Motorcycle Tour - Arriving in Istanbul Ep. 24
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00:30Assalam Alekum and Good Morning Everyone from Edirne, Turkey.
00:35I have been staying here for the past two days.
00:37I explored the city yesterday and today I am finally leaving for Istanbul.
00:42My plan is that my bike is not working and I have to go to a BMW dealer in Istanbul.
00:47Someone has to get the bike checked somehow.
00:49Istanbul is 250 km from here.
00:52There are two options to get there.
00:54One is the fast highway and the other is the slow one that passes through villages.
01:00But my plan is to take the fast highway.
01:02If I get tired in the middle of the journey, I will change my plan.
01:06The total distance is 250 km.
01:09It will take me 3 hours non stop.
01:12But I can't ride non stop.
01:14So I think it will take me at least 4.5 hours with 2-3 breaks.
01:19But first, let's have a delicious breakfast.
01:22I have stayed one more night because of the breakfast here.
01:26The hotel where I am staying is called Alan's Suites.
01:30It is about 2 km away from the city center.
01:34I liked it a lot.
01:36I paid only 19 Euros per night for this hotel.
01:39So I stayed here for two nights and it cost me almost 38 Euros.
01:42These are close to 40 Euros.
01:44You can calculate it in Pakistani Rupees.
01:46But let me give you a tour of this hotel.
01:49On one side of the room, there is a cooking area.
01:53I am not cooking here.
01:55I have my helmet here.
01:57And this is the main room.
01:59It is a double bedroom.
02:01It has a full A.C.
02:03Because in this region, you need A.C.
02:05It can go up to 40 degrees.
02:07There is a T.V.
02:09There were football matches yesterday.
02:11Unfortunately, I didn't get the time.
02:13And this is the clean washroom.
02:24We are ready.
02:26And this is our luggage.
02:28I think this is the best thing here.
02:30At least I don't have to leave the room.
02:33Otherwise, if I go to other places,
02:35people pick up my luggage and go crazy.
02:54So, now I have to start it first.
02:57I will have to find someone else.
02:59Otherwise, I will have to ask the reception guy
03:01to push the bike a little bit.
03:04Hello. Assalam Alekum.
03:08I need a little help to push the bike.
03:11My bike doesn't start.
03:13Yeah. Thank you.
03:17Sorry?
03:18Which start do you need?
03:20This one.
03:22There is some problem
03:24and I have to go to Istanbul to BMW.
03:26So, they will fix it.
03:29So, maybe we go from here a little.
03:32Hopefully, it will start.
03:35Yeah.
03:44Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim.
03:47We are ready to leave.
03:49I have to pack my luggage very quickly.
03:52One of my legs is not in a good condition.
03:56I think I will have to take a break in Istanbul.
04:05May Allah make this day a good one.
04:12There is petrol in the bike.
04:14I don't need to get it filled from here.
04:16It's almost full.
04:18I think if there is no problem in between,
04:20we will reach there in this tank.
04:23It will do 270-280 km.
04:27I think the last time we did it,
04:29it was only 20 km from the Turkish border.
04:32And I must have done 10 km in the city.
04:35So, there is enough petrol in it.
04:37The condition of my legs is a little delicate today.
04:41I am having a lot of trouble in putting the gear.
04:44So, I will try not to go too far.
04:47Otherwise, my legs may get worse.
04:49And if it gets worse,
04:51I will have to take a long rest.
04:54So, we are leaving on the highway today.
04:56I won't have to change the gear again and again.
05:02We will take a couple of breaks in between.
05:04We can take small breaks.
05:06I don't want to take too much risk.
05:08If I stop again and again,
05:10it may not start again.
05:12I have a subscriber from India.
05:15We have been friends for quite some time now.
05:20He has a G310GS as well.
05:22He told me that he had the same issue.
05:24His bike stopped at a traffic signal in the middle
05:28and could not start again.
05:30So, I am trying to avoid this situation.
05:46And here we are on the Istanbul highway.
05:59I emailed the BMW guy 2 days ago.
06:02I got a reply from him yesterday.
06:04He included BMW Bulgaria in his email.
06:08And asked me to help this guy in Romania.
06:11He has an issue with the warranty.
06:14The Bulgarian guy emailed me
06:17that wherever I am in Bulgaria,
06:19he can pick me up and bring me to Sofia.
06:23But I told him that I have already crossed the border.
06:26If he had told me a day earlier,
06:28it would have been feasible for me to reach Sofia.
06:31I had requested the BMW guy
06:33to send me to Turkey
06:35as I am going to Istanbul now.
06:37I pushed the button a couple of times.
06:40I hope it will work out today.
06:42But I did not get any reply.
06:44Let's see.
06:46I called the Istanbul guy as well.
06:48He told me that he will contact me later.
06:52But I did not get any email from him.
06:54I checked his website.
06:56He does not have a G310GS.
06:58I am a bit worried.
07:00Maybe he does not have a part.
07:03Then I will have to get a part from Germany.
07:06Let's see.
07:08We should always hope for the best.
07:11We are leaving Istanbul with hope in our hearts.
07:14Even if I have to stay in Istanbul for a couple of days,
07:18it would be better for me
07:20instead of staying in Sofia.
07:37Where do we have to go now?
07:39I have no idea.
07:44Only God knows.
07:56I did not even have his number.
08:00What could he have checked?
08:03Let's see.
08:08Maybe it's free for bikers.
08:10But I don't think the highway is free.
08:12We will have to pay some money.
08:14Maybe we will have to pay later.
08:16The total distance from this highway is 235 km.
08:20We are going to meet the BMW dealer.
08:22He is on the European side.
08:24There are two parts of Istanbul.
08:26One is European and the other is Asian.
08:28We will go to the European side.
08:30The European side is closer to Istanbul.
08:32If we cross the bridge, we will reach the Asian side.
08:36There are two BMW dealers in Istanbul.
08:38Both of them are on the European side.
08:40I have found an address for one of them.
08:42I have put it in the navigation.
08:44Let's go there.
08:56The highway here is very empty.
08:59I can't see a single car.
09:01I only saw two trucks that I took over.
09:04Apart from that, I can't see anyone coming from either side.
09:07I have never seen such an empty highway in any country.
09:25I think we have covered more than 100 km.
09:28I am taking a short break now.
09:31So that I can take care of my sleep.
09:35So that I can have a cup of coffee.
09:37I think I have covered 100 km.
09:39I have turned off my navigation.
09:42Because it's a straight road.
09:44No need to drive.
09:47Corona?
09:49No, no.
09:51I am just coughing a little.
09:53I am a little scared.
09:55Somewhere...
09:57Let's stop Rangeeli here for a while.
10:03We will have a cup of coffee and then move ahead.
10:06Let's see how far we have covered.
10:09Let's turn off the navigation.
10:15Is there anyone here?
10:17No.
10:19Cappuccino?
10:21No, no coffee.
10:26Let's go and get some tea.
10:31English?
10:34Okay.
10:35Tea?
10:37Yeah, one tea.
10:40They have tea. Let's have some.
10:43We have covered a total of 100 km so far.
10:46We have taken a short break.
10:48We have an Afghan with us.
10:50From Afghanistan, Jalalabad.
10:53Abdul Rashid.
10:55Nice to meet you Abdul Rashid.
10:57Nice to meet you sir.
10:59He knows Pashto but I don't.
11:01That's why I was asking.
11:03I know a little bit of Urdu.
11:05How are you?
11:07That's all he knows.
11:11We have covered a total of 150 km so far.
11:14But the highway here is very good.
11:16It's empty. I am driving in peace.
11:18No problem at all.
11:20I didn't get much sleep.
11:22I think it's because I took a rest day yesterday.
11:25So I am a little tired now.
11:28And there is no electricity here.
11:30In this area.
11:32That's why we are having Turkish tea today.
11:36Abdul Rashid was a nice guy.
11:38He gave me his internet.
11:40There was no electricity here.
11:42So the wifi was not working.
11:44So he gave me his mobile as a hotspot.
11:46He must have had a conversation at home.
11:49He could have at least said that I have reached.
12:06As we are getting closer to Istanbul,
12:08the traffic is also increasing.
12:10And I think there are more small cities in this area.
12:14There was nothing in the back.
12:16Empty.
12:17And the weather is also very good today.
12:20It's almost 25 degrees.
12:22When I left from there, it was 25 degrees.
12:24And now it's 25 degrees.
12:26So it's a little cold.
12:28It's a little cold.
12:30It's a little cold.
12:32It's a little cold.
12:34It's a little cold.
12:36When I left from there, it was 35 degrees.
12:38And I was sweating.
12:40But as we are getting closer to Istanbul,
12:42it's getting colder.
12:44We are moving towards the sea.
12:46And the temperature is also dropping.
13:01As I was saying, there is no traffic in the back.
13:03There is no sign of any traffic here.
13:06The big city traffic is starting.
13:09And we are on the brakes now.
13:13I think we will have to ride the bike as a bike.
13:17From where we get the space of the cars.
13:20Let's go.
13:31This is too much.
13:33I saw a petrol pump after such a long time.
13:35And it's entrance is closed from here.
13:39That means they have gone to Rukh.
13:41Let's get Rangeeli out of here.
13:45We have 31 km to go.
13:49It all started even before we entered Istanbul.
13:54How can people tolerate this kind of traffic?
13:57If it's like this every day.
13:59Can we also ride the bike there?
14:01Let's go there.
14:04We can pull the bike and ride here.
14:06With the same speed.
14:09People are going.
14:11I saw a biker.
14:13This lane is for ambulances and such emergency lanes.
14:19If there are more bikers coming, we can ride in this lane.
14:27I didn't find any petrol pump in the last 60 km.
14:30And now I have finally decided that...
14:33How much is left? 23 km?
14:35I have decided to take out my can and fill it with petrol.
14:40Because I don't know how much time is left.
14:42And I have to go 17 km on this highway.
14:45So I might not be able to reach there.
14:47And I am not taking any risk.
14:49I am entering the city now.
14:52That's why I have my can with me.
15:04I don't know since when I had this.
15:06I got it filled from Austria once.
15:10I don't remember.
15:12I think it was once in Croatia.
15:16Let's talk less now and move away from the highway.
15:22This is the advantage of having a second key.
15:24If I had that key, I would have had to turn off the engine.
15:28And if the engine was off, I would have had to start again.
15:31So now I am feeling a little relaxed.
15:36I have given my head a little rest without the helmet.
15:47It's foggy.
15:48Even the police here use Audi A6.
16:02It's foggy.
16:14The best thing about bikers here is that you can use the side lane.
16:18You can't use it in Germany.
16:20And you can easily cross the traffic without any problem.
16:24And there are cameras here.
16:26If the car drivers drive, they will be fined.
16:28That's why there are only bikers on this road.
16:31I am talking about the road, not the lane.
16:34We have to go towards Besiktas or Sariyer.
16:37This is our exit.
16:42Right from here.
16:46It's a little confusing here.
16:50We are down the highway now.
16:525.4 km to go.
16:54To reach the BMW workshop.
16:58Let's go.
17:07We have to go straight.
17:09Don't take the wrong turn.
17:13Keep going straight.
17:21The sign is open.
17:23Let's go Rangeeli.
17:29Here comes Bursan.
17:37Service.
17:43Okay. Thank you.
17:47Right.
17:49And then he said left.
17:54Here comes BMW Motorrad.
17:59I think there are BMW Motorrad guys here.
18:04I can see a GS 310.
18:28So I push started it and I reached here now.
18:32Hopefully BMW can solve the issue.
18:35So where should I park it?
18:39There's a GS over there.
18:44Just leave it here.
18:46Okay. Yeah.
18:52I'll call my colleagues.
18:56Perfect.
18:58What's the problem?
18:59The problem is the bike doesn't start.
19:04The bike is off now.
19:07It's still in gear but let me...
19:10Now if you try to start.
19:16So I had to push start all the way from Bulgaria and reach here.
19:22The person who received me is a very nice person.
19:26He is the head of the technical department of all the dealerships and workshops in Turkey.
19:31He gave me his card so that I can call him if there's any issue in Turkey.
19:35I haven't seen such nice people in Germany.
19:39He just offered me a cup of coffee.
19:41I am drinking coffee and they are checking the data of my bike.
19:45It's my bike. It's not stolen.
19:48Let's see how much work is left.
19:51I don't know what the technical issue is.
19:54They don't know either.
19:56They will check it on the computer.
19:58I'll keep you updated.
20:00I'll ask them if they can make two videos here.
20:04I have just left the BMW workshop.
20:07They were very helpful.
20:09They checked my bike as soon as I left.
20:13The issue that I was worried about was the same issue that I told you about earlier.
20:18That there could be an issue with the alternator starter.
20:20Because a lot of people in India have asked me about it.
20:23And I told them that the alternator starter could be a problem.
20:26So I told them that the alternator starter could be a problem.
20:31Because a lot of people in India have faced the same issue.
20:35They do have an alternator.
20:37But they need a starter with the alternator.
20:40They can't change it without it.
20:42And they don't have a starter in stock.
20:44According to the person who dealt with me,
20:47he contacted BMW a month or so ago.
20:50He has a customer who had the same issue.
20:54And BMW told him that this stock will come to Germany in September.
20:58They don't know when it will come in September.
21:02God knows whether it will come or not.
21:04So I don't know what to do in this situation.
21:07I have just taken a taxi from here.
21:10And the funny thing is that the taxi driver didn't know the way.
21:15So I gave him my phone and asked him to reach home via Google.
21:21I was sitting here at that time.
21:23I tagged BMW on Instagram.
21:25I shared their status and story.
21:28And because they replied to me 2 days ago,
21:31I emailed the same person who replied to me.
21:34And requested him to solve this issue.
21:38Because 2 months means that this could be the end of my tour.
21:42I have been planning this for a long time.
21:44I am in this kind of situation.
21:46Coronavirus is everywhere.
21:48But I still continued my tour.
21:50If this issue wasn't solved,
21:53I don't know what to do at the moment.
21:58And I don't have a clear mind either.
22:01I am very sad from inside.
22:03But overall, whatever is happening in this tour is for the best.
22:08Let's accept it.
22:10It's a little difficult for me to act on this right now.
22:13But let's go home now.
22:15I have a family friend with whom I will stay.
22:18And then I have to think about the next step.
22:22And I might have to wait.
22:24I hope the BMW guys will do as I request.
22:26I hope they will agree.
22:28And I hope they have a bike with them.
22:31I hope they will send it to me.
22:33Let's see and hope for the best.
22:35Let's go now.
22:37It's gonna be a 45 minute ride from here.
22:40There's a lot of traffic.
22:42It's almost evening.
22:44The office hours are almost over.
22:47I am wearing a mask because it's compulsory here.
22:50The driver is also wearing a mask.
22:52He doesn't know English and I don't know Turkish.
22:54That's why we are not talking to each other.
22:56Let's enjoy the ride and go home.
23:20Unfortunately, my bike hasn't recovered yet.
23:22I have been in contact with BMW for the last 2-3 days.
23:25I was trying to get my missing part, the stator, sent from Germany.
23:30A lot of people tagged BMW on Instagram.
23:33I forced them to send the part.
23:35And finally they sent it.
23:37But there's a lockdown going on in Istanbul on Saturday and Sunday.
23:40As you can see, the lockdown will be lifted after 6 pm.
23:43There's very little traffic.
23:45Only essential travel.
23:47I don't know how long it will take.
23:49I will use this time to explore Istanbul and make vlogs.
23:54We will end this vlog here.
23:56But before that, I would like to thank all those people
23:59who offered to help me.
24:01Or somehow forced BMW to send the parts to Istanbul.
24:07Thank you everyone.
24:09That's it for today. Thank you so much for watching.
24:11See you in the next vlog. Allah Hafiz.
24:19Don't forget to subscribe to my channel.