Inspiration Friday: Motorcycle Couple Circumnavigates the World

Traveling on a Suzuki V-Strom 1050XT 20 months after their departure on the trip of a lifetime, Ollie Gamblin and Lavi Scholl not only circumnavigate the world on a motorcycle, claims the new Guinness world record but also get married on the route! Plus Aprilia All Stars 2024 and
Win a new Aprilia RS457!

The extraordinary and entirely free festival event is scheduled for Saturday, 8 June at the Misano World Circuit. Bikes and champions, adrenaline-charged shows, entertainment for fans and families and MotoGP galore! This event is not just for Aprilia fans only. Plus at the end of the day an Aprilia RS 457 will be given away in a drawing

Now back to the around the world motorcycle trip of a lifetime: Setting off from the Ace Cafe in London they never anticipated visiting 39 countries on five continents and covered 46,705 miles in 589 days! From Germany, Spain, Mauritania to Senegal, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia, Morocco, Darien Gap and Panama, USA, Canada, South Korea, Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan and Kygyzstan, crossing the Caspian Sea into Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and crossing the Bosphorus, back into Europe. Now that’s an inspiring motorcycle story to read below!

Inspiration Friday: Motorcycle Couple Circumnavigates the World. Somewhat what Total Motorcycle has done for the past 25 years as well with readers from every country, even those on the smallest of islands and highest places.

What a world.

Also do not forget to read our 2024 and 2025 Motorcycle Model Guides and check out what’s on offer for 2024 right here on TMW!

Suzuki V-Strom 1050XT carries couple to Guinness World Record

Ollie Gamblin and Lavi Scholl have set a new Guinness world record, becoming the youngest pair to circumnavigate the world on a motorcycle, two-up. On a V-Strom 1050XT, they visited 39 countries on five continents and covered 46,705 miles in 589 days. Now 33 and 35, the duo were 32 and 34 upon completion of their adventure, with the record their average age of 33 years and 247 days.

Setting off from the Ace Cafe in London on a V-Strom 1050XT donated by their local dealership, Motorcycle World, Ollie, from Northampton, took the ‘bars with Lavi, from Hanover, Germany, riding pillion. The pair first headed into France, before pointing south and crossing into Spain.

From there they left the continent of Europe behind and arrived in Morocco, Africa. Sticking to the west coast they travelled down through Mauritania to Senegal, where the V-Strom was loaded into a container and shipped to Brazil to begin the South American leg of the journey.

After landing in Brazil they travelled further south still, to the very bottom of Argentina to reach the world’s southernmost city, Ushuaia, on the island of Tierra del Fuego, before returning north and up through Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. With eight countries ticked off in South America, Lavi and Ollie flew their V-Strom 1050XT over the Darien Gap and into Panama, and entered North America. They’d continue north, all the way to Canada, before airfreighting the bike to Seoul, South Korea, though not before tying the knot in Las Vegas, Nevada, in the US.

Now married, the couple took boat ride to Vladivostok, Russia, and the duo continued west through Mongolia, Kazakhstan and Kygyzstan, eventually crossing the Caspian Sea into Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and across the Bosphorus, back into Europe. Nine more countries were chalked off, with Belgium being 39th and last unique nation crossed, before Lavi and Ollie returned to France and finally the UK, completing their journey, 20 months after their departure on the trip of a lifetime.

Lavi said of the planning for the trip, “The idea for a Guinness World Record came after a friend of ours attempted to become the Youngest Male to Circumnavigate the Globe by Motorcycle, an already established record. We sent an email asking if we could create a team record under the same criteria. They accepted it under the title Youngest Pair to Circumnavigate the Globe by Motorcycle (Riding Pillion).

“We had the freedom to plan our own route, as long as Guinness’ circumnavigation boxes were ticked. So the route was mostly planned using non-carnet countries and countries with easier visas.

“But, honestly, we didn’t really think we would make it all the way around the world when we started. The aim was just to get as far as possible but we always imagined there would be something to stop us, a visa or shipping issue, something like that. Our mindset was just, as long as we can continue we will, and that just so happened to be all the way until the end.”

Of the miles covered and countries visited, Ollie commented, “We saw a lot of places, a lot of people, and had a lot of experiences. If I had to pick one country that stood out, Mongolia really surprised us. The landscapes are vast and incredible and there are herds of animals just running around everywhere and locals living in gers. It was absolutely beautiful. Another highlight was seeing wild orca hunt for penguins on the remote Argentinian coast. It was like a scene out of a documentary right in front of our eyes.”

While the trip was a success and the record was achieved, it was not without its challenges and low points.

Ollie reflected, “We had to wait in Rio de Janeiro for eight weeks because the bike was lost for a while whilst being shipped from Senegal. And we certainly toppled off many times! I didn’t have a great deal of riding experience before we set off, especially on big bikes, so it was a real learning curve and a pretty steep one. Especially two-up with all of our luggage. We also had a few hairy weather situations in places like the high altitude mountains of the Andes where the passes took us up to nearly 5000m.

“But, throughout all of it, the V-Strom was absolutely solid. Its reliability was its main virtue. Considering the terrain it tackled, how long it went between services, it was pretty much unbreakable. Over nearly 47,000 miles we only had minor issues with some bearings finally giving up in hostile conditions and the rear shock took a bit of abuse and needed replacing. But I think that’s absolutely incredible given everything it went through.”

Lavi and Ollie will be at the Adventure Bike Rider Festival at Ragley Hall on 28-30 June, and they have documented their journey on their YouTube channel, which can be viewed here.

Aprilia All Stars 2024

• 8 JUNE EVERYONE IN MISANO TO WIN THE NEW APRILIA RS 457, THE NEW SPORT BIKE THAT WILL BE GIVEN AWAY IN A DRAWING AT THE END OF THE DAY
• THERE WILL BE A SHOW ON THE TRACK WITH THE FABULOUS RS-GP MACHINES FROM THE MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP AND RIDERS VIÑALES, ESPARGARÓ, SAVADORI, OLIVEIRA AND FERNANDEZ. JOINING THEM WILL BE JACOPO CERUTTI AND HIS APRILIA TUAREG, DOMINATORS IN DAKAR
• GREAT CHAMPIONS, LED BY SIX-TIME WORLD CHAMPION MAX BIAGGI, WILL ENTERTAIN IN THE ALL STARS RACE, A TEAM RACE, WITH LE MANS STYLE START AND RIDER CHANGE

AND LOTS OF BIKES, FREE TEST RIDES, EVENTS, ENTERTAINMENT, AND MUSIC BY RADIO DEEJAY FOR A CELEBRATION UNDER THE BANNER OF PASSION AND LOVE FOR MOTORSPORTS

Noale – The Aprilia All Stars event is less than three weeks away, the huge Aprilia festival – one of the most eagerly awaited events by motorsport fans – and the programme is beginning to take shape of a day which promises to be unique, with bikes and champions, adrenaline-charged shows, and entertainment for fans and families.

And those who will be in Misano will have a fabulous opportunity to reward their passion for bikes: at the end of the day an Aprilia RS 457 will be given away in a drawing. This is the new sport bike from Aprilia, which is the synthesis of Aprilia design and technology, intended for the utmost fun on the track and on the road.

The event is scheduled for Saturday, 8 June, at the Misano World Circuit. It will be an extraordinary and entirely free festival where those in attendance will be able to have an up-close look at the magnificent Aprilia RS-GP machines which compete in MotoGP and to meet the Aprilia Racing riders, both from the Factory Team and Team Track House: Aleix Espargaró, Maverick Viñales, Lorenzo Savadori, Miguel Oliveira, and Raul Fernandez.

Champions who will be protagonists, not only on track but, in classic Aprilia All Stars tradition, who will also join the numerous fans in the paddock to celebrate Aprilia, the most victorious European brand with the most wins in World Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing, at 298 GP triumphs. Joining them will also be the great champions of Aprilia history, led by six-time world champion Max Biaggi.

There will also be plenty of room for the offroad, with the queen of the desert, Aprilia Tuareg, dominator in the Africa Eco Race, and the entire off-road team, including riders Jacopo Cerutti and Francesco Montanari, who will meet their fans in the joyous and informal atmosphere of the Italian paddock.

And to have these truly unique and exclusive experiences, go online to APRILIA.COM, where you can already purchase breathtaking experiences such as:
– A lap around the track on a two-seater bike with an Aprilia MotoGP rider at the controls
– A tour through the MotoGP garage to learn all the secrets, led by Aprilia Racing technicians
– A meet & greet with the riders, to hear the tales of MotoGP straight from the mouths of Aleix Espargaró, Maverick Viñales, Miguel Oliveira, Raul Fernandez, and Lorenzo Savadori
– Lunch in the Aprilia Racing Hospitality area with the MotoGP riders and the Aprilia Racing team.

The big news for the 2024 edition is the All Stars Race, a challenge between champions which will combine competition with great fun. All the Aprilia Racing riders, from the MotoGP stars all the way to the Offroad aces, will be on the track to compete in an extremely special race astride the Aprilia RS 660 Extrema. Each rider will race in a pair with one of the guests who will be providing entertainment at the Aprilia All Stars event – champions who have written pages in Aprilia sports history, well-known faces from the entertainment and motorsports world – will be forming unprecedented teams, combinations which, thanks in part to the Le Mans style start and the spectacular rider change, promise to result in a balanced and thrilling racing experience.

As always, Aprilia All Stars will be an all-around festival, for enthusiasts, groups of friends, and for entire families. The paddock will be constantly abuzz with fabulous test rides, to put the range of Aprilia bikes through their paces on the local Italian streets – all free of charge – and with the Racing Museum, with the racing bikes that built the Aprilia legend, ready to unleash the scream of their 2T engines on the track, a must-hear symphony for any fan.

Music by Radio DeeJay will provide the soundtrack for an event that will be full of initiatives, such as the “Aprilia seen from the East” exhibit, with the spectacular photos of Japanese photographer Aki Kusudo, a full immersion in the racing world which tells the story of Aprilia’s work in the MotoGP world championship.

There will also be plenty of room for eSports, shopping dedicated to apparel and Aprilia Racing merchandising, food areas, and much more.

And, at the end of the day, when the rumble of the MotoGP and historic 2T bikes fade, the Misano track will belong to all the bikers on their Aprilias, for the traditional final parade.