Australian adventure enthusiast Adam Riemann has been making motorcycle films for years—both for himself, and for others. Operating under the name Motology Films, his YouTube channel is full of epic footage—but in this particular case, it’s a bit more personal than most.
See, when you’re riding someone else’s bike, it’s fun—but it’s not the same as if it’s your bike. (Obviously, no one with any sense would ever complain about having the opportunity to flog someone else’s bike around on adventures, but it’s not difficult to understand the difference.) That’s why Riemann decided to do something different for this journey—and buy an old bike he could fix up, just for the trip.
What did he end up choosing? A stalwart 1992 Honda XRV750 Africa Twin—resplendent in those fantastic early ‘90s colors, too. This bike was sitting in a barn in Norway, waiting for a new owner. It ran when he got hold of it, though it of course needed a bit of fettling since it hadn’t been ridden in some time. (There’s a separate video that Riemann posted that goes into more detail about how he prepared this bike for travel, if you want to see it.)
This bike, as it happened, appeared to have never actually been off road in its life. According to Riemann, it went through four different owners over the course of its life, and stayed as a roadbound commuter that entire time. This meant that it was in relatively good shape considering its age—but also, he said, that it clearly hadn’t lived up to the potential of the life it was made for. Thus, he reasoned, it was time to ride this Africa Twin like it was meant to be ridden—up into the Arctic Circle.
The majority of the film is about that journey, through Norway, Sweden, and a little bit of Finland. There are breathtaking drone shots, fjords, wildlife, and natural beauty all around—and, of course, icy cold conditions, as well as plenty of damp and wet for days.
For this trip, Riemann said he was simply taking a small amount of camping gear, some spare parts and tools, and some food along—and then winging it the rest of the way as he went. While that ended up meaning he ran out of fuel at one point (no spare fuel bottle on board, and apparently the low fuel gauge wasn’t working to warn him), without having been stuck on a roadside, he wouldn’t have ended up meeting a nice Norwegian hunting family that invited him to their cabin in the woods for a meal after rescuing him with some fuel.
Everyone does adventure their own way, just like riders all enjoy bikes their own way—and this is apparently the way that works for him. It’s a special bike, and a special trip, and whether you’re living vicariously through it or using it as inspiration for your own journey, it’s stuff like this that makes us glad the internet exists.
