Man stranded in desert builds motorcycle out of dead car

[308Mike]

A total McGuyver project, serious McGuyver skills!! (I tip my hat to his creativeness):

Man stranded in desert builds motorcycle out of his broken car
By Jeremy Korzeniewski RSS feed | Posted May 23rd 2012 2:01PM


Image from HERE.

According to Merriam-Webster, ingenuity can be defined as "skill or cleverness in devising or combining" or "cleverness or aptness of design or contrivance." We'd say that's an apt description of a Frenchman named Emile who reportedly found himself stranded in the deserts of Northwest Africa after breaking a frame rail and a suspension swingarm underneath his Citroën 2CV.

What to do? Why, disassemble the broken hulk and build yourself a motorcycle from its pile of parts, of course! As the story goes, Emile was able to use the inventive machine to escape the desert, though not before convincing the local authorities that he wasn't an insurgent and paying a fine for importing a non-conforming vehicle...

Since Emile was the only soul in the area, nobody has been able to confirm the veracity of the events that led to the little French runabout's conversion into a makeshift motorcycle. That said, judging by the images you can see here (apparently from the March 2003 issue of 2CV Magazine), this Citroën-bred two-wheeler does indeed exist, and it was definitely fashioned from parts scavenged from an old 2CV.

Emile, wherever you are, we take our hats off to your real-life MacGyver skills, sir.

[Catbird]

I saw this on Instapundit a couple of days ago. I'm sure that he cannibilized an old Citroen to build his bike, but I seriously doubt that it was done while he was stranded out in the desert. If he was stranded, it was probably in a small town with access to a garage and power tools and he either couldn't bum a ride or didn't want to wait for the next bus.

[Rich]

Hell, with a Citroen 2CV you're more than halfway there.

[Flintlock Tom]

I'm not buying it.
He could completely build a new vehicle, but he couldn't repair the broken parts on his car?

[Wrenchbender1]

If I was roasting in the desert, I probably wouldn't take the time to fabricate a kickstand.

[Kommander]

You guys concerns with the validity of the article are dealt with in this thread. I thinks it's kinda funny how the exact same concerns were raised in both threads.

[Catbird]

After reading the Google translation of the whole article, I've changed my mind. I can see how he could have done it and probably did with a hacksaw, a hammer and punch to make holes, and a basic assortment of wrenches.

What I don't get is what he was doing in the area in the first place, since the local military/law enforcement didn't seem to want him there. The story said he could have walked the distance back, but didn't want to abandon the vehicle to scavengers. He also seemed to be working very hard to recover the bike and the remains of the car.

This happened many years ago. I wonder why we're just hearing about this now. Maybe he's promoting a book or something.

[blackeagle603]

There's a steady stream of adventure tourists and migrants trying to transit Africa. Just read Investment Biker by Jim Rogers. This calls to mind that book. It rings true of his adventures traveling north to south and jibes with my experiences traveling remote Bolivia and Ecuador in the late 70's.