Nicki and Moe love riding their bikes and hiking, which is why they call themselves the Moppedhikers. They manage to combine both passions on their journeys.

Micki is an adventurer through and through. She is easily excited by spontaneous ideas and started traveling the world as a young child. Internships, volunteer work and travels enabled her to see many different countries and their exciting cultures early on in her life. 

Moe likes to travel and explore new places with new people and ideas. His interest in motorcycling emerged during his years as a university student. He captures their journey through his passion for photography.
 

WHICH MACHINES ARE THEY RIDING?

Nicki and Moe did extensive research into which motorcycle is best suited is for their journey around the world. These characteristics were especially significant:

Reliable and resilient 

Ridable on streets and terrain

Not too big and not too heavy

Not too expensive (max. budget 4000 €)

Max. fuel consumption 5l/100 km

Range of at least 300 km

Comfort for 2 people

Few electrics

Easy to get replacement parts

Used, but good. 

In the end they spent two years of their journey together on the travel bike Triumph Tiger T709, a used model from 1999.

Facts: 83 PS, 995 ccm and a weight of 210 kg 

For the long trip they added or replaced the following parts:

Aluminium case, engine protector, K&N air filter, enduro strips, headlight protectors, on-board socket, grip heating, raising of the handle bar and fender, splash guard and replaced footrests.

Another upgrade followed in 2019: Triumph Germany sent a Tiger 800 XRx Low to the Moppedhikers in South America. A big change. The lower position of the seat makes it the perfect bike for Nicki.

Facts: 95 PS, 800 ccm and a weight of 190 kg. 

HOW DID THEY GET TO SOUTH AMERICA AND PAST THE ATLANTIC OCEAN?

They swam fully loaded in a very special way. A cargo ship took Nicki and Moe on board. It was called roll-on/roll-off, RoRo for short. The bike gets tied to the ship and you just hop on board. There was no need to wrap up the bike beforehand. It is best to declare the bike as cargo, not as an accompanying vehicle. The advantage is that you can always have an eye on the bike. The trip was planned to have a relaxing effect, as Nicki and Moe had no time pressure. The route went from Antwerp to Montevideo (Uruguay).

HOW DID THEY PREPARE?

2017’s focus was on preparation.
Planning
Choosing a motorcycle
Equipment
Vaccinations: Both visited a tropics doctor and got professional advice. In the end they got vaccinated for yellow fever, cholera, Japanese encephalitis, rabies, meningococcal disease, hepatitis B, hepatitis A and typhus. But vaccines cannot protect you from every type of sickness. Diseases transmitted through mosquitos – like malaria, dengue or the zika virus - cannot be prevented.

Visa

Off-Road Training

Nicky quickly did her motorcycle license
 

WERE DO THEY SPEND THEIR NIGHTS IN SOUTH AMERICA?

When they are not moving around on their motorcycles or on their own two feet, they love to camp underneath the open night sky. So, in most cases they spend their nights in a tent. Wild camping is free in most places and the view is often priceless. In other cases, Nicki and Moe worked for board and lodging or went couch surfing in bigger cities.
 

HOW MUCH DOES A JOURNEY COST?

Aside from time, money is the most important aspect of realizing the dream of a long-term journey. The journey is more like everyday life than a holiday. Nicky and Moe are honest and transparent in everything they are doing. Over 2 years they kept book on their traveling expenses. The majority of expenses depend on the style of traveling: lodging, transport, food – they determine if your wallet is empty or not.

The average expenses per month and person are 580 €. That is 19 € per day. What surprised them was that the cost of traveling did not differ between supposedly cheap and expensive countries. The majority gets invested into transport, lodging and motorcycle maintenance. 
 

WHICH COUNTRIES DID THEY VISIT?

Many areas in South and Central America: Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Columbia, Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala.
 

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Since the start of Covid-19 Nicki and Moe are staying in Mexico. As animal lovers they became part of a dog protection organization during their downtime. The organization saves dogs from the street and provides them with medical treatment. Maybe for this reason their team has gained another member: Teddy was adopted by them after careful consideration and is always on board from now on.
 

WHERE ARE THEY GOING NEXT?

As they revealed in their blog, the USA and Canada will be their next stop. It all depends on how Corona develops. They originally planned to do this trip last summer. We are very excited to heard what they have to report and wish the BEST of luck to both of them.

Learn many more details on their blog: https://www.moppedhiker.de

tps://www.moppedhiker.de