First of all, hi to everyone after a long winter! It's been a while since i last posted, but for the past few nights i've been reading up on what i've missed over the winter when i didn't check in here much. It's awesome to see the progress with everyone's builds and projects!
So now to share a bit of news of my own: i got another bike a few weeks ago.
What started the whole thing (apart from the usual i-want-another-one syndrome) was that i'm fortunate enough to be able to ride 2-up with my girlfriend a fair bit, and quite a bit over long(ish) distances - rides between 2 and 3 hours, and more every now and then. We've also managed to do at least one multi-day tour around the country for the last two seasons. And the XJ is just a bit too small for 2-up riding over long stretches. I also wanted a bike that could handle gravel better than the XJ. So the seed for an idea was planted.
I started slowly putting money aside for a new bike fairly soon after i bought the XJ. I didn't have any idea what i might want, either, but i started looking at bikes good for 2-up touring and a bit of gravel.
Early this year, i was able to dedicate most of the proceeds of a new work project to the new bike fund and that tipped the scales - i was ready to buy. There were exactly 2 bikes of the model i wanted within my budget in the whole of Estonia so i went to see them both and made the purchase in early January with the agreement that the bike could stay at the dealer's until the snow melts.
Well, the snow finally melted a couple of weeks ago and i'm now the proud owner of a 2000 Honda Varadero. She was imported from Italy, seems to have been kept well and has fairly low mileage. (44k km or 30k miles, roughly.)
By now, i've probably done around 600km or 400 miles on her. Mostly paved roads, but a fair bit of gravel and a few stretches of logging roads, too.
First impressions:
In general, i think i got exactly what i wanted. A big powerful bike you could ride 2-up on all day that will eat even gravel miles happily all day every day.
She's heavy, just like everyone said. She's smooth and torque-y, just like everyone said. To be honest, i expected a 1000 to be scarier, but i think the v-twin varadero is a fairly tame 1000 just like the XJ is a tame 600. She's so heavy, in fact, that the foot for the stock kickstand is laughably small and she'll push the kickstand into any terrain that isn't concrete or tarmac and fall over. I cobbled together a prototype for an upgrade. (Thanks to granddads for stashing random bits of metal under sheds all over the world. I got my foot extension built with what i had on hand at the house.)
She came with Pirelli Scorpion Trails front and back with a good amount of rubber still on them, so i think i'll use these up before i swap for something with a bit more tread. I did try the Pirellis on a few miles of local logging road here that heavy machinery had recently turned into a slippery mud pit, though. Both me and the bike survived. I wouldn't call it fun or enjoyable, but it was doable. I dread to think what will (not) happen when i drop her in one of those slippery puddles. Just getting her turned around on a tight forest trail when the front wheel needs to go into the brush is a challenge. What i imagine wrangling a stubborn cow must be like. I'm seriously considering getting some sort of block and tackle kit for off-road excursions in case i drop her somewhere where i can't get good grip on the ground. I'm sure a lot of it is my lack of skill, too, but a thoroughbred off road bike she is not. Still she can do enough for i want in terms of exploring forest trails and getting access to interesting camping spots. Can't wait to develop some more off-road (well, rough-road?) skill and see what she can do with better suited tyres.
I've been enjoying getting more into route planning and poring over maps just trying to see what kind of interesting stuff i can find in my local area. It's cool to see how my country has doubled in size now that riding gravel is a fun option as opposed to the chore it was on the XJ.
And, as for the XJ: The girlfriend started her A-category (EU-speak for motorcycle) license studies this week so hopefully the two bikes will be cruising along together soon.