We have a mate Al who lives in Ruislip, North London. He’s a good chap with a lovely family and we’ve been friends for years. It was really great, then, to take the Norge with Susie, beloved wife, as pillion and go up to see them yesterday. There was a secondary objective because as a side job he supplies & fits motorcycle tyres and had got in a pair of Michelin Pilot Road 4s for the bike.
We went up the A32 and along the A272 to Winchester and then on the M3 to the M25 where we encountered very heavy traffic and jumped off the M25 for the A30. A pretty easy journey and the Norge behaved well, Susie declaring the pillion seat to be most comfortable. Both of us noted the pegs to be higher than on the GS, not in a way that is uncomfortable as such, but not what we’re used to. I had to stretch my legs at one point, something I also do on the GS - but on the Norge I needed to be more aware of my boots rubbing on the tarmac
I’ve done quite a lot of work on the Norge as you know but because the front brakes feel good - initially gentle but then very sharp - I’ve just ignored them. Al noted that the pinch bolts were rather solidly in place with no evidence of copper-slip and to match that the wheel spindle was absolutely grease free. The callipers were in need of a little clean but there is enough meat on the pads for them not to need changing until well after the Stella Alpina. There was nothing wrong with the wheel bearings either, which is a relief.
The rear wheel did not want to come off the single sided swinging arm. It took a fair few belts with a rubber mallet to break the corrosion holding it in place. There was clear evidence of an old leak from the CARC bevel box, with a new-ish looking seal and older looking oil residue on the lowest part of the box. I’ll keep an eye on it over the next few weeks and get some miles on it, just in case the seal has gone, but I strongly suspect that the seal was fairly recently changed by someone who didn’t give a fig for cleaning up the leaked fluids. We shall see.
The new tyres went on easily and were balanced with 10g on each wheel, which isn’t a lot considering there was a gert long strip of weights on each wheel from the last time balancing was done. The old tyres felt horribly thin and flexible once off & Al noted that it wouldn’t have been long before I’d have had a puncture. They weren’t far off the end of the tread and frankly I’ve no idea how long they’d been on the bike. They were Michelin Pilot Road 3s, the model before the ones being fitted, but that could mean they were 2012 tyres...
The new tyres being on and the time having come to depart, I was a little concerned not to do anything stupid with Herself on the back. As it happens though, the bike felt immediately good. The new tyres felt smoother than the old but gripped nicely from the off. We took the A30 again, nice and not too quick to get used to the handling, then the M25, the A3, the A31 and then down the ever-pleasant A32. The tyres felt lovely, the bike handled and generally behaved very well. It’s thirstier than the GS but we did 185 miles with some fuel left in the tank (maybe 1/8th) so range is good. I think I ought to balance the throttle bodies and reset the TPS, but will need to do some proper reading up to see how to do that. I have the software and the necessary connector but don’t actually know what to do exactly. Yet!
All in all, a lovely day to go riding, great to see Al & family, lovely to get new boots on the Norge
-- more than a thoroughbred jockey at Churchill Downs, without even getting to my (quite svelte) Perfect Pillion & Polish Princess's propensity to bring along a safari's level of clothing and personal hygiene/beauty supplies! 
