Norway 2023...

Sure enjoyed the Travelodge.
Thanks for taking the time to take the photos... not just for us, but y'all will have them as well.
Dirty bikes seems a small price to pay for the adventure.
 
WoW ! You two must be made of something stronger than titanium . I was going to brag about my first ST 500 km one day ride - home to home. Think I'll save it for later. Well Done !
Quite a remark from a local, who knows the road conditions and all... :radleak:
(and BTW: when I started to ride back in '92 a simple 150km run would wear me down completely, despite being a HVAC service driver running calls all day... but car and bike are really different)
Also I questioned the draft my GF presented me, showing daily stages of way over 500km/300miles...
But she was fully confident and responded that we have to get up there after all (like the 3 days through Sweden, crossing the Arctic Circle and swerving to the Lofoten)
And she held up well, longest run were 740km/460miles... Dorotea to Kiruna...
Not by choice though, the Swedes have their "rep-stop"... mines are shut down for the annual refurb and renewing of equipment, hence every imaginable accommodation in those areas was fully booked out due to techs and engineers from all over the country and beyond swarming in (talked to a fella from Swiss there...)
So we kept heading north, arrived in Kiruna after dawn, refueled and finally located a "youth hostel"...

At the end her NT700VA odo showed 7562km/4726miles, my '00 ST's odo 7630km/4768miles covered on wheels... (GPS tracks are unreliable as they are including some boat rides as well)
 
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Dirty bikes seems a small price to pay for the adventure.
I'm admittingly miffled over the blown fork seals... but those were heavy hits... imagine the surface of a lumbering trail, made out of tarmac, striking out of nowhere, first smooth and all, then suddely: BAM! CLANK! CLANK! BAM-BAM! ... flying into there with 60~80kph/40~50mph, swerving, left, right, over into the other lane, into my side again, trying to avoid the worst hits :(
And then the actually unpaved sections, especially the Swedes don't really distinguish between paved and dirt roads... the latter often heavily worn down though...
Will have to rebuild the forks (I was running with oil leaking out for almost two weeks), check wheel and head bearings, as well as the rear shock + mounts...

But it was fun, lots of :cool:
 
I'm admittingly miffled over the blown fork seals... but those were heavy hits... imagine the surface of a lumbering trail, made out of tarmac, striking out of nowhere, first smooth and all, then suddely: BAM! CLANK! CLANK! BAM-BAM! ... flying into there with 60~80kph/40~50mph, swerving, left, right, over into the other lane, into my side again, trying to avoid the worst hits :(
Geez.
Sounds like parts of a ride to Alaska, or "roads" in northern Russia.
Yeah, who needs a BMW GS adventure bike, anyway?
Winter is coming... you'll be busy, seems to me.
Great trip report, though!
Glad the GF is into it now... she has come a long way since she started riding not so long ago.
 
Wow, wonderful ride report and pictures. Thanks for sharing how things look in your part of the world. Your GF is a real trooper with those long days and tough roads.
 
Sounds like parts of a ride to Alaska, or "roads" in northern Russia.
Well, only a small part of Sweden and Norway are actually populated, taxes have to keep that giant roadwork up and running...
Glad the GF is into it now... she has come a long way since she started riding not so long ago.
yup, once I got her that NT700 she got bitten, another bike Honda got really right... commuting from Feb till Nov, frequently coming up with this or that ride we should do...
She's already eyeballing Scotland and Ireland for next year... :biggrin:
 
Yo Mr ST1100Y!
Just to thank you for the fab report, I bought this wine in gratitude….very good wine!
Again thankyou!
Stu
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