapest
Betablocker got a text message from MS:
“Romanian border, roads shite and drivers worse.
Bike running good, but need a fork brace big time, so going to get one made in Turkey”NEWS FLASH
Matt has run into some nice people in Romania but it could have been any place in the UK also.
Matt stopped at the petrol station fills up and goes to pay…….comes back and hay presto no helmet……..some shit had run off with it.
So he went back in to call the police and some guy was saying No police no police and went off in the back and 2 mins later came back with the helmet.
So Matt has just realised he is in the real world and learnt something today.
He is going to be going into some bad countries and Romania is bad.
DAY 4
Ok another update to Betablocker via text
Matts Message
401kms doneIn some field in romania! No tent tonight, under the stars in my bivy bag. Romania is poor, roads bad, drivers worse, I’m loving it! Sat drinking fresh coffee. Going to get an early start tomorrow and try and avoid the cows, carts and potholes in the road!
Got rained on everyday, temp starting to rise now Matt
A bit more:
I’m warm as toast laid here in the grass being attacked by mozzies. I’m laid next to the bike on my xped, inside my bivy with my silk liner in. Even if it rains in the night I will be dry, thank god for gore tex! I had dinner and made coffee with fizzy water! Very strange!.
From MS via Betablocker and MrsMS!
E024 32.703
300kms rode today
Somewhere 150kms from BucharestYou know its going to be a bad day when it begins by losing your sunglasses! Left my field by 6.30 expecting to crack on. Mountains were on the horizon and I was looking forward to some mountain blasting., then the tarmac ended. I thought I had gone wrong, no, the gravel was the road! Then I notice the steam gushing from the coolant overflow, no panic, I was next to a river, so I filled her up with river! After 3 hrs of stood on the pegs playing pot hole gravel slalom I had only covered 60kms but was still having a blast, finally I hit tarmac (of sorts) and approached an industrial [****] hole called a city. 35 degree heat and at lights people are pipping me and pointing to the floor, my bike was bleeding fluids and steam all over the road, bugger! So I sit in the sun wait for her to cool down, a quick sms to Beta confirms my suspicions, air lock or a buggers thermostat. I figured burping the system would be the quickest option so I limp out of the city to a quiet spot to unload the bike and get sun burnt. Bike unloaded and panels off I begin with the burping procedure only to have the bike belch coolant all over me and the bike………great. Now I’m out of the city, no shade and no water for the bike! The sun is cooking my slap head and nobody understands the word water! To cut a long story short, I lost half a day, got sunburned and removed the thermostat. Tomorrow Bulgaria!
Ok Day 5
Had some problems with the over flow spitting it’s water out, filled up from a stream about a litre…
Seems to have been air locked and the bike had some indigestion….
So after a phone call to vbikes to confirm a few things like burping the bike he also suggested taking the thermostat out as it is 32c over there so will be ok to run with out it..
So Matt sat there with the bike running and no cap and it had a eruption….
so after a top up off he went again into the city and she was spitting coolant out again…………now matt had done a coolant change before the start and seems she is air locked still.So out comes the stat after all the messing about he has lost half a day, he was meant to meet up with some peeps at the Black see but not going to make it in time..
So now the bike is a little bit better and she lost a little coolant at the next city, properly just finding her level now…..hopefully.
Is anyone knows if there is a trick to burping a honda cbr1000 then let us know…………with the hayabusa you have to lay them on there side nearly.
Right he also says he baldy head is now a nice tint of FIRE ENGINE RED And has the nose of Rudolf the rain deer.
So today he is going to bypass the black sea and head straight for Bulgaria as he hopes to be in Istanbul for Saturday.
MATS day 5
I’m riding all day and only get a chance to look at them when I properly stop, normally in the evenings. I’m good, had overheating trouble with the bike yesterday. Problem resolved, but I lost a day and ended up with a burned slap head!. Should have been in Bucharest yesterday and at the black sea today. Oh well, shit happens! I ended up last nite in some overpriced flea pit, coordinates N44 32.606 E024 32.703 because I was covered in coolant (long story). Going to give Constanta a miss and cut down into bulgaria today, need to be in Istanbul this weekend, got a contact who is giving me a bed and has sorted a Honda mechanic to check bike over.
A message from his sponspor:
Ive got this today from his Team sponsor Hansen Transmission.https://www.hansentransmissions.com/p…es.html#200608
• Matt Hunt, who lives in Lommel, Belgium, is to bike all the
way to Mongolia this June to raise money for Save the Children.
His sponsor is gearbox manufacturer Hansen Transmissions,
which Hunt chose because it was the “greenest” local business.
Hunt’s motorbike, displayed on the Hansen stand, will run on
bioethanol to reduce emissions, and his aim, visas permitting,
is to end up at the site of a proposed Hansen factory in China.
“I wanted a green factory behind me,” Hunt said. “I’m keen on
renewables because I’m trying to protect everything for my children.”
His 10,000 km journey across Europe and Asia will take
in as many wind farms as possible.More from Mrs MS
Shit, was on a beautiful mountain road, then it stopped, construction works, 80km om!!!! That’s 2 hours lost, getting to the turkish border tonight may be difficult now. But still finding somewhere nice to rough camp shouldn’t be too hard to find, this is a lovely country, everybody smiling! What a difference from Romania!
I will update again later
Thanks once again to Betablocker for the info
Source:
https://www.disturbingthepeace.co.uk/vb/showthread.php?t=21310&page=3Remember to chip to Matts Cause, he is putting in a hell of an effort, doing great things for a good cause!
Wow! what can I say. This is a report from Matts journey through CIVILISED Europe I can but wonder what lies ahead. He’s heading towards lesser populated areas and maybe towards what is actually the real world hope things get better for him.
This is what its all about Radar, keep posting the updates, the stories make great reading. Though Matt has not had the best start he will be having a great time im sure. Great stuff.
quote:
Originally posted by TT07Wow! what can I say. This is a report from Matts journey through CIVILISED Europe I can but wonder what lies ahead. He’s heading towards lesser populated areas and maybe towards what is actually the real world hope things get better for him.
what he said[
] (need more pic’s)I watched ‘Long Way Round’ with Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman just a few days ago. It was the first episode where they were struggling with their large team to get visas etc. And KTM pulled out so they had to accept some free BMWs instead.
Matt has no support team, no backing from BMW, no camera crew to back him up if he gets into problems. He definitely has my utmost respect.
yes but he’s not riding round the world and not doing any off roading, is he?
best of luck to him though
More updates on Matts progress via his Mrs and Betablocker of DTP forum
DAY 6
Coordinates-not sure, I’m in my bivy bag, I will send them in the morning!Location-Bulgaria,80kms from the turkish border. Just off a road behind some trees!Kms today 520. Romania is behind me. My impression of that country…..poor, dirty, terrible roads, mad drivers and I couldn’t find the wind turbines!Entering Bulgaria was a breeze, changed my money easily and immediately enjoyed much better roads. The first 200kms were fantastic, motorcyclists nirvana, lovely flowing twisty roads, beautiful countryside and a nice breeze, I was in heaven, till the roadblock! Construction works, I might have known this if I could read a bulgarian, so I back tracks the 40kms I had done and found another route. What a route it was, 35kms of mountain pass! So I got my race face on and started snaking my way up the mountain, side stand scraping in the corners (from the massive load) and me singing away! I stopped at the top to enjoy the view and then I saw the steam and puddle of coolant (damn, cooling problem not resolved), so I took it steady on the way down. I will finish this tomorrow
From Johnny2Blades of DTP:
Just got this an hour ago from my friend in Istanbul
“Matt has sent me SMS this morning and he told me that he is facing with overheating problem. He is 80km away to Turkish Border and camped by the way. I arranged the mechanic and got the appoinment but this is valid for today. I was expecting Matt to arrive this morning but still if he comes today that will be no problem for mechanic. Other wise we will need to delay this appoinment to Monday. I asked him to stay at my house in the absence of my wife and girls
CBF Turkey group paid good attention for his trip and they will come together maybe tonight or tomorrow to welcome him according to Matt’s situation. Probably, there will be a BBQ party for him. I am sure most of this group members admire Matt for such trip because most of them has their own jobs. That will be good for them to know such person like Matt. I am sure they will ask him many questions.”I just hope he’s ready for the traffic in Istanbul!
More from his Mrs:
This was his e-mail to me this morning
Just stopped for a kebab breakfast! Coordinates from last night N42 10.843 E025 54.463 Story continued from last night……..with the bike overheating I didn’t get to the monument at the top of the mountain pass I was on, shame, b but I got a photo. Getting to Istanbul is more important than seeing a monument! After the mountain pass things started looking more like I expected again, bad roads and buildings that looked abandoned (but are not). I push on, while the bike is moving it doesn’t overheat, so I don’t worry about that. Another 50kms and the sun is starting to get low on the horizon, but I have now left rural Bulgaria (beautiful) and have entered industrial area. Finding somewhere to sleep is now looking difficult! I decide to try and reach the border, but after another 50kms its nearly dark and I’m getting worried, driving at night on these roads is suicide! I see an abandoned garage, perfect, somewhere discreet to get my head down. Then the owner comes out and chases me away, damn, where can I sleep? Its now nearly dark and I must find somewhere!, then I see a little track just off the road with some bushes where I can hide the bike, perfect, my roadside hotel for the night! I quickly assembled my rough sleeping kit, mattress, sleeping bag and bivy bag and brewed up some coffee and made pasta in the dark. The mozzies then came in to attack, my hat and head net spared me from being their late night snack! But what a noisy field, Bulgarians insects don’t have a different accent from Romanian ones, but they are much louder!Lessons learnt today….abandoned buildings aren’t what they seem and don’t race up mountains with a bike with cooling problems! Next stop Istanbul where a bed, shower and mechanic await me.
saturday-monday. 12,13,14 Juli
Istanbul I entered Turkey in a cloud of steam and leaking coolant. The bike was no problem whilst moving but as soon as I got in traffic the temperature would shoot up and the bike would leak coolant through the overflow pipe! The problem seems to be with the cooling fan. I met my contact at the arranged place and he turned up with the Honda CBF club Turkey, a convoy of bikes to greet me and guide me into Istanbul. What a fantastic welcome after a few hard days riding! We took the bike directly to the Honda mechanic and left it with him to work his magic. It was then off for a beach side BBQ with the CBF club and it rounded off a hot and sticky day perfectly. Sunday was a day of relaxing and getting to know my host (Serdar) for the next few days and he amazed me with his guitar playing and singing abilities. Turkish hospitality can surely not be beaten, I have been treated like a family member or an old friend. It has been very touching. Today is Monday and I hope to hear some news of the Honda’s state of repair from the mechanic, apparently he is the best Honda man in Turkey. I left him with a pile of parts and a list of jobs to do to make sure the bike is perfect for the 2nd stage of the journey, Asia!
Blog: Istanbul
I just got news that the Honda is ready! YES! And at an amazing price, I am so happy that I am nearly back on the road. I was starting to relax too much, I just want to be moving on towards Mongolia!A special thanks goes out the CBF club Turkey for their help and kindness. Honda Turkey for pulling out the stops to get the bike ready for the rest of the journey and of course my best Turkish friend Serdar Ozansoy for all of his help, hospitality and kindness, I will always be in his debt.
Worrying bit coming up!
Now I am starting to get concerned!
I collected the bike yesterday evening from the Honda dealer and everything seemed fine, once I get back to where I am staying, it started to leak antifreeze from the overflow tube again!!!!
The fan seems to be working fine, there is no trapped air in the system.
I must be on the road within 24hrs to meet my visa deadlines!More from Betablocker:
Ok just been texting Matt and…………..
GOOD NEWS.
Due to much arse flexing the problem was the expansion bottle was not the original and way to long………..problem over (we hope)
So he is back on the road to Iran…………….if he pulls his finger out.
I think he was on the beach with a beer and too many kebabs…
Phew!
panic over……..Sometimes you can’t see the wood for the trees! The problem was so simple I hadn’t seen it…..doh!Firstly I must thank Ali Esengul, owner and chief Honda mechanic of Esengul Honda in Istanbul for his time, patience and generosity. He found the problem within minutes….the overflow tube for the expansion bottle was not original and too long!! So eveytime the bike got hot, instead of the fluid expanding in the bottle, it gushed out of the overflow tube. When I went to pay for all of the work that had been done (€150) he gave it back and told me to put it towards the charity! Such generosity and hospitality has been very humbling. If any Honda owners are ever in Turkey and need a mechanic, then get yourself down to Esengul Honda for honest and professional work. (www.esengulkardesler.com) I can highly recommend him. So tonight is my last night in Istanbul and as much as I want to get moving again, I will be sorry to leave. The welcome and help that I have had from the CBF club has been heart warming (www.cbfturkiye.org) and I feel sorry to leave so many new friends behind, but leave I must. So at 4am I hit the road again, heading to Iran, with my bike running like a dream and my address book full of new friends.
More updates when I get a chance!
Source
17/07 via his Mrs…
N40 27.440E037 03.112 830kms done
My day started at 4am, only 2hrs sleep, breakfast of pro-plus and redbull and on the road at 4,30.
Torrential rain till 12.
Waterproofs kept the rain out but the sweat in!
Had crap turkish breakfast at 9, cheeky security guard at the service station demanded euros, do I look like a euro ATM, so he got the big FO, idiot!
Had 300kms of riding thru the turkish mountains, brilliant, stunning scenery, not too bad roads.
Blasted though every toll booth without paying…..whoops officer
Nearly had a serious accident, thank god I didn’t squeeze that fart out!
Petrol Is damn expensive here, probably whacked in a tons worth today.
I should hit the iranian border tomorrow, I had better stash the porn and alcohol then18Juli 630km done
N39 42.747E043 07.495
Somewhere in a field, 150km from The Iranian Border.
Did not sleep well.
Farmers coming say hello,talking with me.
Back is not to great,but i will reach Mongolie for sure.19Juli 120km done
N39 33.058E044 03.623
Need a good rest,so im gonna stay in a flea room.
30km from the Iranian border,need a very good sleep.
And tomorrow i will begin my day again, with a fresh start.(From his Mrs..)I Must say from Matt,
Thank you to all the people,that is helping me and my woman ,with updating the website.
And to all the people,that believes in him.Source: https://www.disturbingthepeace.co.uk/vb/showthread.php?t=21310&page=5
REMEMBER TO DONATE!!!
More updates when I get a chance
As all is quiet on the Radar front since the demise of his computer (he did ask me to keep my eye out for him whilst the plug is pulled), I thought I best have a look at how MattSplatt is doing on his epic journey. A login is needed at the site that Radar gets his info from, so I couldn’t get info there, so I visited his sponsors site https://www.hansentransmissions.com/matt_hunt.html , the latest news that they have is :-
July 21st
Coördinates: N36 27.752E048 51.732What a mad day. Run out of fuel in the middle of nowhere in almost desert conditions,been two times in thunderstorms. I have been in a mercedes police car and been pictures taking with the cops. Somebody stoped and asked or i had problems,yes i need fuel,so they took fuel out of them car,and i payed for it. Me happy that i had fuel again. I was getting tired so i was looking for somewhere to camp,so a stoped in a field with a cow shed on it. I wanted to put my tent up,and there came a man out of the shed. He was saying come inside and sleep with me. It was a cow shed with carpet inside So tomorrow am going for Tehran,if i make it trough Iran,i can do the rest too.
July 24th
Coördinates: N35 35.583E053 22.688In Samnan tourist hotel,middle of nowhere,Iran.! I left Tehran at 4pm after a fantastic 2 days of hospitality, thanks to the Hansen agent in Iran, Aresh Seremi of CB Iran. I drove through 47degree heat in the desert. Had to ride in my t-shirt, sweat too much in my jacket. Getting petrol without a official card is becoming a problem. I’m having to ask people to help me out. Everybody is friendly and helpful. If i pull up anywhere people pull up to help,talk or look at the bike. They have never seen anything over 250cc, i am the fastest biker in Iran for sure.! Stopping can take an hour with people wanting to take photos of the bike or me. Its like to be a super star I have been given drinks, fruit and even money! Iranians are such friendly and hospitable people, curious about tourist and west.
Hansen Transmissions also published his planned itinery which was:-
France July 6
Germany July 7/8
Austria July 8/9
Hungary July 10-12
Romania July 12-14
Bulgaria July 14-16
Greece July 16
Turkey July 16-20
Iran July 20-27
Turkmenistan july 27-31
Uzbekistan 31-5 August
Kyrgyzstan 5-7 August
Kazakhstan 8-15 August
Russia 15-25 August
Mongolia 25-5 September
HANSEN China – Will be at the Chinese border on 5 SeptSo IF all is going well for Matt he should currently be in Uzbekistan
[]Lets all hope things are going well for him.[]Ok picking up after last update from TT07
quote:
My position from today 26juli is N37 26.753E059 06.735 in a flea pit,short on the border from Turkmenistan.
I had a great ride through mountains at 4000 high.
Will enter tomorrow Turkmenistan,because my visa is on date for the 27juli.
I met a franceman today on a BMW, and that became a friend talking alot about how things goes,and the great time that we have.
The petrol problem from before is not a problem anymore,i can get petrol without problems.
Im ok so i love it.
Bye27 Juli in Turkmenistan (Mary).
It took 5hours to leave Iran and enter Turkmenistan.
I had overstayed my visa by 1 day,big problems,but 30$ fixed it!
A taxi driver stole my GPS, but i managed to get it back!
The Iranian head of customs wanted me to stay for lunch, but i ended staying for tea and biscuits instead.
The Turkmen customs looked at every photo in my camera and made me delete one!
After a few hours of backwards and forwards and 71$ and i was in Turkmenistan!
The roads are not too bad,some of them nearly rattled my teeth out,but nothing too extreme………yet.
I am now staying in Mary,enjoying a nice cold drink after being the whole day in 45 degrees.28,29 Juli my position now N39 05.651E063 34.310
Yesterday was very tough going,it was hotter than BBQ day in hell.
50degrees and 200kms of real desert,the road was difficult,drifting sanddunes on the road.
The heat was almost unbearable, very tiring!
The bike coped quite well with it,but today has been spent doing maintenance on the bike.
I’m stuck in Turkmenistan till my uzbek visa begins on the 30th,i crossed this country faster than anticipated!
I just want to get out of here and the 50$ a night hotels!!
Tomorrow i head to the Uzbek border,apparently the roads are better but the corruption worse,but everyone said that about Turkmenistan in Iran,so i won’t believe the rumours.30 july
Today I left turkmenistan (thank god!) What a furnace, 50 degrees is hell to ride in. I’m trying to think of something positive to say about the country……..the petrol was cheap! Apart from that it was not nice in every respect. Ripped off entering, during and leaving. Last night I had the worst meal of my entire life, hard to describe it, but there was a swarm of flies in the dining room, curdled yoghurt and the food was days old (I think!!)Today I entered uzbekistan, I’m now in Bukhara, fantastic islamic architecture, my position is N39 46.856 E064 24.663. Tomorrow I head to Samarkland, it is also supposed to be full of amazing architecture, such a contrast to turkmenistan. My next stop after this country is kazakhstan (briefly) and then into krygyzstan, I should be there in a week or less all being well. I have not been lonely at all so far, every stop is a mini adventure with the locals, they are not used to seeing a bike like mine, but I do miss my family.Unbelievably I’ve had no real corruption yet, every country I travel through says the next country is as dodgy and corrupt as hell, but I don’t listen, I see for myself, but so far so good!Email now seems to be working, but I don’t know how long I will be in mail contact for. It seems to depend on the country.
august 1
N39 39.112E066 58.080 Samarkland, Uzbek.
Disaster struck yesterday and for a moment i really thought it was ‘game over’.
I was paying more attention to the fantastic monuments and not the road and THUNK!
I smashed my oil sump, convieniently outside a 4stars hotel!
I managed to dump 4ltr of oil in the hotel carpark and i had a mild freak out about it.
I tried to fix it with epoxy metal but it didn’t work!
So today i was up bright and early to try and find someone who could weld aluminium.
To cut a very long story short,i eventually found one,got an excellent repair but managed to get my tent stolen!
So its only hotels or sleeping under the stars for me from now on!
Tomorrow i hit the road again,but hopefully my oil sump won’t hit the road again………..
] (need more pic’s)
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