My motorcycle interest started already at the age of 7 when I got my first 50 cc motocross. Back then, most of the riding was done at home on the farm, with the addition of some workouts on the motocross track. 50 cc became 80 cc, moped, light MC and at 18 years of age I bought my first big bike, a Honda XR 600 -86. The XR changed quite soon to a road bike, and the interest in MC meets took off instead.
In 1997, two friends and I got the brilliant idea to ship our motorcycles from Gothenburg to Fremantle in Australia and travel around the entire country. The trip was carried out on a Cagiva 900 Elephant and in hindsight it might not have been the best bike for such a trip. We experienced everything from cyclones to Ayers Rock during 3 months, with 2300 miles in the saddle. That trip made me realize that big motorcycles with a lot of horsepower are not always the best option and my interest in enduro began.
In 2002, it was time for the next big trip. Me and my former partner sold everything we had to embark on the journey of our lives. The planned itinerary was Bali-Australia-New Zealand and Ecuador.
In Australia we got work at High Country Horses, a company running guided horse tours. High Country Horses is located in a small village called Merrijig, about 200 km northeast of Melbourne.The landscape where the horse rides take place is incredibly beautiful with everything from rolling cattle hills and river crossings to mountain ranges.
During this time, I became friends with Brett Lane who operated High Country Motorcycles. He ran guided MC tours and I started working for him as a Sweep rider and driver of the support car. When the winter came (believe it or not but we were based half an hours drive from one of Australia's largest ski resorts, Mount Buller) I left the cold behind and got a job at Weipa Motorcycles in Cape York. I took my run down Ford Falcon and traveled 3,500 km to get there, then and worked as a MC guide among crocodiles and venomous snakes for 3-4 months before returning for the next season in The High Country.
The Australian visa lasted only one year, so when the year came to an end I traveled on to New Zealand. Here I spent a couple of months backpacking around the country before returning home to Sweden again. When I came home I had two goals:
My first aim was to invest wholeheartedly in enduro and see how far I could go while the second goal was to start up my own guided MC tours.
A tour was organised and run a few times with friends and sponsors, but all my time went to training and racing enduro so the tours were put on the backburner. Competing in enduro has been heaps of fun even though I never became a professional. The merit list includes a number of completed Gotland Grand National and Swedish Championships as well as two starts in Novemberkåsan. I'm still competing but only for fun.
In 2016, I bought a KTM 640 Adventure and realised how much I have missed riding (dirt roads and motorcycle touring), so I decided to start up the MC tours. Meanwhile, I will cut back on the enduro riding...
Everything has its time!
Morgan Karlsson
