I’ve just spent a week riding my Norge around 2,255 miles of French countryside. I had originally intended to cross the Alps and go to Mandello but the weather turned very wet to the East so I went West instead.
My 61k miles Norge has done me proud on my week in France. It covered 2,255 miles, doing an average of 47 mpg. It’s been very comfortable and a really enjoyable ride. I’ve never had a bike with an engine that will pull through an uphill hairpin at 1,750 rpm before - torque-tastic
Several days the temperatures were over 30oC and the roads not suitable for more than 50-60mph (and the 80kph/50mph speed limit didn’t help) - the heat boiling off the cylinders was terrific, fair cooking my knees and thighs. I can see why the 8v bikes have a more complex fairing in that area.
A few issues have come up - the horns don’t work (maybe I left a connector undone when I had the fairing off?), neither do the hazard warning lights (thought I’d fixed that). More importantly I really need to restore some plushness to the front suspension with a good servicing, new oil and new HyperPro springs. The front brakes need the fluid changing and a good bleed. The rear brake needs bleeding. Might as well change the clutch fluid too. The rear shock needs a new HyperPro spring - plus I’m reasonably sure the bushes on the rear suspension linkage and wishbone are pretty well jiggered. Not a cheap fix though. All this will be done in stages over the next months as my finances don’t permit a blitz on it - plus the Slim Controller wouldn’t approve of my retiring to the garage for days on end
I’m going to change the oils again, as well as the filter. It’s less than 3k since I found all the paper bits in the inner strainer. It can’t do any harm to replace the fluids & filter, clean any sludge out of the sump and basically see what condition the oils are in.
I
my Norge