Long Way Up - Charley and Ewan goes electric

[Fuzzy Muzzy]

What a bloody farce! What are they going to prove?

They should try the long way up Africa, without any back up vehicles or spare batteries, relying only on existing recharge facilities. 

Now that would prove just how much "more suited" the bikes are to adventure riding. 

I don't understand these comments.. what exactly is a farce? We have 2 adventure riders who get sponsored bikes, sponsored a team to organise the ride, sponsored kit, communication equipment, video filming and editing.. I mean, we all know how it works, so what is the problem? I know of plenty of guys who have done the long way up but they can hardly produce a ride report, at least with all these backup vehicles and team we get to experience the riding as a series.. whats wrong with that?

Who says they need to prove anything to anyone? maybe they just doing it for the love of adventure travelling, even if they doing it for the money, fame, recognition or for noddy badges. So what, why do people have to try knock them down?

Who says that an adventure is without a support crew? If someone climbs Everest with a support crew they are still on an adventure that they have trained for? you dont see everyone crying because they didnt climb it without support. Who defined an adventure on a bike as one without spares? If I go on an adventure ride and I take spare tubes, is it now less of an adventure in your eyes? Why should they go up Africa ? why cant they have an adventure where they want it?

In the Long Way Down they took arguably the best adventure bike produced, no matter how much they tried to convince people of those bikes suitability it didnt stop the armchair adventure riders complaining about everything from how many crew went along, to the fact that they stayed in places not shown in the series, to spare parts being flown out etc..

No matter what they do, there will be 2000 okes typing away on forums about what a farce it is, or how unsuitable the bikes are, or why, in their opinion it doesnt constitute an adventure

At the end of the day they are going on the adventure and we are not.

[BuRP]

Ja wel nou ma fine, be all as it may, just a few things:

- they got & get it right to have others sponsor their biking holidays
- they've put the GS on the worldmap and thus have been instrumental to the now well-cemented reputation of these 'offroad' behemoths ...
- ... for which KTM still kicks themselves silly for because they used their right to refusal first
- ... and now HalfDaft (sorry @Halfdaft , this ain't you lol) tries to do same with so-called zero emission bikes - well, the bikes will be, hardly the fuel-guzzling backup roadtrain

That ain't a bad record methinks!
Anybody wants to sponsor my trips perhaps?
I'd like to go to and ride in Peru, Vietnam, Argentina and some other far locations, let's discuss my pampering underway plus some other details ......... 

[LouisXander]

Burpie, sorry to disappoint you, but you have a face for radio! You'll never be sponsored!! 

Sent from my Grrr proof phone using Tapatalk

[Plaasseun]

Fuzzy Muzzy ek stem met jou saam.

Een van die dinge wat ek love van hierdie forum is almal se positiewe opmerkings wanneer dit kom by ride reports, maak nie saak of jy in 'n gastehuis slaap of 'n backup voertuig het nie, almal is altyd positiief en opbouend oor die trips. Ride Reports haal die Role of Honour met back up voertuie en alles. Ek love dit!!!

Daarom vind ek dit so vreemd dat Charley en Evan so uitgehaal word op hierdie forum, waarom kan ons nie dieselfde goedhartigheid aan hulle bewys as teenoor ons mede wilddogs op hierdie forum nie?

Ek is amper seker daarvan as een van daardie 2 forumlede was en 'n ride report geskryf het was daar net positiewe opmerkings.

Mense bly maar soms vir my vreemd

[Grunder]

What a bloody farce! What are they going to prove?

They should try the long way up Africa, without any back up vehicles or spare batteries, relying only on existing recharge facilities. 

Now that would prove just how much "more suited" the bikes are to adventure riding. 

I don't understand these comments.. what exactly is a farce? We have 2 adventure riders who get sponsored bikes, sponsored a team to organise the ride, sponsored kit, communication equipment, video filming and editing.. I mean, we all know how it works, so what is the problem? I know of plenty of guys who have done the long way up but they can hardly produce a ride report, at least with all these backup vehicles and team we get to experience the riding as a series.. whats wrong with that?

Who says they need to prove anything to anyone? maybe they just doing it for the love of adventure travelling, even if they doing it for the money, fame, recognition or for noddy badges. So what, why do people have to try knock them down?

Who says that an adventure is without a support crew? If someone climbs Everest with a support crew they are still on an adventure that they have trained for? you dont see everyone crying because they didnt climb it without support. Who defined an adventure on a bike as one without spares? If I go on an adventure ride and I take spare tubes, is it now less of an adventure in your eyes? Why should they go up Africa ? why cant they have an adventure where they want it?

In the Long Way Down they took arguably the best adventure bike produced, no matter how much they tried to convince people of those bikes suitability it didnt stop the armchair adventure riders complaining about everything from how many crew went along, to the fact that they stayed in places not shown in the series, to spare parts being flown out etc..

No matter what they do, there will be 2000 okes typing away on forums about what a farce it is, or how unsuitable the bikes are, or why, in their opinion it doesnt constitute an adventure

At the end of the day they are going on the adventure and we are not.

Agree 100%

Unfortunately whenever the names Ewan and Charlie pops up in conversations eyes start rolling   

It's getting Farc(k)e-ing old man!!

[mikelawry]

My comment previously was not particularly a negative based reply but , just a thought out loud.
Personally i enjoyed their series and only watched the complete long way down about 3 weeks ago in one day and really enjoyed it , specially the pre prep that one also in any event on a trip does maybe not that scale but i am not doing that distance.
Should be interesting , as stated like their way of doing things and then also the way that Lyndon Poskit does, thus its all about getting our there on the bike and enjoying life !

[RobC]

 

[2StrokeDan]

As julle glo dat Sylvester Stallone werklik man-alleen in Vietnam [en Amerika] teen oorweldigende magte baklei het, is Chewan-hulle vir jou.

Dit is n farce.

Net soos daai snotkop dogtertjie wat seil oor die oseaan, omdat sy nie die omgewing met straalvliegtuie wil skaad nie. Maar dan vlieg al haar ondersteunings mense tog wel oor.

Gelukkig het Harley ja gese, anders het Charles weer snot en trane gehuil.

[Lem]

I think this is a bloody good move from Ewan & Charley, their production team and especially Harley Davidson.

Their previous series & books inspired hundreds of thousands wannabe adventure riders to the whole lifestyle. Without them & their proper documentary several vendors on this forum would not have existed. Without the clients of these said vendors an armgat like me would never be able to afford such lekker bikes on the second hand market. Hell, even this forum would have been 20% of the size & footprint it has. That was all more than 15 years ago, which means that the average client of the motorcycle industry who still harks back to those times are also 15 years older than then.

Hybrid & electric cars have been around for many years and after all our beloved carburettor running thumpers have been discontinued this technology is the future of our sport.

We all know that Harley Davidson is in deep trouble for the simple reason that their average age of buyer is just under 100.

I therefore believe that this series will appeal to a new market segment when it comes to sales & accessories and us old fart purists will also enjoy the show because it's all about the trip & the places covered on the journey. And we know from a production point of view that job will be done well...not with a cellphone camera & dictaphone like that show on ignition 189. 

It will also point out the current shortcomings of electric vehicles & how the infrastructure for travelling electric can be improved in rapid time 

I liked what Jay Leno said on Top Gear a few years ago when the hydrogen powered Honda Clarity was discussed. He said that the car was the saviour of the horse. It made the horse something that could be enjoyed on a recreational level and not just for work purposes. Maybe the further development of electric cars & bikes will be the saviour of our petrol powered cars & bikes in the same way. 

[Fransw]

All good, but only 100mile range..

[Lem]

All good, but only 100mile range..

That is also the furthest Henry Cole rides every third day of his trips...and he is on petrol powered KTMs...whenever he is not in the camera crew's Discovery 4 due to the KTM being broken. 

And most of us still enjoys his show 

[THROTTLE JOCKEY]

All good, but only 100mile range..

I am sure they well aware of this and will have every possible way of charging these beasts the whole way up. Neatly packed away in the 10 vehicle backup that WE ALL NORMALLY HAVE. So whats the problem here, absolutely nothing as said above they are doing what we not and we must envy and praise them.

Please note my sarcasm. So NO! I will respect, envy and praise the person big or small on a big or small bike that silently goes on a trip thats for him an adventure, his/hers epic trip again and again with little or nothing, without shouting from the roof tops on how tough it was or how good they are for conquering the so called unknown. That quiet man in the corner who knows but says little. That will be my hero. We have a few right here on our forum, a example of one without mentioning names, a man that because of his age now rides with a side car. Really rides travels far and wide, turns down the offers of accommodation and stealth camps. Disappears for lengths of time. Now that my friends needs a TV show. One I could look at in awe a man among men that gets respect without asking. 


 

[Warren Ellwood]

They are going on a holiday, riding bikes, seeing new places and probably making a ton of money in the process so

[Grrrr....]

Jissus okes!

Have you seen this?!!!!1!!

[THROTTLE JOCKEY]

They are going on a holiday, riding bikes, seeing new places and probably making a ton of money in the process so

I agree 100% and have no problem with that. I have (and I assume thats most of the other peoples issues) a problem with how they have portrayed their past trips. If they set out projecting "going on a holiday, riding bikes, seeing new places and probably making a ton of money in the process". Then hats off enjoy. But hay who am I to dictate its just my opinion. I hate people who talk with fork tongue behind smoke and mirrors while the audience claps in appreciation. But hay thats me clearly entertainment takes priority in this case.

[Grrrr....]

I just hope Ewan leaves his fucking wife at home.

[THROTTLE JOCKEY]

I just hope Ewan leaves his fucking wife at home.

No ways. Its a paid family holiday.!

[Grrrr....]

I just hope Ewan leaves his fucking wife at home.

No ways. Its a paid family holiday.!

That is the main reason I disliked 'Down'... his fucking wife was such a jarring addition.

That and they spent one day riding in South Africa. From the Namibian border slabbing it all the way to Agulhas (?)...

But good luck to them. I wish somebody paid me to ride a bike. Speaking of... what happened to Harlequin's Discovery series? 

[2StrokeDan]

They are going on a holiday, riding bikes, seeing new places and probably making a ton of money in the process so

Now I hate them even more.

[TheBear]

They are going on a holiday, riding bikes, seeing new places and probably making a ton of money in the process so

Now I hate them even more.

 

Inderdaad.