Original long way round | GTAMotorcycle.com

Original long way round

bigpoppa

bigpoppa

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Was reading and found this humorous section online:

2004 KTM launches the 990 Super Duke and introduces the 990 RC8 Venom and the 950 Supermoto at the Intermot in Munich.
After earlier agreeing in principle to supply motorcycles to two out-of-work actors, so they can make a documentary about a trip across Eurasia and North America, KTM abruptly drops the project. Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman get BMWs instead, and make “The Long Way Round.”

Talk about dropping the ball

it could have been me going to starbucks

Ktm Motorcycle History: History of Ktm

www.motorcycle.com www.motorcycle.com
 
They didn't drop the ball. KTM's slogan is Ready to Race, and an adventure trip around the world with 2 actors has nothing to do with that. They dominated Dakar, Enduro's, and a lot of other off-road events where marketing money went to better use. If one even wants a Dakar KTM base bike to kit for rally, there is a long waitlist for it.

And Lyndon Poskitt worked much better for them and their motto!

lyndon4.jpg


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He also rebuilt a 990 and became a legend for that on ADVRider

advrider.com

Pyndon's KTM 950 / (990?) Adventure K&N Pre-Filter Kit Now Available....

Now available and ready to ship As seen on the factory 950 Rally bikes.... [IMG] Folks, It's finally here, after many requests over the past year,...
advrider.com advrider.com
 
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I'm sure financing the long way round wouldn't have hurt KTMs race oriented marketing. But it would have made the product more relatable to those who buy the bike with no intention of ever racing.

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jeff96 said:
I'm sure financing the long way round wouldn't have hurt KTMs race oriented marketing. But it would have made the product more relatable to those who buy the bike with no intention of ever racing.

Sent from my Redmi 7A using Tapatalk
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Those who want a KTM, know it for their needs and purpose. I applaud KTM for telling Charlie and Ewan no. Charlie cried like a baby, and it showed he really wanted it over the BMW. That was great free marketing.

KTM has a marketing strategy, and sure it can be said they could have, however they stuck to their philosophy. It hasn't hurt them, they sell lots of bikes, and ADV bikes. Use the likes of Chris Birch to show their worth, basically, racers using the ADV line as everyday bikes.
 
Definitely hurt KTM financially, but in the long run, I think it shaped the company and its products away from the direction BMW headed to after LWR.

After that series, everyone wanted a GS, regardless of whether they were riding to Peru or just back and forth to the closest coffee shop's parking lot. That kind of popularity forced BMW to making "improvements" to its GS lineup to cater to the Starbucks crowd. Bikes got heavier, less off-road focused and packed with every kind of electronic aid imaginable, no matter whether it pertained to off-road worthiness or not.

On the other hand, KTM focused on making harder edged bikes, leaning into it's "Ready to Race" philosophy. Minus the aberrant T700, most of their competition/off-road bikes are top of class where it comes to racing prowess:

Lowest weight? Check.
Highest power-to-weight ratio? Check.
Need to rebuild the engine after every race/ride...? Check.

Turning away Obi-Wan and his sidekick may have been a dumb move for their shareholders, but I don't think any of KTM's most hardcore fans, the ones actually buying their bikes, are ruing that decision.

Can't imagine what my enduro would look like today if KTM Long Way Rounded it. Extra 200 lbs. Radar-guided cruise control... DF?!?
 
I haven't watched it in ages, but what I remember most about Long Way Round was Charlie and Ewan breaking their frames multiple times from grossly overloading them with crap, as well as having to get off and push the bikes through mud and sand because they were just too heavy for the job, while Claudio ripped around them having a great time on the little red 2 stroke thing. If anything, LWR steered me away from ever wanting a GS.

Given the time and age, the ideal bike for that trip was probably a DR650.
 
The wily Austrians knew after the first meeting it would be days of Boorman crying ' life is so hard'

Good call KTM , Boorman is a pussy
 
Ash said:
I haven't watched it in ages, but what I remember most about Long Way Round was Charlie and Ewan breaking their frames multiple times from grossly overloading them with crap, as well as having to get off and push the bikes through mud and sand because they were just too heavy for the job, while Claudio ripped around them having a great time on the little red 2 stroke thing. If anything, LWR steered me away from ever wanting a GS.

Given the time and age, the ideal bike for that trip was probably a DR650.
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WHAT! KLR all the way round.
 
Wingboy said:
WHAT! KLR all the way round.
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Pretty hard to go wrong with either. But if Charlie wasn't keen on BMWs, he might have visibly gagged at the suggestion of either the KLR or the DR. Would have been a good outtake if they'd had it on camera.
 
I'm too scared of their reliability to ever own a KTM
 
george__ said:
I'm too scared of their reliability to ever own a KTM
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As you should. Even KTM thought that their bikes will not survive a trip, obviously that's why they backed out.

BMW, on the other side - even if a frame will crack from overloading, you just tape it a keep going.

And if you will decide to go HD for a long trip - you need a bus to drive them around.
 
ScorpionT16 said:
Charlie cried like a baby, and it showed he really wanted it over the BMW. That was great free marketing.
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I respect you have an opinion on the subject but the scene with Charlie ripping the KTM poster off the wall and throwing it into the garbage is hardly "great free marketing". I'm sure KTM had their reasons for backing out, but the bigger fail was saying that they think they "might fail". Regardless, BMW made tons and KTM likely lost tons after LWR but everyone seems happy in the end? Except for maybe the KTM folks that were on the other end of that phone call. ?
 
Just watching Noraly aka Itchy Boots riding her little Honda CRF250L across South Africa. It seems she knows how to pick the right bike for her journey. Imagine a big GS or KTM trying to navigate some of those passes/dirt/gravel trails. You wouldn't see very many male moto vloggers doing the same thing...
 
skschall said:
I respect you have an opinion on the subject but the scene with Charlie ripping the KTM poster off the wall and throwing it into the garbage is hardly "great free marketing". I'm sure KTM had their reasons for backing out, but the bigger fail was saying that they think they "might fail". Regardless, BMW made tons and KTM likely lost tons after LWR but everyone seems happy in the end? Except for maybe the KTM folks that were on the other end of that phone call. ?
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What lead up to that scene was him really wanting the KTM, and pushing Ewan to go for it too, he loved doing wheelies on it, and overall was the bike he wanted... the bike he wanted for free. Ripping the poster off doesn't change his impression of the bikes, just the idea they somehow 'ripped' them off.

Look at Toby Price, he worked really hard to earn a KTM spot, literally as waterboy for the first Dakar, so did his family to get them one as kids. Lyndon Poskitt bought all his own bikes and re-mortgaged his house to get some for Malle Motto, including the one he used for Races to Places. Why should KTM have given Charlie or Ewan (who is loaded) free bikes, esp when that type of trip didn't suit their agenda. @Lightcycle hit the nail on the head with how it actually made them better today.
 
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