Sjaak Lucassen (born October 2, 1961) is a Dutch long-distance motorcycle rider.

Travels

Between 1995 and 1998 he traveled on a

Honda Fireblade The Honda Fireblade is a family of sport motorcycles manufactured by Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has bee ...

and then between 2001 and 2006 he traveled around the world on a

Yamaha YZF-R1 The Yamaha YZF-R1, or simply R1, is a -class sports motorcycle made by Yamaha. It was first released in 1998, undergoing significant updates in 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2015, 2018

, nicknamed Florentina. One journalist deemed the Yamaha

sportbike A sport bike (sports motorcycle, or sports bike) is a motorcycle designed and optimized for speed, acceleration, braking, and cornering on asphalt concrete race tracks and roads. They are mainly designed for performance at the expense of comfor ...

to be "by its nature" inappropriate for the journey's demands of "off-road traveling, desert and deep water crossing". His solo travels of the 2000s are documented in the film ''Sjaak the World'' and the book ''Life on 2 wheels'' written by Lucassen. A trip from Florida to Alaska with German long-distance rider Doris Wiedemann beginning January 2009 was documented in her 2010 book, ''Winter Ride to Alaska: By Motorcycle from Florida to the Shore of the Arctic Ocean''. In March–April 2013, Lucassen rode from

Barrow, Alaska Utqiagvik ( ik, Utqiaġvik; , , formerly known as Barrow ()) is the borough seat and largest city of the North Slope Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Located north of the Arctic Circle, it is one of the northernmost cities and towns in th ...

to Key West, Florida, starting with traversal over sea ice and frozen tundra from Barrow to Nuiqsut, towing a

sledge A sled, skid, sledge, or sleigh is a land vehicle that slides across a surface, usually of ice or snow. It is built with either a smooth underside or a separate body supported by two or more smooth, relatively narrow, longitudinal runners s ...

part way. In a 2012 interview for the

Royal Dutch Touring Club The Royal Dutch Touring Club ANWB (), known simply as ANWB (), is a travelers' association in the Netherlands, supporting all modes of travel. It provides test reports, travel services and roadside assistance and is comparable to the German '' A ...

, Lucassen reckoned he had spent ten years of his life journeying in the saddle of a motorcycle. Around 2015, Sjaak announced he planned to make another harrowing trip on a

, this time a custom build version, nicknamed ''aRctic1''. He is planning to ride his R1 to the Northpole, starting from

Anchorage Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S ...

. Currently he is in the process of building his custom R1, including air suspension, by which he can raise and lower the bike some 10 inches, a 330mm front tyre from Avon and an even wider fully custom made rear tyre. Also the aRctic1 carries an onboard compressor for inflating and deflating the tyres.

Documentation

Books and film

* * * — Nominated best documentary feature at Black Hills film festival 2011

Speaking

Lucassen was an invited speaker at the

German Globetrotter Club The ''Deutsche Zentrale für Globetrotter'' (DZG, in English the "German Globetrotter Club") is the largest non-commercial community of adventure travelers with about 800 members in 23 countries in Europe. It is the oldest Globetrotters Club after ...

's 2009 and 2013 '' Globetrottertreffen'' rallies in Austria.

Notes

References

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External links

* * from

Clymer Manuals Clymer repair manuals are repair manuals that often focus on power sport vehicles such as motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, personal water craft, and snowmobiles. Clymer also has several books dedicated to small engines and "outdoor power equip ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lucassen, Sjaak Long-distance motorcycle riders 1961 births Dutch motorsport people People from Boxmeer Sportspeople from North Brabant Motorcycle touring writers Living people 20th-century Dutch people