The Fastest Most Powerful Motorcycle In The World, (True Story) - Stromtrooper Forum : Suzuki V-Strom Motorcycle Forums

Black Lab · #1 10-14-2010, 09:05 PM

Today, I finished the last leg of my 2,125 mile, week long trip from, Maine to West Virginia and back home. I had a wonderful adventure; saw some wonderful sights; met some wonderful people; and got to ride on some wonderful roads, (I also had wonderful weather for the complete, week long trip!).

As I was crossing Rt 3 between Augusta, ME and Belfast, ME, I got the idea in my head to make one final stop. I decided that I would pull into my local dealership on my way home to give the "guys" a brief summary of my ride. Being able to do this is a very rare event for me. You see, nearly all of my trips start on a Thursday afternoon, or Friday morning and end on a Sunday evening. Sunday evenings, Friend and Friend of Ellsworth is closed. Today was a Thursday and I was going to pass through Ellsworth, ME at about 2:00PM in the afternoon.

I will confess that part of my decision to stop by the dealership was to do a little "ribbing", in good nature. It's sort of a routine we have: I walk into the showroom during a "non trip" weekend to chat, (and sit on a DR-650....), and say something like, "Hey Josh, what are you doing?" Answer; "You know what I am doing, I am working and you are riding." Reply; "Yeah, I keep forgetting that. You are on the wrong end of this motorcycle thing."

I also wanted to share a little about the experiences that I had over the past week of riding. The guys have been very supportive and helpful to me to keep my bike rolling forward. Today, while there, I was handed a $150 gift card because I was the "high mileage" winner for the 2010 season. This is the second season in a row that I have won this contest. I think, it is pretty darned generous of them to do something like this within the current economic environment we live in.

After visiting in the showroom, I wandered up to the service department to chat with the employees there as well. It was there that I met, Malcolm Rose. It's his story that I want to share.

I only had about 20 minutes to chat with Malcolm. As he talked, I scribbled down notes in my small travel journal so that I wouldn't forget some of the "facts" later. The following is a brief "biography" of Malcolm Rose. I have tried "Googling" more information about him, but I haven't been successful. The man lives totally "off-the-grid"; both in the real sense and in cyberspace as well.

Malcolm Rose left England back in 1982 on board his 48' Laurent Giles designed sailboat. For 26 years, Malcolm sailed around the world; from continent to continent, and country to country; singlehanded. In 2008, at the age of 70 years old, Malcolm decided that the sailboat was just too much for him to handle by himself. It was particularly burdensome during some of the storms at sea that he has experienced. So, he sold his sailboat in Barcelona, Spain.

There were two places that Malcolm never got to on board his sailboat that had been goals for him to do so. Those places were, Chile and Alaska. Those geographical descrepancies became the motivation for Malcolm to begin another chapter in his adventurous life. He got himself to Chile. Once there, he purchased a brand new, Honda Rebel, 250cc motorcycle. Without a plan, (Malcolm: "Barry, you know making a plan is the worst thing you can do when you are traveling."), Malcolm began to ride.

It is now 2010, two years into his motorcycle journey. His Honda Rebel has 56,000 miles on it. (That's miles and NOT kilometers!). Using the tip of a finger, Malcolm began to trace out his journey, on a map that was "thumb-tacked" to one of the walls in the waiting area of the service department. Keep in mind that I was still on a journey of my own. I had not made it home yet. However, I can tell you that, the mileage that I just covered during the past week, and the 83,000 miles I have ridden over the past four seasons, became trivial "dust" compared to what this man has done. He particularly enjoyed the part of the journey that took him through Newfoundland. Almost in a "lovingly" way, he spoke of each region; both from geographical and social perspectives, (interacting with the people there).

I could have talked with Malcolm for hours and hours. Tall, thinly built, quiet, thoughtful genuine words, and a British accent, kind of made him the perverbial "Pied Piper" to me. "Where are you going next? May I come along too?" were my thoughts.

Malcolm's plans are for him to make his way down to Washington, DC. He has a daughter that lives there, (One of three daughter's scattered about our planet.). Malcolm is going to sell his motorcycle, or give it away. Then, he is going to head back to Europe to purchase a canal boat. "Barry, there are thousands of miles of canals throughout Europe. At age 72, I have gotten too old to handle a sailboat and I fear that I am beginning to feel the age on my motorcycle as well. It is time for a new adventure that isn't as rigorous to my body."

Malcolm's little 250cc Honda Rebel is the fastest and most powerful motorcycle in the world.

It moves at the speed of time.

Malcolm's time.

Here are some photos of Malcolm and his motorcycle.

250cc Honda Rebel.

That was purchased in Chile.

Notice the simplicity of the electronics. No GPS, or computer. No windshield either, (and no "buffeting" issues!).

Givi sidecases.

Tank bag, backpack, sleeping pad, tent.......

Malcolm picks up paperbacks and stops at libraries to study and communicate with others through "public" computers.

Packed up. Suited up.

Just after I took the below photograph, Malcolm wheeled his little Rebel next to me and said, "Barry, I do hope that you take yourself on a long trip soon." and winked at me.

And, off Malcolm Rose rode.

I began to pace the parking lot, back and forth..................

The next time any of you are "hemming and hawing" about which model motorcycle is the biggest, baddest, "Best Bike" out there, remember that there is a 72 year old, great-grandfather who is actually riding and living the dream.

B.L.

FieroDude · #2 10-14-2010, 09:20 PM

Very cool and inspiring story!

Thank you for sharing, Barry!

SCraig · #3 10-14-2010, 09:22 PM

That's great. I have a lot of admiration for people who are able to live out their dream and make it reality.

Black Lab · #4 10-14-2010, 09:35 PM

Here are a couple of more "tidbits" I forgot to share in my original post.

Malcolm said that he couldn't have ridden all that places that he did on any other bike. Because the bike is so short, while "riding" in sand, he could straddle the bike, with both feet on the ground and "throttle" the machine through the soft stuff; walking along with the bike as it moved forward.

The other point he mentioned was, the bike is very light. People always gathered around when he would arrive in a South American village. They were always eager to lend a hand. Sometimes, it was to lift the, (unloaded), bike up a flight of stairs and into a motel room, or restaurant where the two, (man and machine), wouldn't be separated for security purposes.

Malcolm answered my question about visas and carnets for himself and the bike. He said that there was never a problem. Sometimes paperwork would take a couple of hours but it didn't matter to him, (It's "Malcolm time".). He shared that he learned the lesson of trusting, (and paying), the young lads that would approach him to be a "guide" through the border crossings. Malcolm said it was always worth it to work with the boys. They always knew which buildings to go to and in which sequence so that he could rapidly move through the customs/importing process.