My aim was to visit the Arctic Circle relatively directly and then journey back to the south, where the ferry arrives and leaves from, in a slightly more relaxed way, down the west coast through tunnels and many short ferry trips.
The trip was 2,812 miles in total. I went out through Holland close to the north coast, which I thought might be more scenic (it wasn’t) and came back a more direct (though much busier) way. The main ferries were Stenna’s line from my old favourite Harwich to Hook of Holland and the new HNL, Holland Norway Line from the port of Emden just over the border into Germany to Kristiansand at the southern tip of Norway. Both are overnight journeys. Stenna cost £360 and HNL £714. I’m really supportive of a new venture in this complicated and costly sector. HNL’s offices at Emden were a series of tents.
This is looking down from the boat when everyone had boarded and the customs and other people were packing up and going home. But Stenna have a much more oiled operation and their boat and the cabins are noticeably nicer. HNL kindly changed my cabin when I complained that I was just under the performers on the sundeck.
The last ride but one – wearing the Nexx Viljord flip front/modular helmet – convinced me beyond all doubt that it had to go. It was too tight around the jaw, the ears and, probably worst of all, on the top of my head – where it really hurt. I couldn’t deny it any longer. It was the kind of torture that meant that after about an hour, maybe less, I just wanted to stop riding. And added to the physical pain was the realisation that I had wasted a large sum of money on this. So a week ago I took the train down to Motolegends just outside Guildford, walked from the station down to the shop and told them the story – that I’d tried on a Schuberth E2 large and extra large at the MCN show and that L was far too small and XL a little, I thought, too big. But after measuring my head they started me out with a large and gave the fitting proper attention, changing the cheek pads and neck roll, repeatedly checking for fit, until we were satisfied that this was the right fit. As the guy said about my experience at the MCN show, its not rocket science to fit a helmet properly and Schuberth’s selling point is that people can adapt the padding to get the fit right for them. But of course at a trade show, there’s no way someone on a large stall with hundreds of customers is going to take the time and trouble to do this. I was sceptical about trade shows to start with and I am even more now – at least if you are there for some shopping that needs careful attention. (Or getting fitted for custom earbuds – which was fine because I knew exactly what I wanted from UltimateEar.)
An hour later, I walked out of the shop with a big orange and white and box and my bank account £560 lighter. I tried it on at home and it felt just right. I spent some time trying to clamp on my new Senna EVO20S but in the end gave up and used the glue mount – heating up the helmet first for a good seal and with a neat tethering cord hooked inside the helmet just in case. It turned out easy to swap out the speakers that are already fitted (for the ridiculously expensive kit that they offer) and replace it with the Sennas (they are probably the same speakers). The boom mike is a little short but I doubt I will use it. Slightly more challenging was fitting a helmet cam. There was just no way to mount my Sony so I bought three attempts at the right mount for my GoPro and after studying how a couple of Vloggers have mounted theirs on a flip front, more or less copied the approach, also heating everything up before gluing and installing a tether from the camera to a discretely mounted spot inside the chin bar. Its a little heavy but all feels sound.
I rode from Cambridge up to the land in Suffolk and back again, with the GoPro filming and all seems well.
I am happy with the Schuberth and can see its beautifully made, just one thing though: Next to lids like the Arai Tour X or the Nexx XD, it does look like a huge germanic spherical thing with a peak stuck to it. You wouldn’t exactly call it aggressively styled. But this was definitely a function-over-style decision. I’m not complaining.
1st April 2023 was the start of a new part of life and to draw a line of sorts under the routine that went before, I decided to ride up to our land (half an acre of land with an old barn without services) and spend a few nights camping (instead of sitting at my desk). It would also be a testing ground for my trip to Norway later in the year, a chance to try some new devices too.
It wasn’t a huge trip. Here’s the overall map.
Just under 200 miles in total.
First, thoughts about the weather and the impact that had. This Spring has been cold and wet here, slow to come. I was lucky in a way for my few days in that the days were sunny and, if you were in the sun and out of the wind, warm. In fact just warm enough on Tuesday to mow the whole field without a shirt – it takes most of the day to do. But as soon as it started to get dark, the temperature fell and the nights were (forecast to be) 2 degrees c. The grass, and my tent, had frost on it in the morning. That’s a first for me.
I have two sleeping bags. I think of them as a southern and a northern European version. I packed by Rab Ascent 900 (I think) which is a down bag and super toasty, though it takes up a lot of room in a pack – 3 or even 4 times the volume of my Mont Bel lighter bag – so its quite a commitment to pack for a journey. So at 9pm I crawled into it with long johns, thermal socks, three layers including a Patagonia quilted jacket – and fell asleep. I awoke during the night of course and was over heated and removed layer after layer and was still too warm. But I noticed that the outside of my sleeping bag was wet with condensation and so was the inside of the tent. In the morning I discovered that the foot of the bag where it rubbed up against the tent was very wet. I felt confident that all would dry out in the warm sun the next day but wondered whether this would trouble my camping in Norway where the next day may well be wet. (Mo I Rana is 9 degrees high and 4 low – that’s the furthest north and other cities seem to go no lower than 10 or 12 degrees coldest, though rain is frequent). I need to decide whether I need to take this large bag….
For the second night I slept in the barn on a makeshift bed, next to my bike.
I’ve been gathering some new kit and gadgets over the winter for my trip. Here’s a summary of what worked well and what didn’t and what problems I need to sort out before June 12th:
The helmet – Nexx Viljord flip front
Occasionally it was totally comfortable and at times really so uncomfortable you want the ride to end. Nice in the city to ride with the lid open. Riding at speed with the lid up is possible but not for long. Moving it around the head helps and opening it for a spell then closing again also helps. Needs wearing in big time. At times I thought this just will not work and I need to swallow the fact I’ve wasted £350 and try the Schuberth again and get some proper fitting advice.
Sena 20s Evo bluetooth headset
Works well clear and loud. No crackling or distortion. Which way turns it up and can the radio be got to work? A good buy though I didn’t use the earbuds that I had made (£180) as I didn’t need to because the sound was loud enough but also the helmet was too tight.
Trangia stove
Is heavy and takes up valuable space but the adjustment of the flame is superb. Lights easily. I used the frying pan and the useful kettle but not the saucepan that I took. It’s a different experience to the lightweight stove I had before. It’s an end to perching and instability. I don’t think I’m going to go back.
GoPro Hero 11 camera
Easy to use and nice to see what I’m filming which you can’t do with the Sony. The 1/4” adapter mount is useless because it doesn’t tighten enough so if not level to start with, it slowly tilts back till headshots from the handlebar mount end up as sky shots. I will use the ball mount instead. That might be better made.
Sony action cam – its not new just newly mounted
The waterproof container got locked somehow so buttons didn’t work and I failed to record some things. Also the remote refused to find the camera as it often does and turning it on by hand is uncertain, even when unlocked. I need to sort this so that I know when it is turned on. Not knowing is not good enough.
Rollei travel tripod
this is a new piece of kit. Is easy to use, quite small and light to pack. I set it up when I arrived and kept it around and used it a lot. Is a game changer for self filming. Would I use it on campsites or by the roadside? Maybe not. Looks good. Versatile as all my cameras have a thread and the GoPro adapter doesn’t slip on that because you tend to use it level.
Hario Coffee filter dripper for One
Again, it takes up more room than the GSI dripper that folds completely flat – but that had design faults. This delivers a much nice and more predictable cup of coffee and does not sag, bend or get stuck on top of the cup. This is a keeper – and only cost a tenner.
Yesterday this much anticipated (by me) helmet arrived in my front porch. It seemed the slightly pragmatic answer to my plan to use a flip front on my next trips, making immigration, buying petrol and having a drink or snack much easier. The newly released (and v expensive) Schuberth E2 was my first option but trying on a couple of sizes at the MCN motorcycle show back in February revealed to me that my head seems to fall between M and L for Schuberth. So plan B, Nexx was cheaper by a couple of hundred pounds and also, I realised, could save me buying a new Bluetooth headset as I could use my existing XComm and the expensive moulded wired earbuds that are on order, arriving soon.
First nervous impressions out of the box: the sun visor had not been attached, and rattled around and seemed broken. On the verge of returning the helmet I found instructions on how to fit it – first problem solved.
So trying it on: hmmm Large is probably the right size for me but – when closed the helmet is very tight around my manly jaw. Perhaps I could live with that. Perhaps it will give slightly as people say. The opening is a bit more slit-like than my other open face helmets and because I’ve pushed the helmet slightly upwards to make it more comfortable around the jaw my field of vision is restricted downwards – but I can probably also live with that. Sunglasses do fit inside it but slot in at an odd angle. Again that could be made to work. Flipping up is clunky. Flipping down is a bit of a struggle and the visor closes itself when you flip up – annoying – again just a bit. I see why Schuberth made such a fuss about their new helmet not doing that. When it latches closed the tightness around the jaw becomes on the verge of unacceptable. But weighed against the excitement of a new lid, I can probably live with this.
But now the first real disappointment: my Nexx XComm does not fit this helmet. The cut out is too small so I’d need to shell out on their new version XComm2. (Its £195) . Not exactly the end of the world – but a careful look at the XComm2 manual on line shows that it does not have a separate connector for the earbuds so my clever adapter from Sena and custom earbuds on the way will not work with this model. So that could be another £190 wasted. So back to another plan – the Sena 10S if I can get it to fit on the side of this helmet. It is what I had planned to do, after all.
But with so many niggles, am I going to keep this helmet or return it? The decision is too emotional – after having this in my hands it would be a bit painful to return it and start the search all over again even though it might be the sensible option at the moment… lets sit with it for a while.
I’ve just seen Sena 10S is discontinued at Sportsbikeshop, though available at a discount at other places. I will go for it though expect fitting the clamp to be difficult – actually it seems its not a problem. I’ve now ordered a Sena 20S Evo (£165 from Sportsbikeshop) which seems it will meet my requirements with an earbud socket, and with more recent firmware updates so a better option than an already discontinued item.
The more I wear this helmet around the house, the more the uncomfortable parts are starting to soften. It will be very satisfying to get this helmet sorted with the bluetooth and GoPro mount.
Well, not quite that bad – just a difficult choice. A huge leap in interestingness of motorcycle travel video is some variation from the overused first person POV helmet camera footage to actual footage of rider riding into and out of shot on some beautiful corner on a twisty road. We’re so used to seeing seamless continuity on feature films that we don’t even notice it on motoYoutubers efforts, yet effort it takes to achieve. We must make some unconscious assumption that there is a film crew riding with our favourite motoYoubuer. Maybe on occasions there is but often its not the case. And how’s it done? With a laborious setting up of a shot in advance: scouting, stopping, riding back, getting out your tripod, trusting leaving your beloved camera running and unattended while you jump back on the bike, ride off, turn round and ride back into shot looking nonchalant; then stop again, ride back, pack everything away and ride off and repeat a few times a day. You really wouldn’t get very far in a day. It takes high motivation to record something to go to all this trouble. The other far less troublesome use of tripods is to film yourself unboxing and trying out various gadgets from camping stoves to er… new tripods.
So, having thought that I might just possibly try this, at least use number two, I am searching for the ideal lightweight tripod. There are actually a huge number to try to chose from. The high end carbon models cost over £300. They tend to get good reviews – but that’s a lot to spend on something that may be a very short-lived experiment. Then there are the scores of mid to cheap models, often praised highly by Youtubers who probably have only used them once or twice and like the design. Amazon reviews provide usually more sober evaluations. These cheap tripods are cheap because they might use a soft component where a slightly expensive piece of aluminium would have been better. So reviews show that these are often not very strong. I have been on the verge of ordering so many of these then read poor reviews and stopped in my tracks. The latest is this:
I have never heard of Sirui – but then I have never heard of most of these brands. Its small, its light and its cheap. I may risk it. But will I risk actually trying it out on a windy corner in Norway on my next trip?
Everything I do ends up with lashings of anxiety. My bike was/is due its first MOT just after Christmas so at my KTM dealer getting a service done a couple of weeks back I asked whether my high beam Baja Squadron Pro would pass its test. I knew that it was sold as not street legal and I also know that it is blindingly bright. I was told that it would be ok but the dipped headlight would bring ‘an instant fail’. And why? Because its beam sloped up to the right rather than the left which is how LHD countries require headlights to point. (See below – subtle, eh?)
So, on the mail to Aurora Rally equipment, based in definitely RHD Greece. They pointed me helpfully to a Hella light on Amazon with a LH slope, ordered then delivered a few days later. I thought I would replace both headlamps and brought the bike back home from its usual location in Cambridge. Its not really that difficult to remove the front of the tower, just a little time consuming. For me though, the new light looked like it could never fit because the connection seemed totally different, so every step proceeded with a sense that everything would go pearshaped on this job at any moment.
Needless to say everything worked out well. The dipped beam is a small LED (over €100) which easily replaced the halogen bulb that came with the new light, though the Aurora tower does not seem to have enough upwards adjustment for the dipped beam.
So, rather than head back up to Ipswich I took the bike to a local MOT and mechanics, ChasBikes on Kennington Road. I was uncertain that the bike would get through.
It was easy to book, and there was no waiting time when I arrived and the test was done in half an hour, possibly less. The place is great and a welcome antidote for those corporate dealers where you get a coffee from a machine while your bike is whisked off and the mechanic’s space is out of bounds to customers. This is an Old school motorcycle garage at its best. I sat about 10 feet away from the mechanic testing my bike and could explain its oddities – like the headlight only comes on after the bike has moved a couple of yards. Chas and his mechanic both have an enjoyable dry humour (‘when electric starts came out I thought this won’t catch on’). I’ll be back for sure – next year at least. Chas mentioned that he had lived in East Africa, but I didn’t enquire further. The bike passed and I learned a few things about how the bureaucratic MOT system works. Interestingly this is what I found when looking them up to do a Google review:
‘CHASBIKES was started in 1984 by Charles Holt M.A.(OXON), a former East African wildlife biologist. Originally located on an industrial estate in Greenwich, the company hired out Honda CX500’s to dispatch riders, before beginning to specialise in repairing them for the public. The company then moved on to work on other popular dispatch riding models….’ https://www.yell.com/biz/chasbikes-ltd-london-6519580/
