[Vlad87]

Hey, thanks for a warm welcome, everyone!

Biker_Andy, we still do have a share of old soviet or modern russian vehicles, but not as much as it used to be 20 or even 10 years ago. Lada's role as affordable "people's car" is taken by Dacia Logan (Romanian-build Renault Logan), and some other european brands. Most motorcycles are second-hand Japanese, along with some european (mostly BMWs, some Ducattis, Moto Guzzis, and maybe an occasional Triumph). Few Harleys. There are at least two owners clubs that specialize in old soviet bikes, like Urals & Dniepers (old ones, not the modern Gear Up) or middle-weights like Izsh's, Jawas and Voskhods, but both of them are relatively small (although, high technical knowledge, experience, membership rules and organization makes them look more like american MCs in some ways). You can also find a lot of old soviet equipment in the countryside, mostly in the "meh" condition, but sometimes there is a rare gem that really begs for restoration ))) Chinese bikes are also mostly owned by countryside youth, so, as a city guy in his 30s, i'm more of an exception )

For some time between summer of 2016 and fall of 2018 i lived in south Russia - a port city of Novorossiysk (Krasnodar region). Due to the different demographics, financial situation, more developed road infrastructure, the whole road culture is completely different over there, and in some ways, much more closer to American - a lot of different cars, from european and japanese subcompacts to huge SUVs, from vintage cars to european supercars or american muscle cars, and of course, whole lot of motorcycles here and there, several custom shops, etc. Unfortunately, there is no such vehicle diversity in Moldova.

As far as i know, Russia still produces few offroad, all-terrain bikes and quads like the ones you mentioned, and judging from the videos i saw, they must be fun to ride )
Road motocycle manufacturing nowadays is limited to Chinese import assembling (Baltmotors, Stels, Wels, and some other companies), but i must note that in total, Russians and Ukrainians have more interesting Chinese model line available, compared to what imported to Moldova. And of course, Irbit Motorcycle Plant still producing a limited ammount of Gear Up's every year (cheesy, btw, do you still own one?).

Hope that this little post will shed some light on the current state of local road culture, and if anyone of you will ever find himself in these parts, just contact me ) I'm no professional guide (and frankly speaking, one of the reasons for buying a bike was to explore that little country i live in, but have little knowledge of, apart from capital of Chisinau/Kishinev), but i will help you in any way possible )

Speaking of the bike, spent this weekend wrenching my little donkey with the help of a friend, mostly fixing some minor flaws, like removing rust points, fixing backlashes, etc. Didn't took any pictures because of the rainy weather, and the fact that, i somehow managed to empty the battery today (i think, because i stalled in the city several times after i got the bike, and used electric starter too often), and still haven't got used to CG's kickstarter, so i left the bike at friends place until tomorrow, when i'll put charged battery back.