Congratulations!

You have found it! As a small gift, you will receive the following voucher code for redemption in our shop:


This voucher grants a discount of €0.00

Filter by:

You want to present your Simson or MZ?

Send us a few pictures & a short info about your bike to simsonfan[at]a-k-f.de. With a little luck, your bike will soon be featured in our blog as "Fan of the Month".

Simson Fan Alex with the Simson to the North Cape | Simson Reisen

Alexander's 9,000km tour with his Simson moped Luisa attracted a lot of attention and enthusiasm in the press and among die-hard Simson fans, as could also be seen on our Facebook fan page. We took this as an opportunity to ask Alex a few questions as well

AKF asks

The reports about your 9,000km Baltic Sea trip have caused great interest and enthusiasm not only among Simson fans. Did you ever expect such a huge response?
I did expect a great response, but not such a huge one of 63,000 clicks. I found out on my trip to London that there is a lot of interest in travelling with a Simson. But I never expected this story to go through the roof.

Why did you choose the Baltic Sea as your destination? What did you particularly like on your trip, what made a lasting impression on you?
After my trip to London, I knew it was going to be a bigger tour next year. The Baltic Sea is a diverse inland sea with wild untouched nature. It also has contrasts that I never expected. The poverty in Eastern Europe and the wealth in Northern and Western Europe is a difference like I have never experienced before.
From Poland you drive through 85 percent forest and the higher you get, the straighter the roads become. From Lapland in Finland you only meet reindeer and almost no people during the day. Every seven to ten hours you see other people.
Everywhere people were always friendly to me, but that was probably also due to my Simson. For everyone I was the colourful dog on the street or the crazy adventurer. Especially impressive for me was that people always wanted to help me, e.g. with food and objects. In the evening I was very often invited to dinner by strangers. In Finland I was even given an eye patch that I could sleep normally because of the midnight sun.

The trip was not your first bigger tour with Luisa. Already last year we went to London. Are you generally very fond of travelling or how did you come up with the idea of "travelling with the Simson"? Do you have any role models?
Travelling is my biggest hobby and passion at the same time. On my first moped tour I rode from Neukirch/Lausitz via Bautzen to Spremberg and back again. At that time I felt that I would like to make a trip with it once, but very far away!
Last year (2015) I turned 18 and wanted to complete my first vacation alone. Since I don't own a car but only the moped, I just put one and one together.
My big role models on the subject of "motorcycle travel" are Claudia Metz and Klaus Schubert with the book "Abgefahren - In 16 Jahren um die Welt", which I read at the age of 13. Additionally I was a little bit inspired by the book "Slow Way Down" by Florian Rolke.

Many people from your personal environment were very sceptical about your travel plans, they thought it was a crazy idea. Did that influence you? Was there more encouragement for your trip to the Baltic Sea?
I wasn't bothered by all the opposition, because when I told them about it, I was already planning the trip and had already decided on it in my head. It was encouragement for me that I was doing everything right. This year almost everyone took me seriously with my plan, but most of them thought that I would only get as far as Russia at the most with a lot of luck.

Your trip to the Baltic Sea lasted 30 days. Did your employer know about your unusual plan? What was their reaction?
At the beginning only a few people at work knew about it, because I didn't tell anyone before I started. If you spread the word and don't make it, you end up just being a storyteller who talks a big game. Afterwards, of course, the buzz was huge and I got a lot of credit for it.

Unlike your London trip, there were no major problems with your S50 on the Baltic trip. How did you prepare, what all did you take with you in case of emergency?
I only had Bowden cables, spark plugs and a breaker with me. As tools I had my on-board tools and a set of spanners in my pocket. Once, shortly before Hamburg, after more than 8,000 km, the manifold had to be tightened. When I was three minutes back in Germany, my footrests broke off. Then only the next workshop with the welding machine helped.

On your website simson-reisen.de you can find detailed travel reports as well as corresponding tips. Are these based on your own experiences?
All tips are based on my own experience. When I wanted to go to London, I realized that there are no tips for such extreme trips. At the beginning it was difficult to estimate how much luggage I would need and what kind of spare parts or how much 2-stroke oil I would need.

So far you have always gone on trips alone. Was that a conscious decision or did no one have the courage/time to accompany you? Would you generally also go on such a trip in a group?
Travelling alone is a conscious decision because you can decide everything yourself and are not dependent on anyone. Only the nights are always a bit strange, alone in the wilderness or in the cities. During the day I don't need anyone around me, but in the evening it is nicer with two people. That's why I often stay in other people's homes via Couchsurfing.
I can't imagine travelling in a group, but I don't know why that is. Another topic would be again with a friend and the Simson to travel (each his own Simson ...). Since it is unfortunately very very difficult to find such a travel-joyful person, I will probably spend the next time with the Simson alone in the vacation.

What about travel plans for the future? Is there already something concrete or desired destinations? There are many dream destinations! Africa or the complete crossing of the Sahara is still a project for me. Nevertheless, the world is big...!

We thank you for the interview and wish you a lot of fun and great travel experiences with Luisa. Detailed information and pictures of the Baltic Sea tour can be found at simson-reisen.de:-)

Write a comment
Please enter the string in the text field below.

The fields marked with * are mandatory.