motorcycling in Norway

I do not, but I can tell you I have driven in a car much of the way and it should be great on a motorcycle, provided you are prepared for possible bad weather. Not that it will necessarily happen--I have been there four times in mid-May and the weather was mostly nice. I hope you can find a place to rent a motorcycle. The Norwegians are so reasonable, it is probably the one place in Europe I would actually enjoy motorcycling.

Hi Lola - thanks for the encouragement. I'm used to riding in the rain (here in Seattle). Might it still be icey in May?

I've driven it in late May and found the roads to be clear and well maintained. There has, however, been been significant snow remaining in the higher elevations. It was above the stakes which line the roadway and we drove between walls of snow that were 8' - 10' high. I may be biased as my parents were born there, but it's an AMAZING place.

I agree, the roads should be clear and free of ice in late May, even if snow remains in the mountains.

You will want to plan a route that avoids the long tunnels. In many places the Norwegians negotiated mountain passage by tunneling under rather than building a pass over the mountain. Here is a list that indicates the road numbers:

http://www.lotsberg.net/data/norway/list.html

And this is a map meant for bicyclists (some tunnels are closed to bicycles) but may be useful for planning:

http://www.cycletourer.co.uk/maps/tunnelmap.shtml

I have driven the coast from Bergen to Ålesund several times and thought I remembered some tunnels, but it looks like the 14 road is free of them ( ask locally to be sure). Lots of ferries but that is half the fun. You will want to pick up a ferry schedule but generally they run pretty regularly as people rely on them to get around.

Thanks! This is all such useful information. I'll look into getting a ferry schedule. I'm lucky to just have ten unplanned days so I won't feel hurried. I'm not planning to go too far north so hopefully snow or ice won't be a problem. I'll let you know how it goes!