He certainly did build it, but its less clear if he was really in peril and may have gone to Morocco specifically to try this stunt.
He got a traffic violation ticket and a fine of around 450€ for "nature of vehicle not in accordance with registration/import documents" (to be fair exactly the same would happen anywhere in Europe to anyone who tried this on a public road)
https://sahara-overland.com/2017/08/05/the-2cv-motorcycle-survival-story/