World's Longest Covered Bridge and other attractions in NB on a borrowed Super Tenere

[Kedgi]

My friend Steve, knows I am possibly interested in replacing my well traveled KLR with a Super Tenere. He offered me his S-10 for an extended test ride. How generous and cool is that? He made me promise not to take off to Africa with it and that was it!

Here I am last Monday morning ready to go on Steve's bike.




Some of you have no doubt read my previous ride reports from Labrador, Trans Labrador Highway Twice in One Summer

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=766142

or my ride report, Lobsters to Llamas from the Maritimes to Argentina

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=832336

Like I say my KLR is well traveled and I am considering a replacement. This report is about a ride around my home Province of New Brunswick for just a couple days on a borrowed S10 to decide if it's is the right bike for me.

You'll see the Longest Covered Bridge in the World and a few other sights around NB and get my impressions on the Super Tenere

Kedgi

[casey sohc]

where to this time???sugarloaf? the giant cows in sussex? reversing falls in sj?keep us posted.let us know how the yamaha compares to the trusty KLR. safe travels.

[Kedgi]

I left my place in Shediac, NB and was anxious to see how well the Tenere works on the highway. Monday was very windy, crazy windy in fact and I would have been crawling on my KLR. Equipped with large panniers that work like sails, my KLR wanders a lot in crosswinds at highway speed, out on the slab with the big trucks.

Steve's Tenere did a lot better. It too has panniers but i was able to at least maintain highway speed and even pass a few trucks.

Shediac is billed as the"Lobster Capital of the World" and is home to a roadside attraction billed as the World's largest Lobster

[Kedgi]

Originally Posted by casey sohc

where to this time???sugarloaf? the giant cows in sussex? reversing falls in sj?keep us posted.let us know how the yamaha compares to the trusty KLR. safe travels.

A quick loop around most of NB, not to ruin the suspense but I am home safe and sound, I did this last week.

Stay tuned.....

[Kedgi]

So after a quick blast on the highway, It's about 60 kilometers or so to Petitcodiac, NB where I stopped at Tim Horton's a Canadian chain of coffee shops in Canada that has a cult like following. A lot, and I mean a lot, of Canadians cannot start their day without their fix of Tim's coffee. I didn't have a coffee but I did buy a tank of gas and was quickly on my way.




I jumped back on the highway, it is 4 lane divided highway to Sussex, NB where I turned off and headed up the north side of the Kennebcasis River on a more scenic route along Belleisle Creek. I stopped at a Shell Station for a Coke in Midland NB and saw this young woman, wearing a cow hat.



She told me it was in support of her kids. She had promised to wear the hat the rest of the season if they won their last volleyball game. Great to see her supporting the team and the kids!

While taking a break from the wind at the Shell I also saw this nice '49 Ford Pickup



and a rural version of a big rig




My route took me down the Kingston Peninsula to the Gondola Point ferry. It's great secondary road with very little traffic, especially on shoulder season weekdays. (It's popular cottage country in Summer), but the route, even though very scenic, is very familiar to me so no pictures on this leg, sorry.

The Tenere preformed wonderfully on these hilly, twisted secondary, paved roads. It has tons of power the KLR just doesn't have. Something like 105hp/vs/37hp. I was constantly surprised by how fast I was going. I'd be thinking to myself, "I'm not very quick through here today" then I would look at the Speedo....Wow! The S10 makes it easy to go fast. Great suspension and it tracks over pavement ripples and tar snakes like they are not even there.

When I had ridden the 50 kms or so to the Gondola Point Ferry, the wind was howling up the river to the point that I didn't want to cross on the cable ferry there and have to hold the bike up in the cross wind so i rode on across the peninsula to the Westfield Ferry on the St John River, where the wind wasn't quite so strong. I was first in line waiting for that ferry.




I took the short ferry ride and headed into Saint John, NB to see my buddy Tom.



At Tom's place his dog, Elwood, was excited about the bike.



Tom took Steve's bike for a ride, with Steve's approval of course, he came back impressed and noting it was a different animal than his KLR.

[Kedgi]

After a brief Visit at Tom's




I headed up to see my brother, Kirby for a few minutes. He had to at least sit on the bike.





Kirby has just taken in a stray cat he calls Itty Bitty and it was my first chance to see her. She's like a clone of my cat, Bob





Kirby also has a big dog, name Wiley, who looks like a Wolf and who takes great pleasure in making you think he's going to eat you alive but he's really a big softie at heart. He loves cats and he and Itty Bitty have become great friends.



So my brief visit in Saint John complete I pointed the Tenere north. It was still windy and cold, coming in off the Bay of Fundy but at least now it was following me. I made a quick trip up rte 7 to Fredericton, the Capital of NB and from Fredericton, on to Nackawic on the Trans Canada Highway. At Nackawic, I crossed the St. John River again, over to the east side on this bridge and rode highway 105, a bumpy, twisty, but paved road that runs north along the river's edge and offers nice views.


















I crossed back over the river at Woodstock, NB, found a room at Stiles Motel in downtown. $74 for a decent room with a couch to chill out on while watching TV and practicing my Spanish (in preparation for my next trip south I have been taking classes) and then I went to another Tim Horton's for a bite to eat. Steve's bike attracted a crowd of other riders who had never seen a Tenere before.




The next morning it was cold, -1C and frost.







I hung out until about 9am and watched morning TV. By then it was 6 degrees and I was glad Steve had loaned me his electric jacket liner. I had never used one before. In a word, Awesome!

Steve's bike is well equipped with, driving lights that will melt a squirrel at half a mile.



An array of toggle switches that are easy to work with gloves on.

From left to right, Heated grips (high and low), then heated jacket, pants and driving lights.





He has these great Hepco and Becker bags







He has an aftermarket fitting that makes it easy to adjust his touring windshield to any position in seconds

[Kedgi]

At 9am on Tuesday I had breakfast at McDonald's in Woodstock and then headed further north to the town of Hartland NB, were you'll find the World's Longest Covered Bridge. At 1283 feet it is a big one and must be the longest in the world by a good length.

Here is the Wikipedia write up on it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hartland_Bridge

and here is a picture of Steve's Tenere beside it.





I crossed the bridge, and turned left, thinking that would take me back to the highway. I must have missed a turn or something I ended up on this dirt road after about 15 k or so. Nothing too loose but I liked the way the Tenere tracked on it, even on street oriented tires.





Eventually I found my way to the next town, north on the river, Florenceville/Bristol, home of McCains frozen foods, the largest frozen food business in the world.

The town had moved an old Canadian Pacific Railway Station across town and is restoring it and some rail cars. One of the rail cars is a restaurant in Summer. The restaurant has been voted one of the best places to eat in Canada so you may want to check it out if you pass through Florenceville this Summer.







From there I jumped back on the Trans Canada Highway for a quick balst up to Perth Andover, NB. It was quick too. The wind was calm on Tuesday and I was cruising up the 4 lane at 125 to 130 kms per hour. The Tenere is loafing at those speeds, while those speeds are about the limit for a KLR, when I was passed by a young girl driving a Ford Fusion like I was going backwards. I left her go for about a quarter mile, so she could sniff out potential police radar, and then I wanted to see just how fast she was driving. I estimate she was cruising at 155 kph or very near 100 miles/hour. Wow!

So in no time I was in Perth and you can see the wind was calm.






From there I was back on twisty secondary roads that the Tenere loved. I had to hold it back because there are a lot of Deer and Moose in the area and I didn't want to have to try a panic stop although I'm sure the Tenere would preform well. It has massive front brakes.

Before long I was in Plaster Rock, NB and I saw the largest fiddle heads in the world. For those of you that don't know, fiddle heads are a small fern that appears at the rivers edge as Spring flood waters subside. All curled up in early Spring they look like the head of a fiddle. You can harvest them, by cutting the stem off with a paring knife. Wash them and cook them briefly like you would fresh spinach, and with a little butter and vinegar, they are delicious!!!! My brother and I used to fight over who had more on their plate when we were kids. Yummy! McCains sells them in the frozen food section in grocery stores around here, but fresh of course is best. A Spring delicacy. If you like spinach, you'll love fiddle heads.




At Plaster Rock I had a routing decision to make.





I could take the longer, route past Mt Carlton to Bathurst and from there south to Shediac and home or take the more direct but very remote Renous Higway across NB to Miramichi, NB to Shediac and home. Both excellent choices, I had never been on either road. In the end I decided on the shorter Renous Highway. It was still chilly, at about 11C and I figured that shorter route would get me home by about 5PM.

The Renous is bumpy, paved, but broken pavement is frequent, lots of potholes, the forest grows right up to the edge of the pavement and it's loaded with Moose and Deer, so you have to be wide awake and careful in there. It's 139 kms to Renous, I counted 6 or 7 opposite direction vehicles, in that entire distance, and I only overtook one same direction pickup truck in close to 100 miles.

There is one building on the Renous. It has been closed for years.



The Tenere preformed like a champ through there. Smooth ride, bags of power, great brakes.

I got back to my friend Steve's around 4 pm and i hated to give back his bike. Wonderful machine! It has great ride, comfortable seat, is too easy to go fast on, would be wonderful for two up riding. I was impressed. i found it to be a lot heavier than my KLR in tight quarters and tough to move around in parking lots etc. I can't picture myself wheeling it into lobbies, hostals, storage rooms etc in Mexico without help. So...now i don't know what to do.....I can get a new KLR relatively affordably and that might be the plan for me, I'm just not sure. I certainly do appreciate Steve lending me his bike for this extended test ride, Thanks Steve!

My KlR is at Duguay's Kawasaki in Amherst NS, getting some much deserved TLC after it's incredible effort in taking me to Argentina.

Before I took it over there I took these shots of it with my wife's new Super Sherpa in our driveway. I have equipped Angele's Sherpa with bags so we can do a little overnighting this Summer. I am really looking forward to that and will report back.



The Super Sherpa is a blast to ride! So light and agile. Fun!

Hope you enjoyed this ride around NB and appreciate my observations on the new Super Tenere. A great bike, just maybe not the tool for my type of solo travel in Latin America, at least for this old guy.

Gotta tell ya, when I jumped back on my KLR at Steve's place, I felt instantly at home. I guess that's what riding a bike so much will do for you, you get to know it.

Any thoughts, comments would be appreciated.

Kedgi

[Happycamper]

As a covered bridge enthusist I need to get up to Hartland sometine. Great ride report!

[bESS]

Dwight:

That bike suits you but as you say, not for SA travel (too big & heavy). It would be different if you were just touring around North America.

Thank you for your tour. Now I have to see the longest covered bridge, and that diner, and of course must have some lobster this summer

I sat on an S10 at a motorcycle show. It is heavy like my Vstrom. I think I could handle it but I am trying to reduce bike weight, which is the reason I bought a BMW R1200R for my trip to Shediac/PEI

hope to see you in July (approx July 23), before you leave

bob

[Kedgi]

Originally Posted by Happycamper

As a covered bridge enthusist I need to get up to Hartland sometine. Great ride report!

Thanks

For sure! The covered bridge at Hartland is well worth seeing, It has a foot passenger lane that's great to walk across and see the river, the bridge is just a very short ride into town from the Trans Canada Highway

Kedgi

[Kedgi]

Originally Posted by bESS

Dwight:

That bike suits you but as you say, not for SA travel (too big & heavy). It would be different if you were just touring around North America.

Thank you for your tour. Now I have to see the longest covered bridge, and that diner, and of course must have some lobster this summer

I sat on an S10 at a motorcycle show. It is heavy like my Vstrom. I think I could handle it but I am trying to reduce bike weight, which is the reason I bought a BMW R1200R for my trip to Shediac/PEI

hope to see you in July (approx July 23), before you leave

bob

Looking forward to seeing you Bob, we'll fix you up with Lobster here in Shediac.

I think you're right about the S-10 I would love to have one, and for blasting around America, it's ideal, I have the urge to go back to Mexico however and I'm not sure what I'm going to do about a bike. Trusty the KLR may be up to another big trip. I'll see when I get it back from Duguays

Kedgi

[casey sohc]

nice.that was a nice pictorial of nb.

[Kedgi]

Originally Posted by casey sohc

nice.that was a nice pictorial of nb.

Thanks

NB is a beautiful place to ride. I will have to do a more complete picture essay this Summer

Kedgi

[RexBuck]

Dee White
Thanks for posting this on ADV.

Nice looking bike

Not that I'm biased but since you are undecided, I'll throw it up for you. Have a look at an 800GS . . . about 100# lighter than the ST with all the power you will want. I think they may be a bit cheaper also. A lot of guys use the ST for Adventure Riding but I understand the 800 may be a bit more forgiving in the crap. As I proved many times in shitty situations the bike was fine, and got us through in spite of my crappy skill level.

Stevo

[Kedgi]

Originally Posted by RexBuck

Dee White
Thanks for posting this on ADV.

Nice looking bike

Not that I'm biased but since you are undecided, I'll throw it up for you. Have a look at an 800GS . . . about 100# lighter than the ST with all the power you will want. I think they may be a bit cheaper also. A lot of guys use the ST for Adventure Riding but I understand the 800 may be a bit more forgiving in the crap. As I proved many times in shitty situations the bike was fine, and got us through in spite of my crappy skill level.

Stevo

Thanks Stevo

I have been thinking about the GS800 for all the reasons you said. I really like the new one, an adventure model that's coming out in June, with all the goodies on it and a 6 gallon gas tank to boot! It may well be just the ticket!

Dwight