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Man, stranded in the desert, makes a motorcycle from his broken car
- zoidb 14y agowould be awesome if it was true
- bnegreve 14y agoWhat makes you think it is fake ?
- unimpressive 14y agoThe motorcycle may be real, but the story is bull. 12 days. In the desert. I doubt this dude keeps two weeks of water in his trunk.
- brohee 14y agoThis was near Tan-Tan in Morocco, a coastal area likely not completely dry (can see some trees on satellite photos). https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Tan-tan&ll=28.357568,-10.946503&spn=0.671922,1.499634&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=36.505383,95.976562&t=h&hnear=Tan-Tan,+Guelmim-Es+Semara,+Maroc&z=10 https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Tan-tan&ll=28.357568,-10.... One having 12 days of drinking water in his trunk is anything but shocking for the area. Also the motorcycle ain't awesome at all, only one gear with a crappy transmission, making it a barely practical contraption.
- debacle 14y agoIt's very likely that it's fake. It's very difficult to survive in the desert for twelve days, even if you have adequate water, let alone survive and find the energy to build a motorcycle, as rudimentary as this one might be. Finally, in a few of the pictures the supposed engineer of this contraption is shown in a thong. I don't know about you, but if I were in an arid place the last thing I would want is my skin exposed to sun and the air. It may be a real motorcycle, and that's cool, but it's very unlikely it was built under the conditions discussed in this article.
- todsul 14y ago"It's very difficult to survive in the desert for twelve days..." My co-founder survived in the Desert for 52 days after crossing the Gobi Desert entirely on foot in 2011. Not all deserts are 50C every day and explorers can be quite hardy. Also, they often wear clothes to cover all extremities, including gloves to cover fingers.
- debacle 14y agoNot all deserts are 50C every day, but all deserts are dry.
- mkr-hn 14y agoDeserts have water, but most of it is stored in plants and underground. It's near a coast too: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4007858 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4007858
- saraid216 14y agoHe had supplies with him. He wasn't living off the land.
- plink 14y agoYes, after eating his photographer he called the front desk to extend his stay until the licence plate and kickstand were assembled.
- vacri 14y agoDeserts don't get much rain, but they still have rivers. Some rivers are seasonal[1], others permanent, and all you need is some chlorine tablets and you have a decent supply of water if one is nearby. Also, if he was concerned about theft by the locals, that means that there were other people around from whom he could have obtained water and food. EDIT: It seems that this did happen right next to a river [2] [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henley-on-Todd_Regatta http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henley-on-Todd_Regatta [2] http://chameaudacier.free.fr/bato1.html http://chameaudacier.free.fr/bato1.html
- maak 14y agoAgree. The motorcycle may well exist, but it certainly wasn't constructed by a man stranded in the desert. Not plausible.
- Estragon 14y agoYes. Also, would he really have bothered to attach a kickstand to it, in an emergency like that?
- grego 14y agoThe thing weighted about 200kg, so the stand was there so that he would not have to lift it up. Also, at no point it was really an emergency as he had ample rations.
- pavel_lishin 14y agoIt wasn't really an emergency. He had plenty of supplies, and was only a few kilometers away from the nearest town. This is as much of an emergency as your car breaking down on the trip from Dallas to Austin.
- ovi256 14y agoI see no reason why it can't be true. He left equiped for a long distance desert trip (raid). He had water and food for more than two weeks. At no point was his life in danger. His car broke down several dozen kilometers from a town, and he knew that. He chose not to go back on foot, because he didn't find that fun, and he wanted to have fun. He's a mechanic and tinkerer, went there on holiday, the military turned him around, so he found something else to do: build a motorbike. In a subsequent trip he turned the same car model (Citroen 2CV) into a floating barge, just to cross a river. He could have crossed that river farther away in a multitude of ways, but this is his idea of fun. tl;dr: guy can walk back to civilization in a day or two after his car breaks down in Morocco, he chooses to build a motorcycle from car parts instead. Why? For fun. Edit: I feel that reading the full story on the original site (in French) dispels much of the doubt.
- S_A_P 14y agoI'm having trouble believing that one person can accomplish this in 12 days with few tools could disassemble a car and build something even remotely drive-able without a welding torch, engine jack, and countless other tools. Was he stranded in the desert in the way that I imagine?(no water, sand dunes everywhere) Or did he end up in some desert town that had basic facilities for him to do this type of work? Even the most skilled machinist would have a tough time doing this. Seems implausible.
- gouranga 14y agoA Citroen 2CV is pretty much tinfoil with an engine attached. It's definitely feasible even with hand tools. With respect to survival, if you head into a desert, you take supplies galore. The 12 days was probably due to the heat so you can only work at dusk/dawn and seek shelter during the day to conserve water/rations. 2CV is very simple and can carry a lot of stuff. It's nearly ideal. I take a 72 hour pack and am happy doing 50mi+ on foot if i go more than 10mi from home after a couple of experiences being stranded in rural areas in the UK. Imagine what that guy was carrying in the desert!
- AkThhhpppt 14y agoIt's stated that he didn't have to go far; one of the reasons he didn't just abandon the car and walk was the amount of tools that he'd be leaving behind to be stolen, so...
- kghose 14y agoAlso, I would like to add to the general skepticism. A kick stand? Really?
- GigabyteCoin 14y agoHe even took the time to attach a license plate again: http://chameaudacier.free.fr/moto3.html http://chameaudacier.free.fr/moto3.html Something tells me this was planned.
- brohee 14y agoYou really got to read it in French to get it. The "kick stand" really is the tank filling tube, repurposed.
- rokhayakebe 14y agoBy the way, it seems he used the reverse gear, which means there would be no need to shift.
- ComputerGuru 14y agoIf I'm not mistaken, the only reason you don't have to shift a reverse gear is just because there's only one of it (you're not supposed to be able to do 150mph in reverse in a car that can do 150mph normally). If you had a one-speed car, you wouldn't have to shift gears if you were in "forward," either.
- vladsanchez 14y agoTotal BS until proven true. Refer it to "Myth-Busters"!
- xd 14y agoWhen I was young, I really really wanted a motorbike and at the same time my dad collected 2CVs which for some I would strip for parts .. this guy would have been my hero back then.
- leftnode 14y agoThe man just happened to be named Tony Stark.
- cellis 14y agoReminds me of Flight of The Phoenix more than Iron Man
- robomartin 14y agoI hope Myth Busters read HN. This would be a good one: Can you take a 2CV and turn it into a motorcycle and river-crossing barge.
- xd 14y ago2CVs where the first cars I ever stripped apart .. you can see in the pictures where he has one of the drive shaft brake hubs strapped up and the other side is placed in direct contact with the wheel to drive it .. simply genius. No question this is real and would work .. however the jury is out on it being constructed in the desert in 12 days .. but I'd put my money on it being true.
- wazoox 14y agoThe concept of transmission by friction with the tire comes directly from the Solex, another highly hackable vehicle that any young Frenchman born between 1930 and 1980 would be quite used to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solex http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solex
- astrodust 14y agoThey could build a bike like that on Junkyard Wars in less than two commercial breaks. Granted, they do have all the equipment they need...
- drostie 14y agoI didn't see it on their forum, so I submitted it there, under the "Historical 'Fact' Myths" section. With hope it will make it into next season.
- Splines 14y agoTurns on Mythbusters Narrarator: On this episode of Mythbusters... Adam shouts: I can't believe it works! cut to build team blowing up unrelated object Turns TV off Well, that answers that question.
- Luc 14y agoSupposing it's a true story, here's the region where he took his 2CV off-road: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=agadir&hl=en&ll=28.294103,-10.991135&spn=0.549587,0.611115&sll=33.85217,-4.801025&sspn=8.289195,9.777832&t=h&hnear=Agadir,+Agadir-Ida-Ou+Tanane+Province,+Souss-Massa-Draa,+Morocco&z=11 http://maps.google.com/maps?q=agadir&hl=en&ll=28.294... Looks deserty to me! Plus, his 2CV was loaded with tools, and they are really quite simple mechanically....
- antidoh 14y agoWas the guy an RC motorcycle designer?
- studio816 14y ago+1 for a true hacker!
- bryanlarsen 14y agovladsanchez is right, but he's been hell-banned, so I'll rephrase his comment: This is the sort of thing that would make a great Mythbusters episode.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- obilgic 14y agolol, one simply can't move that engine by himself...
- brohee 14y agoWeakling. A 2CV motor is at most (later versions with 600cm3 motor) 66kg heavy. See https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moteur_de_Citro%C3%ABn_2CV https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moteur_de_Citro%C3%ABn_2CV
- nicholassmith 14y agoI understand why people are calling 'hoax' on it, but it is really possible, especially given that area of Morocco has an average temp of about 18C according to the internet. If he built himself a shade from the shell as the first stage he'd be pretty good for surviving the aspects of dehydration. Plus anyone who's ever been near a 2CV know you could probably drill through the metal with a pencil if you tried hard enough. Edit: some more info on why it's possible. - 2CV weighs roughly 560kg, they were built to save weight all round so the body panels, frame work and mechanical components were built 'light' (read thin, no carbon fibre here). - The engine will have been heavy, but it's a relatively small simple block, it won't have been easy but "give me a fulcrum and I will move the world". It's doable, I'm pretty sure if I bug the petrol heads I know I'll find one who's done it on something similar or tell me how it's done. Edit: brohee (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4008052 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4008052) posts that the engine is 66kg, which isn't super ridiculously heavy. Find someone who's around that weight and see if you can pick them up. - If you're going on a desert holiday, taking water is a smart idea. 14 days water would be about 8/9 gallons for a man weighing 12 stone (I think, unless the 'recommended minimum water per day' calculation I found is useless). That seems like a lot, it's about 4 of the jugs used on water coolers, so he might have rationed it out and had less. To round it off for you naysayers: http://citcity.citroen1.info/2CV/water.htm http://citcity.citroen1.info/2CV/water.htm if multiple people can make boats out of them to race about a local lake there's every possibility someone could figure out how to make a bike. (and yes, I'm locked into a 2CV research spiral now)
- einhverfr 14y agoI was right with you until I started thinking about cooling the engine down and little things like that. I concluded that if you took the engine block from a car to do this, you'd end up with something looking like a cross between a motorcycle and a lorry....
- rjsw 14y agoThe engine in a 2CV is aircooled.
- screwt 14y agoFor all the people expressing doubt, please: - read the original story [1], in full. Google translate is your friend if you can't read French. - find out a bit more about the 2CV car before commenting. It really is a very simple vehicle. Ovi256's explanation [2] also gives a bit more context. This story is emminently believable. And an impressive hack! [1] http://chameaudacier.free.fr/moto2.html http://chameaudacier.free.fr/moto2.html [2] http://news.ycombinator.org/item?id=4007857 http://news.ycombinator.org/item?id=4007857
- periferral 14y agoCredibility of this is very doubtful indeed. Even if the 2CV was easy to deal with mechanically, the task of doing this in itself is a challenge in the middle of the desert. Add to that he didn't plan on breaking down and had tools + food/water to last him the trip. Then you take the precision of the work itself. He even bothered to add a license plate and he managed to level it as well.
- djbender 14y agoI want to believe.
- drone 14y agoThe part that sets off my incredulity here is that the whole purpose was "he had a lot of tools that he didn't want to get stolen." I have a hard time believing that bike can hold more tools than one could carry, or otherwise drag with a simple sled.
- einhverfr 14y agoThe picture suggests to me that the "bike" if you could call it that is actually more of a two-wheeled open car. The changes are remarkably minor. I suspect it could hold the tools just fine.
- sbmassey 14y agoEven more amazingly, he made a boat from another broken 2CV on another occasion in Africa. My, those 2CV's sure do break a lot. http://chameaudacier.free.fr/bato1.html http://chameaudacier.free.fr/bato1.html
- giardini 14y agoI'm starting to get the picture here. Emil Leray just happens to serendipitously have the tools available to convert a 2CV to whatever he needs at the moment. I thought we would have to wait for nanotechnology for this to happen, but apparently Citroen got there first with the 2CV. I think we've found the solution for lunar colonization: we'll launch Emile into a moon orbit with 5 or 6 2CVs and let him figure it out from there. Only downside: official language of the moon will be French.
- ktizo 14y agoThis has already occurred, is just that the French are keeping it secret until they have finished the final alignment checks on the giant laser. I think they plan to unveil it for the London Olympics by burning the words Vive la France onto Boris Johnson live on TV during the opening ceremony.
- aqme28 14y agoThe 2CV is the modern-day transformer. It just took us a couple of years (and also a full set of tools and a whole lot of talent) to find out.
- schme 14y agoIn this light this article is obviously fabricated, but I don't understand what people are so worked up about even without this information. It makes a nice story and that's what media does, nice stories. At this day and age I think people should have enough mediareading-skills and sceptisism that colouring a story would be an assumption, not a shock.
- noonespecial 14y agoIf happen to have the tools to turn you car into a friggin' motor bike in the middle of the desert, wouldn't it have been easier just to fix whatever went wrong on the car in the first place?
- AkThhhpppt 14y agoThe swing arm and one of the two main structural parts of the chassis broke. He'd want to have a welder with him.
- screwt 14y agoWell if you read one of the original articles, you'll find out why.
- ktizo 14y agoBut possibly a lot less entertaining.
- xd 14y agoFrom memory the 2CV had brake drums attached to the gearboxs differential CV shafts, you can see this in the pictures and he has strapped one up which puts all power into the other side allowing him to drive the wheel by placing the brake drum in direct contact with the wheel. Later version of the 2CV had discs .. I wonder if it would have been possibly if he had that configuration.
- frontier 14y agoWhen I read this I just thought (assuming he couldn't just Macgyver the original problem) why didn't he just dig a hole, bury the 'expensive' tools, walk back to civilization, buy the spare part, return, fix, dig up tools, be on his way!
- astrodust 14y agoThere's no spare part when you break the frame of a car. Burying is probably an option, as was probably just pushing the damned car the 10km distance (<1km a day over twelve days). Then again, he did think, in classic programmer units, that it would take only "three days" to make it work.
- waivej 14y agoI have to admit, I had a shred of doubt. Though I can see myself doing this exact project. I would absolutely add the kick stand and license plate. He probably also wanted to make it look cool. Camping in the desert isn't outrageous either. Anyone that's spent a week at Burning Man tinkering with art cars and construction projects can appreciate the challenge. You're there with a partial tool kit, enough water for 10-12 days, and appetite for a creative project. The one thing out of my comfort is the "war zone".
- waivej 14y agoIt looks like it would perform very poorly (a bit like a recumbent tricycle project I abandoned.) It has a really long wheelbase and a lot of weight up high. I bet the steering was less than ideal too. I wonder if he would have been better off keeping the front axle/engine assembly intact and adding a single trailing wheel.
- waivej 14y agoBTW, this would be an awesome event. Everyone camps in a desert with a 2CV (or collection of parts) take a week and have a race/parade back to some location.
- kaybe 14y agoThis event has a similar spirit: http://www.4ltrophy.com/ http://www.4ltrophy.com/ (french) / http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4L_Trophy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4L_Trophy They're using Renault 4s, and it's not mainly about hacking, but still.
- seanp2k2 14y agoAs a long-time fan of Junkyard Wars, I approve :)
- georgieporgie 14y agoThe part that made me dubious was that he had sufficient hacksaw blades and a rat-tail file, but no hand drill. I'm having a hard time thinking of why one would pack blades and a file, but no drill... But hey, I figure this is the type of guy who knowingly puts himself into risky situations with sub-par transportation for the sake of testing his own resourcefulness. I do that sort of thing, too.
- wisty 14y agoThis was 1993. Battery powered hand drills may not have been so common. They certainly wouldn't have been so cheap.
- ars 14y agoHand drill: http://www.garrettwade.com/a-real-solid-hand-drill/p/89B04.01/ http://www.garrettwade.com/a-real-solid-hand-drill/p/89B04.0... They are human powered.
- matthiasb 14y agoThe guy actually got a ticket for riding a vehicle which is not conform with the local legislation ;-) http://chameaudacier.free.fr/pv.jpg http://chameaudacier.free.fr/pv.jpg That pic is so funny, don't miss it: http://chameaudacier.free.fr/moto8.html http://chameaudacier.free.fr/moto8.html That would be a great subject for analysis by the owner of this blog I like to read: http://www.hackerfactor.com/blog/ http://www.hackerfactor.com/blog/
- sparknlaunch12 14y agoLooks like something out of Mad Max or Water World. It sounds like a hoax just by the fact - why didn't the guy just fix the car instead of building a motorcycle? Also, don't think he followed the desert survival guide (1): "Stay as hydrated as possible before going out. Take along food that packs the most nutrition in the least size and weight. Wear wicking fabrics with a UPF of at least 30 as a base layer, and take along one warming layer (wool or fleece) and one windbreak layer. Many deserts are prone to dust storms - protect yourself. Travel at night when possible. Try to stay as warm as possible at night. Be wary of nocturnal animals that can harm you." Typically you are meant to stay with the vehicle. http://www.wikihow.com/Survive-in-the-Desert http://www.wikihow.com/Survive-in-the-Desert
- elorant 14y agoMacGyver would be jealous!
- Aissen 14y agoSo, I'm a french native and I read the story. Here are simple facts: - it's from 2003, and at the time all the magazines were talking about it - I don't remember it. - the guy was a few tens of kilometers of a city/village — he could have come back on foot in less than a day, but chose to stay to protect his car (haha ! ;-)) and his equipment. - He had lots of resources (food/water), so he decided to stay, and build the project he probably have been dreaming for a long time. - the guy wasn't a newbie in mechanics and knew the car (a very well known french brand) by heart. He also happened to have all the tools necessary in his car.
- Timothee 14y agoCorrection: the events took place in 1993 but it was published in 2003. (see http://chameaudacier.free.fr/moto1.html http://chameaudacier.free.fr/moto1.html)
- Killah911 14y agoIt's also interesting to note that the entire motorcycle looks like a large driveshaft. This is straight up BS. putting in a tranny that doesn't belong in a certain type of car id pain in the butt enough. Unless this guy was traveling with a pack of Snap-On trucks & a mobile mechanic shop, this would be impossible, not to mention an utterly stupid thing to do, no matter how much of a "petrol-head" you are. The only part of the article that has any validity to it is the citroen breaking. Apparently that can happen if you look at it wrong...
- wizzard 14y agoThank you for these clarifications. When I read the summary my only thought was that his life was a bit more important than any tools he was trying to protect. This gives it more context.
- zephjc 14y agoI like how he supposedly did it to prevent his car from being vandalized. I don't think vandals could do much worse to it than what he did. A cool project, but there's no reason to dress it up in a BS story.
- 14y ago
- Steko 14y agoA lot of people seem to be extrapolating "stranded in the desert" into a scene out of Survivorman or some Hollywood movie or The Little Prince. Alternate title: "Mechanic camps not far town, repurposes broken car as motorcycle"
- ken 14y agoWhat makes it seem fantastical is not the facts of the story itself, but that it's so similar to the plot of a 1965 Jimmie Stewart movie -- and seems to make no mention of this.
- Freestyler_3 14y agoIf that picture above article is the motorcycle...then that guy sure didnt build it to survive.... I mean why would you need a standard??? (im reffering to the thing that keeps it standing straight) that doesn't work well in sand either,
- tif 14y agoThere's a (very short) video of someone riding it near the bottom of this page on the adventure rider forums: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=773613 http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=773613