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KTM vs. BMW in The Long Way Round
- Thread starter iRene
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- long way round
I was thinking that an F650 would have been more apt when they got into the really nasty stuff.
Rinty
New member
KTM v. BMW
The R1 guy is a Dutchman, Sjaak Lucassen, and his website is www.r1goesextreme.com. Speedvision had a feature on him a few months ago, and what this guy can do with a street bike is amazing. Yamaha have to be real happy with how the bike stood up to all the abuse. At one point, after crossing a jungle river, they show Lucassen cranking the engine over for a restart, water flying out of the pipes. And then it slowly burbles to life.
Getting back to Charlie and Ewan, one of the points for me was that just because you are an A listed movie star doesn't mean that you can't be incredibly tough. I thought the book was excellent and recommend it for a Christmas read. Along with Ghostrider, Mi Moto Fidel, and Riding With Rilke, there are now four recent first rate motorcycle genre books that have been published.
Rinty
The R1 guy is a Dutchman, Sjaak Lucassen, and his website is www.r1goesextreme.com. Speedvision had a feature on him a few months ago, and what this guy can do with a street bike is amazing. Yamaha have to be real happy with how the bike stood up to all the abuse. At one point, after crossing a jungle river, they show Lucassen cranking the engine over for a restart, water flying out of the pipes. And then it slowly burbles to life.
Getting back to Charlie and Ewan, one of the points for me was that just because you are an A listed movie star doesn't mean that you can't be incredibly tough. I thought the book was excellent and recommend it for a Christmas read. Along with Ghostrider, Mi Moto Fidel, and Riding With Rilke, there are now four recent first rate motorcycle genre books that have been published.
Rinty
R
RobinGoodfellow
Guest
The Long ride...
What struck me was that after all the hype of the KTM I took a look at what they heaped on top of the R1150's and had to laugh. There is no FRIGGIN way the ktm would have ever been able to carry anywhere near that weight!
No way.. no how.. not happenin. That would have been one chain bustin, spoke poppin shock and fork exploding ride. Sure, they would have made it through mongolia ok.. after using up most of the spare parts that ktm would have had to supply and then finally leaving 150 lbs of gear (each) in a ditch someplace and living out of a back pack.
Same goes for the 650 single. Sure.. more of a fun ride, but a very, very, different ride.
As it was, I think the bikes they chose were the perfect bikes for what they were doing with them. If they had origionally packed 40-70lbs lighter, the rear subframes would probably not have had any issues either. All in all, from what I saw and read later, the bikes were pretty much bullet proof.. even after dropping on in a river.
Great video... very entertaining!
What struck me was that after all the hype of the KTM I took a look at what they heaped on top of the R1150's and had to laugh. There is no FRIGGIN way the ktm would have ever been able to carry anywhere near that weight!
No way.. no how.. not happenin. That would have been one chain bustin, spoke poppin shock and fork exploding ride. Sure, they would have made it through mongolia ok.. after using up most of the spare parts that ktm would have had to supply and then finally leaving 150 lbs of gear (each) in a ditch someplace and living out of a back pack.
Same goes for the 650 single. Sure.. more of a fun ride, but a very, very, different ride.
As it was, I think the bikes they chose were the perfect bikes for what they were doing with them. If they had origionally packed 40-70lbs lighter, the rear subframes would probably not have had any issues either. All in all, from what I saw and read later, the bikes were pretty much bullet proof.. even after dropping on in a river.
Great video... very entertaining!
U
USERNAME
Guest
i'm glad this thread is back to life, i just watched the first disc a few weeks ago. when they were doing the welding, i said to my wife, "i hope they disconnected the battery, theyre gonna fry the bike." sure enough...
as to BMW's wisdom, they are of course brilliant to supply the bikes, even if they break. here is what people were saying to me about the film: "did you see the one where ewan macgregor goes around the world on a BMW bike?" not motorcycle, or any of that - it was always called a BMW. and it makes BMW look game, and like theyre serious about their bikes really being used and put to the test.
it doesnt matter that they broke at all in the eyes of most people, they were simply BMW bikes. and if youre a newbie, and you think, "world ride" you think "BMW." brilliant.
the idea of taking a ride on a bike i cant lift...off road... seems silly. i found it interesting that BMW didnt advise them to take the smaller bike. glenn hegsted over on ADVrider did a much harder ride than them, and he took an f650 dakar. smart choice.
as to BMW's wisdom, they are of course brilliant to supply the bikes, even if they break. here is what people were saying to me about the film: "did you see the one where ewan macgregor goes around the world on a BMW bike?" not motorcycle, or any of that - it was always called a BMW. and it makes BMW look game, and like theyre serious about their bikes really being used and put to the test.
it doesnt matter that they broke at all in the eyes of most people, they were simply BMW bikes. and if youre a newbie, and you think, "world ride" you think "BMW." brilliant.
the idea of taking a ride on a bike i cant lift...off road... seems silly. i found it interesting that BMW didnt advise them to take the smaller bike. glenn hegsted over on ADVrider did a much harder ride than them, and he took an f650 dakar. smart choice.
JCBR1150R
New member
username said:
I agree with your statement. I have ridden semi-agressively on the street for a long time and have myself only gotten into the dirt here recently; the idea that a couple of casual cruiser types would go way big and full bore in the dirt--completely isolated and w/no experience--seems absurd to me. Among the things I thought would have helped them (besides paring down the gear) was that they should have commisioned an experienced cross country guy to go with them. I think I was probably more frustrated than they were when they hit the marshes and were struggling to get across....I HATE that!
Aside from the whining and what I said in the first paragraph, I thought it was entertaining. The KTM's would have been better though IMO simply because that is what they do best: better even, than BMW.
MANDYPANTS
New member
As far as who came out on top - KTM or BMW - I'd have to say that the old addage about any press being good press applies here.
Any time you can get Obi-Wan Kenobi / Catcher Block (Down With Love) / Christian (Moulin Rouge) on a BMW and have him ride ANY distance, let alone around the world followed by cameras, you win.
Especially if you get to see his best friend go from infatuated to ferociously furious with KTM on camera. It was a classic English tantrum, and I enjoyed it much.
I'm not sure that KTM pulling their support showed a lack of faith in their machines, but it did show a startling lack of awareness of the opportunity for publicity.
My favorite quote?
"Scots: inventors of the modern world. You're welcome."
We've got 10 DVDs of the mini-series as well as a lovely leather jacket autographed by Ewan and Charlie to be given as door prizes in Vermont. I only hugged the jacket once...
Any time you can get Obi-Wan Kenobi / Catcher Block (Down With Love) / Christian (Moulin Rouge) on a BMW and have him ride ANY distance, let alone around the world followed by cameras, you win.
Especially if you get to see his best friend go from infatuated to ferociously furious with KTM on camera. It was a classic English tantrum, and I enjoyed it much.
I'm not sure that KTM pulling their support showed a lack of faith in their machines, but it did show a startling lack of awareness of the opportunity for publicity.
My favorite quote?
"Scots: inventors of the modern world. You're welcome."
We've got 10 DVDs of the mini-series as well as a lovely leather jacket autographed by Ewan and Charlie to be given as door prizes in Vermont. I only hugged the jacket once...
B
BUBBAZANETTI
Guest
mlangston said:I only hugged the jacket once...
giving away used swag, how nice
sgborgstrom
Don't forget your towel
Anybody know when the 3-disc dvd package is going to be available in the US?
Steve
Steve
B
BELG
Guest
Order it from Canada, eh? :=) www.amazon.ca
KUTCHER
New member
Ewen and Charlie are now the BMW poster boys for sure. I read an article in Bike that stated - due to them more GSs where sold than R1s in England. I guess R1s where the hottest bikes going there...And that Brits where slow to take to the Teutonic adventure Technology, but once they did...-Sales off the charts.
I also agree that there was money to burn on that run. But the bottom line is, it was still THEM that pulled those over weight bikes out of the muck for days on end. It was still THEM that forded the streams. It was still them away from their families for months.
Yes, money can open up the opportunities. But no amount of money can take away the fact that they busted there butts doing this.
-Kutch
I also agree that there was money to burn on that run. But the bottom line is, it was still THEM that pulled those over weight bikes out of the muck for days on end. It was still THEM that forded the streams. It was still them away from their families for months.
Yes, money can open up the opportunities. But no amount of money can take away the fact that they busted there butts doing this.
-Kutch
R
RobinGoodfellow
Guest
3 disc set
Well.. when it is.. I'm buying it. I already have the 2 disc set and would love to see what additional footage they have on the 10 chapter discs.
As to the suggestion that they use smaller bikes, I keep looking at how they loaded them. I do much of my long distance touring 2 up, and ALL of my out of the way adventures with the bike loaded (though I never do rough stuff with the trunk). Touratech makes boxes for the KTM adventure, but (and this is a big but) the suspension load at the rear simply puts loading it up with gear out of the bounds of it's design. I have not ridden a KTM adventure myself though and would love to hear from someone who owns one of these to give us a real world take on how they load it. What I can tell you is that I frequently put 150-200 lbs of gear on my R1150GS, and frequently carry a 160 lb passenger with 70-100 lbs of luggage on road trips. Aside from service days, I have not ridden the bike without the Trouatech boxes since I installed them in 2002. The GS was simply designed as a beast of burden to be used on long brutal trips... loaded with gear.
I simply don't see the long way round trip happening in the same way while using the KTM's. Their trip would involve a support crew alright.. to carry their food, extra clothing, all their tools etc. instead of just waiving at them when they crossed the borders.
But I would sill love to see a shoot out between the KTM Adventure and BMW's new adventure. Hell, I'd put my 100,000k+ mile R1150GS against a long distance shoot out with a brand new KTM... I'm that confident in the macine. They would get their faster, but the 2 trips would be vastly different in how it was experienced by the rider. When I think of riding something for a long distance, it's a tour bike.. not a dirtbike.
Like I said.. does anyone on this list own a KTM adventure... I'd love to hear a bit about them... the weight you usually carry.. etc.
Also, a word about portage.... Earlier Steve wrote:
"IMO they should have gone on a few shorter shake-down trips to pare down the amount of stuff they packed along. An awful lot of their issues seemed to stem from just plain having too much stuff. I'd be curious to know how far above the gross weight rating they were on take-off. "
I've been on long back woods trips before and I can tell you that several times I have had to unburden the bike to schlep it across something. Why they insisted on shoving those bikes fully loaded into the train or across some of those rivers is beyond me. Those bags come off with 2 hand screws located inside thebags for just that reason.
Well.. when it is.. I'm buying it. I already have the 2 disc set and would love to see what additional footage they have on the 10 chapter discs.
As to the suggestion that they use smaller bikes, I keep looking at how they loaded them. I do much of my long distance touring 2 up, and ALL of my out of the way adventures with the bike loaded (though I never do rough stuff with the trunk). Touratech makes boxes for the KTM adventure, but (and this is a big but) the suspension load at the rear simply puts loading it up with gear out of the bounds of it's design. I have not ridden a KTM adventure myself though and would love to hear from someone who owns one of these to give us a real world take on how they load it. What I can tell you is that I frequently put 150-200 lbs of gear on my R1150GS, and frequently carry a 160 lb passenger with 70-100 lbs of luggage on road trips. Aside from service days, I have not ridden the bike without the Trouatech boxes since I installed them in 2002. The GS was simply designed as a beast of burden to be used on long brutal trips... loaded with gear.
I simply don't see the long way round trip happening in the same way while using the KTM's. Their trip would involve a support crew alright.. to carry their food, extra clothing, all their tools etc. instead of just waiving at them when they crossed the borders.
But I would sill love to see a shoot out between the KTM Adventure and BMW's new adventure. Hell, I'd put my 100,000k+ mile R1150GS against a long distance shoot out with a brand new KTM... I'm that confident in the macine. They would get their faster, but the 2 trips would be vastly different in how it was experienced by the rider. When I think of riding something for a long distance, it's a tour bike.. not a dirtbike.
Like I said.. does anyone on this list own a KTM adventure... I'd love to hear a bit about them... the weight you usually carry.. etc.
Also, a word about portage.... Earlier Steve wrote:
"IMO they should have gone on a few shorter shake-down trips to pare down the amount of stuff they packed along. An awful lot of their issues seemed to stem from just plain having too much stuff. I'd be curious to know how far above the gross weight rating they were on take-off. "
I've been on long back woods trips before and I can tell you that several times I have had to unburden the bike to schlep it across something. Why they insisted on shoving those bikes fully loaded into the train or across some of those rivers is beyond me. Those bags come off with 2 hand screws located inside thebags for just that reason.
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