North Cape by GTL

breganzane said:
That's the problem with custom made stuff. If it were left standard you could just drop into any of the conveniently located Laverda dealers along the route! :ROFLMAO:
Loving the thread Piet, just found it. What brilliant scenery and a bucket list trip for sure.
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Nice one Steve!

If only that would be the case...

piet
 
breganzane said:
That's the problem with custom made stuff. If it were left standard you could just drop into any of the conveniently located Laverda dealers along the route! :ROFLMAO:
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Insert: "service stations with a wall of belts at the back, or agricultural suppliers with such".....neither of which are to be found here any more. You are on your own except for the rescue truck you can call.
 
Not sure what it is with old men wanting to see the North Cape, but friend of mine just did it in a Porsche 944 convertable. I need to watch upcoming desires when I reach the 60s I think... :oops:

😂

Great write up and good on you to do it! You worked a lot and hard your whole life, you more than deserve these weeks of personal freedom. And for the bike: if you can't fix anything upcoming on the way - who could? ;) would call you MacLaverda though, not MacGyver... :ROFLMAO:

All the best, loads of fun, safe travels and no non fixable issues I wish you and Wolfgang! Return safely and healthy!
 
sfcpiet said:
Ha-ha... packing is always a challenge, different every morning! Making the search for stuff in the evenings all the more surprising/entertaining!

But yes, we're in a sort of groove, working out well.


Lack of any type of hose of suitable length made it impossible to siphon fuel. FI bikes don't have a regular pet cock, getting at the fuel exit is a pita, picking up fuel in a brand-new, overly expensive canister was the easiest/quickest option.

Up till now, mozzies haven't been a problem, pretty glad about that! Only mosquito that found its way into our room ended as a big splat on the wall...

(Affordable) accomodation is getting thin on the ground up here, preferred are hotels, B&B, etc. We do have a tent, sleeping bags and air matresses on board for an emergency, but, as a friend of mine puts it, camping is for kids... if we can find a bed with a roof over it, the tent will remain packed away.

No wild animals to be seen at all up to now, also very little road-kill, maybe the occasional squashed hedge-hog.



?

Seriously though, next to the spanners required for rear wheel removal/adjustment, I have an assortment of control cables, 2l of motor oil, an inner tube, tyre levers and CO2 cartridges, a set of springs and rollers for the starter clutch as well as the puller and necessary socket, tommy bar and hammer and a spare DMC unit. A mid-sized shifter spanner. 11mm ring spanner and feeler guage. Screwdriver. A roll of tape. An assortment of fuses and a test lamp for chasing elusive current. Spare toothed belt for generator drive (my own design, remember?). For the cosmetics, I have an aerosol can of Motul Wash&Wax and a couple of fresh, clean shop towels... can now almost empty, towels grubby and disposed of, I do like a clean machine.;)

Woki has an assortment of basic tools, has to suffice. Anything worse, I'll McGyver it somehow. ;) Then there's always the ADAC (Autoclub) card if all else fails.

Only sacrifice up to now is a rear indicator that has loosened itself within the threaded fixing lug, nothing much to do about it other than wrap a bit of tape around it so it won't fall off completely. Bit pissed about that actually, I don't have many good original CEV indicators any more! The rain played a little havoc with the ignition switch, seems to be quite OK now it's dried out.

piet
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:ROFLMAO:
Rather than a spare DMC, I carry a spare points plate complete with condensers.
Otherwise, very much like yourself apart from the freewheel parts and the puncture repair kit.
I'll need to get my kit ready in the coming days for a two week trip on the SF2.
Paul
 
Paul Marx said:
:ROFLMAO:
Rather than a spare DMC, I carry a spare points plate complete with condensers.
Otherwise, very much like yourself apart from the freewheel parts and the puncture repair kit.
I'll need to get my kit ready in the coming days for a two week trip on the SF2.
Paul
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But I only need to unplug the old and plug in the new, no fiddling, no adjusting.😂

The DMC unit is no larger than a contact breaker plate.

piet
 
Laverdalothar said:
Not sure what it is with old men wanting to see the North Cape…
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Not only old men, Lothar. I’ve been wanting to do this for 50-odd years, basically since I was better acquainted with the European geography.

mauricejota7604 said:
Fantastic Piet how many Kms do you think you will cover?
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Dunno Maurice, we’ll be cracking the 3000 mark tomorrow and are still only at half the length of Norway, so a good 2000+ till we reach the top. Returning through Finland, the ferry from Helsinki to Travemünde in Germany saves us a good 1500 and allows us a good rest.

piet
 
Yep, oil change interval will be stretched... a lot. If I find a H-D dealership along the way I might ask if they'd be willing to do an oil change, 20W50 is used in H-D V-twins. If they decline, I'll slap my HOG Life Membership card on the desk. See if they'll turn away a bro.;)

Destination is 16km from Namsos, in the middle of nowhere. We will try to be in Bodo Thursday evening in order to catch the 7:00 ferry to Moskenes/Lofoten.

piet
 
We managed to leave Surnadal a bit earlier today, heading to Trondheim, with the days' destination Namsos. Empty roads meant we could hold a steady 85-90kmh between towns, villages, etc., but don't tell the cops! Speed limit is 80... The scenery along the 65 from Skei to Stora along the Surna valley was reminiscent of the Allgäu region of Bavaria, rounded, gentle hills taking the place of the craggy and sparsely vegetated rock mountains of the previous days. The 65 brought us back to the E39 in Orkanger, but we turned off to the 707 for the ferry at Flakk to Rorvik. Fuelled up (learnt my lesson!) before boarding the ferry. Continued on the 715, 720 and 17, ending 16km outside of Namsos near Skomsvoll on the 767.

Gentle hills took over more and more from the former spectacular rock walls with lots of lush vegetation in stark contrast to the previous sparse vegetation.

View onto the end of the Surnadal/Surna ValleyIMG_1964.JPG

Almost mediteranean!IMG_1972.JPGIMG_1973.JPGIMG_1974.JPG

Stave church from 1653, rebuilt/restored 2012

IMG_1978.JPGIMG_1980.JPGIMG_1981.JPG

Rolling along the fjord...IMG_1983.JPGIMG_1985.JPG

More tomorrow.

piet
 
sfcpiet said:
<snip> If I find a H-D dealership along the way I might ask if they'd be willing to do an oil change, 20W50 is used in H-D V-twins. If they decline, I'll slap my HOG Life Membership card on the desk. See if they'll turn away a bro.;)<snip>
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Interesting point (I mentioned this more as a joke). A lifetime HOG membership should certainly help with that (I wouldn't necessarily have expected one from you), and I'm sure they won't turn their backs on you! Besides, I think you've already checked out potential dealers of this type along your route.
:)
 
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