Just wonderful listening to Ted Simon talk so clearly about his journey. A modest bike. A modest man. An incredible physical and emotional journey for him and all the readers of his book.
Throughly enjoyed reading Jupiter's Travels, I bought the Michelin maps of Africa and South America to follow his progress, he inspired me to get back to motorcycling in my 50's, did great trips as a student in the late 60s on my little 250 Royal Enfield, to go climbing in Scotland and the Alpes, cheapest transport you could get other than hitching.
Lovely interview, an amazing man, I've read Jupiter's Travels many times, I love the passage where he is planning his trip with the World map on his living room floor and suddenly realises that there is no one in the world he would rather be, such was his excitement. I would hope to meet him sometime. Many thanks and best wishes. Gérard lacey in Ireland.
Totally disagree with his comment that no body before rode bikes on big distances. Read, 'A Ride in the Sun/Gasoline Gypsy' by Peggy Iris Thomas. It tells the story of her ride on a 125cc BSA Bantam through Canada, United States and Mexico 1951/1953 with her trusty companion Matelot, an Airdale riding as pillion in his dog box, ears flapping in the breeze. A great, inspirational read. Makes a mockery of your typical adventure bike rider - all the gear no idea, goes nowhere unless in a group and worries about riding on damp grass.😄
One Man Caravan (1930s), Tracking Marco Polo (1960s) - there's some great old motorcycle travel books out there ... or you can rummage in Project Gutenberg and find ace stuff like Across Asia on a Bicycle from the 1890s 😁
all the gear no idea, goes nowhere unless in a group and worries about riding on damp grass - Welcome to 2nd generation that have grown up with smartphones....Listening to Nathan Millward earlier,,,,,,and he said he experienced the same thing on one of his tours - the group had to turn around bc the riders couldn't extract the capabilities of their ADV bikes
I'm a tad less enthused or enarmoured with all things Ted Simon in these latter days. I've bought both RTW books and read them several times, so I'm au fait with his adventures. I've traversed his Lotus Creek Qld route - between Marlborough & Sarina - numerous times, stopping at the Lotus Creek servo for fuel, pie & a nostalgia hit. Indeed the filipina wife of the cranky Brit owner (before she left) once gave me a Lotus Creek souvenir bag! (all before recent flood #3). I'm an experienced biker too - all over Thailand on a rental Honda CBR150R etc, part of the Phils and about half of Australia on my own bikes. So i do have some basis for a simple critique. Hindsight aside, his initial route choice was remarkably poor and his bike-prep woefully underdone. Bike stuff was cheap in 1973 (and he begged stuff for free), so a further 125 pounds or so (see jay leno's video on his Norton 650SS and the low cost of Dunstall spares) ought easily to have financed a vital upgrade: a larger aluminium tank, stronger wheel rims & spokes, flat handlebars & screen, decent rear shocks, an oil cooler and engine rock guard. A purist with more funds and good advice would've added a few other engine upgrades too, but the above short list would suffice. And he took far too much journo-junk etc which chronically over-stressed his bike's suspension and degraded its manoeuvrability & braking capacity. No wonder he experienced a front wheel collapse in Western Australia! His initial route choice - sideways across Tunisia-Libya to Egypt - was awfully bad geo-graphically and likely to cause engine damage from overheating in the initial phase of a super long journey. Not clever! Also, I didn't realise until recently, that he was quite so strategically 'economical with the truth' as well! Whilst his personal life during that RTW isnt properly our concern, why so judiciously do a Stalinist-type airbrush of a GF from the Australian-leg of that first RTW? Was he anticipating a future claim for royalties from aforesaid GF? Life's too short to ponder these mysteries! And who begs their fans for the price of retirement house in provincial France? Mon Dieu! As Dr Adam Smith (1776) so aptly put it in The Wealth of Nations, a beggar alone chooses to live chiefly on others' benevolence. Privatise the gains, socialise the losses.
Ted was a non-motorcyclist embarking on a journey very few people undertook. Those who travelled long distance tended to ride BMWs. Triumph was on its last legs and "adventure biking" wasn't even a thing, but the company's twins were simple machines that had made their way all English speaking countries and former parts of the empire. He could have chosen worse bikes. People ride across continents on small motorcycles, 2-stroke scooters and mopeds. Adventure is in the blood, not technical specifications.
An aluminium tank would have suffered numerous fractures from engine vibration and Dunstall specialised in cafe racers i.e bikes designed to go two or three miles between cafes - not the kind of bike you want to go around the world on. Anyone can talk about epic rides but very few do them, know what I mean.
