I just got back from an 8 day loop from Harbin to Heihe, Mohe, Beijicun (China's northernmost point) Genhe, Hailaer, qiqihaer, daqing and back to Harbin. Overall the riding was great, and I had a good time. I'll put the pics and report up over the next day or two.

Day 1:

I left Harbin at about 7am and was accompanied by a friend of mine out of the city. His name is 王承旺 and he is a travel journalist. I was lucky to meet him at a motorcycle market when I was buying a helmet a few days before my trip. He has ridden his Bmw 650 all over China multiple times, and writes about his experiences. He gave me a ton of really useful information and tips for my trip.

The bikes (mine looks like a toy next to the bmw)
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After getting out of the city, Wang headed home, and I continued on the national highway 202 towards Beian. I had planned to get to Hei he on the first day. When I stopped for a drink of water I remembered I had a friend in Beian, which was on the way to Heihe, and decided to call him and see if he wanted to get lunch. I called, and it turns out he lives not in beian, but in a city an hour south of it. So I found out where I need to go, and found the road on a map which would take me there. After going back and forth 4 or 5 times, and wasting over an hour, I gave up and found a different way.

Great weather for looking for roads that don't exist:
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Later I found out that road didn't exist anymore. (The first of many times i would learn the lesson: BUY A GPS) After wasting a lot of time looking for a road that didn' exist, I arrived in Hailun about 3pm and found my friend. In typical Dongbei fashion, they insisted that I must stay with them for a few days and eat delicious food until I couldn't move， then eat more. After dinner we played some pool and I went to bed.

Hailun, pretty much the same as every other small city in China:
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Their son was terrified of me, the first foreigner he had ever met:
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I only made it about halfway to where I had planned to stop for the night, but I wasn't really on a schedule, and it was good to hang out with friends.