Ewan McGregor and Jimmy Fallon had a bit of fun on the Tonight Show recently. Ewan was there (virtually) to help promote the Long Way Up.
Fallon and his team had sent out a request prior to the interview to have Ewan do a jump on a Honda Monkey over an Obi-Wan Kenobi action figure. So, Ewan was essentially jumping over himself.
The jump itself is little more than a couple of pieces of wood cobbled together. It looks like something me and my brother used to build to jump our BMX bikes off of. But the little mini-ramp is perfect for the Honda Monkey.
The video is expertly shot. Ewan calls out his daughter Anouk McGregor as the person behind the camera. He also made a point to say that one of the shots, where he’s going over the action figure and off the ramp where you can see under the bike, is his favorite.
“I’ve been making movies since ’92, and the shot of Obi-Wan with my bike coming over the top of his head and my tire comes into focus, that’s the best shot of my entire career,” McGregor said.
It’s fun and, of course, goofy, but maybe that’s what we need a little of in 2020.
Bike fan, Hollywood actor and “Long Way” collaborator Ewan McGregor gets to keep most of his impressive collection of motorcycles in his divorce settlement with former wife Eve Mavrakis.
The pair were married for 22 years and even though Eve did not sign a prenuptial agreement, she gets to keep half of his assets up to 2017 when they split.
Eve joined Ewan for several days on his 2007 Long Way Down adventure in Africa with partner Charley Boorman.
Charley and Ewan work on a BMW in Long Way Down
While his marriage wth Eve soured, his friendship with Charley has persisted and last year they joined for their third Long Way instalment, Long Way Up.
It consists of riding electric Harley-Davidson LiveWire motorcycles from the bottom of South America to LA.
In the divorce settlement, Ewan will get to keep 30 vehicles from his extensive collection which also includes some cars as well as bikes. Eve gets five vehicles.
It is not known which bikes he will keep.
However, among his collection are the BMW R 11250 GS he rode around the world in 2004 for Long Way Round, the R 1200 GS from Long Way Down and the LiveWire from last year’s trip.
Ewan has had a long affection for Moto Guzzi as his father owned one.
Long Way Up, featuring Charley Boorman and Ewan McGregor riding electric Harley-Davidson LiveWire motorcycles, will screen onApple TV+ from 18 September 2020, the same month the bike launches in Australia.
Apple TV+ has announced that the first three episodes will screen on the Friday with one episode every week after that.
However, they don’t say how long the series will be.
If you don’t have Apple TV+ you can wait until the whole series has been aired and then do as one-month free trial.
Otherwise, it costs $A7.99 per month.
Small screen adventure
In the third and probably final “Long Way” series, the Brits ride Harley-Davidson electric LiveWire motorcycles from the city of Ushuaia at the tip of South America to LA.
They cover 21,000km over 100 days through 16 border crossings and 13 countries: Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and up through Colombia, Central America and Mexico.
Also joining them are their longtime collaborators, directors David Alexanian and Russ Malkin, driving in electric Rivian utility vehicles.
That’s more than the feature-laden Ultra Limited tourer at $A41,495!
While the specially modified bikes did get the pair to their destination, Ewan admits he ran out of “juice” a couple of times and even had to hitch rides with cars by hanging on to the B pillar.
So, what did they do when they ran out of “juice”, Fallon asked?
“Hope for a hill,” McGregor replies.
“I got towed a couple of times. I was the only one that ran out.
“Charley never ran out of juice and he’ll tell you it’s ’cause he’s a better rider than me and it may well be the case.
“But I ran out a couple of times, so I’d just hold on to a car.”
Ewan and Charley pack their LiveWire electric bikes
He explains how this stunt was performed and we assume it was at slow speed and could have been using one of the back-up vehicles.
“If you open the back windows and the front of the car you could get your arm around a pillar and you just muscle along like that for a while,” he explains.
Ewan says the first time he saw this done was in New York when he was about 21 or 22 riding in a yellow cab.
“A Harley-Davidson guy — a Hells Angels guy — who’d run out of gas or his bike was broken down clattered into the side of the cab, grabbed hold of the pillar and he shouted the address of the Hells Angels clubhouse to the driver who just took him there and didn’t ask any questions; just drove there like that.
“I think the Hells Angels owe me $5.26.”
It’s been a long time between trips for Ewan and Charley.
From 14 April 2004 to 29 July 2004, they rode across Europe and the USA in Long Way Round and from 12 May to 4 August 2007 they rode from the top of Scotland to Cape Town in South Africa for Long Way Down.
With Ewan becoming increasingly busy with Hollywood movies, Charley squeezed in the 2006 Dakar rally for his series, Race to Dakar, and has produced several other travel shows.
The latest Charley Boorman and Ewan McGregor adventure, the Long Way Up, will be shown onApple TV+ in the next few months.
In the third and probably final “Long Way” series, the Brits ride Harley-Davidson electric LiveWire motorcycles from Tierra Del Fuego at the bottom of South Africa to LA.
Apple TV+
There is no date for the series to start, but when it does, you can get a free seven-day trial and binge-watch the series.
If you enjoy Apple TV+ you can then subscribe in Australia for $A7.99 a month.
That’s more than the feature-laden Ultra Limited tourer at $A41,495!
While the specially modified bikes did get the pair to their destination, Ewan admits he ran out of “juice” a couple of times and even had to hitch rides with cars by hanging on to the B pillar.
So, what did they do when they ran out of “juice”, Fallon asked?
“Hope for a hill,” McGregor replies.
“I got towed a couple of times. I was the only one that ran out.
“Charley never ran out of juice and he’ll tell you it’s ’cause he’s a better rider than me and it may well be the case.”
(We suspect Charley did not do his usual frequent wheelies!)
“But I ran out a couple of times, so I’d just hold on to a car.”
Ewan and Charley pack their LiveWire electric bikes
He explains how this stunt was performed and we assume it was at slow speed and could have been using one of the back-up vehicles.
“If you open the back windows and the front of the car you could get your arm around a pillar and you just muscle along like that for a while,” he explains.
Ewan says the first time he saw this done was in New York when he was about 21 or 22 riding in a yellow cab.
“A Harley-Davidson guy — a Hells Angels guy — who’d run out of gas or his bike was broken down clattered into the side of the cab, grabbed hold of the pillar and he shouted the address of the Hells Angels clubhouse to the driver who just took him there and didn’t ask any questions; just drove there like that.
“I think the Hells Angels owe me $5.26.”
Not sure if we believe that, but it’s a great story.
And it sounds like Long Way Up on Apple TV+ will also be another great series.
It’s been a long time between trips for Ewan and Charley.
From 14 April 2004 to 29 July 2004, they rode across Europe and the USA in Long Way Round and from 12 May to 4 August 2007 they rode from the top of Scotland to Cape Town in South Africa for Long Way Down.
With Ewan becoming increasingly busy with Hollywood movies, Charley squeezed in the 2006 Dakar rally for his series, Race to Dakar, and has produced several other travel shows.
Ewan McGregor admits he ran out of “juice” a couple of times on his Long Way Up trip on Harley-Davidson LiveWire electric motorcycles and even hitched rides with cars by hanging on to the B pillar.
So, what did they do when they ran out of “juice”, Fallon asked?
“Hope for a hill,” McGregor replies.
“I got towed a couple of times. I was the only one that ran out.
“Charley never ran out of juice and he’ll tell you it’s ’cause he’s a better rider than me and it may well be the case.
“But I ran out a couple of times, so I’d just hold on to a car.”
Ewan and Charley pack their LiveWire electric bikes
He explains how this stunt was performed and we assume it was at slow speed and could have been using one of the back-up vehicles.
“If you open the back windows and the front of the car you could get your arm around a pillar and you just muscle along like that for a while,” he explains.
Ewan says the first time he saw this done was in New York when he was about 21 or 22 riding in a yellow cab.
“A Harley-Davidson guy — a Hells Angels guy — who’d run out of gas or his bike was broken down clattered into the side of the cab, grabbed hold of the pillar and he shouted the address of the Hells Angels clubhouse to the driver who just took him there and didn’t ask any questions; just drove there like that.
“I think the Hells Angels owe me $5.26.”
Not sure if we believe that, but it’s a great story.
And it sounds like Long Way Up will also be another great series.
Stories about helmet safety and legalities, Arlen Ness and Charley Boorman, road rules, crashes, lane filtering and a big-bore kit attracted the most interest from our readers in 2019.
With more than 300,000 readers a month, we have a pretty fair idea of what subjects are of interest to our readers.
So we have compiled a list of the most read stories from our website in 2019.
Top stories of 2019
1 Sticker fine
Our readers love stories about riders winning over an injustice.
Ian Joice told us the external certification sticker had the word “VOID” across it from age and sun damage while the internal label was faded due to wear.
We reckon it proves that riders can legally remove the external sticker so long as the internal label is still there, no matter what condition it’s in.
2 Lane filtering
ACT police finally nabbed this driver for road rage
Sadly, iconic American motorcycle customiser and cool dude Arlen Ness died, aged 79, in March.
There must be a lot of riders out there who admire his work, ride bikes with paintwork designed or inspired by him, own some of his accessories, or wear some of his riding gear.
In November we also lost Luigi Termignoni, aged 75, the founder of eponymous motorcycle exhaust company. Our glowing obituary was also one of our most popular stories, although not in the top 10.
4 Helmet safety
Anything to do with helmet safety usually rates high.
Cop injured under new speed rule crash police emergency 40km/h
Most riders seem to believe they are in danger of being rear-ended under the rule in some states that requires motorists to slow to 40km/h when passing emergency vehicles (25km/h in South Australia).
Meanwhile, the transport department that failed to disqualify his and other drivers’ licences for similar offences has been overhauled and the boss sacked.
Rider trainer Tony Gallagher says he watched as his 2001 Kawasaki ZRX1200R sank into thin bitumen and fall over in a Crows Nest main street parking bay.
It wasn’t a hot day, either, just faulty bitumen. It’s since been fixed, but Tony is still out of pocket for damage.
But this time they would be riding Harley-Davidson LiveWire electric motorcycles!
Two weeks ago the pair completed the journey. From your interest in our articles about the trip, you will be keen to find out when the TV series airs. Stay tuned and we will to keep you updated!
9 T-boner
Lane filtering has made commuting safer and more enjoyable. Any articles we publish about the lane filtering rules is always well received.
S&S Cycles big bore kit for Royal Enfield 650 camshaft-kit-royal-enfield-650
There has been a lot of interest in the Royal Enfield 650cc parallel twins.
So when American engine giant S&S announced a big-bore kit, the article shot into our top 10, although that could be because there are millions of Indians who love the brand!
5 perennial favourite stories
As well as the news articles that emerged this year, there are older articles that continually rate among our readers.
Charley Boorman and Ewan McGregor (pictured above) have concluded their electric adventure riding Harley-Davidson LiveWire motorcycles from Tiera Del Fuego in September.
It was thought that they would continue on to Alaska, but the pair did that in their first adventure, the Long Way Round in 2005.
Range question
The biggest question everyone wants answered about their electric adventure is how did they go on the LiveWire with just 250km of city range and about 150 of highway range?
We might have to wait until the TV series is released some time in 2020.
Meanwhile, Charley gave a little away at the LA wrap-up party saying that as soon as they entered the US there were a lot of fast-charging stations and they were able to do almost 500km a day.
It must have been slow going through Latin and Central America, although they did have back-up from as many as five pick-up trucks.
Two were electric Rivian R1T pick-up trucks with 650km of range.
The others were reportedly two Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 4WD vans and a Ford F350 pickup truck.
However, Charley manager, Bill Ward, told us the epic electric adventure would “shock” everyone!
Here is what he had to say:
Billy Ward
Long Way Round – more or less changed my life. I was so blown away by it that by 2005 I’d started ‘Biketruck’ – moving motorbikes to Africa in a truck – giving up a highly paid corporate career and looking for any opportunity to get work in and around the adventure motorcycle world. I did the Hero’s Legend Dakar Rally with Hubert Auriol (Dakar winner on bike and car) and got deeper and deeper into long distance travel, some enduro and bike rallies. Long Way Down – was more feed for the adventure in me, not as fresh or as raw as LWR but still highly entertaining. Bizarrely, I subsequently went on to work with Charley Boorman across numerous projects – all over the world. I’ve just returned from 10,000k’s across southern Africa and over the last two years I’ve done about 60,000k’s – including Australia, South America, Europe and the Middle East – all primarily off road.
The boys get a fair bit of stick here and there – ‘rich kids’, ‘support crew’, ‘sell outs’, ‘security’, ‘money’, ‘helicopters’, ‘spare bikes’, ‘hotels’, ‘actors’, ‘plastic adventurers’ – you get the point – I could go on. Just remember, from the beginning, they’ve never tried to pretend they were exceptional riders or expert adventure riders – they filmed all the fuckups (there were many) and the bike drops (mainly Ewan) and even the arguments. They’re making a TV show – they need camera people and some sort of crew – that’s why LWR won world acclaim and was sold to over 70 countries. The book – again – won international awards and sold and sold. They managed this because they had a professional approach to the documentary and a team to help capture everything. They also had some luck and I think crested a wave that was already gaining momentum from people like Mondo Enduro, Chris Scott and of course many others less well known.
Now here they are again – this time, right out there on a limb. Doing something that can’t really be done. Going against the grain. Creating a fair bit of controversy. Picking a brand probably nobody would have picked – yet when they had many options to choose from. Attracting the critics – ‘it’s a PR disaster’ – ‘must be getting paid big time’ – ‘where are the helicopters’ and on and on.
I think it’s fantastic. I love the gamble. I love the way they’ve turned it all upside down and shocked everyone (no pun there Mark). I love them being ‘different’. I wish them all the best because to top LWR, they had to do something really really different. Time will tell – but I’m optimistic.
PR disaster? I doubt it – how many PR disasters has BMW had? or KTM? How are they doing? We are living in an age were ‘e’ just about fits in front of everything we do and this new documentary may not be what the majority was all waiting for, maybe hoping for – but – it could well be the very next wave to be crested and by doing so, Charley and Ewan may just be part of that momentum, part of that new ‘e’ world that is slowly but surely creeping over us all. Warts n’all, this will be talked about analysed, criticized and probably enjoyed by thousands, if not hundreds of thousands.|
Photographer and tour guide Raphael Erhard (pictured with Ewan and Charley above) says he ran into them while leading a tour for Ecuador Freedom Bike Rental last month.
“They were really friendly and curious about what we were doing, especially Charley,” he says.
Charley and Ewan with the tour group
Ecuador tour
“They seemed to be enjoying South America a lot, they told me they’d just stayed at a small coastal lodge the night before and were heading to Quito the day we met. They seemed just really chilled out and open.”
Since the pair started in Tierra del Fuego in September and were last month in Ecuador, they are now expected to be somewhere in Guatemala or Mexico.
Charley and Ewan have both previously said they would like to ride the Baja Peninsula, so that could be a detour as they head north to Alaska on their adventure.
While Charley and Ewan are riding LiveWire electric motorcycles, their videographer, Claudio Von Planta is on a petrol bike.
“They told me they were really happy with their bikes, the range being somewhere between 250 and 350km, I don’t remember which,” he says.
According to Harley, range is about 150km on the highway and about 235km in the city.
Raphael with Charley and Ewan
“Charley said they wanted to focus on electric motorcycles on this journey and after trying out a Zero and a few other brands, they chose the LiveWires as they felt best.
“They’ve made it so far, so it seems to be working. And no, I haven’t seen any generator-laden back up trucks anywhere.”
Tech and crew
Charley, Ewan and Claudio packing on the first day of their trip
There have been a few modifications to the bikes for this adventure and there is quite an extensive back-up crew involved.
Apart from new wheels, other bike modifications include: windscreens, engine guards, highway pegs, bash plates, auxiliary lights, saddlebags and fender bags.
They also seem to have removed the rear guard and plate holder.
The crew consists of two electric Rivian R1T pick-up trucks which have 650km of range.
They are also supported by two Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 4WD vans and a Ford F350 pickup truck.
So we suspect they are carrying DC fast chargers with them.
Mobile DC fast chargers at work
Harley claims their Fast Charge (DCFC) technology will recharge a flat battery to 80% in 40 minutes and full in 60 minutes.
Charley told us last year that Ewan’s relationship with Moto Guzzi would not necessarily foil their plans:
We’ve been talking about it a long time and if the stars align we will do something like a Long Way up from Tierra Del Fuego to Alaska in the next couple of years. It really is close now. Ewan’s always had a loose relationship with Moto Guzzi so there’s no conflict there.
But rather than Moto Guzzi and Triumph, the pair have opted for the new Harley-Davidson LiveWire.
While it was thought they would go all the way to Alaska, Charley recently said the ride would go from Argentina to LA.
Maybe they don’t want to cover the same territory through Canada and Alaska that they did in the Long Way Round.
Long Way Back
It’s been a long time between trips for Ewan and Charley.
From 14 April 2004 to 29 July 2004, they rode across Europe and the USA in Long Way Round and from 12 May to 4 August 2007 they rode from the top of Scotland to Cape Town in South Africa for Long Way Down.
With Ewan becoming increasingly busy with Hollywood movies, Charley squeezed in the 2006 Dakar rally for his series, Race to Dakar, and has produced several other travel shows.
How would you like to star in a new six-part documentary TV series on the 13 greatest motorcycle roads in the world?
It’s to be called Crossroads and the Australian makers of the movie are calling for riders with a story to tell.
Motorcycle TV series
They hope to cover 13 roads on five continents in six episodes, so there is probably only one or two Aussie positions among that lot.
The film is being produced by ElkMark Films which consists of Cameron Elkins who directed the Stories of Bike and Roads We Ride series; Andrew Jones from Pipeburn.com; and 20-year commercial TV producer Adam Marks.
Film locations will also include Norway, South Africa and Japan, and the makers hope it will be the next big thing since Long Way Round in 2004.
Cam says that since it is an Australian production “we’ll be sure to showcase one or two Australian roads”.
“We don’t have any fixed road in mind, but we’re looking for something that might not get the attention it deserves and a rider story that can bring this road to life,” he says.
“Just in the 24 hours since announcing the show we’ve had close to 100 riders from around the world in countries such as Italy, Germany, Brazil, US, UK, Japan and India sharing their roads and stories for a chance to be a part of the show.
“But we’d love to hear from riders from remote locations like Mongolia, Africa, Scandinavia and Central America too.”
Ewan and Charley pack their LiveWire electric bikes
“It may sound ambitious, but we’re aiming to create something bike-related that will make a similar impact on the world’s audiences,” Andrew says.
“It’s well and truly overdue.
“It’s a pretty simple idea; it’s just fun bikes, great roads and engaging stories.”
Crossroads crew (from left) Adam, Andrew and Cam
Cameron says the series will not just feature bikes and roads, but human stories.
“Deep down, what drives all great content is great stories and connectivity,” he says.
“And in today’s political climate, I think we could all use a little reminder that we all have more in common than our differences.”
“Forget what you think you know about motorcycling TV. This will be different to anything that has come before it.
“We aim to inspire and energise the global motorcycle scene so that non-riders are become new riders and old riders will become motivated to ride even more than before.”
Final negotiations
The team is in final negotiations with broadcasters and sponsors and hope to start shooting in late February/March soon for a release in August 2020.
Cam says they are funding the production through a combination of private investment, government funding, sponsorship and broadcaster investment.
“The great news is that the motorcycle industry is fully behind the show,” he says.
“All the major manufacturers we’ve spoken to see this as an opportunity to inspire a new generation of motorcyclists around the world.
“Likewise, with broadcasters and streaming partners, they see Crossroads as something both broadly appealing as well as filling a big gap for motorcycling content.”
Charley and Ewan on electric Harleys
Charley and Ewan on electric Harleys
Ewan and Charley pack their LiveWire electric bikes
