Trust Me! A Kriega Film
 

Trust Me!... is a brand new Kriega film. We spoke to the man behind it, Greg Gilson

 
 

Trust Me! follows Greg Gilson and Simon Chapelet as they attempt to ride a pair of modified 1980s Honda 125s over what the locals regard to be an impassable route of Morocco’s Atlas Mountains.

We’ve been following Greg, the self-proclaimed Small CC Savage, for a while now and interviewed him for our website earlier this year (read it here).

The adventure rides and hardcore rally raids he attempts on his modified 44-year-old 125 trail bike are astonishing, but this challenge raises the bar again.

After watching Trust Me! we asked Greg what motorcycle might have been better to attempt this route to the top of the Tichka Pass.

‘Honestly? I don’t know,’ he says. ‘Even a KTM 300cc two-stroke, a great bike for this kind of terrain, has a seat that’s too high. When your feet can’t touch the ground and you’re riding near cliffs, that’s super sketchy. The 125 XLS might be old and underpowered, but in the mountains it's like a goat! Agile and fearless.’

Simon is a world class downhill mountain bike rider, and he borrowed one of Greg’s fleet of rental bikes. ‘Simon’s bike is a 1981 Honda 125 XR, which is almost the same as mine, I ride a 1980 125 XLS. The main difference is in the engine: I have a competition engine with a 185cc big-bore kit, while Simon’s bike runs a 165cc kit. Mine has more power but less torque and, honestly, for this kind of adventure, Simon’s 165cc worked better.’

It's no surprise that Greg had a couple of tumbles during the attempt. After one he rushes to lift the bike to see if a rock has cracked the Honda’s engine cover. ‘I’m always really scared of breaking an engine cover, because it can mean losing hours or ending the trip entirely. It happened to me once, and many times to my customers because these bikes sit low. The XLS is especially vulnerable.’

Some slang is included that we had to ask Greg to explain. We know ‘crème anglaise’ means ‘custard’, but why are you saying it?

‘Haha! Pied anglais means English foot, and is the name of a pivot turn, a U-turn with a wheelie. So when I tell Simon, “There will be a lot of pied anglais, he answers “Oh nice I like Crème anglaise." It’s just our usual offbeat humour.’

The film is a mix of footage caught by a cameraman, some by drone and plenty of GoPro, because, Greg explains, ‘Bringing a cameraman and drone operator to the Yagour Plateau? Totally impossible. It’s 50km of terrain that’s basically inaccessible unless you have a helicopter or a week with a donkey.’

Greg and Simon’s adventure has caused a stir with the villagers who live in this area of the Atlas Mountains, ‘The locals are still talking about “The two guys who climbed Tichka on motorbikes like goats,”’ says Greg. ‘They even call me “Tahat” now, it means goat in the Amazigh language.’

Kriega is celebrating 25 years of innovation, design and manufacture of specialist motorcycle luggage. Formed in 2000, and still based in North Wales, our products have continually set the industry benchmark for quality and ruggedness, balancing strength and lightness to serve the most demanding, high-mileage riders.

 
Gary InmanComment