I’ve also posted the link to this MCN article on our FB page. It looks like Ewan and Charley are planning another trip (The Long Way Up). As they’ve not yet sorted out the bikes for the trip yet, do you think that the long term Guzzi fan Ewan MacGregor could be persuaded to give the new V85 a try? In the original Long Way Around they wanted to use KTMs but the factory refused so they went with BMW and the rest is history. KTM have been kicking themselves ever since. If they used the V85 and it gave even a fraction of the sales boost that the GS got, it could transform Moto Guzzi’s fortunes. Is there any way the club could suggest something to Moto Guzzi and/or Ewan?
https://www.motorcyclenews.com/news/2018/august/ewan-mcgregor-charley-boorman-long-way-up/
“Boorman is currently an ambassador for Triumph, but with a new BMW GS on the cards for 2019 they’re certainly not going to be left short of offers.”
If we ever see the V85, it will be very new, and being a Guzzi, will need final product development by us lot, before it could be considered solid enough for a major trip like this?!?
If it was me I would be very tempted to take one of the new Enfield Himalayans.
Interesting times.
Triumph have to be favourite from a commercial perspective as they have a massive marketing budget compared even to BMW.
Also duplicated on FB. Anyone hear if Ewan McGregor completed his Baja/Mexico trip in 2015? He was reported to have agreed a sponsorship deal with Guzzi which included the use of a Stelvio NTX.
Have fun
Steve
Hi Steve
You wouldn’t be referring to this article would you?
https://motorbikewriter.com/long-way-mexico-ewan-mcgregor/
I can find no evidence that Ewan ever did the trip to Mexico/Baja, but find it interesting that he was in conversaion with Guzzi about the Stelvio and that Charley was already talking about a trip from South America up to Alaska. Bring the 2 threads together and we could hopefully see them doing the trip on V85s which I think would be great for both Guzzi and the club.
Ricky
+1 for that
Steve
It would be nice to see them on Guzzis - but IMHO that’s a pipedream.
Realistically I expect they’ll ride which ever manufacturer offers them the best deal and after their previous success I’d expect BMW to pay them handsomely to ride BMWs again. And that deal might be sufficiently lucrative for Charley to dump Triumph (and/or for them to dump him!). KTM would love to make good for their previous misjudged decision but BMW has more bucks to spend and by the time the trip is filmed will have a new GS to promote.
I hope I’m wrong but the safe bet is they’ll ride BMW again.
I wonder if they will go on their own and leave the support team behind this time ??
although I realise that the constraints of filming and location often necessitates having a back up vehicle
My missus and I did it 5 years ago on 2 BMW 650 singles, no back up, no fixers , not too much drama, maybe they could employ us as guides 
2x V85’s would suffice as payment 