The Viking Run - 75 Days to Departure

 

Seventy five days!! Might as well be seventy five seconds with how fast time flies. I have yet to try to pack and load out the bike and that needs to happen soon. I ordered a tail rack for the bike in March and it has yet to arrive. It's kind of a key element to the way I plan to load out the bike. It will also be the primary way the aux fuel tank will be affixed with my main luggage bag on top, or at least I think so. So, that needs to get here ASAP. 

I did get new tires, ordered from Revzilla, Michelin Road 6 GTs, which are supposed to have amazing wet weather traction and more importantly, longevity. The OEM Bridgestone Battleaxes I have on the bike now were good for about 6000 miles, which is about the length of this trip alone. The Road 6's are supposedly good for 12,000 miles or more, supposedly. 

Michelin Road 6 GT

 

The Viking Run - 92 Days to Departure

 

92 Days. Ninety days is a a significant benchmark and its days away. I feel completely unprepared. As I stated before, I have the route and and all of my overnight stays planned except one, Labrador City, which I can't book till June. There are still so many other things to be done...and costs. This afternoon I'm getting an eye exam and possibly new glasses. It's an unfortunate expense and poor timing but it has to happen. Were the glasses I'm wearing become lost or broken it would seriously hamstring this entire event. I also must have new tires and an oil change prior to hitting the road. The oil change I expected but I didn't foresee was the glasses or tires. So I am strongly contemplating selling my other Beemer. I hate to do so but I may not have a choice. If I do it, I'll need to make the decision soon, because as I stated earlier, 90 days. 

The Viking Run - 100 Days to Departure

 

One hundred days! I'm now in the window of final prep, The trip is just around the corner and will be here very soon. I was riding in Sanford today and decided to stop by the Amtrak station, to get the lay of the land and get to know what to expect in August. I spoke with the ticket agents and saw the motorcycle racks they load on to the rail cars. I wont have a private cabin on the train, I'm going coach so it will be 18 hours in what is described as a first class like seat on an airplane. I sure hope that is the case. 

I have yet to start coming up with gear and clothing and how it will all be packed on the bike. I still have some rather large purchases and preparations to be made. The Bridgestone Battleax's that came as OEM on the bike are worn down the centers, they are more sport oriented than they are touring. So, I'm going to put some Michelin Road 6 GTs on this July. The Road 6s are known for touring and being the kings of wet weather roads. I'm looking forward to trying them.

Today I bought some socks, I was searching the internet for what should be good boot socks and found what I'm hoping will be good ones at Tractor Supply today. I need to do some tent setups and consider what kind of equipment I'll need for my rough camps on the TLH. Water...how to carry two days worth of water will be an interesting trick. 

One hundred days to departure and there is still so much to do.

The Viking Run - 105 Days to Departure

Today I completed all of my bookings. All hotel rooms, Air BnB's, campgrounds, lodges and rough camp areas are scheduled, booked and mapped out. Also, all trains and ferries have been booked as well. So now that all of the logistics are planned I'm down to figuring out gear and the load out. I've put all of my lodgings in a spiral note book broke down in to segments of the trip, it's old school but I like the simplicity of it. There are 38 stays planned out, a few of them our multiple nights. I'll get Furkot cleaned up and then post the itinerary soon.

And...I installed a new lower fairing on the bike. It doesn't do anything for the performance or handling, I just wanted to add some body to the lower engine area, take away some of the naked bike look.

 

The Viking Run - 125 Days to Departure

 

I worked on some bike improvements or mods this past weekend. I'll cover a couple of them here today.

The first thing I added was a radiator guard. I may or may not need one, I just have a bit of concern I may hit a spot of gravel on the TLH or have an oncoming truck throw up some rocks and puncture the radiator in the middle of nowhere. 

 

               Radiator before guard installation

                                                            The new radiator guard is 

                                                    custom fit and branded for the 900XR

 How the guard looks installed. I like it!

The other item I added was a new Givi tank bag. Now this item I really like and don't even know how I've gone on so long without one. This one has a few over the top features however. First, it uses the tank lock system that makes it simply snap on and off the top of the tank from a circular mount around the filler port, so no magnets or straps needed for securing the bag to the bike. It makes for a clean install too. A bonus feature with this bag is it has a key lock incorporated in the locking mechanism, so you can actually lock the bag to the bike. Another feature of this bag is the wire harness kit that runs a hot lead from the battery to a pass through port in the bag that powers a 3 plug USB charger. So incredibly handy and such a clean set up too. It also has a separate waterproof case on top for your cell phone; which I learned on the Kentucky trip, can be more handy than the bike mounted Garmin unit for direction prompts through the headset in the helmet.

The Viking Run - 132 Days to Departure

 

This past Saturday provided a pleasant surprise. In January when I had to renew my tags on the bike, I applied for a personalized plate. There were several ideas in my head for what I wanted the plate to convey, but when it came down to it the final choice was easy. A tribute to the man who who set the two wheels of this escapade in motion. If anyone knew my dad, they may have knowledge of the unit he served with in Vietnam. 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, Bravo Company or Bravo 1/9 as the unit is known in the Corps. Also known as "The Walking Dead".

My dad would use Bravo 1/9 for various signatures when needed, and it was his moniker for his personal email. So...as I said, this Saturday I had a nice surprise when my new personalized plate arrived and looked like this...

 

The Viking Run - 143 Days to Departure

 

I picked up my bike from BMW Daytona last Saturday after having the water pump replaced due to a small internal leak. Its Bike Week this week in Daytona and other than spending last Monday walking around with my niece Ashley, it was rather boring.

BMW Motorcycles of Daytona

Bike week has really turned in to a Harley Davidson event and well...that just makes it suck.

Big news however is, I can not get a spot of the Relais Nordik cargo ship out of Blanc Sablon like I was hoping, so that has altered my plans dramatically. Something I was trying to avoid has now become inevitable. I will now be taking the Trans Labrador Highway to Baie-Comeau in Quebec. 

Aside from being called "The Loneliest Road In The World" and "The Most Dangerous Road in North America" and the fact the Canadian government issues you a satellite phone before you attempt it and the endless stories of people being eaten alive by black flies and mosquitoes, it sounds like great fun. Oh...did I forget to mention the bears and moose? Killer...moose!

The Trans Lab or TLH, is actually a very active route that is widely used by truck drivers and plenty of travelers and motorcyclists have traversed it to boot. As a matter of fact, by the time I get on it this September, it will likely be 100% paved. Which at it's opening in 1992 it was not. At a little less than 800 miles it may take up to five days to complete on the bike. The most nerve wreaking challenge I have before me in regards to the TLH, is the 260 mile stretch between Port Hope Simpson and Happy Valley where there will be no fuel available. Considering the furthest the 900XR can go on a full tank of gas is 200 miles, this creates either an insoluble math problem or a small logistics matter. 

So, Trans Labrador highway here I come... does Amazon sell bear repellent?