Stephan Regensberger, one of the growing band of overlanders choosing to use the smallest bike possible, shipped his 1977 Puch Maxi out to Ulaanbator in Mongolia, then spent the next three months riding it home to Austria. He and the moped made it back despite snow, mountain passes, temperatures of over 40 degrees C and a serious bout of food poisoning, which saw him hospitalised in Kazhakstan.
It wasn't his first mega-trip by moped. After leaving school in 2012, Stephan decided to tour Europe, and explained in his blog why he chose to do that by Maxi. “Train and bus were out of the question because I wanted to travel at my own pace and not constantly worry about timetables. A car was too expensive and too fast. I wanted to experience the act of travelling as well, so there were not many options left. Just walking would take too long and a bike (bicycle) was, in my opinion, too much exercise, which brought me to mopeds. They are small, slow, but not too slow, easy to fix and if you run out of gas or your motor stops, you can at least pedal to the next town.’
That trip ended prematurely when a main bearing failed in Nice, but Stephan was clearly fired up to do more of the same, which led to him having the Maxi flown out to Mongolia. It had no special preparations apart from two luggage racks, a spare fuel can and spare tyre. He stayed in hostels and cheap hotels or camped.
HILLS & HEADWINDS
Denne historien er fra February 2020-utgaven av Motorcycle Sport & Leisure.
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Denne historien er fra February 2020-utgaven av Motorcycle Sport & Leisure.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Honda CRF1100L ES Africa Twin
Without panniers he was adventuring nowhere - so at least Bertie's got something sorted now
BMW R 12 nineT
Chad gets a track day surprise when BMW's R 12 nineT turns out to be surprisingly fun on track
Test fleet: VOGE 525 DSX
After testing the Voge's abilities on a long ride, it was time to take it to the Cotswolds and see how it would manage on the rougher stuff
Portuguese Perambulations
Nearly over before it had begun, a brief workshop stint allows Spain and Portugal to be explored
Highway to Heaven
Three friends take on the challenge of riding the length of Canada, from Vancouver in the southwest to Inuvik in the north. The road is long, the conditions merciless, and wildfires are tearing through the country. To top it all off, the final leg of the journey is the ultimate test of gravel riding skills, nerves, and courage - it's the legendary Dempster Highway...
Battlaxes at the ready!
We tend to take tyres for granted, never really looking at them in any detail, or at how they work, just hoping that they keep us shiny side up at all times. Even in the wet
Ducati Riding Experience
When I rode the Ducati DesertX to France last year, I did have a bit of an explore on some easy fire roads and gentle green lanes in the wilds of the Médoc area, but was left with the feeling that, had I the experience, the DesertX would have been capable of taking me along some more extreme trails to some even more exciting places. If only there was a way of finding out just how well the Italian adventure bike could cope with some more extreme terrain...
Four pot flyer
Many said that sports bikes, and particularly bikes in the traditional Supersports class that was populated by 600cc inline fours, were dead. Maybe they spoke too soon?...
Eastern adventurer
With an increasing interest in smaller capacity adventure bikes, the market expands with a new entry
First Time Lucky?
It's ironic that the first all-new MV Agusta model to hit the marketplace right after Italy's No.1 trophy brand was acquired by Austrian giant Pierer Mobility, owner of off-road titans KTM, should be the company's first dual-purpose model of the modern era, powered by MV's all-new 931cc three-cylinder engine that's destined to form the basis of a whole series of new models in coming months and years.
