Motorcycle author and adventure bike rider Sam Manicom has just returned from his latest trip, this time to the Bosnian capital Sarajevo, and again he completed it on Avon Tyres.
Sam, who has completed numerous adventure rides and written four books about his experiences has been a long time user of the Avon Gripster, which offers a great mix of “security and longevity” on the wide variety of road surfaces he faces on his travels.
This time Sam and his partner Birgit decided to undertake an adventure which would inspire other riders to follow in their footsteps, with it being more accessible to those on a two to three week break. They decided on Sarajevo because of the city’s past, which has been as fascinating as it has been dramatic.
Sam rides his 1992 BMW R80GS which now has more than 265,000 miles on the clock, whilst Birgit has a 1984 BMW R80ST.
En route to Sarajevo the couple travelled across France from Cherbourg, and then headed across Italy and into Slovenia, stopping at the city of Trieste. Hugging the coastline of Croatia the couple suffered a breakdown as well as an accident, but thankfully no injuries!
The Bosnian roads tested their skills and their bikes on a mix of immaculate highways sharply contrasted with gravel cornered country roads full of potholes. Of the tyre Sam said:
“The Gripster lives up to its name. When you are on a long distance overlanding adventure you need a tyre that’s going to give you good mileage and that will cope with as many of the road conditions you are going to come across as possible. That can range from tarmac to potholed tarmac, to gravel, sand and mud. No tyre is going to be perfect for all of those conditions, so you look for a tyre that will work for most of them. For me, that’s the Avon Gripster.”
