Motogether

“Since we started riding motorcycles, we have been thinking and discussing going on a world trip over and over, but never pursued the idea further. Then we started thinking about what the rest of our lives would look like if we didn’t go so, we both agreed that we didn’t want to sit in an office every day for the rest of our lives while we only worked to pay our bills. Living from one weekend to the next, from vacation to vacation, that’s not the life we’ve imagined. We want to travel the world, see foreign countries, talk to strangers, learn something about ourselves and make memories.” – Katja and Marius

The couple currently lives in Erkrath, a town near Düsseldorf, Germany, where Katja works as an IT administrator in the finance sector while Marius is a marketing consultant for a company located in Cologne. “Since we got our motorcycle licenses a few years ago, we’ve loved traveling on two wheels.” Initially, they had only been riding street bikes and exploring around their area. “Soon we wanted to see other places and began to travel to other European destinations. That is when we changed from street to adventure bikes and visited France, Italy, Austria, Spain, Portugal, etc. However one and a half years ago we started riding off-road, and that’s when we started enjoying all the remote places you find when going off the beaten path.” Katja’s father had been riding motorcycles since he was fifteen years old, so it was a natural progression for Katja to adopt his passion. “I never really stopped thinking about riding a motorcycle since I was around fourteen. So in March 2014 Marius and I sat together one evening and talked over the idea of getting our motorcycle driver’s licenses. The very next morning we went and registered at a driving school, and about two months later we had our licenses.”

“Saving money is a big part of planning for such a trip. However, planning out a rough route and then telling family and friends about your plans has also been a big step for us.” The fact that they have so far rode approximately 37 280 mi / 60 000 km through fifteen countries has been a key part though of setting themselves and their families minds at ease. “We plan to start in Germany head East, through the Balkans, Turkey, Georgia, Aserbaidschan, Kasachstan and all the other “stans” to Iran, Pakistan, India, Nepal, through Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. After that, the plan is to travel all the Americas up to Alaska. The idea will be to try and ride as much off-road as we can.”

“The goal will be to live as long as possible from our savings so when it came to buying motorcycles for the trip, we decided to go for a cheaper but still reliable alternative to the bigger adventure motorcycles. The Honda CRF250 Rally is fuel-efficient, relatively light and agile in comparison to big adventure bikes. From the start, it was also essential to us that we ride on two bikes. We both love riding our own motorcycle, and it helps that we can split our luggage. Plus it’s also quite useful that we have the same bike when it comes to spare parts.”

Katja and Marius upgraded the long travel suspension with Hyperpro progressive springs in the front and a shock Type 461 for the rear. “It is a must-have in our opinion because the stock one is way too soft and not made for traveling with luggage.” Up front, their handlebars have been swapped out for Renthal’s. “The stock one is made out of steel which can bend pretty easily while the Renthal bar is made out of aluminum and is more robust.” Barkbusters handguards now protect the levers and hands in case of a spill. “We also fitted Oxford heated grips since we plan to ride through mountainous areas with a high possibility of snow and low temperatures and it’s not something we want to miss when we are out there.”

The seats have been changed out for SeatConcepts upgrades. “The stock seat is okay for trips around the 60 mi / 100 km range given that you take enough breaks. The SeatConcepts seat is wider and higher than the stock seat and much more comfortable.” Arrow exhaust end cans have also replaced the standard Honda mufflers. “Everybody needs some emotion, right? We just love the sound that they produce and it is 9 lbs / 4 kg lighter!” Around back, the two Rally inspired motorcycles have received a DRC tail tidy to keep things simple. A Sunstar 13T sprocket has also been fitted to the front of the final drive. “The 2nd and 6th gear is much more usable, especially fully loaded and uphill.” Sena will also be providing them with two of their 10C EVO headsets. “It’s the ideal moto-vlogging tool, the 10C EVO mixes audio from the intercom and music from your smartphone into your video as you shoot.”

“We use the Enduristan Blizzard L soft luggage because it is light, durable, waterproof and it gives us enough space for our needs. And with these saddlebags, we won’t end up packing too much stuff which we wouldn’t need anyway!” Also in use from the Swiss company are a set of Enduristan Sandstorm 4X tank bags and two Enduristan Hurricane 15L backpacks. “We also plan to fit auxiliary fuel tanks like the Camel ADV Products to up our range to about 300 mi / 500 km. Having a bigger range is quite important to us.” For navigation, the duo prefers using their mobile phones loaded with Maps.me and Google maps. “We’ve had good experiences with the apps on our last trips; they have offline maps, spots for camping and drinking water, fuel stations, etc.”

There are all these moments where you learn not just about traveling but also about yourself. “In Albania, we had a moment when we were traveling to Theth. After a long and exhausting day, Marius fell in the last few meters before reaching our campsite and injured his right hand. Since there are only gravel passes in and out of Theth, we were a bit worried. Finally, we extended our stay there and Marius could take care of his hand so that we were able to continue.” Ultimately it’s ones view of these experiences that enhances or detracts from the overall journey. “Even with a tire change on a mountain pass in Montenegro at 95 °F / 35 °C, you learn that it helps a lot if you just stay calm.”

“What we experienced so far is that planning is good but too much planning can make the trip very stressful. Once you realize that you can’t influence everything, a big step in the right direction has already been taken. We hope that we will remember this during our RTW. We also thought it would be hard letting go, selling things and moving into a one-room apartment to save money, but it has been less difficult than we anticipated. In the end, we have realized that the less we own, the happier we are. We are truly looking forward to being free from the constraints of daily routine, to live minimalistic and to travel to foreign places.”

For more on their adventures follow them on Instagram or have a look at their website.

All images by Motogether.