We had a plan, and it was to go north. Northern Norway offers spectacular nature and friendly people, and during the summer months the sun never sets. It's also very far north on the planet, so weather is a factor. On the evening before departure, we started getting reports from up where we were heading. A camper had been flipped by the winds on a bridge. Ferries were being cancelled. Tourists were advised not to go hiking in the mountains. We took the hint, and decided to head south-southwest. Forecasts were much better.

So we packed and suited up Friday morning and took off on our first proper tour together. The CB1100 felt like I dunno some old American car or something, so I had to use the highest notch on the spring preload, but that did the trick. With me and the wife (we're not quite married yet, but we're just waiting for the pandemic to end so we can have guests) plus every bag at or above capacity plus a tank bag, the Honda fought back gracefully. Since I'm not a liar, I'm not going to claim that I didn't notice the almost 100kg extra weight, but hey... It's a proper touring device, and I just keep getting more impressed.



Plan #1 was to get to Smøla, but Smøla is flat and the winds were picking up so we changed our minds, took the gorgeous Atlanterhavsveien and found a spot to put up the tent. It was windy.

Day 1:




Day 2:



I had called my cousin who lives in a small village by a fjord, so day 2 was a short ride to Sæbø, where we took a hike up a hill to get this view:



After a pleasant evening with my cousin and his wife, we got on a ferry and started the most spectacular leg of the trip. I wish I had more pictures for you, but I just couldn't be bothered to stop every time we saw something pretty, and although I remembered to *charge* the battery for my proper camera, I left the fully charged battery at home.



We drove through a super narrow valley called Nordangdalen, which is probably one of my favourite spots in the world, but no pics. Then we took the old road up the Strynefjell mountain, a narrow affair built by hand in the 1800s. It was cold, wet, and foggy, and the unpaved road was muddy and slippery. A proper challenge. By now I had noticed the tire wear I talk about in another thread, and I'm sure that didn't help. Once safely back on asphalt, this was what the Honda looked like:



Further along we drove down to the UN Heritage site Geiranger, with its switchback roads providing absolutely spectacular views as we first descended and then climbed up the other side.



Next was Trollstigen, more switchbacks, this time in the most imposing looking black, jagged, rocky landscape. Go see Tom Cruise's next installment of Mission Impossible for some shots from this area, they were given special permission to come film during lockdown. If you're famous, you're not contagious, or something. Anyway, I took this up there a few years ago, on a different kind of ride:



Spent the night in a youth hostel in Åndalsnes.
By now the tire situation was getting serious. I really didn't want to go all the way back home on those Pirellis, so I spent some time googling and found a guy who could sell me a pair of T31, about 40km away, in the wrong direction.
We headed for the tires, got the upgrade, and thought we'd go to Smøla now, but again the weather seemed a bit rough, so we found a different spot, a guest house on a tiny island where they had a room and some awesome food and drink. The winds were punishing, we were so happy to not have to spend the night in a tent on Smøla.



Day 5 - the way home:


The last morning, wind had died down, so we finally made it to Smøla, where we spent a couple of hours. Last time I was there I took this (that's from the peak of a bridge - nothing on Smøla is this high up, it's flat as a pancake):



So pretty, and the roads are amazing. Just heaven.

Fifteen ferries.

By now we are tired and aches and pains start popping up all over, so we took the straightest way home, where we were treated to an excellent meal and lots of bubbly.

Two lessons:
My wife loved it, and the two of us had a great time! Yay!
Check and if necessary replace tires BEFORE a long tour, not during.

That's it. Next time I'll put the battery in the Leica and show some more of the stuff I can get to within a day or two from home.

Mrs. Branko woke me up at 3.30am to a thunderstorm.. she knew I was about to get up to get ready for a ride, and I think in some dark of her mind she thought I'd take it for granted and go back to sleep. But I made other plans, so I got up to study the movement of the storm and seeing how this "artificial rain" already mad everything wet, it was safe to assume the worst had passed, so I got on with my preparations and left to meet a friend in Dubai and do a full circle of the Northern Emirates.
Turned out we were chasing the rain, and at a some point we caught up with it, but for a very short while, I didn't even get a chance to pull my rain gear out of the bag before it was over. For the remainder of the trip the sky was clearing up and temperature was rising steadily to reach a very decent 41°C around 10am, which was a signal to cut the adventure short and retreat to the comfort of our home air-conditioners.
We didn't stop much apart for an occasional picture and gas, and the kilometers added up quickly.
Home safe having done 408km and just over 2 liters of water.

In picture:

- An old watch-tower near a place called Fili by the birder with the Sultanate of Oman, obviously it has been completely restored, and they've built a roundabout around it, but it's a nice little lesson in history to remain for future generations.
- A random pool of leftover rain from last night, I just thought it would give a good platform for a reflection photo - which it did

'14 CB1100 STD 5 speed

have never grown tired of it since 2013 and just keep spending dollars on it no regrets with this bike

My CB came from the previous owner with what looks like strategically placed protective adhesive patches on the tank. It looks like it's done its job. I just wonder if can be safely removed and replaced as it wear out. I don't want the protective stuff to damage the finish.

I know that this is not motor cycle related but it is even more important ( for me )
The concert the Rolling Stones had planned for July 1 2020 in Charlotte NC is now rescheduled for September 30 2021 !!! At least now I can use the $ 500 ticket I bought in February last year .

Hey there!

So the CB is doing great (we put something like 350 miles in 3 days on it)

Only problem is the seat is done. Previous owner must have been pretty heavy and it's 8 years old anyway...

I can't get seats here in the UK (importing a Corbin would be a nightmare after brexit and not everyone likes them anyway). But we do have several people that can re-do the original seat.

Now, everyone puts gel inserts in them and they swear they last forever and are not temperature sensitive. Except this one guy who swears that there is no such thing as a gel inserts that won't either Cook you or freeze you and that the foam he uses is the best option in terms of how long it will last.

Opinions?

Cheers!

'13 CB1100 A White

Every time I for a ride on the BRP there is a nice older bike at the store where I stop to talk to friends , this time a nice 1977 BMW.

Those of you that have reduced the size of your rear sprocket in the name of fuel efficiency share with me how many teeth you dropped and what was the effect like? If not for fuel efficiency why did you do it?

My CB was actually significantly geared down for more a more punchy and aggressive feel (1 teeth down on the front, 2 teeth up in the rear) and I was curious about the other side of the coin (not for my bike, i'm very happy with my ratio).

Rode out of town, and after 30 minutes or so I turned onto a tiny little winding road which I had had never noticed before, into the local mountains. It goes up through a village or two, nice and gentle, all paved and about 8 foot wide. Keeps climbing, sometimes at a very high rate with steep turns, but it is really fun, and the views are stunning. Into the forest, out of the forest, along a few more houses. I get the hang of it and it feels all natural. The quality of the road and its shoulders is impeccable - so I keep going. I am the frog in the proverbial glass with water which slowly heats up. I just don't know it yet.

My speed is mostly a gentle 25-35 mph, the bends don't allow for much more, when I pass a sign pointing to "next village in 5 km". Everything looks perfectly tame and normal. The water in the glass has just gotten a little warmer, but no, the frog ain't feeling it as the change is sooooo slow. Into the next forest, it gets a little darker and I don't feel compelled (yet) to stop and take my sunglasses off. More bends, more trees, and now I am going slightly downhill. Just a little, no big deal. The pavement narrows a little, but hey, no traffic at all for the last 10 minutes. The water is warming further.

The downward slope increases - just a little more. The quality of the pavement and shoulders still fine. A few more bends, a little more slope. All of a sudden the right shoulder disappears and I look into a steep canon to my right with trees as tall as houses. Comes my last happy slow turn, and before I blink the pavement under my wheels has vanished, but I do not see it. There is no change in the road's color or contrast. Now I am on a narrowing dirt road, with a downward leaning angle of more than 10% (best guess). I feel the front wheel starts sliding from under me. The water temperature is now close to where frogs can't last, and the CB feels heavy like never before.

Before I have time to think about what's going on, I catch the motorcycle going side-wards, I try to brake, wheels block, ABS doesn't kick in, I slide badly. But I am still sitting on top. I am roling downwards - much too fast for my taste - with no idea what to do. There are deep groves in the road which seem to catch my front wheel, make it go side-wards at times, and make it impossible to keep upright. I can barely keep the handle bar straight. Grooves keep jerking it left and right with a lot of pressure. But I have no choice. Down I go and temperatures go up. My heart pumps like mad, I anticipate a really bad fall with the m/c on top of the frog - sliding down, imagine, or me leaving the road and hitting a tree. Seconds pass, they feel like hours. By now I am really scared. Any attempt to use the brakes makes matters worse. The street does not seem to end.

Finally I come to a stop, don't ask me how - didn't fall, oh wonder. Darn it, I didn't see this coming at all - until it was way too late. The perfect size of the little stones under my wheels (big or sand would have had me stop short), the increasing downward slope, the grooves in the road washed in by late rain. The frog has been lucky, he is climbing to the edge of the glass, almost burning.

Now I use the rear brake to let the cycle down at a snail's pace. There is no way to turn around, there is nobody to help. Just letting her role is not an option, and my shoulder muscles and wrists start hurting badly. This m/c weighs 500 pounds, and they are pulling forward. This goes on for - my best guess - 20 minutes and 1 mile or so. Finally the road widens a bit in a turn, I turn the m/c around - don't ask me how - thinking that "going up" feels much better than "going down" at this point. Another 20 minutes and I am back on the paved road. I get off, take my helmet off, my gloves, my jacket. On a Africa Twin, this may have been a piece of cake. I can't say. May be, may be not. A less lucky rider ? A tire punctured in the middle.

And I feel very lucky, and like that proverbial frog.

The end of today's route was at a nearby mountain called Jebel Yibir. The road up the last peak was originally intended for military use at the top there is some sort of a secret military compound and access is restricted and guarded. It is very dangerous for motorcycles as the road is rutted and washed off at places as an addition to being extremely steep and winding. As you will be able to see there is gravel on hairpins and parts of the road are collapsed. Still, it's a favorite spot for many of us as the road leading to Yibir is quite scenic and technical.

I decided to shoot the last climb, I've also given the guys in front a few minutes of space so not to catch up too early.

Enjoy the ride

https://youtu.be/Hs7euTXiw7U

'14 CB1100 STD 5 speed