Mongol Rally

Blog Entry #3: Our Suzuki Passed Inspection (No, Really!)

With just **three months** to go until we embark on the Mongol Rally 2025, the impossible has happened: our mighty Suzuki Wagon R+ somehow passed its vehicle inspection.

We know what you're thinking: *"But didn't that tiny blue shoebox have like… ten serious faults last inspection?"* Yes, dear readers, it did. In fact, our inspection remarks read less like a checklist and more like a mechanic’s existential crisis. Issues included (but were definitely not limited to):

✅ Brakes (turns out you need those)

✅ Engine (it’s supposed to make those noises, right?)

✅ Lights (apparently darkness isn't an acceptable driving condition)

✅ Mounting of fuel tank (important if you don't want explosions, we've heard)

✅ Wheel alignment (straight-ish is close enough)

After many long nights spent in a garage with questionable tools, questionable skills, and even more questionable beverages, we’ve managed to bring our beloved Suzuki back from the brink. Against all odds—and basic mechanical logic—this brave little vehicle is officially deemed roadworthy.

Here’s photographic proof: three proud Swedes posing with what can only be described as the automotive equivalent of stubbornness.

Now the real fun begins. Can our Suzuki Wagon R+ handle 10,000 miles, endless potholes, and multiple international borders? Probably not. But that's exactly why we chose it.

Stay tuned as we prep the car with even more questionable modifications, totally necessary decals, and accessories that may or may not fall off at the first speed bump.

Only one way to find out if it will survive—by driving it straight towards Mongolia.

Adventure awaits! 🚗🔥

- Team Firetire

Feel like helping us out? Donate to our gofundme: https://www.gofundme.com/f/3-guys-1-scrap-car-and-a-mission-to-save-the-planet

A sourdough specialist: who knows that fermentation is both an art and a science. Can make Minecraft bread irl.

An automotive engineer: can tell the difference between a turbo and an alternator. Knows where the dipstick is.

A map data integrator: who sees the world in contours and coordinates. Keeps the map away from Swiper!

A dairy farmer: who understands that the best work starts before sunrise. Ask him about his grass podcast.

Different paths, one journey.

We are a close-knit group of friends from the West Midlands, brought together by our shared passion for cars and adventure. Our journey began at Harper Adams University (for three of us), where we instantly connected over our love for the open road. Over the years, we've embarked on incredible road trips, including the iconic North Coast 500. Between us we have completed the 3 Peak Challenge, Wild Atlantic Way and bumbling around New Zealand in a camper that drank too much oil for a Toyota. Now, we're ready to take on the ultimate challenge, an epic journey spanning two continents.

🚗 Meet the Chariot of Chaos: Our Renault Clio Grand Tourer for the Mongol Rally! 🚗

Behold! A car so unsuitable for a 10,000-mile adventure that it might actually be perfect. Powered by a 73-horsepower D4F engine, we may be lucky to see 60mph within three business days. Team No Half Sends is stuffing four people and all our worldly belongings into this glorious tin can and sending it hurtling across Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia.

💀 Will it break down? Almost certainly.

💨 Will we suffer? Absolutely.

🌍 Will it be the greatest adventure of our lives? No half sends – FULL SEND.

Proving out our tin can, we took it on a mighty fine dependability run from the top of Scotland to the depths of Cornwall. We almost survived, surprisingly the car did too.

https://www.instagram.com/nohalfsends2025/

We're the Mad Ones on Motorbikes

You know the deal. No set route, no backup, and definitely no guarantees. The Mongol Rally is chaos, and we're not just embracing it—we're riding straight into it on 125cc motorbikes. Because cars? Too easy. We want pain, poor decisions, and stories that'll leave scars (both physical and mental).

We're aiming to join the even smaller, slightly more unhinged rank of those who have dared to complete the rally on motorbikes. It's a badge of madness that few wear, and we're gunning for it with full throttle and zero common sense.

We're currently deep in prep mode—wrangling bikes that would rather be scrap metal, figuring out how not to end up as desert decorations, and filming every misstep for our upcoming YouTube series. Expect laughs, questionable decisions, and the kind of chaos only two idiots on tiny bikes can deliver.

But it's not all about self-inflicted suffering. We're riding for Yellow Wellies, supporting mental health in agriculture. Because if farmers can tackle the daily grind of feeding the nation, we can tackle a few thousand miles of mayhem.

Join the Madness

Follow the Chaos: Subscribe and catch every wild moment on our YouTube channel.

https://www.youtube.com/@AlmostHairyBikers

Share the Love: Got friends who love watching people make terrible life choices? Send them our way.

We're not here to play it safe. We're here to ride, push limits, and probably wonder what the hell we were thinking—just to make a difference.

This is adventure. This is chaos. This is the Mongol Rally on motorbikes.

What could possibly go wrong?

Hi there we are two-man-team from the United kingom. We are getting very excited for the rally this year and would love to meet some of our fellow adventurists before we get going. Who's preparing for the mighty expedition?

This is Gavin. Gavin is a 2010 Fiat Panda with 120k miles experience, though he drives like he's fresh off the lot.

Gavin hopes he makes it to the far reaches of Kazakhstan, but he's not sure he will...

Team Swiss Masters  - we are going to start the blog by begin of Mai 2025

Hey we are a Swiss-Two-Man-Team and are glad to be in this ultimate adventure !!

Blog Entry #2: Meet "Staffan" the Beast – Our Mighty Suzuki Wagon R

Ladies and gentlemen, let us introduce you to the real star of Team Firetire’s Mongol Rally 2025 – our trusty steed, a Suzuki Wagon R.

Yes, you read that right. While some teams roll into this adventure with rugged off-road machines or old-school rally icons, we decided to take on the Mongol Rally in this tiny blue shoebox on wheels.

Why the Wagon R?

Because we believe in the underdog. This little beast has:

✅ A mighty 1.3L engine (probably producing all of 70 horsepower on a good day).

✅ Enough cargo space to fit… well, barely enough for three Swedes and their questionable life choices.

✅ The aerodynamics of a brick, ensuring we’ll never go too fast for our own safety.

✅ Character – and plenty of it.

Can it Survive the Mongol Rally?

Honestly? Probably not. But that’s the beauty of it! The Mongol Rally is all about pushing a completely inappropriate vehicle to its absolute limit, and our Wagon R is peak inappropriateness.

This car wasn’t built to cross deserts, survive potholes the size of Sweden, or ford rivers in the middle of nowhere. But will that stop us? Absolutely not. We’ll strap on extra fuel cans, tweak whatever we can, and send it straight into the unknown.

The Plan

We’ll be giving the Wagon R a proper rally transformation in the coming months, including:

Lifting it slightly (or at least pretending to).

Adding skid plates to stop sharp rocks from killing our oil pan.

Mounting a roof rack for essential supplies (like beer and spare parts).

Sticking ridiculous decals on it so it looks like it belongs in an apocalypse movie.

Follow the Journey

We’ll be documenting every ridiculous modification, every breakdown, and every sketchy roadside repair as we take this little blue warrior across continents.

Will the Suzuki Wagon R make it to Mongolia? Or will it explode in a glorious puff of blue smoke somewhere in the Kazakh steppe? Only time will tell.

Stay tuned – this is going to be one hell of a ride.

🚗🔥 - Team Firetire