The "Long Way" series -more harm than good?

[Boon Booni]

Originally Posted by swingset

I was inspired by the series, no doubt about it. But, I didn't rush out to buy a $20,000 German tractor because of it. Lots of people did just like me, and simply got on a bike because the series reminded them of the possibility of adventure in that manner, no more no less.

I'm on a Vstrom and a TTR250 and an XRL because of Charley & Ewan. I'd wager that plenty more people just like me have made our hobby better without the help of Touratech or a roundel. They didn't invent my love of adventure riding, they just awoke it again.

And, I loved the series, all of them. I don't resent them, or think less of them, or view them with scorn. In fact, I think both guys are decent and pleasant freely admit they were lucky to be in the position they were.

My Ewan & Charley.



I blame Helge for doing more damage to the activity of off-road riding than any other book ever released.

[WHYNOWTHEN]

If you don't like it, don't watch it. My wife watched it with me. We both loved the shows, and we were able to dream of a traveling future. Then we bought a big KTM which we love and are able to use unsupported.
You sad desk jockeys are just jealous that you don't get to go on long FREE trips. The only time that you should complain about someone's bike being too big and heavy is if you have to help them pick it up
Stop whining! Go ride! In fact, go ride with your wife!

[PirateJohn]

Originally Posted by swingset

I'm on a Vstrom and a TTR250 and an XRL because of Charley & Ewan. I'd wager that plenty more people just like me have made our hobby better without the help of Touratech or a roundel. They didn't invent my love of adventure riding, they just awoke it again.

So get your ass into gear Dood! Riding to Cincinnati or Paducah isn't a big deal.

[PirateJohn]

Originally Posted by Gramps

I blame Helge for doing more damage to the activity of off-road riding than any other book ever released.

Helge sat next to me at a dinner following a BMW photoshoot and I have to say that he's a great guy.

[Reryder]

My favourite part of Long Way Round was when their cameraman broke his BMW in half and had to buy one of those horrible 250cc Russian two stroke bikes that looks like a CZ from the 1970s, which look like a DKW from the 1940s..

Then he proceded to skate over the mud that the BMW "adventure bikes" were getting bogged down in. he was having much more fun and making much more progress. Showing just how "equipment envy" has hit RTW biking. You dont need the BMW tractors, 10 feet tall and weighing half a tonne. In fact, they are a hindrance.

There is a bloke doing it on a 110cc Honda postie bike in the Ride Reports section right now, and another on a rigid Harley chopper. Much more sensible choices for RTW rides.

And just reading Ted Simon's new book Jupiter Revisited, his (older) BMW was too tall, too heavy and too clumsy. He fell off and broke his leg. Then did away with the huge panniers and stopped filling the huge gas tank up all the time and did much better.

Did much better on his much more basic, and smaller 500cc Triumph in '73.

[DAKEZ]

When I watched The Blair Witch Project I thought it was a comedy.

It was laughable watching them argue over the map.


LWR/LWD same thing.

It was meant to be serious but it was laughable.

That is not a slam on Charlie and Ewan. It is what happens to any City boy when put into the wild.

[laukkanen]

Originally Posted by DAKEZ

That is not a slam on Charlie and Ewan. It is what happens to any City boy when put into the wild.

Definitely laughable what they did at many points, but hopefully it brings more 'city boys' out of their element to see how amazing things in this world really are outside of what man has created.

[I GS 1]

Originally Posted by Reryder

My favourite part of Long Way Round was when their cameraman broke his BMW in half and had to buy one of those horrible 250cc Russian two stroke bikes that looks like a CZ from the 1970s, which look like a DKW from the 1940s..

Then he proceded to skate over the mud that the BMW "adventure bikes" were getting bogged down in. he was having much more fun and making much more progress. Showing just how "equipment envy" has hit RTW biking. You dont need the BMW tractors, 10 feet tall and weighing half a tonne. In fact, they are a hindrance.

There is a bloke doing it on a 110cc Honda postie bike in the Ride Reports section right now, and another on a rigid Harley chopper. Much more sensible choices for RTW rides.

And just reading Ted Simon's new book Jupiter Revisited, his (older) BMW was too tall, too heavy and too clumsy. He fell off and broke his leg. Then did away with the huge panniers and stopped filling the huge gas tank up all the time and did much better.

Did much better on his much more basic, and smaller 500cc Triumph in '73.

There are also guys and girls doing the ride down through Africa on mountainbikes right now - if I follow your line of reasoning, that should be an even more sensible choice

Don't people ride bikes and do trips for many different reasons?

[VFR_firefly]

Originally Posted by Reryder

My favourite part of Long Way Round was when their cameraman broke his BMW in half and had to buy one of those horrible 250cc Russian two stroke bikes that looks like a CZ from the 1970s, which look like a DKW from the 1940s..

Then he proceded to skate over the mud that the BMW "adventure bikes" were getting bogged down in. he was having much more fun and making much more progress. Showing just how "equipment envy" has hit RTW biking. You dont need the BMW tractors, 10 feet tall and weighing half a tonne. In fact, they are a hindrance.

This is exactly my point! Too much bike and loaded down with so much CRAP that they broke the damn frames in half.

WTF? n00bs who know absolutely nothing about riding any old-time dirtbike rider knows that weight is the ENEMY on any bike. Light makes Right.

Dudes had 3 freaking trucks following them. Why are they loaded up like they were traversing the Oregon Trail in the 1800's? Good thing they didn't get Disentary!

Originally Posted by DAKEZ

When I watched The Blair Witch Project I thought it was a comedy.

It was laughable watching them argue over the map.


LWR/LWD same thing.

It was meant to be serious but it was laughable.

That is not a slam on Charlie and Ewan. It is what happens to any City boy when put into the wild.

I was rooting for the witch to kill them and put them out of their misery. "I threw the map in the creek!" Stupid fat fuck!

DIE DIE DIE!!!!!

City folks...

I tell ya, now I know why the Star Wars Prequels sucked so much. Ewan's Manic/Depressive tirades probably drove George Lugas crazy so he forgot how to write.

"Hold me, like you did by the lake on Naboo!"

All that crap on those massively overloaded ADV bikes and they didn't have room for Ewan's Zanex???? Take your Zanex, bitch!

[Mistress of the dual]

Did the films do harm to off-roading? I can’t say, I’m too new to this sport to make any judgments. I found both LWR and LWD terribly entertaining and they made me want to travel to places I have never been to before. I liked how they included their mistakes and laughable errors in the films. It showed that a couple of actors who are too often viewed as gods (especially in the USA) are merely just a couple of Joes like the rest of us. I say to Charlie, Ewan and their whole crew and I hope they make another.

[Grreatdog]

OK, so what if VFR is trolling. I will bite, too.

It is so hard for me to take any of their tribulations seriously when you know they have a support crew with them that it makes the whole thing into a joke. But then all man vs. nature docudramas make me feel that way. If I had a film crew along they would carry the crap and I would be on a bare bones 690 rocketing through everything.

That is the experience I want to see. The whole loaded down for the appearance of roughing it and making good video just doesn't work for me. I would rather see somebody just show the support crew carrying the crap and show the riders really riding. To me, the Food Network series was better and more realistic.

Somehow trudging along on two wheeled SUV's just doesn't excite me. But then I am a crotchety old bastard from the On Any Sunday generation with a need for speed. I would like to see how those series would have been filmed with Bruce Brown directing them.

As for harm to the sport, it just provides me with entertainment. I got a kick out of watching guys on GS's and even a V-Strom ride the Shenandoah 500 dual sport event. Stuff we just blew through without even a downshift were monster obstacles to those guys.

I don't get it myself. But watching a guy have to make a miracle save at walking speed on a 500 pound bike because of an "obstacle" I just roosted through is kind of fun. It has a kind of "here hold my beer" quality to it that I find fascinating and a little disturbing.

[svizzerams]

I'm a relative new comer to motorbike riding, starting with a Virago 250cc about 12 years ago.

What really piqued my interest in 'adventure' riding was seeing "Dust to Glory", that I rented on a whim because my daughter was a co-driver on a rally team. And because the cover kinda looked like a Mad Max film. Watching the sections about the motorcycles though really caught my imagination. I'd read LWR (this was in '06), not so much because it was about motorbikes but because it was about 'travel' - then I discovered this place followed by seeing the LWR videos..then I was hooked on the idea. Now I have an F650GS - but the only touratech goody I own is for my Zumo 550. To be honest, I couldn't really watch the series with a critical eye as I didn't know enough about this type of riding at the time - I was just fascinated by the whole endeavor. On the other hand they may have had support but they also made the ride their own...and best of all we got to "see it". I do have to say that my favorite character was Claudio. He will always be my inspiration as he went into the ride pretty green, kind of like I am.

I now appreciate much more the challenges this type of riding represents and appreciate that I was introduced to it by this program.

I enjoyed the series alot - as well as LWD and Charlie's run of the Dakar. I have always been bemused by the vehement negativity toward them from some inmates here but "meh...whatever".

I now have 3 bikes...I already owned a Piaggio BV500 - but yesterday I picked up a gently used 2009 Yamaha TW200....lots of lovely backroads to meander here abouts. And I consider the 'adventure riders' my "tribe" whether its a BMW, KTM, KLR or V-strom and the other dualsports in between. Everytime I see one of my tribe - it just makes me smile. Viva La Ride!!!!

[redscare]

I'll freely admit that LWR is directly responsible for me getting a dual-sport. I thought it was harmless and entertaining. It was obvious once they go into Russia that the bikes they took were entirely too heavy for what they were going to be getting into and that they were relatively green at the whole roughing it thing, but how many other actors are about to leave the safe confines of their castle to go ride a bike across the ass-end of Russia, a land where in many places, human life exists only because it was forced to be there by one brutal dictator or another?

I found their flipping out over the Ukrainian mafia dudes to be a bit pathetic (they were probably in the safest possible place in that part of the country and in absolutely no danger barring serious disrespect) and the OCC bit was daft (how sad would the story have been if they'd made it 90% of the way only to die because they decided to go donor style while Upstate), but damage to motorcycling? Hardly. Hasn't damaged resale on GSes at all, that's for sure.

[megaira]

Originally Posted by Gramps

My Ewan & Charley.



I blame Helge for doing more damage to the activity of off-road riding than any other book ever released.

What's the scoop on this one? Or should I just go read it?

Good thing they didn't get Disentary!

The intestinal distress waited for Long Way Down. Charlie was in the bushes every 2 minutes in Africa. You would have thought after the testicle stew...


Touratech - hey now... the big tins carry a LOT of groceries! ;P

[Pappy541]

[quote=VFR_firefly]I think the Long Way Round series has done more damage to the activity of off-road riding than any other movie/show ever released. If one really watches them with a critical and experienced eye, one can see that the manic duo picked the wrong bike for the job and suffered the consequences of that mistake through just about every sequence in the shows. They again repeated the mistake the second time in LWD as well.

But all the n00bs who watch it flocked to the BMW dealers and paged through the Touratech wish books for ages dreaming of riding these supertankers around the world. Most never get them off a paved road, much less onto real "off" road situations where they do so poorly. But a few do and suffer the consequences of riding an obese street bike in a dirtbike costume on real offroad terrain.


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VFR
I agree with you. Infact I think that only posers on Harleys should be allowed to try such an easy ride. Sort of like Wild Hogs on dirt.
I am waiting for your long way to some where on a Honda movie that will show the world what a real rider can do.