Patagonia Expedition 2024
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure|September 2024
Following an invitational e-mail from Felix Billington, the owner of Magellan Motorcycle Tours, Chris and Dee Finch headed off on a 17-day trip on paved and gravel roads from Puerto Varas, Chile, going all the way down to Ushuaia before finishing in Punta Arenas
Chris Finch
Patagonia Expedition 2024

As well as tour guides Felix and Naomi, we were joined by BMW off-road instructor and GS Trophy winner, Jaime, and Jose in the support vehicle. We left the hotel on our BMW 1250GS hire bike intending to take Ruta 7 south to the ferry terminal at La Arena for the 30-minute crossing to Puelche, then continue south on Ruta 7 (Carretera Austral. or Southern Way) to Puerto Pichicolo, where a ferry had been chartered for the 4-hour crossing to Caleta Gonzalo. However, we encountered a traffic accident and the Police had closed the road.

We were able to U-turn and pick an alternate route to the first ferry using a toll road and much use of the 'skip next waypoint' button on the GPS, reaching the second ferry departure point in good time, only to find the ferry running two hours late! Once off the ferry at Caleta Gonzalo we encountered a 20km stretch of gravel, which gave us a taste of what was to come over the next two weeks. We were running late but made a fast transit on beautiful sweeping roads to our hotel at Yelcho, arriving at around 10pm, just beating the darkness.

Denne historien er fra September 2024-utgaven av Motorcycle Sport & Leisure.

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Denne historien er fra September 2024-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
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure

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Motorcycle Sport & Leisure

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2 mins  |
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Test fleet: VOGE 525 DSX
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure

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

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2 mins  |
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Portuguese Perambulations
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure

Portuguese Perambulations

Nearly over before it had begun, a brief workshop stint allows Spain and Portugal to be explored

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8 mins  |
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Highway to Heaven
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure

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...

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9 mins  |
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Battlaxes at the ready!
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure

Battlaxes at the ready!

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6 mins  |
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Ducati Riding Experience
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure

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...

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7 mins  |
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Four pot flyer
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure

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?...

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8 mins  |
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Motorcycle Sport & Leisure

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With an increasing interest in smaller capacity adventure bikes, the market expands with a new entry

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10 mins  |
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First Time Lucky?
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure

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.

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9 mins  |
October 2024