A look into the record-breaking attempt by Grisu Grizzly in riding around the world with a Victory Cross Country.
His real name is Urs Pedraita. But in the motorcycle distance riding community, the Swiss motorcycle fanatic is known simply as Grisu Grizzly. He is the first Victory Cross Country owner attempting a solo ride around the globe in less than 100 riding days – the record currently stands at 120 riding days.
We were fortunate enough to meet him and his trusted Victory Cross Country at Victory Malaysia HQ in Petaling Jaya recently where we got to find out more about his attempt to be in the record books. Grisu kicked off his epic journey from Daytona Beach, Florida earlier this year on March 11th.
The Victory Cross Country is powered by a 1,731 cc, four-stroke 50-degree V Twin counter-balanced and fuel injected engine that develops 143.7Nm of torque and is mated on a 6-speed transmission.
He admits that this bike is designed to ride on well-paved highways without breaking a sweat. But he is confident that this American bike will ride on any terrain, be it mud, ice, desert and more. Grisu wants to prove a point that Victory bikes can be ridden anywhere.
There was no major modification made to Grisu’s Victory for this solo ride. The only changes here were the modified seat and increased fuel tank that now accommodates 15 litres more than the stock unit’s 22-litre figure – 37 litres in total now. And whilst charting across snow-covered roads and paths, Grisu only replaces the standard wheels by one inch that’s shod with spiked tyres.
When we spoke to him, his challenge was riding non-stop and taking very little breaks to meet his deadline of less than 100 days. “It is mentally and physically challenging. What motivates me is the world record,” said the Swiss when we spoke to him recently. On average, Grisu only puts in about two to three hours of sleep a day during his ride; this is to ensure that he breaks the world record.
The Victory Cross Country was his bike of choice because of the low center gravity and agility it offers despite the huge size of the machine – it measures 2,650mm long and weighs it at about 345kg dry. Most importantly, the bike is very reliable; giving Grisu all the confidence he needs to achieve this incredible feat where many can only dream of undertaking.
Grisu needs to ride across all six continents in a solo ride – alone and without a service crew accomapanying him – in less than 100 riding days. So far, Grisu and his Victory Cross Country have completed his ride across Central- and South America, Australia, Africa, Europe and Asia.
He is now on his last leg where he will be retuning back to the ride’s starting point in Daytona Beach. At the time of writing, Grisu has clocked up a total riding distance of 60,809 km.
You can keep track of the progress made by Grisu Grizzly and his Victory Cross Country online at grizzlyraceteam.ch and through his Facebook page as well.
(Images supplied by Victory Motorcycles Malaysia)
