Longway down kit stolen from show.

[btbloke]

There seems to be a couple of camps on this guy. You either like him or loathe him. I find him annoying and a complete prat. You could have a forum just on the subject of the LWD and LWR and I think it would probably be 50/50. I just think he is and always has been one of the idle rich that is lucky to turn a hobby into a living but there are so many inconsistencies with the whole Charlie/Ewan scene that lead people on and give a false impression ofo things.
You could say he has publicised biking and world travel etc but he is flogging the two trips to death and really wringing out every last penny he can from it from anyone that will pay him.What about the real travellers, the manicoms,simon's,pryce's and others that really epitomise the bike travel spirit? They may get appearance fees but they are there to pass on knowledge and experience not sell us the latest product from a sponsor.
And speaking of sponsors I have been told the true story of why KTM pulled out and it came from someone at the company and it is nothing like the image given continuously by charlie boring if he ever gets the chance to drop it into a conversation,it was purely a greed thing rather than a reliability issue.
And if you talk about reliability..................oh don't get me started on the support truck,the van of spares,blah blah blah!

just my opinion of course,bet your sorry you asked now

[StumpyFingers]

There seems to be a couple of camps on this guy. You either like him or loathe him. I find him annoying and a complete prat. You could have a forum just on the subject of the LWD and LWR and I think it would probably be 50/50. I just think he is and always has been one of the idle rich that is lucky to turn a hobby into a living but there are so many inconsistencies with the whole Charlie/Ewan scene that lead people on and give a false impression ofo things.
You could say he has publicised biking and world travel etc but he is flogging the two trips to death and really wringing out every last penny he can from it from anyone that will pay him.What about the real travellers, the manicoms,simon's,pryce's and others that really epitomise the bike travel spirit? They may get appearance fees but they are there to pass on knowledge and experience not sell us the latest product from a sponsor.
And speaking of sponsors I have been told the true story of why KTM pulled out and it came from someone at the company and it is nothing like the image given continuously by charlie boring if he ever gets the chance to drop it into a conversation,it was purely a greed thing rather than a reliability issue.
And if you talk about reliability..................oh don't get me started on the support truck,the van of spares,blah blah blah!

just my opinion of course,bet your sorry you asked now

I do actually prefer the Lois Pryce way she was more down to earth and more of a people person, plus she did the trips without the complete factory backup system.

[Boris]

I enjoyed LRW but could see there was a lot more going on that was apparent in the resulting video. But despite that it did increase the visibility of adventure touring.

LWD on the other hand just didn't sit right at all. It seemed to be more about money than adventure and although publicly the boys only met up with the support wagons at the border it seemed they were with them all the way. Everytime a disaster ensued the support trucks just happened to be there and that devalued the whole experience.

If you want to see a proper unsupported adventure take a look a mondo enduro or Terra circa. Both fantastic journeys and Austin and the boys make Ewan and Charley look like a couple of nobs out for a money no object jolly.

[Mabels Old Man]

There seems to be a couple of camps on this guy. You either like him or loathe him. I find him annoying and a complete prat. You could have a forum just on the subject of the LWD and LWR and I think it would probably be 50/50. I just think he is and always has been one of the idle rich that is lucky to turn a hobby into a living but there are so many inconsistencies with the whole Charlie/Ewan scene that lead people on and give a false impression ofo things.
You could say he has publicised biking and world travel etc but he is flogging the two trips to death and really wringing out every last penny he can from it from anyone that will pay him.What about the real travellers, the manicoms,simon's,pryce's and others that really epitomise the bike travel spirit? They may get appearance fees but they are there to pass on knowledge and experience not sell us the latest product from a sponsor.
And speaking of sponsors I have been told the true story of why KTM pulled out and it came from someone at the company and it is nothing like the image given continuously by charlie boring if he ever gets the chance to drop it into a conversation,it was purely a greed thing rather than a reliability issue.
And if you talk about reliability..................oh don't get me started on the support truck,the van of spares,blah blah blah!

just my opinion of course,bet your sorry you asked now

No I'm not sorry I asked. He saw a way to make a living and took it, there's nothing wrong with that. If somebody offered you loads of money, sponsorship, and support trucks, spares etc. to ride around the world you'd turn it down because you want to be a true adventure!! Bo**ocks. Why shouldn't he make money from it if he can, I know I would and I bet deep down you would as well. There's no mention of the fact he rode a couple of hundred K in the Dakar with broken bones in both hands, not easy.
I'm not saying that what he's done is as big an achievment as the unsupported riders but that doesn't make him a prat.
I've spoken to him a couple of times and he's a really nice bloke, in fact in the first Touratech weekend he joined on the back of a rather large queue at the burger van when he didn't have to.
He's done something the majority of people on this site can only dream about and was lucky enough to be paid and make a lot of money out of it. Doesn't make him a prat in my book.

However you're entitled to your opinion I'm entitled to mine, that's the way it should be, and having reopened this can of worms again I've had my say and that's it.

[Magnum PI]

I met him at a show last year where he signed a couple of books for my twelve year old son. He went out of his way to talk to him and have a joke and he came across as a down to earth bloke who's fortunate enough to get paid for doing some thing we all love...... and has put motorbiking into everybody's living room.
I stopped buying TBM after reading the Charley/ Lois interview as I was totally fed up with the constant Ewan/Charley bashing and hope this forum doesn't go down the same route. All I can say to the nasty minority is "Get a life!"
Hope they get their stuff back and I for one am looking forward to Long Way Up.

[Frad]

I also met him at the show, my son wanted a photo with him, he never said a word to us and quite frankly looked like the whole escapade was a bore that he realy didnt want to do.

In my opinion he should remember who pays for his trips and be alot more appreciative towards the general public who buy his films etc

I loved LWR but everything else just seems to be him whinging about every little problem he comes up against. It all started when Ewan wanted his wife to come along on LWD Charley behaved like a kid who had had his favourite teddy taken off him.

I have never watched any of his programmes since and never will I think the blokes a wan$er a prat is too nicer word for him

[africajim]

Well, anyone who knows me can verify I'm as down to earth as you get! I think I am a pretty good judge of character, I meet all sorts in my work in servicing so here's my opinion on this. I watched both LWR and LWD, LWR is a phenomenal series and brings a tear to my eyes to see the achievement of the team. I thought it showed both of these guys passion for bikes and they seemed like a couple of pretty sound guys.
I initially thought Charlie sounded very snooty but warmed to him after seeing the bigger picture behind him, like he owned a Yamaha DT when he was a child! Class!
LWD opened a rift in my opinions of Ewan and Charlie. It seemed Ewan basically told them how it was going to be, Charlie just put up with it. It was so clinical looking it spoiled my enjoyment of the series.
Charlie's other shows haven't held quite the same appeal to me, not enough bikes for my liking! I have to admire the guy for participating in the Dakar, hats off mate!
I met Charlie at the Scottish bike show a few yrs ago following the LWR. He was just as I had expected, a decent, down to earth guy, willing to chat to fans and write signatures. I'll certainly not be bashing him, he's alright in my books and wouldn't think twice of having a pint with him.
End of the day, they're both bikers, I hope they're kit turns up. I'd be pretty p*ssed if it was mine that went missing. No matter how much money you've got, some things in life have sentimental value, I could only imagine losing my Stella Alpina medals.

[winxp-master]

Have to agree with MOM, i'd snap there hand off if i was asked to do it too

You read a lot that he wa snice at shows then one pops up and he's not so nice. We all have bad days at the office, today i couldnt be arsed at work, i was a little distracted and tired and probably was a bit miserable (silence at the back) but it's because i had a restless night and was up at 0430 so i had a bad day. He's only human and is going to have bad and tiring days just like the rest of us.

Ive never met him and im not bothered about it either so i have only the TV to go from, just my 2p

[Mabels Old Man]

Have to agree with MOM, i'd snap there hand off if i was asked to do it too

Come on Craig that's twice this week, people will talk

[Frad]

Maybe I did catch him on a bad day then judging by others experiences of their meetings with him

However I still think he whinges far too much, he should come and have a go trying to build a sodding extension in this weather then he could moan