So, what have happened since last time?
I’ve been riding. And riding. And riding.

First off, two days after passing my driver’s exam and buying my bike, I went upp to Strömsund in Swedish Jämtland, around 700 km from Stockholm by bike. From there we went to Finnish Lapland by car, to a town called Ranua about 80 km from Rovaniemi. After close to a week we went back, and I took the bike back to Stockholm via a night in Mora.
Back home I took a few days to wash, repack and plan,and also to install my first modification to the bike: A 12 volt power outlet (cigarette plug) hidden inside the toolbox compartment. This is in turn connected to a relay that I installed, so that it only gives power when the bike is started to prevent the battery from discharging in case I forget the power adapter to the GPS plugged in.

Anyway, me and three friends went back on the road again.
First stop was Tibro, where I lived between I was 5 and 16. Of course we went straight to Tibro Bar & Grill, and then off to our respective friends and family to sleep (3 of 4 were raised in Tibro). The next day it was more or less pouring down the entire time, so we took the shorter route to Hökerum, Ulricehamn, where my parents live. After spending the evening and night there we went on to Linköping, still in the rain. We split up again, and met the next day, when the sun finally came through. Onward to Västervik where MC-dagarna, the largest bike event in northern Europe, was held. Lots and lots of awesome bikes, both at the exhibition and in the camping area. We camped there for a night, and then the rest of the guys went back to Stockholm while I continued on to Öland where my parents had rented a house. After 5 days there, I went back to spend another night in Linköping before going back to Stockholm. Besides that I’ve been cruising around a lot in between, both in Stockholm and on Öland.

Pictures have been requested so pictures are produced:

Today was a fantastic day for me.

First, I passed the motorcycle driving exam, which means I now have a license for driving the biggest and heaviest bikes. I was nervous but managed to keep quite calm even though my heart was beating at 180 all the time. The examinator simply said something like “well, that was full points on everything”, and it took a second or two for me to understand that I actually passed.

When I got home I called on an ad for the previously mentioned bike, Suzuki VL 800 Volusia from 2001 (or Suzuki Intruder Volusia as it was called that particular year even though it has very little do do with the rest of the Intruder family). Two hours later my friend Alex came and picked me up on his new Harley Davidson Night Train, and we went to see the bike in the ad.

Since I had only been riding sport/sport-touring bikes before, it was quite a big change to be seated as low as on the Volusia, and the wide handlebar took some getting used to as well. But I loved it. And the sound! After a 10 minute test run I came back with a grin on my face. “I’ll take it. Definitely.”

Papers were signed, money were exchanged and I was on my way home with my brand new bike.

The seller was kind enough to follow me home in a car so that I could get the original exhaust pipes with me, and after a short stop at home to drop them off, we went out riding again. We met up with Lasse and his girlfriend, and we took a long nice trip to Ekerö. After an extremely nice swim we went back, I think we were gone for about 3 hours total.

Couldn’t be happier with the license, the bike and everything. Awesome day.

My Suzuki Volusia (closest). The two smaller bikes in the background are a Harley Davidson Night Train (middle) and a Yamaha Warrior (back).

I passed the Motorcycle exam with no remarks whatsoever!

YAAAY!

Tomorrow it is time again for the motorcycle exam. I think I’m even more nervous this time, partly because my vacation starts next week and it is almost entirely planned based on bike driving. So if I fail again I really don’t know what to do this summer. Exam times are still hard to come buy, so I might not get another try until mid August or September.

I’m way to wound up to sleep now, but I’ve got to try. Big day tomorrow.

I’ve been pretty much settled for buying a Suzuki Marauder 800 when I get my motorcycle driver’s license (final exam – again – in 11 days).

However, after reading a bunch of reviews, particularly one at Motorcycle Cruiser, I’ve decided to  change my goals to a Suzuki Volusia 800 instead, with the Honda A.C.E Shadow 750 as a secondary choice.

The Volusia does not only have a much better comfort, both for driver and passenger, it also handles better, is stronger and has less vibrations. The fact that it has a shaft drive instead of a chain also means that I’ll save about 1500SEK a year in maintenance cost. It is however more expensive to buy, but in the long run you will gain on it.

I am now up to about twice the price of a bike since what I planned this spring, and I’m not sure if I can afford a Volusia at the moment. A third option is to buy a smaller Kawasaki EN 500 for about 20’000 SEK less this season, and aim for a Volusia or similar next year instead. That would also give me time to get more comfortable with the Stockholm traffic, and damaging the bike wouldn’t cost as much.

Anyway, first I have to pass the exam. :p