Hi guys.

As I have promised last time, this post will be mainly about technical details of a K1300R. I will try to avoid quoting from Wikipedia and explain everything based on my personal opinions and my particular way of ‘feeling’ the bike.

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My Honda and I

In order for all of you to have a better understanding of what I’m about to write, I will have to go a bit back in time, more specifically to when I was buying my first motorbike ever. It was a Honda NTV 650 and I remember many friends of mine who shared my passion (more or less) told me that a 650 cc was too dangerous of a motorbike for a beginner. Basically I’ve been advised by people with more experience to go for something that I could have a better control upon, but my mind was already made, so …stubborn as I am… I ended up with my Honda.

650cc, 50hp, 50 Nm: these were the ‘abilities ’of my Honda, which is still alive and functional, now in the possession of my brother, who seems to share my passion as well. I like to think that this is  my family’s legacy : my grandfather ( who had an old DNEPR MT11 ) passed it on to me and I passed it on to my bother.

I had the Honda for 3 years, time during which I have made little over 40 000 km with it. We were inseparable, regardless of the weather. I have so many stories to tell from back in the day, so sometime in the future I will share them with you as well. Hope you’ll enjoy reading them as much as I’ve enjoyed ‘living’ them.  I don’t know if it’s that I’m lucky or that I’m very careful and calculated in traffic, but I never had any crashes or go through worrying circumstances on/with it. It wasn’t because I was driving it too fast or to slow, but because I have respected the speed limitations and acted as if I was driving a car. I believe this is the secret of managing not to crash or put oneself in danger.

After 3 years of thinking and breathing only motorcycles, there came this really ‘dark’ period in my life, where for almost 4 years I didn’t even get on a bike.

This is how I looked every time I heard a bike 🙂 11148634_1064579300223311_6816822416836628675_nI am just guessing here that this feeling may be known to some of you.

Last year I went ‘browsing’ to one of the local motorbikes stores (which happens to be one of my main places to be it seems), and I saw this orange K1300R. It had a certain aura, a certain something to it that I just can’t explain. All I knew was that I had to have it!

I went home and presented the situation to my girlfriend. She obviously didn’t share my enthusiasm and tried to lay out reasons why I shouldn’t think of owning a new bike. I sort of listened to her so my orange dream was sold. It kind of pissed me off that I have let myself pulled into my girlfriend’s logic. How could she really understand what I was feeling!? So, since I knew she wasn’t completely against it, I convinced her to come on a drive test with me. Good thinking on my behalf that was! She really liked that she could feel the road in a never before known way until then, that she could smell the flowers and feel the sun more intensely, that she was experiencing a new way to define ‘freedom’. So, having her on my team this time, I went and bought my motorbike, which you guys know as Sandy by now.

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Sandy fully loaded

Before I drove my K1300R, I thought that Honda was the most powerful ‘wheels’ out on the tarmac. Boy was I wrong!

The K1300R has 175 horse power, 140 Nm and 1300 cc’s. It accelerates from 0 to 100 in less than 3 seconds and from 0 to 200 in 5,4 sec. All these may be just random numbers for some of you. One is ought to test one once in order to have a real idea of what I’m trying to say here. I am not a man of speed, I don’t drive for that kind of rush. But as any man out there who owns a motorbike, I like the idea of knowing that IF I wanted to reach a certain kind of speed in a very short lapse of time, it were possible.

Cruise speed is where I feel most comfortable when driving, especially when there’s a long way ahead. 100 to 120 km/hour is more than enough to make one biker feel safe and enable him/her to enjoy the landscape and get familiar with the ever changing surroundings. Not many roads are speed friendly, especially up here in Norway, so I beg of you…don’t ask me about the top speed Sandy can reach, for I have no idea ( ashamed ). I have only saw it running like the wind on YouTube videos. Although every car and motorbike I have owned before was tested at top speed on certain highways in Germany, I will confess to you without any shred of shame that I am not keen on testing this one. Yeah, I love her,  she probably loves me…but WHAT IF SHE LEAVES ME BEHIND (LOL).

I shall see since I haven’t made up my mind yet on this particular subject. All I know is that the ‘instruction book’ says its top speed is 200 km/hour, while YouTube pushes it up to 280km/hour. Can you imagine that speed?!? I certainly cannot, but just give me some time to familiarize and I shall come back to you ( hopefully :))) )

Leaving all jokes aside, there’s only a few weeks left before my journey will begin, time more than enough to go on with my physical and mental training. I have to figure out a way to put all the stuff necessary for such a long trip into just 100 – 125 L.

By the way, after taking into consideration some of your comments on a forum, I’ve decided to listen and take the trip up to 50 days. It should be enough time to meet some of you guys along the way and share a cup of coffee and good story.  I could also your help with advice as to what is worth visiting in the places I’ll be passing through. I really hope you friends can help me with this.

Until next time!

Best,

Andrei.

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