I had planned a trip to the Western Balkans for June 2020 but then a little bug turned the world upside down…so no proper motorbiking trip since the big one to Japan in 2019. I didn’t expect to go on another trip soon, but some weeks ago, I had a brilliant idea….why not go on a motorbike trip to a place where I haven’t been before? I really needed some holidays, not only had the pandemic smashed all my traveling plans, but since I took over a management job in early 2020, I did not have any proper vacations. So what would be a good place to visit? I went through my mental list of ‘white spots’ on the map of Europe…pretty high incidences everywhere….and I had a brilliant idea: the island of fire and ice, home of elves and trolls, fjords and hot springs….Iceland!

I quickly booked the ferry from Denmark to Iceland and put together a ride for a seven day round trip. All set! Well, I just needed to wake up the XBR out of her hibernation. Not that there would be a lot of things to do (it’s a Honda!), but the bike had to be nursed a bit. Luckily I had already done an oil change and welded my luggage rack. The tires were still in a good condition, but I decided to swap them for new ones for I have heard of the abrasive roads on Iceland. I noticed that the front break worked not smooth enough and cleaned all moving parts of the break caliper, but still no improvement. Was it the brake master cylinder? In the end I discovered that the bolt in the break lever was rusty. I had also exchanged the front indicators as three brackets disintegrated when I tried to install them: the plasticizers had evaporated and the material gets brittle and breaks. Attaching the indicators to the lamp solved the problem. I also re-installed the small windshield and fixed the seat lock assay.

I did a test ride and concluded that the good ole XBR was ready for another trip.

Next weekend, I will start my ride to Hirtshals in Northern Denmark, easy going. More information will follow.