VéloSoleXes on Iceland!

The Giant Centipedes are heading for Iceland this summer! Plans of Russia and further ventures in the East are abandoned for now, as the volcano of Eyafjallajökul is fuming and blasting somewhere in the Northern hemisphere.

The ol' SoleXes are leaving Copenhagen in the dark hours of July 11th, hoping to catch the Iceland-bound ferry in Western Jutland on the 13th. As for what happens then, no one knows.

Grinding on!

SoleX Büggi!

Once again, the Dutch show unprecedented engineering skills, this time with a buggy, or, to judge by the pronounciation of the cameraman/builder, a "büggi".

Although the Giant Centipedes aren't thinking of joining the responsibilities of fatherhood just yet, this would make a fitting Christmas present:

Grindfest '09!

The video from this year's gutsmashing, sleeptrashing VéloSoleX-tour. Denmark, Germany, Poland, Czech and back:

For those who haven't seen it yet, here's the Stuka Tour:



 ... straight from a world of grind.

Steve McQueen, 24 hours VeloSoleX-driver spills it.

"When you're racing, it's life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting." - Steve McQueen, Le Mans (1971)



With this memorable quote, the king of cool sets things straight in the cruel world of 24 hours racing. Even though the film is mostly about Porsches and Ferraris, the famous line goes beyond racing with gas pedals, seat belts and four wheels.

McQueen, a reknown motorcyclist, was riding some quality French gear during the filming of Le Mans, as seen on these pictures:

Giant Centipedes don't take lightly on an endorsement from racing icon #1, hence our banner at the top of this site.

"When you're grinding, it's life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting." - Giant Centipedes, 2009

SoleX-crash of the month!

This month's VeloSoleX-crash is a 2006 classic from the French Rock'n Solex festival, a student festival offering a delicate, but not very novel, combo of SoleX-races and rock acts.

This video is actually an extended version, showing the crash from several angles:


"What ... what are you doing? Grinding me?!"

Pimp My SoleX, Superman!

Danish superhero 'Duksedrengen' is here seen riding his supercharged silver sparkle VéloSoleX whilst bashing Copenhagen scum:


The tv series Duksedrengen set Danish tv sets afire in the late 80’s featuring a fast SoleX and signature good guy/bad punk dichotomy whose like had not been seen since WWII.

In 2002, the series inspired a Comic book telling the tale of French moped superiority to a much younger generation:

We are yet to see Warner Bros. picking up on the idea and presenting Christian Bale with a BatSoleX 5000 in 2011.

"Duksedrengen. Bringing SoleX to the masses since 1989."

This SoleX be trippin'!

Finally, the black 5000, Sarte Sara, has reclaimed its rightful place in the GC-register, now listed under 'grindworthy'. Having fitted the black beauty with a not-so-bent flywheel, gently sanded and readjusted the breaker points, we were getting ready for some good ol' SoleXin', but still, the engine wasn't party-prone.

The error turned out to be the spark plug. Somehow, the centre electrode had problems making it all work out with the ground electrode, so a new and harmonic spark plug was found, and as a result, tonnes of torque rained down on the Giant Centipedes.

The only thing missing now is that the Vélo be equipped with razor-sharp javelin-like spinners that can bring justice to the punks who dared stealing her on that cursed September night.

- "Grind him in the groin, I say!"

French Sibling-in-Arms - part deux

Stopping by the French world tourers' FB-page, we found a few pictures we wanted to share.
These photos reek of sheer class and explorer's spirit:

Don't sleep. Grind.

VéloSoleX-touring: Siblings-in-Arms attempt to cross the world!

We are both glad and mad to see that there is serious Vélo-touring competition in the world. French Ophelie and Paul-Henri Vanthournout are right now taking on an immense journey, planning to visit more than 20 countries on their fierce 3800's:

A picture taken of the two globetrotters in Spain before they leave for South America:

Their site avelosolex.com is available in French, Spanish and English and, as far as their English posts go, they're now hitting the roads of Chile.

Crossing the Andes supposedly was a hassle with less than one Hp and a fine selection of heavy spare parts and outdoor equipment!

We salute these French siblings and will keep this site updated with news from the world-touring grindermen.