99.9% of the time, riding with a passenger looks like this
You ride along in the open air and enjoy the ride in peace – nice and chilled out!
It's not so fast! It’s OK, it’s fine
However, at Moto Journal, we’re not sexist, so it could also work the other way round.
It's not so slow! Yes it is !! But it’s fine!
And then, one guy had a really mental idea, borderline perverted. And that guy is him!
This year, with the return of Moto Tour, we decided to create a brand-new category with 2 people on a bike
and believe me, it’s going to be quite a spectacle!”
A race with two people on each bike… now that is crazy!
Usually at Moto Journal, we love crazy ideas – it’s our bread and butter!
But this, doing the Moto Tour race with two people on the bike is completely mental!
You’d have to be an idiot to want to do that, right guys? That’s too far. This madness needs to end!
And in this video, we’re going to show you why it’s stupid to do the Moto Tour race with 2 on a bike.
Riding fast with 2 people on the same bike is just taking it too far, this craziness crosses a line
Because at Moto Journal, safety is something we take VERY seriously,
we’ll show you why this mustn’t become…
this !
When we needed to find some other idiots to come with us, it was pretty easy.
Let’s face it, in the world of motorbikes,
it’s easier to find a mental case than a guy who cares about keeping all his limbs intact.
In TEAM A, I give you the famous Serge Nuques and the super quick Julien Toniutti.
A spin-off of the new R1, the MT-10 is a super sporty 160bhp roadster.
Large radial brake callipers, aluminium swing-arm,
a look which won’t go unnoticed and covered in electronic assistance settings
this bike has drag race written all over it.
Straddling the comfy Superduke GT, here is TEAM B: Matt and Aurèl.
A 170bhp twin engine with big brake discs and Brembo callipers,
active electronic suspension and an extremely original look: the KTM mixes sport and tourism.
And since we were going for a week, we fitted our bikes with SW Motech luggage carriers.
That way we could take lots of stuff…like clean underwear for example.
So where will this intrepid foursome be riding? Around France, of course!
We are going to do the route of the upcoming Moto Tour which will be held between 2 and 9 October 2016.
To start with, we’re heading south to the Mazaugue special stage!
This first stage helps us to get a grip on something that is essential when riding with a passenger:
trust!
When you go for a ride with your girlfriend, you don’t think about it.
Completely calm and chilled out, she might even get the chance to have a little snooze.
However, when it comes to clambering on behind your mate to race around a Special Time Trial Stage,
you might feel slightly more on edge.
Ready mate? Do you trust me? Don’t worry, I’m going to take it easy, I know the roads round here!
Yeah…I always trust you
It's starting with a right corner... Or a left one. And after it's a bit fast, but i don't remember if it's on 2 or 3 gear.
And look at the landscape and the weather. It's going to be great !!
The Mazaugue special stage is here!
And this will be the opening stage of the 2016 Moto Tour.
It would be hard to find a better starting point than this section of road,
which is pretty technical to begin with and then gets really fast.
So, in practice, after 2km, we realised pretty soon that riding a motorbike with 2 people is not a simple task.
For the rider, it’s hard to really let loose and go for it.
As for the passenger, as well as being scary, it’s also really physically demanding!
Ho shit, ho shit !
As we predicted, it really does feel like a massively stupid idea.
Luckily for us, we are going to take some short-cuts in the route.
First of all, it’s impossible to do a recce of Mont Faron.
It is a one-way road heading downhill whereas the special stage is uphill.
But not to worry, here’s a little taster from the Moto Tour 2013 which closed with this legendary stage.
Indeed, for several years,
Mont Faron was the last special stage for the biggest road rally in the world.
A demanding challenge for any rider, where our dear Matt smashed his tibia in 2011
when he was fighting for a place on the podium.
In 2016, everything’s been changed around and the competitors will take on this climb on the first day.
And they’re going to do it twice.
On the second day, a marathon of 900km sees them head east.
On the following days, they complete normal stages as well as the Buis special stage.
We’re going to skip that bit,
firstly because we just can’t be bothered to do such a long distance with 2 of us on the bike.
And secondly, because we do what we like!
So we headed to the amazing landscape of the gorges of the Loire to take on the Lavoûte special stage.
And we realised something else about riding with a passenger:
The way you see the landscape when you’re with your girlfriend or with your mate.
With your girlfriend, every nice spot offers the chance for a relaxing and romantic little stop off.
Isn't it beautiful ?
Are you sure ?
With your mates…it’s fair to say it’s a bit different.
So what did you think of the landscape, did you like it ?
Did you see how you were riding, you idiot?! I had my eyes shut for the whole thing
Frightened! Scared! Afraid! Terrified!
Call it what you like, but it is highly likely that is how passengers in this category feel.
Especially here on this Lavoûte-sur-Loire stage, which is quick and bumpy.
We noticed: that having a passenger helps if you want to start off with a wheelie
That the KTM has pretty comfy suspension.
That the Yamaha exhaust kicks out a lot of sparks on right-hand bends.
And when the right-hand of the rider isn’t giving you a fright, the local wildlife is
Be careful in Lavoûte, they’ve got snakes there
And there’s always your mates to tell you stories which fill you with confidence…
Shall I tell you about the first time I was someone’s passenger?
It was my brother’s mate who was riding, he had a 50 EW Motobécane.
He was going flat out down this road and I was clinging on to him.
We went over a little pot-hole and there was about 4cm of suspension travel. We hit it and it threw us off.
We were going at least 50km/h and we were only wearing puffa jackets.
I was covered in feathers from the jacket. Ah, great memories.
He tryes to make us cry. He doesn't want to ride behind me !
I’m too scared to sit at the back
Obviously, I wouldn’t even get on behind me! It’s up to you
The sneaky guy that he is, Sergeï legged it to the MT-10 when we got to the next special stage at Issoire.
Yes indeed, there is a track stage during the Moto Tour 2016.
And if you think it is completely bonkers to ride fast with 2 people on the bike on the road,
just wait and see what it’s like going round a circuit.
Under heavy braking, the passenger almost crushes the guy riding.
At changes of direction, he is thrown from right to left like an old sack of dirty laundry.
While bearing in mind that because of the competitive element, it didn’t take long to degenerate into a knight’s duel
worthy of something from the middle-ages.
Except that we had forgotten one small detail…
you didn’t read the rules you idiots ?!
well, no
On the track it’s only one person per bike!
Indeed. The organisers of Moto Tour had a moment of wisdom amid its madness.
For the track stage, there’s no passenger.
Thank goodness for that, because on the 5th day, competitors have to do not 1, but 2 races!
First of all, there’s a speed race of about 6 laps,
and then an endurance one lasting 40 minutes or so.
Believe me, 40 minutes of track racing is pretty exhausting!
Especially since Moto Tour is not just timed road or track stages,
it’s also thousands of miles of travelling on challenging roads.
This gave these old bastards….er, I mean, old veterans, Serge and Julien,
the chance to show off about their long experience as professional riders.
Hey, what are you doing?
You know Moto Tour isn’t just special stages, it’s also 3000km of travelling in between.
And you need to prepare for that like a professional. GPS and comfy seats!
OK, let’s go
Clearly, with 50kg of stuff in the luggage bags, we won’t be wearing out the front tyre on the Superduke GT
on the 3000km which the next Moto Tour will involve.
A new route which will go from Toulon to Nice,
via Boulazac and le Puy en Velay.
And during this week of racing, each day will have a theme, such as navigation,
consistency and, of course, speed.
And then of course, there’s this new duo category
So Marc, who had this absolutely bonkers idea of organising a category with 2 people on the same bike?
It came from David. We thought about it and said, yeah, why not? Motorbikes are made for either 1 or 2 people
And the best way to prove it is to do both at the Moto Tour.
But when you had the idea, did you say to yourselves
guys going away for 10 days will be able to take their wife with them and that will give them a good excuse to come
or do you really think that there will be guys who will be going flat out in the duo category?
Yeah. Above all we said that two mates or a couple could come along and experience it together
Then we said, why not have a category for people to try and win
with two top riders who train and set their motorbike up in the right way with a road specialist and a track rider
Obviously, they will need to ride together on the long stages, like the Marathon stage, and also for the special stages.
It’ll be hard for the one behind, who will need to be very used to riding behind or pretty reckless.
Ha, well it’s good to see that even the organiser thinks that there’s some recklessness involved.
And anyone who has ridden as a 2 will know that there is always some bodily contact between rider and passenger.
Now with your girlfriend, that might be quite nice. A bit off-putting, but physically pleasant.
But with your mate who has all the driving finesse of a butcher, it will be nothing of the sort!
Right, I think we’re going to stop this duo stuff and starting riding solo
And it’s highly likely that the one on the back will end up falling overboard without the other one even noticing!!
Riding with 2 people is amazing! After just a few corners you can’t even feel the other person !
It’s no wonder you can’t feel him anymore! - He’s not behind you anymore!
Where’s he gone ?
Right, let’s give these stupid ideas a rest for a second. You need be serious sometimes
and we’re going to finish this trip in a more traditional way.
The Valbergue special stage is undoubtedly the most technical,
with a long series of hairpin bends. This type of course is perfect for a Supermoto racer.
If you want to clock up a decent time, you need to be quick at getting the bike upright
again and accelerate out of the corner as soon as you can.
Despite the make’s slogan “Ready to Race”, the KTM is more suited to GT style riding.
Even when switched to Sport mode, the suspension stays pretty soft,
which can lead to excessive movement during braking or going over bumps.
In comparison, the MT-10 is glued to the ground.
And don’t take any notice of Julien, who stays sitting up as straight as an arrow like a police motorcyclist
when he goes past, believe me he is going fast.
And here it is, the final stage of the Moto Tour 2016, the cherry on the cake:
the col du Turini !
Breath-taking scenery, never-ending twists and turns, as well as incredibly fast sections.
You need to maintain a good pace
and keep your concentration for the whole of this long special stage.
Serge and Matt had a great time, squeezing every last second out of their respective machine.
At more than €18,000, the Superduke GT is the perfect motorbike for anyone
who wants to do the Moto Tour with a certain level of comfort, without being completely left in the dust on the timed sections.
Even with 2 people on it, the Austrian bike proved itself to be much more pleasant than the MT-10.
However, the KTM is heavily penalised on the track due to its limited ground clearance.
As for the MT-10, it has fantastic potential to be a demon on the special stages.
Light, with good handling, brakes and suspension,
the Japanese bike is great both on the track and the road.
Its one minor weakness is the unresponsiveness of the engine at low revs which hurts it on the exit of hairpins bends.
The Yamaha is so competitive that it gave our Sergeï a new lease of life.
Guys, we had a great time doing the Moto Tour course.
- Yeah, it was nice - Yep, we saw some amazing scenery - And the special stages are great
It made me want to compete again. Especially in the duo category.
Do you fancy being my passenger?
Oh yeah? Oh damn, I’m busy.
I can’t either, I’ve got pony lessons, or dancing, I can’t remember.
Oh no, me too, I’ve got swimming that day.
You really are a bunch of wimps. Lucky for you I called a friend of mine, she’s the perfect passenger,
She’s light, you don’t feel her behind you and she never says no
Meet Barbara, she’s been with me since 2004 !
And with that, our brave knight took to the road with his loyal companion.
Keeping her cool despite Serge’s rapid driving style, Barbara never lets anyone down.
I’m telling you now, those 2 are going to be racing to win the next Moto Tour!