Got the beamer

one more thing done :)

After all the searches I decided to get me a R1150GSA MY02 from Germany. The selection in Finland is so small and bikes with low mileage and that age seem not for sale.

I got me a one-way ticket with SAS and flew from Helsinki via Stockholm to Frankfurt. From there I continued by train via Stuttgart to the village where the bike was. Of course the ICE (InterCity-Express) was 20min late and so I missed my connection train :(

I hanged around in Stuttgart railway station for over an hour - lucky me they have Starbucks there, so I got me a soy latte to bridge the time. Some hours later I arrived in the village and the owner was so kind to pick me up. Unfortunately he was extremely busy and everything was rushed.

I did a quick visual inspection and a short test drive. The bike rode quite fine however there were quite many little things which were disappointing and came as a surprise. Nevertheless, since the bike will get a sidecar, some of the issues do not matter then anymore and other items can be fixed with a little money.

So we made the deal and then went to the "Zulassungsstelle" to take the bike out of German registration and get me a license plate to drive the bike to Finland. As this would have been easy ...

I could not get the registration because I need to buy first an insurance. Ok - can do since insurance office is opposite. Wait a minute ... I cannot get a license plate which is also valid to drive in Finland because the bike did not have a valid (German!) vehicle inspection stamp. This meant that now I can only get a license plate to drive the bike in Germany as no technical inspection is needed for this. OK - at least I make it to the ferry. The next issue was that I do not have official documentation which states my address in Finland. Ups!

Obviously the lady at the counter had mercy and saw my desperation rising. I got the insurance, the lady gave me the papers, I paid the bill, got me the license plate from the shop and went back to the lady to get the sticker stating that the registration is valid - What an action.

In the mean time, the old owner and me exchanged in the street the money and all the papers and he donated me a screw driver (missing BMW tool set was one of the disappointments) so I can attach my new license plate to the bike. Off I went.

Some hours later I arrived at my good old friend Rudi (thanx man) who accommodated me for one night. We went out to Coyote so I could get some fresh salad - I was starving - and a great tasting Cola-Beer.

Next day, we had breakfast at his terrace - lovely morning @ +21C. We refilled some engine oil and I drove direction north with a little divert via the BMW center in Saarbrücken to get a few parts for the bike.

After a convenient ride via smaller roads and German Autobahn, I arrived in the evening in Travemünde. The bike went smooth and no problems - I was positively surprised by the gear box. I like the sound of the Remus Revolution exhaust pipe :)
I had booked on an arm chair and was hoping that a bunk gets free later in the evening. I wanted to check in and then nothing ... the computers went down some half an hour ago. So I had to wait together with a handful of other bikers and many car drivers. Boring!

Finally after midnight, the check-in worked again, and I went on board. No info yet about the free bed for me :( ... I needed to wait until 0300 to get information whether there is a room or not. I went to sleep on the floor in the room with the armchairs and put me an alarm for 0245. Kind of sleepwalking I moved to the reception and yeaaaah - for 80EUR I was able to get a bed in a shared cabin with own shower & toilet. Straight to shower and then to bed :)
Breakfast I skipped and went straight for lunch. They were able to make me some good tasting vegan patties with grilled potatoes. This in combination with the rich salad bar filled my stomach and no so I had no problem to manage until next day with my own snacks.
After arrival in Helsinki harbor, I went straight to customs to do the paper work. No problems and I got my stamp. Next day to Katsastus (Technical inspection) and I got the papers for Finnish registration as well the Finnish red number to drive around in Finland. Same day I filed the papers in order to pay the (beloved) Finnish registration tax of 24.4%. Lets see how much it will be....

~Wolfi