(Season 2008-09) TY Milage- rxrider -Riding in Arctic Norway

[hondo]

As always great photos Jan-Ove,

I really appreciate how wholesome your lives are in Finnmark!

Simple pleasures are always the most memorable.

 

[yamadoo]

Jan-Ove I enjoy the pictures they are great.

Don't miss any time with those kids they grow up so fast.


Some questions:

I notice nearly most of the vehicles are small and the trailers are almost all open and utility type.

My guess is that the snow on the roads is plowed but not salted so open trailer is just fine. Correct?

Fuel prices and no need for huge covered trailers leads to the smaller vehicles and trailers. ?

Here in Mn if I took a picture of a Parking lot it would be all dedicated snowmobile trailers either enclosed or salt shields and covers. The vehicles would all be 4 wheel drive 1/2 or 3/4 ton pick ups. Seems a waste after I see your Pic's

Thanks for the views of my families native land.
Here in Mn we make a big deal of our Norwegian heritage, I am of both Norwegian and German decent, the joke being there are more Norwegians in Mn than in Norway.

Have a great spring, are you still riding?

Yamadoo

 

[rxrider]

Thanks hondo

We're out in the bush but this is where me and my family want to live our lives, it's all about the freedom of living far away from the cities and the life in the fast lane, and of course we have the great outdoors like no others....priceless.

Thanks yamadoo

Yeah I know... that's one of the reasons why I haven't been riding much this season as I have spent more time at home this winter than ever before.

Small European and Japanese cars are popular in Norway because of the horrific prices on gasoline in Norway, we pay $6.40USD for a gallon of regular 93 octane RON Europe similar to 89 octane in the US. If I were to buy a closed trailer I would have to pay close to what you guys pay for a brand new FX Nytro. Many people have closed trailers tho, not me as I can't affort it at this time but I have one in the near future, gotta get it cleared with wifey before ordering LOL. You are correct, at winter most roads are snow covered and plowed, no salt is used in my part of the country so a open trailer works just fine. I have a cover for my sled but it has not been used much. One other thing, we do not have to trailer very far to ride as I ride out of my garage for most of the season, I live a 1000 ft from the nearest trail.

Hahahaha it's true Norway lost a lot of people during the hard times in the 19th century, a lot emigrated to the US and the Northern states close to the border in particular. We're only 4.5 million people in Norway so what you say may be true

I'm still riding, trails are open to May 5th but due to the lack of snow this winter only the mountain trails are still rideable, luckily the mountain trails are holding up pretty well so far. Will be riding the turbo sled this weekend together with a few friends.


Will be back with more pics soon

 

[rxrider]

Ride: 16

Date: April 11.
Sled: 2003 RX-1 Turbo
Distance: 46 kms or 28 miles
Start odo: 14092 kms or 8758 miles
End odo: 14138 kms or 8786 miles

Statistics:

'08 Apex RTX
Start odo: 1992 kms or 1238 miles
End odo: 2370 kms or 1472 miles
Mileage so far: 378 kms or 234 miles

'03 RX-1 Turbo
Start odo: 13792 kms or 8571 miles
End odo: 14138 kms or 8786 miles
Mileage so far: 346 kms or 216 miles

Total mileage both sleds 2008-2009: 724 kms or 450 miles


This was my one and only testride during the easter holyday. A fuel leak put a stop to riding the turbo before the fuel leak was fixed. No pics taken from the ride.

Start odo.

End trip.

End odo.

 

[rxrider]

Ride: 17

Date: April 25.
Sled: 2003 RX-1 Turbo
Distance: 85 kms or 52 miles
Start odo: 14138 kms or 8786 miles
End odo: 14223 kms or 8839 miles

Statistics:

'08 Apex RTX
Start odo: 1992 kms or 1238 miles
End odo: 2370 kms or 1472 miles
Mileage so far: 378 kms or 234 miles

'03 RX-1 Turbo
Start odo: 13792 kms or 8571 miles
End odo: 14223 kms or 8839 miles
Mileage so far: 431 kms or 268 miles

Total mileage both sleds 2008-2009: 809 kms or 502 miles


Me and a friend was out test riding our sleds as both have just finished building the sleds, late but finally we're out testing and tuning our sleds


Start odo.

Home outside my garage ready to take off for the mountains. As you can see there is no snow left at sealevel.

At my friends house. A few adjustments to his Hauck 4 arm primary clutch and off we went.

We loaded off our sleds at the parking lot in Billefjord. Time to take to the hills.

On our way down from the mountain plains, view of the fjord in the distance. Trails are holding up pretty well. My friend are leaving fast down the trail, better get going if I'm to keep up with him

Down at the parking lot after a day of test and tune at the lake up in the valley. My friends sled to the right.

End trip.

End odo.

 

[rxrider]

Ride: 18

Date: April 26.
Sled: 2003 RX-1 Turbo
Distance: 80 kms or 50 miles
Start odo: 14223 kms or 8839 miles
End odo: 14303 kms or 8889 miles

Statistics:

'08 Apex RTX
Start odo: 1992 kms or 1238 miles
End odo: 2370 kms or 1472 miles
Mileage so far: 378 kms or 234 miles

'03 RX-1 Turbo
Start odo: 13792 kms or 8571 miles
End odo: 14303 kms or 8889 miles
Mileage so far: 511 kms or 317 miles

Total mileage both sleds 2008-2009: 889 kms or 552 miles


Start odo.

At the parking lot in Billefjord. A few of my friends were already up on the plains, my plan was to ride around until I found them. Ready for take off.

On the trail at the tree line, still winter up here with enough snow to ride, trails are bumpy but are still holding up well. Pic shot in the back course.

My sled on the edge of the great plains of Finnmark.

The plain starts on the far side of the hills in the distance.

After riding past Lake Ruvzajávri my friend Mikkel suddenly rode by me. He had spotted me while I was passing lake on the oppsite side. Thanks buddy for inviting me for some coffee and stock reindeer meat, yummi .....

Before heading back to the lake I shot a few pics of the surroundings. Nice conditions up on the plain.

Later on I rode around on my own, I ended up on top of a hill where I had a great view of the mountain plain.

To the north west.

To the north.

To the north east. The Porsanger fjord and the Arctic ocean is on the far side of the mountains in the distance, the trail from Billefjord runs thru the valley in the distance.

End trip.

End odo.

I had a good time riding together with friends. Well most of the time we were not riding but having a good time on the lake talking, fishing, eating, drinking coffee, talking about the good times ..... sharing memories ..... priceless

 

[rxrider]

Ride: 19

Date: April 30.
Sled: 2003 RX-1 Turbo
Distance: 36 kms or 22 miles
Start odo: 14303 kms or 8889 miles
End odo: 14339 kms or 8911 miles

Statistics:

'08 Apex RTX
Start odo: 1992 kms or 1238 miles
End odo: 2370 kms or 1472 miles
Mileage so far: 378 kms or 234 miles

'03 RX-1 Turbo
Start odo: 13792 kms or 8571 miles
End odo: 14339 kms or 8911 miles
Mileage so far: 547 kms or 340 miles

Total mileage both sleds 2008-2009: 925 kms or 574 miles


Start odo.

This evening me and my friends went out for test and tune at Lake Gagga.


'06 Attak turbo

'08 Apex RTX turbo

And two '03 RX-1 turbos to the right in this pic.

The fulies are adjusting stuff... the old girls are not LOL

Conditions were not perfect for top speed racing, too little lube and cooling for the sliders to run top #s but I managed to reach 222 kmh or 138 mph on dream meter running at 12 lbs of boost. My sled wouldn't run right at any higher boost with the meth injection activated.

We had all the tools we needed to tune our sleds.

My friend on the Apex adjusted his primary clutch.

My friend on the RX-1 changed needle settings and adjusted pilot screws.

Me, I tried to figure out why my sled was cutting out at 9500 rpms like hitting the rev limiter hm....... I had the power to the fuelpump, WBO2 and Meth injeciton system wired directly to the battery, I may be drawing too much juice from the ignition system? Now was the time to test if this was the case.

When tuning was done we found a place on the lake with deep spring snow where it was easy to do wheelies We played for a while until late evening. The northern skies are getting brighter every day.... not long until we have the midnight sun shining 24/7. (May 17th to July 27th)

Guys are having a break before heading home, we all had a blast on the lake

End trip.

End odo.

 

[rxrider]

Ride: 20

Date: May 1.
Sled: 2003 RX-1 Turbo
Distance: 130 kms or 80 miles
Start odo: 14339 kms or 8911 miles
End odo: 14469 kms or 8991 miles

Statistics:

'08 Apex RTX
Start odo: 1992 kms or 1238 miles
End odo: 2370 kms or 1472 miles
Mileage so far: 378 kms or 234 miles

'03 RX-1 Turbo
Start odo: 13792 kms or 8571 miles
End odo: 14469 kms or 8992 miles
Mileage so far: 547 kms or 340 miles

Total mileage both sleds 2008-2009: 1055 kms or 655 miles


Todays ride started out from Billefjord following the trail up the valley past the tree line, entering the great plains of Finnmark. Me and my friends headed out for a days ride up at the mountain plains


Sleds loaded up ready to leave home.

Start odo.

First stop, Lake Ruvzájavri.

We decided to start out by riding north until we ran out of snow. Here we are passing the pass of Sálletjávri ávži.

The back course, my friend on his Apex RTX turbo.

We continued north until we reached Lake Bajit Ranssájávri, then we turned around and headed north to Lake Čoalbmejávri.

Then we rode towards the east until we reached Lake Boaidejávri.

We made a loop to the east, north and finally towards the west. In this pic we're entering Lake Skaidijávri. It's one of the largest lakes in our county.

At this lake I found a perfectly flat straight to test my sled without the meth injeciton system activated. I started out at 12 lbs of boost running on a 25/75 mix of 116/93 octane fuels. At 12 lbs my sled would pull 9000 rpms, it did not run clean for the first minute after hooking off the meth. I turned up the boost step by step until I hit target rpms at 10400 rpms, it took 17 lbs of boost before the rpms ran spot on. Without the meth activated my sled ran like supposed to, except for a rich bottom end, have to lower needles to fix it.

We met up with another guy riding a Viper. My friend Svein is riding a SRX, the 2smokers are still running strong.

On our way down from the mountain plains I shot these pics from above the treeline. The Porsanger fjord ahead to the east.

Here's a pic shot towards the south, the Porsanger fjord bottom in the far distance. My home town Lakselv is somewhere in the distance...

It was a nice day out riding



End trip.

End odo.

 

[rxrider]

Ride: 21

Date: May 2.
Sled: 2003 RX-1 Turbo
Distance: 79 kms or 49 miles
Start odo: 14469 kms or 8992 miles
End odo: 14548 kms or 9041 miles

Sled: 2008 Apex RTX
Distance: 65 kms or 42 miles
Start odo: 2370 kms or 1472 miles
End odo: 2436 kms or 1514 miles

Statistics:

'08 Apex RTX
Start odo: 1992 kms or 1238 miles
End odo: 2436 kms or 1514 miles
Mileage so far: 444 kms or 276 miles

'03 RX-1 Turbo
Start odo: 13792 kms or 8571 miles
End odo: 14548 kms or 9041 miles
Mileage so far: 756 kms or 470 miles

Total mileage both sleds 2008-2009: 1200 kms or 745 miles


Today me, wifey and the girls rode both our sleds out east into the easter mountain plains. We rode together with a few other friends.


Start odo RX-1 turbo.

Start odo Apex RTX.

A few pics shot down at the parking lot. We started out by trailering our sleds up to Časkil at 300+ meters or 900+ ft altitude where the snow started, there are no snow below this altitude. A lot of cars and trailers were parked already when we arrived, this is a very popular spot to start riding out from as it's one of the few remaining trail that are still rideable this late in the season.

We're ready to take off.

2-3 miles or 4-5 kilometers into the mountains conditions were much better, almost winter at full force LOL.

The 5 yo riding with her dad.

Wifey and the 7 yo arriving.

My friends Mikkel and Camilla.

The trail ahead.

Entering the Gates of Saint Peter or Perleporten in Norwegian. Don't ask me why this canyon is named like that, I really don't know. It's a cool place riding thru tho.

This is the view you get leaving the Gates of Saint Peter or Perleporten, it's a heavenly view you must admit

After riding past the plains we entered Lake Suoidnejávri.

People were out fishing on the lake on this beautiful day.

A view to the east, Mount Suonjirgaissa.

Visiting my brother-in-law and my cousin. They spent the weekend in a tent up in the mountains. The lake is at 500 meters or 1500 ft altitude.

Later that day I climbed the mountain and shot a few pics from the summit.

The lake below.

At the summit.

The turbo got hot from climbing the small hill and needed some cooling down before heading back down the slope.

My wife and kids climbed this slope close to the lake.

I joined them rolling snowballs, but we did not manage to get them rolling down the hill :-( would have been cool for the kids to watch.

Wifey got cold hand from pushing the snowballs....

Our 5 yo on the hill.

A view from the hill overlooking the lake below.

Up at Mount Suonjirgaissa there is a huge bowl where younger guys use to climb, jump and other hardcore sledding stuff we the old guys have quit a long time ago, or we do not dare anymore, that's may closer to the truth LOL.

Another group of people close by, some friends over there as well

On our way down the hill.... we rolled down the hill until my head went spinning and I was too dizzy to stand on my own two... crazy but very fun playing with the kids on the slope hahaha my head spun for quite some time.... LOL

A few pics shot in the afternoon on our way back home.

Wifey and the 5 yo.

Wifey on her way down into the valley below, trails were as good as it gets, pretty amazing this late in the season.

When we closed in on the parking lot we ran into a few minor difficulties. My friend Mikkel got stuck in a small stream that had flooded during the day, hard to tell how deep the water is underneat the snow. He went to slow and went down, after some pulling we got him up on dry land again.

A bit further down my wearbar got hooked into some wire laying on the ground, I gave the turbo some throttle and the wire broke. Wifey followed right behind me and got stuck in the wire, it entered the skid and made her come to a stand still... luckily the 7 yo made her aware of why the sled wouldn't move and she let off throttle. It was fairly easy to remove the wire by lifting the sled up on the side, cut the wire and pulling it out of the skid. 10 minutes later we were back riding the last mile down to the parking lot.


End trip RX-1 Turbo.

End odo RX-1 Turbo.

End trip Apex RTX.

End odo Apex RTX.

I have to say this was one of the best rides I've ever been to!!! Riding with wifey and the kids was a whole new experience for us and will be repeated in the future that's for sure.

 

[rxrider]

Ride: 22

Date: May 9.
Sled: 2003 RX-1 Turbo
Distance: 63 kms or 39 miles
Start odo: 14548 kms or 9041 miles
End odo: 14611 kms or 9080 miles

Sled: 2008 Apex RTX
Distance: 65 kms or 42 miles
Start odo: 2370 kms or 1472 miles
End odo: 2436 kms or 1514 miles

Statistics:

'08 Apex RTX
Start odo: 1992 kms or 1238 miles
End odo: 2436 kms or 1514 miles
Mileage so far: 444 kms or 276 miles

'03 RX-1 Turbo
Start odo: 13792 kms or 8571 miles
End odo: 14611 kms or 9080 miles
Mileage so far: 819 kms or 509 miles

Total mileage both sleds 2008-2009: 1263 kms or 785 miles


Last ride of the season

Todays ride was part work part fun. We were hired to work as shepherds for one of the Sami reindeer owners. Our primary task was to spot where the reindeer was on report back. Second we were to look after the fence keeping the different herds of reindeer apart and not mixing up the herds. This fence runs from the northern coast of Finnmark (Norway) and south into the plains of Finnmarksvidda some 200 miles further south. This time we were only to check the condition of the fence near by this reindeer owners herd. Every time before we moved on to the next spot we played in the mountain sides climbing and wheelieing up the slopes (gotta ride up in altitude to have a good look around to figure out where the reindeers have gone). What an end to the worst season ever..... almost made up for the lack of riding early winter... almost... CRAPPIEST SEASON EVER, but in the spring we had some fairly good days out riding... hahaha I'm happy now


Start odo.

Lakes are full of water on top, a foot or 30 cm approx.

Something is wrong in this picture.... but what?

My friend blew a belt climbing the mountain, needless to say the mountain were too steep, my friend could not keep the sled from rolling over.

A view to the south from the hill we were climbing.

A view to the north.

My sled parked up on the slopes underneat the mountain.

One of the mountains we climbed looking after the reindeers and to search the plains for reindeers using binoculars. The reindeer femals are giving birth to their calfs this time of the year, it's important for the reindeer owner to know where the younglings are to keep them safe from predators.


The view from the summit overlooking the plains below are breathtaking

The summit.

There is a huge pile of rocks built on the summit.

Playing on the mountain sides at the next break. Some climbing and dooing wheelies are pretty cool

Me and my friends are having a ball ripping up the mountain side

At the last break of the day we got to play in a large chute that runs from the lake below almost all the way up to the summit of the mountain, pretty cool to climb up that chute.

These pics are shot more than half way up in the chute, at one spot there were pretty easy to park the sled without tumbling down the mountain. Looking down the chute.

Looking up the chute from the same spot as the last pic.

Managed to shoot a few pics on my way down the chute.....

End trip.

End odo.

My Apex RTX is put asleep in my fathers barn. My turbo sled are going to undergo surgery this summer and autumn, same procedure as every year James

The turbo back inside the Turbo Garage.

The season is officially over... but I may add a few miles or kilometers this summer testing my sled. Next season my sled has to be done before start of November !!!!! I hope

I wish you all a great summer, think snow we're closing in on September and Haydays

for sure and too

 

[Phatboyc]

I had fun reading your thread. I hope your turbo sled is ready in time for next winter.

thanks

 

[rxrider]

Thanks Phatboyc - I have started the teardown, finally I have all parts I need.