MotoMentals

Motorcycle Diaries

“Where others turn back because the road is gone we just want to see and find out why the road is gone and how far up we can still get there with technique and guts.”

Jessica Leyne and her boyfriend Bart Lammaing are the people behind MotoMentals. She is a math teacher and a spare-time website builder and he is a self-employed carpenter who enjoys customizing motorcycles. What they like doing best? Riding their motorcycles. And you know, when the going gets rough….

Before they first met, Jessica and Bart had already travelled the world, but not as extensively as they do now. Ever since childhood they both dreamed of seeing the world. Their paths crossed on several occasions. Ultimately they ended up together. It had to be like this. Or as Jessica puts it: “Guess it was bound to happen!”

Their motivation to make their dream come true came from the unhappiness they experienced when they tried to live the so-called “normal” life. A house and a job didn’t really make their hearts beat faster.

Jessica: “People sometimes regard our decision as a wrong move. Why give up all this certainty? But what does certainty mean when your last grains of sand are passing through the hourglass? What will you remember during that moment? Will it be the monthly payments for your thirty-year mortgage that you so loyally paid? Or will it be the kiss under the starry sky on a far-away beach in some foreign country that you managed to travel through together? “

Although they are stretching the rules of living in society to the max, they didn’t break yet. Or brake. Their jobs and life’s responsibilities allow only one big trip a year. So far they have managed to visit Wales and Normandy (2011), Picardie off-road (2012), Norway (2013), Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Romania, Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia and the Alps on and off-road for 7 weeks in 2014.

And this year? Jessica might be in for a once-in-a-lifetime adventure: she was one of the seven riders, out of the 3000 candidates, selected for the Ducati Globetrotter 90th, a 145 world-round trip. You can follow her daily journal on http://www.globetrotter90.ducati.com/rider/jessica/

When they travel together they look forward to diving into the wild world. They always chose nature, views, wild animals, remote and abandoned places over big cities and crowds. And they are happy to share! If you would like jump into a journey that you would have never thought doing, get in contact with them through www.motomentals.be.

As tips for your future trips Jessica suggests places like Norway (for the views, remoteness, loneliness and animals) Romania (because it’s their heaven for off-road riding) and Serbia (for the friendliness of people).

Concerning what gear to take with you she points out that ‘Traveling with a motorcycle is as unique as your fingerprint. You need to find out how you are going to go about it and decide what to pack based on your initial plan. In our case, it comes to this: tent, sleeping mat, sleeping bag, headlight, Helinox chair, rain suit, Coleman stove, Bivvy bag, knife, three sets of underwear, thermo clothes and some comfort food.”

Hidalgo: Bart’s custom off-road bike.

Both Jess & Bart really like the boxer engine but Bart was convinced that the GS could behave much better with some modifications…. so he completely disassembled the bike to make his own off-road bike. In the end he built a complete new frame, he cut-off the cardan to fix it to the frame. Attaching the cardan to the frame avoids stress on the gearbox. The 6 speed gearbox comes from a R1150GS Adventure with a short 1st gear and the final drive comes from a R850GS (37/11). So he gets more torque in low RPM and it's easier to ride slower in technical sections with less stress on all driving parts.

The tank is a custom built 30l tank split in 3 compartments to avoid loosing all the fuel in case of a leak. It took him one year (on his spare time) to rebuild the bike and to get the result he wanted. During the summer they did a “validation” trip in the Alps, 4'000km later Bart came back super enthusiast about his built. Now ready for new adventures!