KATJA & MARIUS: @MOTOGETHER / @EXPEDITION.DIRT
By Paul Strubell of Dirt Orca’s – 8/13/18
For the eighty sixth installment in our ongoing interview series here at Dirt Orca’s, we are very excited to share the story of Katja and Marius. A German couple who are prepping for a global motorcycle adventure in 2019. You may know them as @expedition.dirt or previously @motogether.
I started following the adventures of Katja and Marius on Instagram back when they were exploring Europe on their Honda Africa Twins. I recommend checking out their gallery and giving them a follow. Or if you are into Facebook, they have a page there as well.
As great as social media can be to stay connected to people your are interested in, it does have it’s limitations on how much one can offer their followers, so I think it’s important to check the source from time to time and go to an actual website. Motogether.de is a great one. You’ll find information on the their upcoming trip, great photos to fuel your own adventure ideas, the companies they have partnered with, and the bikes they have chosen for the trip.
I have personally enjoyed following the adventures of Marius and Katja, so I am particularly invested in their upcoming global adventure, scheduled to begin in the Spring of 2019. If their past is any indication, this will certainly be worth staying tuned into.
Check out our interview and their photography below.
What do you do for work?
Katja works as an IT administrator in the finance sector. Marius is a marketing consultant for a company located in Cologne.
Tell me about your (Year, Make, model) bikes. What do you call them?
We both have a Honda CRF250 Rally from 2017, we love them but we did not name them.
What other vehicles did you consider and what made you ultimately pull the trigger on the one you bought?
Since we plan a multi-year trip around the world, we want to live as long as possible from our savings and have therefore searched for cheap and reliable motorcycles. On the shortlist were the Suzuki DRZ400, Yamaha WR250R, KTM 690, Honda CRF250 L and the CRF250 Rally. Since the DRZ400 was built in Germany only until 2008, they are relatively rare and the used prices are quite high. Also, the used prices of the few-offered WR250R were as high as the new price of a CRF250 Rally. The KTM 690 is a strong and great motorcycle and was our first choice but especially with the older, affordable models you have to be a good mechanic. All in all, the CRF250 Rally is a fuel-efficient, relatively cheap and reliable motorcycle.
Have you made any upgrades or changes to them?
You could say we changed a bit to make the bike adventure-ready.
– Hyperpro suspension
– Renthal handlebar
– Barkbusters handguards
– heated grips
– SeatConcepts seat
– Arrow exhaust
– DRC tail tidy
– 13t sprocket
– new tires
– luggage rack
What is your favorite part about it living/working out of your motorcycle?
We are really looking forward to be living out of our motorcycles from April 2019 on. Our longest trip so far was riding the Balkans this summer. What we love about traveling with our motorcycles is pitching our tent in remote places, meeting new people along the road, riding trails and leaving behind the 9-5 lifestyle.
What is your least favorite part about it?
Being exposed to the weather can be tough sometimes and the whole packing and unpacking can be really annoying.
How many kilometers have you put on your bikes?
About 8000 kilometers.
What is the best place you have taken them?
We haven’t seen much of this world by now, but Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro were very impressive.
Is there just one?
There can’t be just one. Especially when we imagine all the beautiful places we are going to visit in the future!
Favorite road you’ve driven?
If we had to decide today, it would be the SH21 in Albania, direction Theth.
In one word, what describes your approach to life?
Change
If you could give a person one piece of advice when thinking about living from a motorcycle, what would you tell them?
Take your time and pack less.
It takes a special kind of person to recognize that the journey, not the destination, is the point of life. Travelers know this. Was there a point in your life where you became conscious that you were those kind of people?
We would not call ourselves special, we just couldn’t imagine sitting in the office the rest of our lives just to pay the bills. This is not our idea of a happy life which is why we can’t wait for our world trip to start.
You have found a strong place in the community of travelers. What values do you think your home or family instilled in you, that you take on the road?
To be respectful, open-minded and curious.
I admire your outside the box approach to career and home. Do you see yourselves as people who took a leap of faith to live in an unconventional way or do you think it kind of just happened?
It kind of just happened when we began to travel by motorcycle, we just wanted to see more of the world. Life is short, we don’t want to look back one day regret not having tried it.
Where do you want to go next?
Right now we are preparing our world trip, which starts in April 2019. We will start in Germany direction East, then down to Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand. After that the plan is to travel the Americas.
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