Hey guys!

I'd like to share with you the memories of last summers' trip around Sweden!
The F4i was not exactly intended as a grand tourer, but i have found it to be great at exactly that! With a few minor adjustments tho...

Some people will no doubt call it an outrage to mount a topbox on a 600cc racer, well, I prefer my sleeping bag and clothes to be dry at the end of the day, no matter the weather, plus it could look a lot worse!

The trip, which is becomming a bit of a tradition, took, as always, place in Sweden, just over the bridge from Denmark. One might argue that Germany which is equally close, has no speed limits on the freeways, the thing is just that Sweden has so many qualities to make up for that:
1. Once you head out on the backroads, you have it all for yourself
2. The Swedes are the nicest people i know, they ALWAYS give way if you are catching up, they simply pull out to the right and let you pass.
3. You may camp everywhere, as long as you dont litter, act like a jerk etc.
4. The nature is just amazing (at least compared to pancake-flat Denmark)

Enough chit chat, check out the pictures!



Above: Our route





Above: Preflight check, maybe i should have checked the rear tyre... more to come



Above: LOTS of rain driving out of Copenhagen, the wet patch on the ground is what was in my gloves... Thank god for GORE-TEX



Above: Beautiful Sweden, not yet all dry though



Above: Pitstop. My friends KTM in the background, great great machine, SO much torque, and lots of fun on dirtroads!



Above: Basecamp, you simply find a field you think would be suitable, if youre a nice person you ask the neighbours if they think it'll be ok to set up camp, or you just do it. We never heard any complaints.



Above: Yours truly with great helmet hair, resting next to a small hydroelectric powerplant



Above: Why you should always check you tires before heading out, then again, the Swedish roads are pretty rough, and we both spent about 3-5mm rubber on the 3500km long trip... Unfortunately this was about 250km from the nearest large town, so we had to set the throttle to turtle for almost a day... The picture is from when we reached the shop




Above: How to change a tire, pretty easy really, the price was, however, reflected in the fact that this was the only motorcycle dealer in 500km's... Again, you learn as long as you live



Above: Another basecamp, nothing beats taking a dive in a fresh water lake after a long day on the road!



Above: A man's gotta eat, right?
Thats about it! I hope you enjoyed the story!

Martin from Denmark

 

Thats a pretty nice trip. How long did it take you? Did you just ride or stop along the way to see things?

 

Took a week, we stopped whenever we passed something interesting, but we were there for the winding roads primarily, of which there was A LOT. Great, wide, well paved roads, just snaking their way through the landscape. We spent so much gas hehe

 

always love seeing logs from extended road trips -- thanks for posting!

 

beautiful country.. awesome trip!

 

Wow! Nice write-up. Sounds like a great trip w/ lots of fun.

What camp stove is in your pics? I've got a small collapsible camping-gaz that still works great after many years of use but I'm always looking at dif options for the future. Did you also use MREs or prepackaged/freeze-dried food as well?

Glad you enjoyed your trip on your F4i. Thanks for sharing.

 

Hey again

The stove is a primus etapower, we brought some boiling bag dried food, was just a matter of filling it with boiling water, wait ten minutes and presto! Chicken curry was alright, but bring salt!

On the picture we're cooking some burgers, which is nice after a few days of dried food, but the dried food is great when you're on the move...

 

Great post; Inspiring!!! I just bought a bike about a week ago, 99' F4 and this makes me want to take her on a road trip... I'm in Florida, and I'm thinking I'll take her up to Chicago to see family this summer If she's ready and willing of course! Again, great post mate! I can't explain how jealous I am lol

 

Just go dude, in '10 i was riding my 95' F3 around Sweden as well, its an adventure! I dont mind riding alone, but its ten times the fun when you travel with a few good friends. We alle have the Interphone F4 system, so we can share the experiences, also when things go wrong (which they just might) its good to have a wingman who can back you up. Oh and bring tools, duct tape and wd40

 

Nice one! Gotta tag this to read it more thorougly when I get home. Oh, and greetings from Finland!