Crasher goes North: A damp start followed by a hot day in the saddle

Map of Day 4

Saturday 18th July 2015

Having dropped off to sleep after a long hot afternoon of riding, I am woken just after 1am by the sound of rain on the roof of my tent. At 6am it is still raining. Light, persistent rain. The kind of rain that clings to every surface. We were offered a two bed Hytte ( camping hut: think garden shed, with a couple of beds and a student hotplate )and we should of taken it.

I can hear Greg is awake in his tent next door. After a bit of a discussion, we decide to break camp, get on our way, and stop for some breakfast somewhere up the road.

The view from my tent. Not a bad scene to wake up to

Packing up wet tents is never fun first thing in the morning

Our plan for today was to head North East. As, I had arrived a day earlier than planned due to the ferry debarkle, we now had two days to get to the first planned meeting point in Mora, on Sunday.

I should explain at this point that there are a few of us planning to meet up at a couple of campsites on the way up to the Nordkapp. We are all travelling from different parts of Europe, and on different ferries. When planning the trip, Greg suggested a couple of places where we could meet up to form a convoy. The ultimate aim being to take a group photo at the Nordkapp.

We head towards Skotterud on some country lanes. The riding is good, with empty roads and lots of sweeping curves. It's just a shame I can't see any of the countryside due to the low misty rain stuff.

We stop at a petrol station for some fuel and breakfast. Scandinavian petrol stations are normally equipped with a fast food/ pastry counter. Hot dogs ( polser ) are the staple snack. There is usually a meal deal of some sort. The big offer at this one was 35NOK ( £2.80 ) for a coffee and an icecream. The woman behind the counter says she is having trouble selling icecream due to the weather. I buy a nice looking Danish pastry and a coffee. Greg buys a meal deal of three boller ( a cinnamon spiced fruit bun ) which are a popular treat, and a coffee. The coffee is really good. I never encounter a bad cup of coffee throughout the whole trip.

There is a lounge area in the shop. Greg tells me it is normal for Scandinavians to stop, have a coffee and a snack, and sit for a while before carrying on with their journey. He says I will see over the next few days why this is important, as the towns are quite a long way apart.

As we sit there sipping coffee, an old man comes in to buy a newspaper and pay for his petrol. He wanders over, says hello, and starts chatting to Greg in Norwegian. He has spotted my bike with a UK plate and wanted to say hello. He starts to talk to me in perfect English. So much for panicking about being able to communicate with the locals!

We chat for a while about our trip, and also about how he had travelled around in the UK. He then made his excuses and left, as he had his wife waiting outside in the car. Greg told me it was unusual for people over 55 to speak good English, as it was not taught in schools at that time. When they do speak it though, they like to practice it with any travelers they meet.

It had stopped raining so we set off again. Greg had looked at the weather forecast. As it didn't look too good the way we were heading, he suggested heading straight to Mora, and spend an extra day there exploring. We headed for Arvika, in the direction of the E45 which would take us up to Mora.

It was good to be riding on dry roads again. The woman in the petrol station had suggested a scenic back road to get us to Arvika. Her instructions were a little vague, and we ended up taking a few missed turns.

But, we soon found our way on some great roads. We joined the 61 at Charlottenberg, after heading in completely the wrong direction for a few miles due to the road signs disappearing. Both Greg and I clocked on to this fact pretty quickly, so no real harm was done. We even managed to find a short cut on the 238, through a village called Skog which cut off about 20kms from the journey. The views were also getting better.

At the junction where the 238 joined the E45, Greg pulls over at a roadside dinner. It must be lunch time then!

We were greeted by a nice lady who asked what I would like. I attempted to order a hamburger in Swedish. She spoke back in perfect English and thanked me for trying! Greg ordered the beef stew and dumplings which the nice lady recommended.

The hamburger was amazing. Served in a freshly baked bun, with homemade pickles, chunky chips
and a salad. Greg's stew looked good too. It was great food, and seemed cheap. I kept reading about how much eating out costs in Sweden. But, this only cost us about £6 each. The view from the window was pretty good too.

With full bellies we hit the road again. The E45 is the road I would of taken all the way from Gotthenburg to Mora, if I had not decided to meet up with Greg. I am so glad I didn't choose that option.

Mile after mile of straight featureless tree lined road. Greg had warned me that it was a necessary evil to come this way if I wanted to get to the Nordkapp in a reasonably quick amount of time. Some of the straights were hundreds of kilometres long. When a corner or a crest in the road appeared it was a welcome distraction.

As we entered the town of Torsby I could smell burning plastic, and assumed it must be from some kind of industry, as we were riding past some large factories. I had a cursory glance at all my luggage just in case one of the straps had caught on the exhaust.

The smell disappeared a few minutes later as we left the town and headed back into the wilderness. About another 50kms up the road, Greg's bike slowed, his engine died, and he pulled over off the road. He was trying to start his bike but it refused to turn over. His battery was flat. Now I knew what the burning smell was!

Greg removed the seat from his Caponord. His right hand seat panel was all scorched, and the wiring loom had burnt out.

Aprilia wiring looms are a common cause of breakdowns due to the cheap build quality and components used. Greg had upgraded his regulator rectifier a few months earlier so that his bike would be more reliable for this trip. His wiring crimps had vibrated through, and earthed on the frame causing a small fire in the loom! The battery was no longer able to be charged. And so the bike ran until the battery voltage ran down to a critical level.

Removing the seat panel revealed the full horror.

We were now stranded in the middle of nowhere with a cremated Caponord, and no spares. And, it was starting to rain.

Luckily Greg had made the wiring connections with quite a bit of length left on the loom. I decided to cut out the burnt wiring and try and join the good wiring back together again.  We had nothing to loose.

I got busy with the tools, while Greg held his jacket over us to shelter us from the rain. We had no joining crimps, so I bared back some of the wire and tightly twisted the wires together. I then wrapped some insulation tape round the wires as tight as I could.

The connections seemed strong enough. Now to see about starting the bike. There was just enough life in the battery to turn the engine over, but not enough for it to fire up. And, there was no way we were going to be able to bump start it. I had what I hoped would be the solution though. For this trip I had purchased a micro power pack to charge my netbook. It also had the function to act as a jump pack to start a car. It was supposed to be able to start a diesel V8 several times from one charge. Well I was about to see if it would start an Italian V twin stallion!

I connected the jump leads, and turned on the ignition. I pushed the start button and without any hesitation, the bike started. The risk now was that the bike would die if I disconnected the jump leads. With a firm 14.2 volts showing on the dash mounted voltmeter, I disconnected the leads. The bike not only kept running, but was running and charging well.

Greg and I hurriedly put the bike back together and he got going. I packed away my tools and took off after him. If his bike kept going, we both had enough fuel to get to Mora. We would then be in a bigger town, with more repair possibilities.

We got to Mora, and stopped at a petrol station just before the campsite. If the bike didn't start again we could push it from here. But, it did start again like there was nothing wrong with it.

We booked in at Mora Camping which is a large municipal campsite in the centre of the town. The site was huge with lots of motorhomes parked up. After finding a nice spot we put up our tents; just as the heavens opened. It rain hard for ten minutes and then stopped as quickly as it had started. It would continue to shower for the rest of the evening. We sat around talking and reliving the events of the day, as we listened to the live music coming from the far side of the site. It turns out this is the last night of a three day Swedish dance music festival. That is why there are so many motorhomes full of line dancing middle aged couples. It was a strange musical genre. Less Swedish House Mafia, and more Country and Western meets 1970's Eurovision! Luckily it stops at 11pm. I retire to my tent, and I am out like a light.

Here is the next vlog:

Crasher goes North: Hello Sweden

Map of Day 3

Friday 17th July 2015

I had a restful night aboard the good ship Begonia Seaways. I woke up with the dawn at around 5am, and laid in my bed for a while looking at the empty horizon out of the window. I got up just after 6, and went out on to the deck for some air before breakfast. It was nice and sunny as I sat in a pleasantly warm sheltered spot I found, out of the cool morning breeze.

The sea was flat and calm ( it had been like this for the whole crossing ), and I soaked up the feeling of solitude. It was very relaxing, slowly chugging towards our destination.

Breakfast was very welcome this morning. Sitting out in the sea air had given me an appetite. Freshly baked bread rolls, cloudberry jam, muesli, orange juice, and lots of the lovely strong coffee went down a treat. There was bacon and eggs too. But, I am not really a cooked breakfast person.

The ship was due to dock in Gothenburg at 1pm, so I had plenty of time to pack up my overnight bag. As I was sitting in my cabin, and sorting through my tank-bag, I began to panic as I thought about the trip.

I have never really travelled abroad. Certainly not on a motorcycle. And, not for the length of time that this trip would take. This was the first real holiday since I had left school. I had always been working, or spending my money on fast cars and motorcycles to have been able to afford a real holiday.

I started to worry about everything. Would my credit and debit cards work? Would I be able to communicate with the people I meet? How am I going to cope on my own in a foreign country? Will I be eaten by a herd of reindeer when my bike leaves me stranded on a remote mountain pass in a blizzard? For f#cks sake man get a grip! You've been to Ikea and survived. You will be fine.

Just then my phone rings. I found this a little strange, as since we left the sight of the Lincolnshire coast I have had no signal.

It was my mum. " Hello. Where are you? Are you nearly there yet? " Her voice washed over me and brought with it a feeling of calm. " I'm fine. I think we are sailing around the top of Denmark. I've got a couple of more hours to go yet". And, after saying our goodbyes she was gone. And, so was the phone signal.

We were sailing past the north coast of Denmark and the Skagen peninsular. There is a phone mast there, so I picked up a signal as we sailed past. The sea was beginning to get busy, with ships of all sizes heading in all directions. We seem to be having a race with a tanker off our starboard side. After about twenty minutes, we have pulled out a slender lead.

As, the ship is due to dock at 1 which is normally lunchtime, the chef has prepared a meal for us slightly earlier. Roast chicken, potatoes and salad. It was a pleasant surprise, as I was not expecting it. I was planning on grabbing a bite to eat when I met my friend Greg later.

The passage into Gothenburg port was very pretty. Lots of little rocky outcrops with little wooden buildings on them. Just before turning into the port itself was a castle fort.

At 12:45 the captain started to reverse the ship into position on the dock, and we were allowed down to the cargo deck. I unstrapped my bike, and prepared to disembark. The bow door opened at 12:58, and we slowly made our way off the ship, right on time. Waiting for us all were two very Swedish looking Policemen, stood next to their Volvo V70 patrol car ( what else would it be! ). Seriously, they looked like they had been recruited by the Swedish Tourism Board from an ABBA tribute act to welcome travelers into the country. They were passport control.

After checking my passport they inquired about my trip. And, after telling them about going to the Nordkapp, one of them turned to me and said " It's a very long way. Have a good trip".

There was nobody manning the exit barriers to the port when we all arrived at the gate. After a few conversations with some men in high-viz, the paperwork was done and we were all released in Sweden in our different directions.

My satnav decided to throw a fit as we made our way out of the port, and the road signs were playing mind games too. So, after a 10 minute detour where I passed the same junction three times, I made my way out on to the E6 towards Oslo.

The E6 started off as a fast single carriage road, but with a 80kph speed limit. I had read that speeding in Scandinavia can have serious consequences,  so I would stick to the limits until I could figure out the rules according to what the locals were doing.

The E6 became a 110kph dual carriageway about 15kms out of Gothenburg. There are quite a few speed cameras, but they are all forward facing. They are like the bases of street lamps and painted dark blue. There is also always a warning sign 100 metres before the camera, so they were easy to spot.

I soon settle into a 120kphish cruise. This seems the norm with the locals. Although, some of them are travelling a great deal faster.

It's about 220kms to the services where I had planned to meet Greg. As, I pull into the carpark, I spot his bike parked up. Second later, Greg appears and we start chatting like a couple of old women. After catching up, I fill up with fuel ( cards are working: phew! Which is just as well, as most of the pumps all over Scandinavia are pay at the pump. Especially the ones out in the middle of nowhere ), and we set off through the countryside towards Harstad.

It is a very warm afternoon, 22C, so we stop at Elgafossen to take a look at the falls. Greg takes off his jacket and helmet, and leaves it all draped over his bike. I find it a bit unnerving to leave everything on my bike at the side of the road. Greg assures me that in Scandinavia, people have more respect for each others belongings. I take my backpack with all my passport, cameras, wallet and other valuables in it with me and we set off into the woods to find the falls.

Due to the recent warm weather, the falls are a bit of a disappointment. Less of a raging torrent, and more of a trickle! I decide to take some photos anyway, as it is the first one I've seen. But, as soon as I whip out my camera a very attractive blond lady steps into the shot. She turns around and looks in my direction, and sees that I am wanting to take a photo. She is taking ages to move out of frame, so I just take a photo with her in front of the falls!

Not a bad view

Not much water flowing!

Once back at the bikes, and checking that all of my stuff was still there, we mounted up and headed for Norway on route 21. This was an amazing rollercoaster of a road with an excellent surface, and very little traffic.

We make it to Ore, and head for a campsite Greg has found. He checks we are on the right road with the guy in a local service station. We are just a few kilometres away. It is a basic site run by an old couple who live in the farmhouse next door. With the tents up and some food on the go, we sit talking and watch the sun go down before retiring for the night. The trip is looking good so far. But, we have a few long days ahead to get up to the Nordkapp.

Here is the second installment of the vlog:

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.