



As i'm guessing we are trying to help begginers? Please allow me to teach granny to such eggs



Camping

Insulation is the key to a good nights sleep. A camping bed can be nice, but having extra cold air under you alone won't help. A Thermarest AND foam mats should go in your luggage first.

Don't believe sleeping bag ratings in some commercial shops. They may not do this in Norway, but in the UK some minus 20 rated bags mean you won't actually die at minus 19, but don't expect to sleep. Ex-Army bags do what they say even if they are huge.

Cooking fuel can freeze or refuse to light. Gas cannisters freeze first, then unleaded petrol. I never met cold that stopped my Optimus burning kerosene, so have a good think before you set off about where that cuppa that'll make the trip fun will come from. On say the Elefant there are enough places to buy so maybe you don't need a working stove, but in Scandanavia you will.

A Thermos flask is useful. It'll stop water freezing for the first drink of the day and is an alternative to getting the stove out for a mid journey break. If you have mechanical issues, a bit of warm water helps you clean the salt off so see what the issue is and can unfreeze things enough to get to work with the WD-40. Riding gear

Layers are your friend, damp inside or out is the big enemy. The trouble is, since they started putting windows in aeroplanes no one's done much work on a guy sitting still in a 100 kph wind at minus 20. Hikers gear is designed for people who generate energy and sweat by moving, but who can also strip off or add layers. Avoid cotton next to the skin, them layer up wool or synthetics and top off with a semi-waterproof layer. Add a fully waterproof layer if it rains, but stop and get it off when you need to. I know a guy who wears an oil rig survival suit if you can get one !!

Heated clothing acts as a removable layer if you use it carefully. Cold, turn it on, sweating turn it off. You need a switch, not some cigarette lighter plug that's a PITA to work with gloved hands.

A heated visor takes for ever to warm up, but only uses 40-60 W, so leave it on.

Chemical heat packs work, ex-army tin boxes with charcoal sticks inside don't. The best chemical packs can be recharged by boiling up when you get the stove going and can be slipped inside clothing for a nice boost when you start to feel the chill. Bikes Small bikes solo work better but have small alternators. Big bikes are a problem solo but will shift your sidecar a lot better and have lots of electrical power. In other words, unless you are an off road/snow expert you want a lightly loaded small solo with the right tyres or might as well put a sidecar on a 900. It's the mid sized solo's with the wrong tyres that really really suffer.

Non-Urals need to be pushed backwards. Make sure your boots are grippy enough. Bike boots can be useless when push or paddling the bike.

Car tyres on the rear of an outfit can be rubbish on snow. A bike knobbly can wear fast but it's better than having to drag your 10,000 mile proof monster out of a ditch at every corner.

Twins are easier to start than singles of the same size. If a 650 single uses a decompressor, two spark plugs and three carbs jets just to get a pop out of the exhaust, you might want to consider a twin instead. Simple twins can be started on one cylinder and will warm the other until it runs. Simple singles that come with a kickstart can of course be easier still as you can prime them before wasteing the battery.

After my adventure with the F650 in the desert I don't like watercooled bikes and I know aircooled ones don't freeze. BUT, components do. Go over the bike with WD-40 or similar and as you do look for where water might sit. Remember your hot bike will melt anything that hit's it before it freezes. A plug of ice in the top of a plug cap because Mr. Triumph didn't develop anything new after 1966 and styled the tank like a gutter, is just as much of a show stopper as radiator full of sludge.

Snow chains work. You only really need one on the drive wheel in deep snow but in areas where you'll be in out out of snowy/cleared areas they do give a chance to stay legal in towns and on the motorway. The trouble it, for a bike they'll be modified from a car version, so test before you really need them. Safety



With gloved hands and cans of petrol, kerosene, carb cleaner and so forth, burns and fire are a huge risk. Allow for the fact that at minus 20 everything takes a long time. Take the time to put gloves on and off and the tops on and off the petrol cans, so avoiding both cold and spills. Unattended fires and badly ventilated tents can be killers.



Hope that's useful.



Andy Great workAs i'm guessing we are trying to help begginers? Please allow me to teach granny to such eggsWith gloved hands and cans of petrol, kerosene, carb cleaner and so forth, burns and fire are a huge risk. Allow for the fact that at minus 20 everything takes a long time. Take the time to put gloves on and off and the tops on and off the petrol cans, so avoiding both cold and spills. Unattended fires and badly ventilated tents can be killers.Hope that's useful.Andy