Crasher goes North: All at sea

Map of Day 2


Thursday 16th July 2015

After a somewhat restless night, I get up just before 5am. I have to be at Immingham Docks by 7 at the latest, as my ship sails at 8.

By the time I have showered and climbed into my biking gear it is just before 6. I check all my luggage is still attached to the bike and wheel it out of my parents garage. Mum and Dad wave me off, stood on the front door step, wrapped up in their dressing gowns. I head out of the village, and head North. Immingham is about 40 minutes ride up the very straight A15.

 I soon passed the gates of RAF Scampton, famous for the Dambuster raids in WW2, and currently for being the home of the Red Arrows display team.

I made it to Immingham with loads of time to spare, so I decided to fill up with fuel. This way I would be able to ride all the way to my first stop in one go, once I get to Gothenburg.

I arrive at the docks and follow the DFDS signs for Gothenburg. There is nobody around to ask if I am going the right way, so I just follow the road. Eventually I am led to a set of barriers, with a few trucks waiting inline. I can see a couple of ships on the other side of the barriers, so I assume one is the one I will catch. Soon it is my turn at the front of the queue. The intercom and touchscreens are set at the height of a HGV cab, so what do I do now!

A man in high-viz taps on the window of a Portacabin next to the barriers, and becons me inside. He asks to see my passport and ticket. He prints me off a boarding pass and tells me to wait just the other side of the barriers next to a couple of cars. As soon as park up and turn off the ignition, a dock worker with a massive smile, pulls up in a black cab escort vehicle, and leans out of the drivers window. " Morning, follow me. We'll get you straight on, chap! "

I follow the cab, and the other couple of cars join the convoy on to one of the ships. We are stopped in our tracks by one of the cargo tugs maneuvering a truck trailer into an impossible gap between two other trailers. He must of done it before as he had about an inch of room either side. They certainly like to pack them in tight. I am led round to a spot where I am given some straps to tie down my bike. The cars following park up, and my fellow passengers and I are shown up to our individual cabins.

This had been the subject of many jokes by my work mates in the weeks leading up to my trip. How would I cope sharing a small cabin with Boris the burly Russian trucker, all alone out on the ocean where no-one can hear you scream!

I wasn't expecting many creature comforts, with the ferry being used solely for freight. But, truck drivers obviously need some where nice to relax. The cabins were good. Ensuite bathroom,a little settee and desk, and a comfy bed. That will do nicely.

My room was quickly descended into chaos as I unloaded my overnight things.

This would become a theme for the whole trip. Usually within five minutes of arriving, clothes and other belongings would be scattered over every surface available.

There was a really nice passenger lounge and
 canteen. This was where I would spend the next 29 hours! There was also a little deck outside, so at least I could get some air.

Once I had had a quick look around the passenger facilities, I went out on deck to see the ship cast off.

Moored up next to the sister ship, ready to depart

Exactly at 8am, the moorings were released, and we were off. No going back now!

Goodbye England. See you in a month. Next stop Sweden

I got chatting to Hugh, one of the other passengers. He is married to a Swedish lady, and regularly takes the ferry over to his holiday home in Sweden. He tells me that they always depart and arrive on time. Almost to the minute.

Hugh and I head inside, where we can help ourselves to some breakfast from the canteen. That is one of the advantages of taking this ferry. All meals, tea, coffee, and cold drinks are provided in the cost of your ticket. There is not any choice, being a menu set by the chef. But I had no complaints.

I settled for some cereal, a slice of toast, a yoghurt, and some fruit juice and coffee. Not being a seasoned seafarer, I didn't want to overload for fear of seeing it again later. As, I didn't speak Swedish, Hugh explained all the different kinds of milk in the fridge. There were several cartons which all looked similar, but were decidedly different. Apparently pouring the "cottage cheese" type of sour milk in your tea or coffee is quite a spectator sport on this ferry!

I sat out on the deck reading for most of the morning, checking out what I was to expect from my ride through Sweden in a few guide books. I met a few of the other passengers throughout the morning too. Steve and Mike were taking Mike's Porsche 997 Cabriolet to his second home in the south of Sweden. David was driving a snotty MOT failure Volvo 960 estate full of booze and fags over to his mates house near Kristiansund, where they are assembling a collection of cars to race around the frozen lakes in winter. And, there were also a couple of truck drivers who passed the time of day. One had an Aston Martin DB9 to take to a car show in the back of his car transporter, and the other was taking some engineering tooling to Tromso. We all got on well, and wanted to know about each others stories.

Lunch soon arrived. This was a mixed stew, in a creamy sauce, served with chunky chips, and salad. I would eat a similar stew a few times during my trip. It seemed to be a  Scandinavian staple dish.

I spent the rest of the day checking my route for the first few days, and listening to some music. There was a TV in the lounge, but it has a limited choice of American dramas and soaps subtitled into Swedish. One of the truck drivers had a few DVD's too, which increased the selection.

The evening meal was honey roast gammon, new potato's, and salad, followed by a freshly baked chocolate cake and strong coffee. The chef also offered to open his store cupboard "shop" for half an hour, so that we could purchase some drink etc if we wanted.

We all sat around talking and watched the sun set. With a calm sea and nothing on the horizon to spoil the view, it was a stunning view.

I dropped off to sleep listening to the gentle throbbing of the ships engine, knowing that tomorrow would be the proper start of the adventure as I disembark on to Scandinavian soil.

Here is the second part of the vlog:

Crasher goes North: It's actually happening!

Map of Day 1

Wednesday 15th July 2015

D-Day. Departure day. This is it. Just over a year in the planning, and now it was time to actually set off, on what I hoped would be a trip full of adventure and happy memories.

It had been a strange and somewhat stressful week so far. I am a man who likes sticking to a predetermined plan. I knew what, when and how the trip would begin. Or, so I thought. That was until I was just about to leave for work on the Monday.

I was just going out of the door, when my phone rang. I was going to leave it for the answer phone, but for some reason I turned back and picked up the phone. "Hello, DFDS here. We are sorry but we have had to cancel your ferry on Friday." WTF!. A year in the planning. I had cancelled my back up plan of how to get to Scandinavia only a few day ago, and now my ferry was cancelled. I could feel the stress building and the energy draining from me as I slumped down onto a chair at the side of the phone.

" The captain wants to sail on Thursday morning instead. Would it be ok to book you a place on the revised sailing?" Damn right it would be! Woohoo! The trips back on. I would have to sweet talk my boss into an extra days leave, but as I had already tied up all my loose ends at work it shouldn't be a problem. So, I would be leaving a day early. That meant that the relaxing couple of days I had before the trip, were now somewhat more frantic.

The problem with the ferry was to be expected. Getting to Scandinavia from the UK is quite a tricky affair. There was a passenger ferry from Harwich to Esbjerg in Denmark until recently. Now the only option is a ferry from Harwich to Hook of Holland, followed by a long ride across Germany and either to catch another ferry from there, continue riding over the bridge to Sweden, or to ride up to the top of Denmark and catch a ferry from there. There is also the little known option of a freight ferry from Immingham to Gothenburg.

As the DFDS service to Gothenburg is a freight service, they only take a limited number of paying passengers. They can also not confirm you a place until a few days before sailing, as the freight and truck drivers take priority. The captain can also decide when he actually sails, often changing the sailing times to meet the freight demand. This is what happened in my case. Why chose to go by this route then? Well the two ferry and cross country ride option is also a costly one. Taking the freight ferry costs less than half that of the passenger ones. Plus, it gets you right into Sweden cutting out over 800 miles of riding. It does take 29 hours though! It is also leaving at 8am, so I have to be at the port by 7 at the latest.

I have arranged to stay at my parents house just outside Lincoln, tonight. Then I will only have a short ride to Immingham early in the morning to catch the ferry. But, first I have a couple of errands to take care of. My holiday cash is waiting for me to collect it at the Post Office. I then have to collect a prescription from the chemist on the way back.

I get to the Post Office just as it opens. Seeing all the different currencies, the guy behind the Post Office counter wants to know all about my trip. I am in there ages answering all his questions, slowly edging my way towards the door all the while. As, I leave and head for the chemist, it starts to rain. It is not forecast to rain today, and I didn't bring a jacket. I get interrogated about my trip by the chemist too. The joys of living in a small village! By the time I get back home two hours have passed, and I am soaked to the skin. And, I still have to load my bike and ride three hours up to my parents house.

With my luggage checked ( only three times this morning, after already repacking it all several times since the weekend ), loaded onto my bike, and the house locked up, I am ready to set off. At least the rain had stopped and it looked like it was going to be nice for the rest of the day.

As I am now running a little later than I was anticipating, I decided to take the more direct but boring route up to Lincoln. This involved motorways and dual carriageways, which I always find tedious.

I was shortly into the trip that I realized I was traveling at a somewhat rapid pace. Seeing as I was supposed to be on my holidays, I pulled over to check my luggage was still tight and to give myself a good talking too. I regularly end up in conversation with myself, often out load, when on a long motorcycle trip. It helps me deal with

stressful situations, and keeps my sanity in check. Although reading this seems to contradict that somewhat!

 With everything in order, and with a better mindset, I set off again up the M11 and A1

I settle into the ride and play some tunes through my intercom to help the miles pass. This would become a welcome distraction over the next week or so. Eventually, I arrive at my parents house. We had a great evening catching up over a nice hearty meal, and my Mum worrying about her little boy being so far away from home. I'm 42. I think I will be ok. I go to bed feeling nervous of what tomorrow will bring.

Here is the first days vlog.

You can also watch the full vlog series by clicking on the link below

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XqKCGvv3Ws&list=PLfGKYwST9WanB6_PZLEJB2-jvUAIt3vd4

Dunlop Trailsmart Update

Fitting a set of Dunlop Trailsmart tyres to my Tiger for the trip to Scandinavia was one of my better decisions.

As you can read elsewhere in my blog I was initially less than impressed with a pair of Michelin Anakee 3 tyres. Good wear rate, wet weather grip, and longevity were the main highlights of any comments from owners that had fitted a pair. I didn't like the feel of them though.

The front tyre appears to be the biggest problem. Well, the profile of the front tyre. It is very square looking. And, this is how it feels when riding. The tyres seem to grip well enough, as all modern tyres do. The front tyre, being only a 90/90x21 is a skinny tyre to start with. When the tyre profile is shaped so that the edge of the tread area is reached very easily in a turn, this does not inspire bucket loads of confidence. I feel like I constantly going to loose the front end grip, even at the more sedate speeds I ride at these days.

And, when you add in the fact that the rear tyre is starting to square off, and feel it at 2000 miles, the Michelins would not of last the duration of the trip.

You can just see the Michelin Anakee 3's are already showing signs of squaring off  at only 2000 miles.

The Dunlop Trailsmarts were a revelation. I am very used to Dunlop tyres, as they are used on the majority of the motorcycles I work on. We fit Dunlop Roadsmart and Sportsmart tyres to the bulk of the fleet with a scattering of Bridgestone and Michelin tyres fitted on certain models.

As soon as the Dunlop Trailsmarts were fitted on the rims, I could tell I was going to prefer them to the Anakee 3's. They had a much rounder profile both front and back. The rear tyre also looked a little wider. It is well known that Dunlop are generally generous on their tyre sizing.

That looks better!

Well, I didn't have to ride far to realise that the Trailsmart's were the tyres for me. Instantly I felt confidence inspiring grip, with good initial turn in and stability through corners. And, more importantly the annoying tyre roar noise I got from the Anakee's was gone.

If the Trailsmarts can cope with 5000 miles of a fully laden adventure trip on the Tiger then I may of found my new favorite tyres.

Well they did cope. More than cope. That confidence inspiring grip was just what was needed on the endless mountain passes. This was all edge of the tyre type riding, flicking left and right for often sixty kilometers at a time. The sheer drops at the side of the road were enough to concentrate my mind, without having to worry about what the tyres were doing beneath me.



The tyres also didn't square off as quickly as I thought they would. The first few days of the trip consisted of riding up through Sweden and Finland on endless straight roads.

This type of straight road riding would of killed the Michelins before the trip had properly started. It wasn't until reaching Germany and Holland near the end of the trip that the Trailsmarts felt and looked a little square. By then the tyres had covered nearly 5000 miles of fairly intense riding, in all conditions, and on all tyres of surface including gravel roads. I was even unfortunate to have to ride through the worst rain storm I have ever experienced on the way through Denmark. The tyres were fairly worn by then. But, the confidence and grip the Dunlop's gave was very welcome.

Once back in the UK, I covered another thousand miles of commuting before I had the time to change the tyres. As you can see in the following photos, the tyre still had lots of tread left on them. But, the profile had gone and the riding experience was no longer the same. The front tyre was also developing cracks around the tread blocks. This just shows how much the tread blocks move around to generate grip on modern tyres. 

I have now refitted the Michelin Anakee 3's I had on the bike before my trip. They feel horrible. Wooden and lacking in the confidence inspiring feel of the Dunlop Trailsmarts, I can't wait to wear them out during winter commuting. I will then be fitting another set of Trailsmarts, which for me seem to be the best tyres currently on the market for my Tiger.

Crasher goes North

This summer I am taking my Tiger on what I hope will be an epic adventure. It has been a long time dream of mine to ride a motorcycle to the Nordkapp, at the northern tip of Norway. It is just one of those places I have always wanted to visit, after reading about it during my early twenties. There is nothing much there, and it has turned into a tourist trap due to people wanting to travel to this rocky cliff top at the top of Europe. It is a long way from my home in the UK, and getting there involves riding lots of miles through the stunning Scandinavian county side. So, this adds another element to the trip. 

The initial idea came about during a conversation with my friend Greg. He lives in Norway, and regularly attends the AF1 Forum Caponord camping weekends in Wales. Once the suggestion of a trip to the Nordkapp was mentioned, I was the first to sign up. The Aprilia Caponord was named after the Nordkapp, so several other owners started to show interest in the trip. While I no longer have my Caponord, I am always made welcome by the guys and girls from the forum who I keep in touch with.

I applied for my leave from work a year in advance, as I would need longer than the standard two week break to complete the trip. It took a while for my bosses to agree, but once this was granted the planning could really begin.

This planning will come to fruition in a couple of weeks time, when I catch my ferry to Sweden and begin the trip. I will post a ride report, and hopefully a series of short films and blogs about the trip when I return towards the end of August. I can't wait.

Time for a new pair of tyres........again.

A few months ago I fitted a pair of Michelin Anakee 3 tyres. They replaced the awful Pirelli Scorpion Trail tyres the bike came fitted with from new.

The Anakee 3's have been great tyres. They grip well in all conditions, coping well with wet roads, and giving confidence inspiring levels of grip in the dry. However, they are very noisy tyres. They sound like an old Landrover on knobbly tyres roaring down the road.

But, having covered just over 2000 miles the handling is beginning to suffer. Having checked the tyres, I have discovered that they are just starting to square off. The front tyre feels like the worse of the two. The tyres still have plenty of tread on them. 5mm on the front, and 7mm on the rear. I am being picky. But, I can feel the difference from when they were new. With my big trip coming up soon, it was time for a new pair of tyres. I will refit the Anakee 3's when I return, to see how long they last.

As, I am going on a big trip that may involve some gravel roads I looked for a tyre that could cope with both tarmac and a bit of hard packed gravel. The Anakee 3's are a 90% tarmac/ 10% off road tyre. Another set of these would probably cope with the riding I have in mind. I am just a little disappointed with the wear rate.

Looking at all my options most of the tyres available, most of the tyres available for modern adventure bikes seem to be tarmac biased. The tyre manufactures know their market as most owners never stray from the black stuff.

I looked at the new Continental TKC70 tyres. These are a 70/30 tyre. However, they do not produce a 90/90VR21 suitable for the Tiger yet. It is due out later in the year. Another tyre that has got good ratings at the lauch was Dunlop's new Trailsmart tyre. These are an update of the TR91 tyres which have been around for a few years. They are a road based tyre, but they have a deep tread. I am familiar with the Roadsmart tyres that the Trailsmart are based on, as I use them at work.

I ordered a set online and fitted them earlier this week. They are nice and easy to fit. The silica rich compound should make them quite grippy and long lasting. They were easier to fit than the Anakee 3's. I just hope they work ok on my trip.

 

 

 

They look good on the bike. The front seems to have a much rounder profile. The Anakee 3 always felt very square in comparison. Hopefully I will get the chance to try them out in the next few days.

Time for some new brake pads

I recently took my bike back to my supplying Triumph dealer for it's 6000 mile/ annual service. My bike is now a year old and needed a service on date rather than mileage. I had done 4736 miles at the time of service.

The bike was ushered away into the workshop while I waited, drinking coffee and catching up on some emails on my phone.

A couple of hours later the bike was brought out to the front of the shop, and the bill for the service was explained to me. On the bill was a charge for brake fluid, which the mechanic had topped up. When I questioned why this had been done, the slightly flummoxed service receptionist explained that it was part of the Triumph service schedule. The Triumph service schedule mentions to check brake fluid levels, not adjust them. The reason for this will be explained in a moment.

After a brief explanation of why I thought this should not of been done, this part of the charges was removed from my bill. I paid the rest and went on my way. Yet again I have had a  technical problem with a dealer. ( I should explain at this point that I am a highly trained motorcycle technician with over 20 years experience. I only take my bike to the dealer for warranty reasons).

You see the hydraulic braking system is a sealed system. The only time the fluid level should be adjusted is when a fluid change is performed, or you have a leak. The fluid level in the reservoirs goes down as the pads wear and more fluid is required to fill the void behind the piston as it moves out to push the pad onto the disc. The reservoirs are made of a translucent material or have sight windows, as a visual guide to pad wear. If your fluid level is getting near the "low" mark, you need to investigate what is wrong. You take a look. There are no fluid leaks. You check the pads. They are low. You fit new ones, pushing the caliper pistons back to do so. Oh look! The fluid level has risen back to the "max" mark in the reservoir again. Simples!

But, if the mechanic tops the fluid up at service time, you lose this visual aid. You also end up with too much fluid in the system. This then has to be drained off to fit new pads. AAAAAAHHHHH!!

So, with this in mind I visually checked the rear pads when I got home. They were a bit worn, but still appeared to have plenty of material left on them. I then used the bike for a couple of weeks of commuting, and a weekend away camping in Wales.

After cleaning the bike after the Wales trip ( it rained a lot!), I discovered this. Less than a thousand miles after the service.

There is about 2mm of pad material left, so time for a change. The front pads were not quite as worn. But, as I am going on my big summer trip I thought it would be best to change all three sets, as I don't want any avoidable problems while away.

Although I like to have the odd spirited ride, these days I am a bit of a steady rider. I do find that I get through brake pads, particularly rear pads on these kind of adventure bikes. It must be something to do with weight distribution, or the style of riding.

Not wanting to give my inept dealer any more of my hard earned cash, I shopped around for new pads. If the dealer had mentioned the pad wear at the service, I would of probably asked him to fit some. But, he didn't so missed out on the business.

Having used them before, and being impressed, I chose a set of Galfer sintered pads from Calsport. As a bonus, they were also on offer with 30% off.

I cleaned up the calipers and greased the sliding pins. The calipers were good to go. I checked the brake fluid levels too. I had to remove 40ml from the rear reservoir, so that I could push the piston back! I then popped the pads in to complete the job. I will see how long this set lasts.

Next another new set of tyres.........

Puig Touring Screen

One of the problems I have with Tiger is a certain amount of screen buffeting. I have tried a variety of screens and screen modifications. But, none of which have eliminated the problem completely.

In one of my previous posts, I modified the Triumph touring screen by adding a MRA spoiler from an old screen. This worked quite well at certain speeds. But, on longer trips at motorway speeds the screen flexed too much and the buffeting returned.

A friend of mine had recently fitted a Puig touring screen to his Tiger and was raving about how good it was. I like the looks of the new screen. And, also noticed that it had additional braces either side. Could this be the screen for me? It certainly looked like it.

I shopped around for the best deal and eventually found a bargain at www.bs-motorparts.de. The screen was delivered within 48 hours from Germany.

What's in the box?

 

The screen came very well packaged from BS-Motorparts

 

 

When I unpacked the screen I was pleasantly surprised that it was already assembled, and ready to bolt on as a direct replacement for the existing screen.

 

What came in the box. Here you can see the screen, fitting kit, the spoiler, and a comprehensive instruction booklet. Being a man, I ignored the last item!

 

Here you can see the difference between the standard Triumph screen on the right, and the Puig Touring screen on the left. You will also notice that I ordered the Puig screen in the light tint option.

 

The Puig screen fitted in just a few minutes. It uses the standard Triumph mounting screws and hardware for the brackets and the lower screen holes. I then fitted the spoiler section. This was again a simple exercise, involving a few screws.

 

All of the holes for the brackets and screws are pre-drilled. The spoiler brackets are the same and will fit either side.

 

 

And here is the screen all fitted. The adjustment mechanism is simple to use, and offers a good range of movement. Combined with the additional adjustment available from the spoiler, I seem to be able to find a good setting for most speeds.

 

The screen braces, with them holding the screen much higher than the Triumph items, prevent the screen from flexing so much at motorway speeds. This makes the buffeting much more tolerable to the point that I hardly notice it anymore. It has taken a bit of experimentation to get a setting that I like. But, for now I am happy. I have a long trip planned this summer, and this screen will certainly help with covering big miles with ease.