Adventurer plans to ride to the North Pole on a Yamaha R1

FOR many motorcyclists, the closet we actually get to ‘adventure’ is navigating some green lanes or an off-road riding experience. For Sjaak Lucassen that’s not even scratching the surface of the word adventure!

Lucassen has already ridden around the world on his 2001 Yamaha R1, so why would crossing the arctic and riding to the north pole on one be any different?

As you’d expect, there have been some modifications made to the bike prior to the trip, in fact, he’s ditched pretty much everything except for the frame and engine. A new, wider swingarm and set of top yolks has been created. Both are able of carrying oversize tyres, helping to spread the load of the bike and hopefully prevent it from sinking in the snow. The rear tyre is 60cm across while the front is 40cm and fitted with snow stubs and mounted on custom-built rims.

To help fuel himself and his bike on the trip, Lucassen plans on towing a custom-built trailer behind the Yamaha, converting it into a sledge when the road disappears, and the snow begins. With temperatures well below freezing, normal engine oil solidifies and turns into a kind of gel within the engine. T prevent internal engine damage, Putoline developed an engine oil that remains liquid even as low -50°C!

To get to the pole, Lucassen plans to split the route up into three chunks, Anchorage, Alaska to Tuktoyaktuk, Canada, then Tuktoyaktuk to Ward Hunt Island (across the frozen ocean), and finally, Ward Hunt Island to the North Pole. In total, the journey is over 2,700 miles in length and includes at least 1000 miles of riding over the frozen ocean.

To keep up to date with his story, check out Lucassen’s Facebook page and Website.