Feel free to PM me OP. I lived in St. Petersburg for 3 months earlier this year, teaching English (voluntarily). Maybe I can answer some questions for you.
You will absolutely have to know some Russian though. In SPB there's more tourism so there's more English speakers downtown, and English signs in places like the subway. In Moscow without at least knowing the cyrillic alphabet and basic phonetics you'll have a hard time getting around.
EDIT: As for a motorcycle, have you done some research on it? Living in Buenos Aires where pretty much everyone has a motorcycle/moped/scooter something I immediately noticed is that there were almost no motorcycles there. I trust it's because of how cold it is year-round. Don't underestimate the cold! Really. Unless you're used to it, make sure you take a lot of warm clothes.
Some more general advice I can give you... Firstly I should stress again how you should learn as much Russian as you can before going (and especially while there). I had a basic grasp of it when I arrived, but I didn't exactly pick up as much as you might with another Germanic/Romance language. In the past I learned Portuguese like literally five times faster than Russian, knowing Spanish. But if you study it while you're there you'll learn at a steady rate and apply what you learn on a daily basis. After 3 months I learned a lot.
On your first or second day there, go to a TELE2 shop. TELE2 is a mobile operator. They sell a pre-paid SIM chip for 300 rubles a month (roughly 5 dollars). It has unlimited data and I didn't even bother using WiFi in the apartment I was staying at because it was fast (4G). I used on average around 60 gigs of data a month and the speed never slowed down. Really, really cheap way to get unlimited data and as many calls/SMS as you'll realistically need. This was especially helpful for Google Maps. I used Google Maps religiously to get around the city and not once did it give me the wrong route. The subway is by far the best way to get around the city, BTW.
Russian people are very proud, the more you know about their culture the more willing they'll be to show you around, teach you more, help you with the language, etc. Don't believe the stereotype that they're "cold" people. They're actually really amiable once you get past their "shell".
Go to the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow if you're into 18th-19th century paintings. The Hermitage in SPB of course is a must. It's huge. Go as early as possible (opens at 10am) it starts filling up around 11am. Don't go on a day it's free, it's ridiculously full. Since I was in Petersburg for so long I met a lot of locals, and they showed me some places that aren't in guidebooks. Rooftop cafes, tours through private buildings, rooftop tours (if you're adventurous, somewhat athletic and willing to walk on rooftops without railings, this was really amazing and offered incredible views of the city) and the like. I can give you some tips here, in case you're interested. I only spent 5 days in Moscow so there I mostly covered the main attractions, but I can give you a few tips.
Try Georgian food. In my opinion it's better than Russian food. Try khachapuri and khinkali. So, so good.
Since this is Neogaf, I should mention the Soviet Arcade Museum. It has a bunch of preserved arcade games from Soviet times. Good for 2 hours or so (go with a local!).
I could write a lot more haha, I had such a good time over there and I can make up for the lack of Russians on Gaf
As I said, feel free to PM me.
