1:2 crash ratio

Windy as **** today. Battled the hard winds and a GPS gone insane all day. The TomTom was having a really bad day and for some reason was constantly pointing us to the wrong roads. Probably user error, but I still cant figure out what was the cause since I had not changed any settings since the last outing. While warming up my hands on the thumping exhaust I made a decision to refrain from riding until it gets at least above 10 C.

On a positive note, we did find some interesting spots on the route and we will be checking them out again later.

While dodging (or more accurately just giving way) an oncoming tractor on a forest road I inexplicably lost the front end and went down. At first it seemed nothing had broken, but I later discovered that I was about to need rear turn signal number 3...

The crash ratio for rides this year is 1:2. I'm seriously hoping to improve it.

First proper ride of the spring

Cold, damp and downright miserable weather during our ride. What started out as a chilly barely bearable ride quickly escalated into a mini adventure as the GPS pointed us to roads that hadn't really been roads in recent memory. We pussied out on some parts and walked the bikes over the worst ruts as we didn't want to risk braking stuff on the first ride. Not that I have any delusions of even being capable of staying upright on those parts anyway. All in all a fantastic little trip that yet again reminded me why owning a dual sport is so much fun.

I rode the Honda 250L again for a little while and I'm growing worryingly fond of the bike. It feels so much easier to handle when things get a bit challenging and despite the engine size it doesn't seem to lack any power outside the highways. In fact it feels that I need to go over the gears less with the Honda than with the 690. Maybe I'm just doing it wrong.

This is where we gave up this time.

The Rolling Hobo

You rarely find sites as good as Hobo's is and it's 99% 690 Enduro related. The Rolling Hobo is a Finnish guy who apparently is great at stylish website design, taking photos and doing travel reports. I've been coming back to his site more and more lately and I've realized that he is about a year or two ahead of me in doing stuff I'm just only recently getting ideas about. 

Recommended reading at rollinghobo.com

Adventurizing the KTM 690 Enduro R

Eastern Dirt 14

The 4 seas ride

The problem

There was a desperate need for a proper longer ride that would take me and my friends far away from the familiar roads. The problem was that due to my line of work I'm not able to have a summer vacation. I could skip work for a day, but how to get anywhere and back in just 3 days? 

The solution

Looking at the maps and schedules long enough we came up with a plan. The plan was to load the bikes on a train. The train would then take us 855 kms away from home while we slept and riding would commence on the next day. This seemed sensible as it would save time and cost no extra compared to riding there and having to spend a night in a motel.

Because the schedule was tight and rain was more than likely we opted to spend the nights in a hotel instead of a tent so we could get our wet gear dried for the next day. Bunch of pansies, I know.

The route

After some calculating it looked that we could visit the shores of the Barents Sea, Norwegian sea, Gulf of Bothnia and return to the shores the Baltic sea where we started. The route would take is from Finland to Norway to Finland to Sweden and back to Finland again. The estimated length would be 2035 kms (1265 miles).

The idea came during the long unrideable winter months so we hand plenty of time to make plans and calculate routes and riding times. We questimated the average speeds, added some time for breaks and servicing and filling up the bikes and came up with a plan that hand us riding 550 kms (330 miles) / 9,2 hrs the first day, 750 kms / 12,8 hrs (465 miles)  on the second and 750  / 12,8 hrs (465 miles)  on the last day. According to the plan we would On the road for 35 hrs and actually on the saddle for 25 hrs.

The pack

Our original wolf pack of 3 shrunk to 2 as one backed out due to back problems. Maybe a wise choice in hind sight as the amount of daily miles would surely have created problems. The two guys left were me and a guy we shall call as "Jack". Jack is not keen on internet fame.

The bikes

I was riding a 2014 KTM 690 Enduro R and Jack was on a 2009 Kawasaki Versys.

Time to ride

The original idea was to wait for the optimal weather, book the train and the hotels and spring into action on short notice. That backfired as we found out that the train only has 3 bike spaces per each train and the first one we tried to get on was already booked. We proceeded to book the first available train that had space and hoped for good weather.

We later learned that the "special" bike spaces are just plain car spaces, the railroad company just doesn't want to let more than 3 bikes per train. Nobody on the staff knew the reason why.

We boarded the train on June 27th. After tying down the bikes we proceeded to the sleeping cabin, took a few beers and went to bed.

The train arrived at the destination at 11:20 so we had plenty of time to eat breakfast and get ready. For some reason the train arrives an hour later than it does at winter time when we made our plans so we were already a bit late, but of course we knew that beforehand.

Riding out of the train at Rovaniemi

Day 1

We rode our bikes out of the train and after filling up we were off. The city turned into wilderness pretty fast and we had 9 hours to hit the shores of the Barents sea. The route was made with Tyre and loaded ready on both of our navigators. After few hours of riding my TomTom died and kept dying the rest of the trip. Apparently the 690 doesn't produce enough juice to keep the TomTom alive. After a few hours on the tarmac we hit some pretty epic gravel roads that alone made the trip worth wile. The gravel eventually gave way to tarmac again and we encountered our first reindeer.

The reindeer were recognized beforehand as the biggest individual risk on the trip and it became instantly clear why. These fuckers don't give way or seem to follow any kind of logic. The seem docile and calm but can dart in any direction without warning. We later saw one guy miss one only by inches as he clearly wasn't expecting the reindeer to just erratically bounce in front of him.

The amount of mosquitos was staggering. Bikes were a mess and the visors needed constant cleaning.

Just after crossing over to the Norwegian side

Less than 100 km to Lakselv

Weather however was brilliant. Not very warm, but no threat of rain and minimal wind. After 8 hours of on the road we reached the Norwegian border. No guards or personnel. Just an open gate. We soon realized that the Finns didn't apparently pay attention when they drew the borders. The scenery changed for the better almost instantly after crossing the border. Rivers were wider, fjelds higher and even the mosquitoes were reduced in numbers. To add insult to injury the clouds also cleared and we were soon riding under a clear sky. Norwegians have apparently called dibs on the weather too. After some more riding we started to see snow topped hills and actual mountains in the distance. The town of Lakselv was surprisingly fast in front of us and we found a has station to be conveniently next door. We lugged our stuff to the room and returned to the bikes for a quick ride to shore. The Barents sea had to be seen before hitting the sack.

Returning from the photo session, We met a German fellow on the gas station that was running out of rear tire on his NC700. We gave him directions to Honda dealer in Finland and my phone number. He promptly mounted his bike and speeded away into the "night". The sun didn't set at all so might as well.

By the Barents sea

Day 2

The second day started in perfect weather. No clouds or wind. We were able to leave out some riding gear we were wearing the previous day. As I had packed like an idiot I had little to no room to pack away the now unexpectedly unnecessary gear.  We took the road towards Nordkapp, but turned left towards Alta. This was the northernmost part of the trip. We were roughly 1500 kms away from home. From the looks of the rivers and the cars that sported long fly fishing rods mounted on the hood this was salmon country.

Lakselv before heading out

Shortly after Lakselv

River between Lakselv and Alta

Barents sea

Road between Lakselv and Alta

Some of the stretches were pretty long and straight

We were in Alta well before noon, but didn't stay for more than just to fill up the tanks. My 690 was the weak link and had to be fed every 200 kms. The road from Alta to to the Finnish border was twisty and gorgeous. Clearly the best roads on the trip. Once we reached Finland the scenery started to flatten and the roads became a bit too straight.

By the Norwegian sea

We dropped southbound for several hours and crossed over to Sweden at Ylitornio. We returned to the finish side from Tornio which is the last possible place to do so. From Tornio there was just a half an hour ride to Kemi where we spent the night. We again fed ourselves with pizza and beer.

Beautiful twisty bit after Alta

Perfect riding weather

Kautokeino

Looks like rain

We saw rain ahead and took the appropriate action. Didn't rain really allthought the roads were partly wet
.

The Artic Circle on the Sweden side

 Day 3

After the obligatory photos by the gulf of Bothnia we hopped on the bikes and headed home. As expected the traffic increased from previous near zero to annoying. Car drivers were being idiots again. We tried to stay of the main highways, but the riding was a bit of a chore as the only mission was to get home. AS we had started early and practically skipped breakfast we were home couple of hours early.

Gulf of Bothnia

Collected quite a few bugs on the way

Thoughts on gear & bike

The 690 performed flawlessly and was not "vibey" even after several hours of riding.

The Airhawk felt like money well spent. 

Do NOT buy bags that aren't waterproof. Annoying as hell to fiddle with the rain covers.

Get side racks for the 690. Removing the luggage each time you fill up gets annoying. 

Really wanted a cruise assist at one point

Change knee pads for softer ones (d30 or similat). The only thing that were really sore were my knees.

1000km service and getting to know the Big brother - a short test ride with the 2014 KTM 1190 Adventure

I took my 690 to the first 1000 km service. There indeed is/was a recall regarding the rear brakes (the pedal I believe), which was dealt with, but other than that nothing out of the ordinary. I didn't ask what they actually did with the rear brake, but since I believe it to be tighten & add Locktite type of thing I did not bother to even ask. While I waited for the service to be done I was kindly allowed to test ride the 1190. 

Few comments from the test ride

- Coming from the 690 the 1190 felt super smooth. No vibrations of any kind. Absolutely silky.

The sound of the engine had me expecting a harsh jerky ride accompanied with vibrations, but that really could not be further from the truth.

- The seat was really comfortable and low compared to the 690. (yes, that can be said about just any other bike). 

- While the 1190 is heavy compared to the 690, it' feels really light compared to the Honda Crosstourer for example. 

- There is a lot of power on tap even with all the nanny tech switched on. 

- The ergos certainly allow riding standing up, but the bars are little to low even for me

- The looks are a little on the safe side for a KTM. Still a nice looking bike for an adventure tourer.

- Wind protection was better than expected

This bike makes you want to just keep going and going.

Loosening up

Had an opportunity to do a 100 km run today. Still freezing cold, but the bike seems to be loosening up a bit. The engine feels a bit softer in a I-can't-quite-put-my-finger-on-it way. I did the first oil change at 400 km and I now have roughly 500 km on the clock. 

The oil change itself was rather underwhelming, I couldn't not spot any of those large chunks of metal shavings the forums keep mentioning. The touring screen... well the difference is subtle to put in nicely, but then again what was I expecting.

First ride

The sea was still frozen

Finally did a short 80km first ride today. Not much, but now I can say that I've actually ridden the bike. I was running the standard map and I obviously had to stay below 6000 rpm too due to the break in period. 

The new ride-by-wire throttle works beautifully. There is no jerkiness anywhere. The suspension worked marvelously on the tarmac. I didn't need to pay any attention to the numerous potholes and bumps. The bike just glided over everyhing. The suspension may be a tad hard for off road though. I haven't touched any adjustment screws yet nor do I plan to for a while. I'll just ride it for a while before touching anything. 

I kept a keen eye on the handle bar vibrations, but came up with nothing. I didn't get past 90 on the small roads so the result is still inconclusive.

What really got my attention was the power! This bike has a serious power to weight ratio and It will wheelie like crazy on first and second. The bike will literally pick up the front instantly if you give it the beans. Gotta pay attention.

Picking up the bike

The day finally came. Time to pick up the bike from the local dealer. I originally planned on leaving the bike at the dealer's showroom until temperatures rose above 10 degrees C, but due to some unexpected turn of events I needed to get the bike of the floor before mid March. Not a problem really, but the weather was not ideal for the maiden voyage. 2 C degrees or 36 F is a bit too chilly to enjoy riding so I decided to just ride the twenty minutes home and wait for the temperatures to rise a bit.

First impressions

I was overly cautious with the bike due to it being brand spanking new and the potential for icy spots was definitely still there. I really did not get enough time on the saddle to make any kind of conclusions, but I sure did love the feel of the bike!

Some things I did notice first hand:
- the clutch is very light and pleasant to operate
- seat was better than expected
- seat height was not an issue
- smooth throttle
- less vibrations than I expected*

*I did not get into highway speeds, so this is perhaps subject to change