Long way Around, Up and Elec-tric

[Motociclista]

I have been watching the Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman series.
On one side .. in the first series, the "way Around, "they really got through some difficult rides. Russia was a bear!
But also, what an incredible support team they had.
But .. where did they get gas in Mongolia/Russia?

Anyway, I envy them because of the opportunity they had.

 

[cabanza]

I think the first 3-4 episodes are the best. The Andes are incredible. The crossing of Mexico and the ride across the desert to Los Angeles was whatever.

 

[TonyKZ1]

When I saw the first one (Long Way Around?) towards the end when they arrived in the U.S. I kinda expected more videos of riding here. It seemed like once they got to the U.S., then now we're in New York and it's over. Wait.. What? Yes, it makes you wonder where they got fuel sometimes in the remote areas.

Their support team was great, I don't think they could have made it without them, especially on the Long Way Up when they were riding the Electric Harleys.

 

[FLrider]

Their Russian fixers had fuel for the bikes and their support vehicles, largely kept out of sight btw.... While there are plenty of small villages around, not everyone may have fuel all the time. I can think of a few occasions that a few towns in the Yukon were out too.... I also found the book better than the video series of Long Way around.... YMMV

 

[matty]

Mixed conclusions on the Way round and up and down Trilogy. The First one was the best IMo, and yet it was born out of Fate in a way and events did show that that fate had dealt the trip a hard blow.
The Wish for a KTM fell through and the BMWs were the bikes they were given, and time would prove the weight was not exactly ... how can i put it desirable.
And yet fate revealed that when cloudios BMW bit the dust, the Procurement of a humble IZH planeta 5. 350cc , Which showed how a lighter simpler bike worked well in such conditions.
Long way round was kind of watchable, it was serialized on tv and i remember looking forward to the next episode.
The second one Long way down, was a bit of an anti climax for me, and the touchy feely angle of the trip leaving family etc just dowsed any flicker i had for the series. OK leaving kids wives etc, its a thing, ok acepted but it seemed labored and again in my opinion was over emphasized throughout the series.
The Lectric Harley one, Just never sparked any interest at all in me. the whole idea just left me cold.
Not sure we will ever see a long distance trip of the long way magnitude on mainstream media again. But we will get the likes of the youtubers and such with their adventures, so sifting through the mass of those might reveal a true gem . for me the autin vince mondo enduro trip was awesome amd acctualy humourous and entertaining, plus it was done on way more suitable bikes too. Awesome and it predated the long way trips.






Sorry But Long way round was OKish but the rest IMHO Its a thumbs down from this old Northern greaser. .

 

[Motociclista]

Mixed conclusions on the Way round and up and down Trilogy. The First one was the best IMo, and yet it was born out of Fate in a way and events did show that that fate had dealt the trip a hard blow.
The Wish for a KTM fell through and the BMWs were the bikes they were given, and time would prove the weight was not exactly ... how can i put it desirable.
And yet fate revealed that when cloudios BMW bit the dust, the Procurement of a humble IZH planeta 5. 350cc , Which showed how a lighter simpler bike worked well in such conditions.
Long way round was kind of watchable, it was serialized on tv and i remember looking forward to the next episode.
The second one Long way down, was a bit of an anti climax for me, and the touchy feely angle of the trip leaving family etc just dowsed any flicker i had for the series. OK leaving kids wives etc, its a thing, ok acepted but it seemed labored and again in my opinion was over emphasized throughout the series.
The Lectric Harley one, Just never sparked any interest at all in me. the whole idea just left me cold.
Not sure we will ever see a long distance trip of the long way magnitude on mainstream media again. But we will get the likes of the youtubers and such with their adventures, so sifting through the mass of those might reveal a true gem . for me the autin vince mondo enduro trip was awesome amd acctualy humourous and entertaining, plus it was done on way more suitable bikes too. Awesome and it predated the long way trips.






Sorry But Long way round was OKish but the rest IMHO Its a thumbs down from this old Northern greaser. .

A few months back I bought a 2004 R1150R BMW.
Always had Italian-brand bikes ... guess why wink/wink ...
I found the BMW to be a car on 2 wheels, with great engineering but heavy. I can't imagine dealing with a GSA fully loaded on mud etc.
I share the same thoughts you had about the series.

 

[Amos Malone]

Mixed conclusions on the Way round and up and down Trilogy. The First one was the best IMo, and yet it was born out of Fate in a way and events did show that that fate had dealt the trip a hard blow.
The Wish for a KTM fell through and the BMWs were the bikes they were given, and time would prove the weight was not exactly ... how can i put it desirable.
And yet fate revealed that when cloudios BMW bit the dust, the Procurement of a humble IZH planeta 5. 350cc , Which showed how a lighter simpler bike worked well in such conditions.
Long way round was kind of watchable, it was serialized on tv and i remember looking forward to the next episode.
The second one Long way down, was a bit of an anti climax for me, and the touchy feely angle of the trip leaving family etc just dowsed any flicker i had for the series. OK leaving kids wives etc, its a thing, ok acepted but it seemed labored and again in my opinion was over emphasized throughout the series.
The Lectric Harley one, Just never sparked any interest at all in me. the whole idea just left me cold.
Not sure we will ever see a long distance trip of the long way magnitude on mainstream media again. But we will get the likes of the youtubers and such with their adventures, so sifting through the mass of those might reveal a true gem . for me the autin vince mondo enduro trip was awesome amd acctualy humourous and entertaining, plus it was done on way more suitable bikes too. Awesome and it predated the long way trips.






Sorry But Long way round was OKish but the rest IMHO Its a thumbs down from this old Northern greaser. .

Love his Tarp Tutorial.

 

[matty]

Re the Long way round! A question for you all.
If KTM had agreed to give EWAN Charley and Cloudio Lets say a Trio of KTM 600 ( Were they the 525s back then) class singles.
Could this possibly have reshaped the ADV bike scene and steered it away from the big laviathon 1200s we see today.?
I realise LWR did not exclusively shape ADV Biking , but it did have a influence it must be said .

 

[Motociclista]

Re the Long way round! A question for you all.
If KTM had agreed to give EWAN Charley and Cloudio Lets say a Trio of KTM 600 ( Were they the 525s back then) class singles.
Could this possibly have reshaped the ADV bike scene and steered it away from the big laviathon 1200s we see today.?
I realise LWR did not exclusively shape ADV Biking , but it did have a influence it must be said .

I think so ... the whole series was a huge marketing for BMW

 

[matty]

I think so ... the whole series was a huge marketing for BMW

I believe it did no harm to BMW lets put it that way.
And i dare say KTM in hindsight recognize they missed an opportunity in not providing bikes .

 

[skibum69]

I'm sure they would have gone for 950's if KTM had of stepped up. And I'm sure KTM has been kicking themselves ever since too.

 

[FLrider]

^

 

[Motociclista]

The BMW is roughly 60 kg - 140LBS heavier than the KTM. GSA -vs- KTM 950
The BMWs are nice ... but heavy bikes.
PS: I could bring in my Ducati Multistrada in the garage one-handed ... the BMW requires help from 22 people. LOL

 

[John56]

The BMW is roughly 60 kg - 140LBS heavier than the KTM. GSA -vs- KTM 950
The BMWs are nice ... but heavy bikes.
PS: I could bring in my Ducati Multistrada in the garage one-handed ... the BMW requires help from 22 people. LOL

Holy crap you must be weak by nature. I move my 1250 gsa with full metal panniers by myself all the time, and at 67, well past my prime.

 

[Shinyribs]

I never finished watching the first one. When the one millionaire was throwing an absolute temper tantrum because KTM wouldn't give him free bikes... embarrassing. Lost interest and turned it off then.

 

[Shinyribs]

Holy crap you must be weak by nature. I move my 1250 gsa with full metal panniers by myself all the time, and at 67, well past my prime.

Cool 💪

Pretty sure he was joking about 22 people. Even for something as awkwardly wide as a GSA, you can't  really get 22 pairs of hands on it.

 

[Shinyribs]

Could this possibly have reshaped the ADV bike scene and steered it away from the big laviathon 1200s we see today.?

I can't imagine any other reason why some noob would look at a $25,000 BMW with huge boxer cylinders poking out both sides and think: " yeah, that's a dirt bike"

 

[matty]

I can't imagine any other reason why some noob would look at a $25,000 BMW with huge boxer cylinders poking out both sides and think: " yeah, that's a dirt bike"

Put like that Long way round is probably Guilty as charged.

 

[ZoomerP]

Long Way Down was free to watch on some service I had, so I gave it a try. Ewan was annoying, moreso his soon-to-be ex, and most annoying of all was Charley. Watching self-absorbed people winge about and act like a prat isn't for me.

I gave up after two episodes and went back to Noraly.

 

[matty]

Have to post this random thought re weight of big ADVs. As a 14 year old Kid had a Royal enfield Constellation 700cc (692cc iirc, an ex side car hauler complete with lower geeared sprockets for the chair work i kept for acceleration. It was heavy for my 9 stone wet through weight and it needed the big handlebars to boss the 400lbs is monster about on the grass and gravel . But i / we learned a lot from that bike it was about 45 hp probably but was a torque monster with its long stroke engine and fussy TT carburetor. I enjoyed the grunt it was for a kid addictive and it got abused and was a good looking and perfect show off play bike.
But fast forward 10 years i am 25 and a Yamaha XS1100 a 1978 on the road but took it up tracks on gravel and its power was vastly increased but with it the weight too, at a shade over 600lbs iirc. Ok i was ok on it off road up to a point and way stronger and heavier at 6 foot and 12 stone and more experience even than yet the 600lbs was just too much physical mass it was not so much the ballance i coped fine with that it was just a pig and if it was tracking in a rut it just followed no matter how you shifted your weight and tried to power out of it it just went and there was little if anything you could input to save the day in such circumstances.
I bellieve the practical physical mass of a bike you use on the loose/ rough really is better at about the 400lbs weight, if you go over that it may still be rideable up to a point but IMHO its no way as much fun as lighter and regardless of your tallent you wont perform as well as on a 400lb or less bike. YONV its just my own take on proceedings thats all.