London to st.petersburg

[tatters]

Currently planning a trip to st.Petersburg via Norway/Finland starting on 31st may l have just over a months worth of holiday from work and a open ticket back on the euro tunnel so just like my last touring trip time is,nt much of a issue apart from the Russia stage which l,m guessing l have to have a set entry and leave time set on the visa (should be more clear when l apply in march).

My weapon of choice for this is my Honda XR650R which l,m converting for long distance use (25 liter tank/soft seat/dual sport tyres etc), before some smart arse says its a highly tuned off road bike others have toured on them through Africa and south America with no problems including a Swedish guy who have cover over 68,000 miles on his.

Any suggestions on the route? (will mostly be making it up as l go like before) places to visit? etc
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Past:NRG50,AF1125(x2),NSR125RR,ZZR250,CX500,VFR400,KR1S,ZZR600(x2),CB400N,YZF1000(x2),KH125,Z200,FX400R,CBR954RR(x2)GPZ500S,GT550,VFR750F(x2),RD350N,XR650R,CBR600F,CB250,KDX250,YZF750R,CRM250,400EXC,KLR650,TTR600RE,DR350S,R100GSPD,RGV250,VMAX1200,DL650,KZ750 Present:G650XC,C12,CRF450X,1190ADV

[Shay HTFC]

Enjoy the lakes in Finland. there's enough and its supposed to be absolutely beautiful!

[Paivi]

We do, indeed, have loads of lakes. That 188k is just the larger ones. Take your speedos, as the swimming is great, the water's so clean, a bit cool though until July. In Lapland, of course, you may still see patches of snow in June, unless global warming has done its trick; I remember playing in snow in July as a kid over there.

In Finland, once you clear Lapland, you need to be on Road 6 (Valtatie 6), as it cuts through the most beautiful part of Scandinavia, the Finnish Lake District (one of the most spectacular results of the Ice Age). One of the most scenic lakes on it is Pielinen and the road follows the western bank. Stop off at Koli, a low mountain ('vaara' in Finnish, and you'll see that a lot of place names around that area finish with 'vaara'), and climb up to see the National Landscape (Kansallismaisema) across the lake. Stop at Valtimo to say 'hello' to my relatives...

Carry on all the way to Savonlinna on any road, probably the smaller 476 and 471 to visit the mediaeval castle, Olavinlinna (St Olaf's castle), there's an open air opera festival there in July. From there, take Road 14 to an ice age ridge, Punkaharju, another famous landscape, and at the heart of the Saimaa lake system. Look out for huge boulders and deep well-like holes in the bedrock; all formed by the retreating ice. Finland is still coming out of the Ice Age in that the land is still rising; as our Swedish and Norwegian borders are defined by the river Tornio, we're gaining a few extra cm every year from them with the river moving westbound. How cool is that!

Cross into Russia at Vainikkala to visit one of our oldest cities Viipuri (Vyborg, as the bloody filthy stealing Commies call it), then to St Petersburg. If you can, as it's not easy to get visas to Russia, and you may find your insurance is invalid, in which case, leave the bike at Vainikkala station and take the train from there (about three hours to St Petersburg, aka Pietari).

In Finland, don't bother with camp sites, as we've got something called 'every man's right', so you can set up your tent in anybody's land, as long as you don't cause any damage and it's not within the immediate vicinity of the houses or in the land being farmed or that has livestock. This excludes fishing, though. Look out for signs for 'kulovaara' or 'metsapalovaara', i.e., danger of forest fires, in those areas, you're not allowed to light a fire of any kind outside. The water in most streams (not in the larger rivers, though, unless absolutely necessary) in that part of the country is drinkable. We don't do bottled water, as our tap water is spring water from the huge reservoirs underneath the ridges in the Lake District as well as the Paijanne river.

Oh, and no speeding, we take a very dim view of speeding. The national speed limit is 80km/h and the motorway is 100-120km/h, in towns 20-30km/h. Even a few km over and you're in trouble. We don't have speed cameras, but we've got loads of unmarked cop cars on the main highways.

Filtering is illegal, and car drivers actively discourage bikers from doing so by blocking their way or opening the door. The Finnish male is the king of the road, and nobody except perhaps Mika Hakkinen is allowed to overtake him... But, the roads are in no way as congested as here, unless you're approaching Helsinki during the rush hour (probably as busy as the M25 at 3am), so you shouldn't need to filter anyway. They're very good quality, too, but mostly unlit, apart from at junctions, and there are no cats' eyes, so it will be dark. Well, as dark as Scandi gets in the summer, i.e., not very. Beware of the elk (i.e. moose), though; you hit one of those and you will die. They are very unpredictable, and run into the road at will. If you see a sign warning of them (normal red/yellow triangle with an elk on it), slow down and cover your brakes. In Lapland, you'll have the reindeer to deal with. They're domesticated, so try not to hit them, as you may have to pay compensation to the Saami (our indiginous people) for killing part of their herd.

Oh, and don't forget to go to the sauna wherever you can; every camp site will have one.

Edit: this is what happens when a van hits an elk:
https://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135233494919.jpeg
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My other bike's a Monster...

[tatters]

[pwntifex]

You will enjoy Piter, however I am not sure I would ever advise riding a motorbike there.
Looks like an awesome trip. Lucky bastard.
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the warped one: This is a follow up from the thread 'my willy hurts'

[olionel]

also bugdet right, as prices of itmes in scandinavia are quite high compared to here.
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1989 CG125 - Childhood Sweetheart (she got kidnapped by baddies)
1998 ZXR400 - Teenage Love (lasted three years, then she turned lesbian and left me)
2001 XRV750 - Wife Material (still getting to know her but head over heels in love)

[tatters]

[natv4]

[tatters]

got back a few days ago made it to Russia and back in one piece just got to get around to doing a write up of it all when l find the time.
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Past:NRG50,AF1125(x2),NSR125RR,ZZR250,CX500,VFR400,KR1S,ZZR600(x2),CB400N,YZF1000(x2),KH125,Z200,FX400R,CBR954RR(x2)GPZ500S,GT550,VFR750F(x2),RD350N,XR650R,CBR600F,CB250,KDX250,YZF750R,CRM250,400EXC,KLR650,TTR600RE,DR350S,R100GSPD,RGV250,VMAX1200,DL650,KZ750 Present:G650XC,C12,CRF450X,1190ADV

[eddclarke]

[DidierD]

Looking forward to the write up. Were you in Russia whilst the Euros were on by any chance?
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Bike - '98 Yamaha YZF600 Thundercat Pics

31st March 2008 - Fully converted from four wheels to 2 sets of two wheels

[TechJinx]

[Aldbro_Bev]