My 1200 mile ride

[stephan]

Well, a bit scary to be the first one as a newcomer to this forum,
but someone has to start.

We are now in Sweden/Europe...

Before 2006 I had read about "Iron Butt Rally" and seen the film "Long Way Round", and was quite inspired of what I saw and read, so why not try some adventure of my own, and why not do it with a vehicle that wasn´t really intended for such trawels?

Why not?

I had the vehicle, a Peugeot Elyséo 100 cc named "Scootris", and the Gulf of Botnia can be seen on any world map, so I would be reminded of the trip for the rest of my life, just watching the weatherforecast on TV!

Time to move...made a few preparations to the Peugeot, mounted a GPS, got a new rear tire and gear oil, motor oil is not an issue on a 2-stroker, packed a small tent, a sleeping bag etc.

I didn´t want to sleep out in the wilderness with bears, wolfes, moose and other scary animals, but it should be a good idea to prepare for the worst.

And off we got, just me and "Scootris".

See here for som pictures and more text:

web.comhem.se/stephan.dorsch/scooter/index_en.htm

I enjoyed the trip fully, just to wake up in the morning and get ready for another days ride further into complete wilderness, can´t be beat!

The whole trip took about a week, being off season, we could always find nice cabins and didn´t have to put up the tent, the roads choosen where very low traffic, sometimes we where alone for hours.

"Scootris" has since then got new home, and I´m considering a Roketa MC-54, it´s called TMS Steelbird in our part of the world, not decided yet, not quite convinced about the quality after reading here...future will tell

Hope you enjoyed my little trip!

Regards
Stephan

[scooterollie]

Stephan,
I believe you kicked off this section with a ride that will be hard to beat! What a fantastic journey. Beautiful country and I like your scoot. While the MC-54 is generally well thought of here, it probably won't measure up to your Peugeot. Thanks for sharing.

By the way, welcome to the Dawg Pound!

[Andi]

Welcome Stephan,

I couldn't agree more with scooterollie, very nice picture write up awesome trip. What beautiful countryside reminds me a lot of Northern Ontario Canada. Very similar countryside, excellent outdoors anything, just could never get friendly with the winter season.

Andi

[Aerostudent]

Man, that ride looks fun! The scooter is awesome, great scenery, everything! Thanks for sharing!

Aero

[Daniel Wyatt]

I dream of one day taking a trip like this!
Thanks so much for sharing your inspiring story.

Do you know what exactly went wrong with Scootris' ignition system?

[kilted1]

First off...a great big thank -you for posting this amazing trip, beautiful countryside, and that scooter is great looking..... did you ever find out what was wrong with the ignition?.... pity you could lead all the Harley 's onto the ferry!

If I ever get into Northern Europe ,I'll have to look you up and do a trip together.

I have dreamed of doing a round trip of Scotland on my Volano 150

Cheers

[stephan]

Thank you guys for all the nice comments

Before the trip I thought - what can go wrong with an engine with just ONE moving part - well there are more parts involved in getting a scooter rolling.

In this case the CDI-box gave up, not an easy part to get hands on in the middle of nowhere, but isn't happenings like this what makes an adventure?

Anyway, a good insurance(including towing service) and a cellphone solved the situation easily.

Now my new Roketa MC-54(TMS Steelbild) has taken Scootris place, after reading here, just the pure ownership of a chinascooter could be an adventure itself, future will tell.

[scooterollie]

Stephan,
Keep us informed about your new scoot! Does it have the CFMoto or Linhai engine?

[stephan]

Sure, I will report my life as a China-Scooterist!

Right now it´s a bit early in the scooterseason, just a few degrees above freezing...

There seems to be an unbeleivable amount of troubles with these bikes, on the other hand I´m well protected(I hope!) by our consumers law, with at least two years manufacturing guarantee, including both parts and labour in case of malfunctioning products sold to customers.

Hopefully these first years will sort out the bugs...

BTW - it´s a CFMoto engine.

We had as small christening ceremony this evening ;D, with some champagne on the front mudguard(and to me and my wife), she is from now on named "Birdie". (TMS Steelbird)

[earlwb]

That was a great ride for sure.
Thanks for sharing.
That will be hard to top anywhere.

[alauda]

Thanks for giving us a really fun "armchair" scooter tour. Wow, you truly live in a most beautiful region of the world. Are the "cabin village" style accommodations common in your area? They are beautiful and have so much more character than our cookie-cutter strip style motels here in the US.

Since you were not able to catch any of your wildlife chaperones on film, we will loan you some of ours. Here is what greeted us in our front yard when we stepped out for a scooter ride last fall .



Thanks again,
Alauda <><

[stephan]

Thanks!

Talking about cabins, I was surprised myself, they where all small but nice, with good standard, except for the last one...but I could enjoy the luxury of a cabin with a hot shower and a good buffet on the ferry to Stockholm.

Some more cabin pictures, this was pre-season(and a rainy week) so it seems a bit deserted:

[nickiemcnichols]

Beautiful photos! I have to go there!

[pghays]

Great trip. Thanks for sharing your part of the world.

[wf1761]

All the scenery, the pine trees, and the birch trees remind me of the upper peninsula of Michigan. From the Mackinaw bridge to Hancock and Houghton is very similar. Many Finnish people live there. Their family history is in Finland. Enjoyed it all. A karma for you.

[ooopseyesharted]

Absolutely gorgeous

[A.B.Normal]

Wow. Thanks so much for sharing that!

I want to go there and try your route!