I fix an old motor bike and ride to the Arctic Circle 'The Warhorse' Honda XRV750 Africa Twin
yeah hello do you speak English okay great I was just calling to see if the bike is still available awesome can I get your address I've seen a lot of the world on motorcycles traveled in 32 countries on bikes ranging from 150 cc to 1200 cc but they were never mine they were supplied by virtue of my career projects now I realize what's been missing in my life I want to know if there's a motorcycle out there which I'm destined to find a motorcycle that was always Meant To Be Mine foreign foreign how privileged am I to be that owner foreign it's real I found her albeit stripped of her identity but I will let her true colors shine once again I know a battle scarred bike when I see one and it's safe to say this old girl has never fired a shot off-road like a highly trained soldier that never got to fight in a war this Africa twin has never been on an adventure it has yet to fulfill its design purpose she spent the last 30 years passed along four owners as a commuter a top box toting Courier damned to a life of urban Streets Cafe car Parks traffic jams and motorways only to be forgotten under a blanket in a barn those days are over old girl and for our first Adventure I'm taking you straight to the top of the world what can I say I'm in love 300ks today so far at least 60 of it was a nice little random off-road section and just good to get a feel of this thing it's it's so good definitely got a bit more weight on the back than I'd like um I've packed packed it full of food so I'm gonna start eating it down and uh slowly but surely get a feel for the true off-road capabilities such a great feeling being self-sufficient on a motorcycle some compact camping gear food and a few personal items I feel like a kid again of all the adventures of all the missions around the world the last time I rode my own motorcycle on an adventure was 23 years ago I bought my very own xr600 rode it around Australia yeah it was living on it lived off it and I've been missing that really I don't want to sound ungrateful I've had the time of my life very lucky on all the adventures but the motorcycles have ultimately been tools to get the job done create a movie uh test a bike for a manufacturer whatever this is different this is really personal where I'm Going's almost irrelevant it's just so enjoyable going somewhere on this bike no better way to start your day in life the with the nude swim in an icy Scandinavian Lake that's the Viking coming out in me I think I could roll like a Viking 430 K's yesterday I'm gonna try and up that to about 600 today I got some distance to cover but let's see how she goes on the cold start twin carburetors here a bit of Choke all systems go so here's the deal I've made it to my first major Waypoint which is Norway one and I've positioned it somewhere along stage one of the Norwegian tet that's right I've come to see what all the fuss is about with this trans Euro Trail I'm picking it up somewhere along the line I'm going to ride it back to the Swedish border see if I can come across and blend in with some like-minded Adventure enthusiasts yes I'm here I am living my best life as an adventure bike rider and I'm excited to find others doing the same wait what a couple of moose no way these things are as big as freaking horses foreign this trans Euro Trail is delivering from the get-go and then it happens hello I just I just got brushed by my first sighting of Adventure Riders oh well I guess they didn't like the pink you want to come with me you want to come to the Arctic Circle and eat some Salmon leg of the trans Euro Trail to pick it up again at the border of Sweden but I've run into a bit of a problem bugger found the first fault with the war horse the low fuel light failed to come on and I've completely run it out of fuel I've fallen about 30 K's short before the Swedish border however I did stop a van and it was a couple of Norwegians and they said they're just going into this town to do some grocery shopping they're gonna get me some fuel and drop it off on their way back through this looks like the Legends now I think in there coming through with the good there you go you guys are the real deal I really appreciate this no problem so in the time it takes me to explain my situation these guys invite me to their cabin in the woods nice place so this is Bjorn joined by his three boys who are on a hunting trip at their private cabin what is it it's a reindeer meat mushrooms sour cream did you shoot the reindeer no we drove over it (joking) the car yeah we hit the cat down the road well you know what if you didn't go looking for this reindeer mate you wouldn't have found me stranded my cheers to the Norwegian hunting family thank you for your hospitality this is amazing foreign with a cold shower and then into it there it is the coveted Norwegian grouse which the boys had hung up in their shed last night foreign foreign I'm getting a good feel for her now and she's surprising me with every challenge we Face I've ridden the best adventure bike brands available in these kind of conditions and this old Africa twin is performing like every bit The Legend it's known to be let's go foreign gave in yesterday checked into a motel so wet boots were soaked from the River Crossing um but yeah I just needed a chance to fully reset dry everything at least try and get it dry hung up all the riding gear it's looking like another wet miserable Swedish day out there so Transit day today just gonna leg it up the motorway all right and so the war horse has been granted exclusive passage across this Mighty Nordic River Lapland this is Lapland why do they call it Lapland because what is the native Sweden it's their land I just need to do a quick location check the phone hopefully I got some signal that sinking feeling when you realize you've been having way too much fun burning up fuel you don't really have relief civilization there's bound to be fuel here okay so I crossed the border into Finland long enough to get a feed warm my hands and feet a little then re-enter Norway's icy cold Arctic North War Horse is parked up for the night it's amazing when you've suffered for so long being cold and wet and big k's the luxuries of a tiny little cabin it's just simple it's all you need and I found some beer day six this will be my fourth day straight riding in the rain the only difference now that I'm well inside the Arctic Circle it's seven degrees and raining out there which on a motorcycle isn't comfortable but one thing I know if you can start the day dry it's much easier to press on into the suffering and I've almost got my boots dry almost sometimes the situations we manifest can be far from our expectations my hands and feet are frozen numb but I am exactly where I have chosen to be alone on a motorcycle in one of the most inhospitable and fascinating places on the planet foreign I'd like to think I'm an adventurous person but I'm not ignorant I will always be wary of people I will always fear wild predatory animals but I will never be scared of nature I will never be deterred by climate I will always challenge myself in the harshest terrain and let my instincts as a human be my guide because it's not until all your senses are firing that you feel truly alive three thousand kilometers later we made it the war horse and I made it to the top of the world and you know it hasn't been ideal if I had the luxury of time I could probably wait around for the conditions to be perfect but who really does have the luxury of time take the opportunity we've got and just go for it and while it's okay to give yourself a pat on the back for your achievements don't fist pump too early because you can quickly find yourself on the side of the road pissing in your radiator bloody hell about time I run an eye over the war horse I've just been sending it every day and not even looking down check on the old girl and that took me by surprise today when I saw the temp gauge had risen just a bit out of the blue it was still cool as the fact it changed that was a warning sign for me so it must have a slow radiator leak because it's been so wet every day I haven't been able to pick it or see it yeah that's um that's still basically full from when I pissed in it I guess it's not really an adventure unless you're pissing in the radiator right um hold on hold on hold on that's just started dripping coolant big time since I popped the cap okay it's not that hose oh look there it is plastic covers on through the radiator what bloody hell I need to see if this servo's got any radiator or any metal putty absolute score totally in business I got some metal putty should misk whatever it says metal just mix it and you've fixed it well we shall see about that we are in business all right I'm just going to give that a quick wipe and hit it take that out and let that Bloody chafing cover hold that putty in place day seven and of course another dreary wet Nordic Day but you know what despite the [ __ ] weather it's still a really good feeling having had a good sleep something to eat got to check over the war horse and now I'm ready to explore places I've never been before foreign 500 mil over three and a half thousand K's it's pretty good sitting on 5000 RPM all day it's allowed to burn a little bit of oil you know I think one of the most important parts of motorcycle travel traveling with your motorcycles is really intimately getting to know it now every sound every vibration because as soon as a new sound is introduced a vibration you can pick it up you're onto it straight away if something's vibrating it's wearing out Loose chain loose bolts it's going to cause extra damage so I've just picked up on the fact the chain slackened off so I'm just going to tighten her up a couple of notches and smooth the old girl back out get all your weight into her perfect let's go foreign I'm fascinated by the Sea more so by the life that bubbles Away by the water's edge ropes anchors fishing nets and seagulls it is a life governed by ever-changing weather a life enriched by the sounds smells and flavors of the creatures harvested from its depths foreign I will always be in awe of the maritime world but it's a place I like to Admire from a distance to look out over an endless body of water is spooky but it evokes thoughts of wonder about our planet how we choose to live here and what little time we really have foreign foreign is this going straight across I think we owe it to ourselves to learn to be self-sufficient to know what it once Meant To Source our own food sleep under the stars and harmonize with nature but we have created an industrial World a reality where we swipe credit cards for a bed wait in line to be served engineered food and observe nature from the safety of guard rails and regulations foreign natural places on Earth we cannot experience it without Cinemas restaurants and bars I am a motorcycle rider but without nature these experiences would be meaningless because whether you travel on foot by car or by bike exploring the natural world is the greatest gift of life foreign I've spent a lot of time traveling the world in search of something I didn't really know was missing I've not only found a better version of myself but I have found the war horse coming along this everyone this ride in particular was very important to me very special to do it on a bike that I own and an old bike you know it's not always about having the the best bike the latest toys it's just about two wheels and a motor and going for it you know you can get you can believe it you can do it just um don't wait around for opportunity just create the opportunity and the experiences you'll get from that will will change your life and as always if you like this stuff don't forget to subscribe to my channel ARiemann1 share and like the video hit the notification Bell you know the drill and if you want to see how this whole bike came to be in terms of the setup front to rear what I carry what I do as an adventure Rider click on this video right here foreign
2022-10-09 01:29
