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The year’s first flirtation with the ex.

Text and photo: Kyrre Hagen

Some trips never go quite as planned. And when I’m out with my X (ex), my trusty 2008 BMW G 650 X-Challenge, most things can and usually do go wrong. Here are the highlights from the first ride of the year, or perhaps rather the low points.

The season is still young, but as soon as the sun comes out, it’s hard to let the bikes gather dust in the garage. I’ve got a few bikes standing around, and I like to give them a bit of care during the winter – in other words, I do a bit of screwing, some swearing and try to remember where all the screws should be.

 

She has become one of my favorites on the road. The old BMW has charm to spare.

My favorite, the X, has had a life that would make an adventurer jealous. It’s been on the road, around the world before I got it, with a turret, an extra tank and more things bolted on than a Swiss Army knife. But when I first saw it, it looked as adventurous as a drunk on a Sunday. The brother of the owner called me, probably to get rid of the problem for his brother. And optimist that I am, I said yes.

 

This warrior had been around the world before she came to me. Since then we’ve become best friends, but she’s fickle.

I had a big plan not to spend too much money on it. Of course, it turned out the opposite. But now it’s a real cult bike with less than 4000 copies made, and in fact such a rig has been ridden in the Dakar Rally. I’ve also had adventures with it, like last fall when the light disappeared in the middle of a pitch-black forest. Two kilometers from the cabin. I thought, how hard can it be to feel your way? The answer: Very difficult.

This winter there was a round of service: Oil and coolant were changed, new ignition lock, and the forks got new oil. And then I treated myself to some new, awesome blue Excel rims with shiny spokes. I mean, why not spend a small fortune on cosmetics when the bike barely runs? The result was gorgeous, and I couldn’t wait to show it off.

Problem 1: Hot flashes on Lierstranda

Heading for Asker and my driving buddy Kjetil, I proudly rolled out of Drammen. But I didn’t get that far. Just before Lierstranda, the temperature light flashed red and the bike was more cooked than my patience. I limped into a gas station and started troubleshooting. The cooling fan wasn’t working, the radiator was cold, and then it hit me: I had changed the coolant last winter. It needed to be aired and refilled several times, so I had obviously been sloppy.

 

She’s boiling, but what’s the problem?

 

Here is the real hero of the story. The architect who brought me more coolers

Luckily, the architect was home – the real hero of this story – and came to the rescue with the leftover coolant. After a couple of rounds of filling and venting, everything worked as it should. After all, I was just going for a test drive, not playing the lead role in “Mad Max: Steam Edition.”

Problem 2: Locked and articulated

While the architect was driving home, I thought I could fill up with gas. The gas light was on, so I rolled over to the pump, inserted the card and went to open the gas cap. But wait a minute… New ignition lock! And of course, I didn’t have the old key that fit the fuel cap with me. A classic mistake!

 

The upgrades this winter had consequences I had not taken into account.

Fortunately, the bike had enough gas to get me home, and back to the station with the right key. It was starting to get embarrassing now. At this point I was more of a mechanic’s horror than a motorcyclist.

Problem 3: The ring that was missing

Finally on the way out of Drammen again. What could go wrong now? Well, the speedometer wasn’t working. It took me a few kilometers to discover it, because I was too busy enjoying the “flawless” ride. What had happened? After some pondering, it hit me: I had changed the brake discs, but never moved anything that registered the speed. Smart, Kyrre. Really smart.

 

Nice new wheels were built this winter, but what’s missing?

When I arrived at Kjetil’s, I took a closer look. I hadn’t bothered to fit the ABS ring on the rear wheel, as the bike no longer has ABS. But that ring obviously had another function as well – it registered the speed. I’m so good at this!

Mechanic with potential for improvement

The rest of the day actually went well. I was behind Kjetil who made sure we kept the speed limit, since I was reduced to a rolling question mark. I had learned some important things: When you change something on your motorcycle, it often affects things you haven’t thought about.

 

The E during one of our adventures in southern Norway. We were on a great moonlight tour.

But one day I’m going to make the leap from being a pretty bad mechanic to being a completely mediocre one. It’s just a matter of practicing a lot, or as I like to call it: Trial and error until you get it right. Fortunately, the mistakes happen on my own bike.

The first trip of the season didn’t turn out quite as planned, but when you mess up, you might as well do it thoroughly!

With this we wish everyone a good motorcycle season, greetings Kenny Dundee

 

 

Hubriding means that, based at one of De Historiske hotels, you can choose from a number of defined driving routes in the area surrounding the hotel. The routes we offer go through some of Norway’s very best terrain and include tens of thousands of bends, spectacular mountain passes, asphalt, gravel, wonderful nature experiences and the opportunity to eat well at local establishments. We’ve included sights and eateries for you to visit in the routes. You will be able to choose from a number of routes and route combinations that make it possible to choose daily stages of varying length and difficulty. The concept has been developed by Straand Hotel in Vrådal together with Norway’s leading motorcycle enthusiasts.

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