LouisXander said:Go up to Vic falls on the KTM, give it to him to ride in the difficult sections, maybe you can swing his mind!!
He is probably contracted to BMW to only ride BMW!
Griffin said:LouisXander said:Go up to Vic falls on the KTM, give it to him to ride in the difficult sections, maybe you can swing his mind!!
He is probably contracted to BMW to only ride BMW!
Read/Watch Long way Round. He is (was?) a KTM fan but KTM would not support them or be in any way associated with the ride. If I remember correctly they did not believe they could make it so they changed to BM. Rest is history.
XRV-Boy said:Griffin said:LouisXander said:Go up to Vic falls on the KTM, give it to him to ride in the difficult sections, maybe you can swing his mind!!
He is probably contracted to BMW to only ride BMW!
Read/Watch Long way Round. He is (was?) a KTM fan but KTM would not support them or be in any way associated with the ride. If I remember correctly they did not believe they could make it so they changed to BM. Rest is history.
Griffin thats slightly incorect boet, the story is that KTm would not give them the bikes for free but Bm would so naturaly they chose BM, still think they should have taken Twins :thumleft:
Whatever the reason KTM must be kicking themselves for missing out on this marketing gem. After the TV series , the books , and the DVD's came out BMW sales in England mushroomed . Before Charlie and Ewan you only saw road bikes in English cities, and suddenly every second bike was a DS , especially a BMW .LouisXander said:XRV-Boy said:Griffin said:LouisXander said:Go up to Vic falls on the KTM, give it to him to ride in the difficult sections, maybe you can swing his mind!!
He is probably contracted to BMW to only ride BMW!
Read/Watch Long way Round. He is (was?) a KTM fan but KTM would not support them or be in any way associated with the ride. If I remember correctly they did not believe they could make it so they changed to BM. Rest is history.
Griffin thats slightly incorect boet, the story is that KTm would not give them the bikes for free but Bm would so naturaly they chose BM, still think they should have taken Twins :thumleft:
KTM did not want to take the chance of anything going wrong with their bikes, as they know it would be a much publicized event, that is why they did not get KTM's sponsered, BMW on the other hand had enough faith in their bikes and created a legend by that faith.
Interesting part (of the small part ktm played in long way round)was when he ripped the ktm poster from the wall.Rynet said:Whatever the reason KTM must be kicking themselves for missing out on this marketing gem. After the TV series , the books , and the DVD's came out BMW sales in England mushroomed . Before Charlie and Ewan you only saw road bikes in English cities, and suddenly every second bike was a DS , especially a BMW .LouisXander said:XRV-Boy said:Griffin said:LouisXander said:Go up to Vic falls on the KTM, give it to him to ride in the difficult sections, maybe you can swing his mind!!
He is probably contracted to BMW to only ride BMW!
Read/Watch Long way Round. He is (was?) a KTM fan but KTM would not support them or be in any way associated with the ride. If I remember correctly they did not believe they could make it so they changed to BM. Rest is history.
Griffin thats slightly incorect boet, the story is that KTm would not give them the bikes for free but Bm would so naturaly they chose BM, still think they should have taken Twins :thumleft:
KTM did not want to take the chance of anything going wrong with their bikes, as they know it would be a much publicized event, that is why they did not get KTM's sponsered, BMW on the other hand had enough faith in their bikes and created a legend by that faith.
. 
Mitas tyesHarry the Buffalo said:
...www.wfobikes.co.za or check out the thread on wilddogs...let me see if I can find it for you ;D
KTMjedi said:
KTMjedi said:I actually discussed this with him....the KTM 950 had just been release and KTM knew they had a possiblity of a few gremlins to sort out. SO it wasn't that they didn't believe Charlie and Co wouldn't make it ....I am ashamed to say BUT they weren't sure the bikes would make it and whatever possible PR gain they may make they stood to loose FAR FAR more. Imagine what would have happened if they had been stuck in the middle of Mongolia becuase the bikes broke down. The BMW motor has been out since the 2nd world war and the GS has been on the road for years prior.....If I was the MD of KTM I would have done the same thing
Don't get me wrong what you saw is what happened at the time, this is what they have heard and worked out since then. Yes they tested the 640's BUT they where wanting the 950's for the trip.Rynet said:KTMjedi said:I actually discussed this with him....the KTM 950 had just been release and KTM knew they had a possiblity of a few gremlins to sort out. SO it wasn't that they didn't believe Charlie and Co wouldn't make it ....I am ashamed to say BUT they weren't sure the bikes would make it and whatever possible PR gain they may make they stood to loose FAR FAR more. Imagine what would have happened if they had been stuck in the middle of Mongolia becuase the bikes broke down. The BMW motor has been out since the 2nd world war and the GS has been on the road for years prior.....If I was the MD of KTM I would have done the same thing
Funny how this did not come out in the movie, though . In the movie it it appeared that KTM fobbed them off totally , dismissing them as two unknown upstarts whom they thought would not make it through Europe let alone Russia, and they didn't even bother to tell them in person, Ewan had to phone KTM a couple of times to get any info, and when it came it was a vague excuse which left Charlie swearing so much that his voice was just one long string of beeps , and yes the violent tearing down of the KTM poster. And Charlie and Ewan test rode 640's not 990's ? Anyway thanks for this , I will still make up my own mind though . :thumleft: :mwink:
KTMjedi said:Don't get me wrong what you saw is what happened at the time, this is what they have heard and worked out since then. Yes they tested the 640's BUT they where wanting the 950's for the trip.Rynet said:KTMjedi said:I actually discussed this with him....the KTM 950 had just been release and KTM knew they had a possiblity of a few gremlins to sort out. SO it wasn't that they didn't believe Charlie and Co wouldn't make it ....I am ashamed to say BUT they weren't sure the bikes would make it and whatever possible PR gain they may make they stood to loose FAR FAR more. Imagine what would have happened if they had been stuck in the middle of Mongolia becuase the bikes broke down. The BMW motor has been out since the 2nd world war and the GS has been on the road for years prior.....If I was the MD of KTM I would have done the same thing
Funny how this did not come out in the movie, though . In the movie it it appeared that KTM fobbed them off totally , dismissing them as two unknown upstarts whom they thought would not make it through Europe let alone Russia, and they didn't even bother to tell them in person, Ewan had to phone KTM a couple of times to get any info, and when it came it was a vague excuse which left Charlie swearing so much that his voice was just one long string of beeps , and yes the violent tearing down of the KTM poster. And Charlie and Ewan test rode 640's not 990's ? Anyway thanks for this , I will still make up my own mind though . :thumleft: :mwink:
He doesn't feel the same way about KTM anymore :-\... we actually had a good old KTM vs BMW banter around the table...bikes are all the same all around the world no matter who you arecloudgazer said:KTMjedi said:Don't get me wrong what you saw is what happened at the time, this is what they have heard and worked out since then. Yes they tested the 640's BUT they where wanting the 950's for the trip.Rynet said:KTMjedi said:I actually discussed this with him....the KTM 950 had just been release and KTM knew they had a possiblity of a few gremlins to sort out. SO it wasn't that they didn't believe Charlie and Co wouldn't make it ....I am ashamed to say BUT they weren't sure the bikes would make it and whatever possible PR gain they may make they stood to loose FAR FAR more. Imagine what would have happened if they had been stuck in the middle of Mongolia becuase the bikes broke down. The BMW motor has been out since the 2nd world war and the GS has been on the road for years prior.....If I was the MD of KTM I would have done the same thing
Funny how this did not come out in the movie, though . In the movie it it appeared that KTM fobbed them off totally , dismissing them as two unknown upstarts whom they thought would not make it through Europe let alone Russia, and they didn't even bother to tell them in person, Ewan had to phone KTM a couple of times to get any info, and when it came it was a vague excuse which left Charlie swearing so much that his voice was just one long string of beeps , and yes the violent tearing down of the KTM poster. And Charlie and Ewan test rode 640's not 990's ? Anyway thanks for this , I will still make up my own mind though . :thumleft: :mwink:
Actually they tested both.
You see them fighting over who rides the 950 first. Charley even tried humping the KTM.
