Charley Boorman sets off by motorcycle on By Any Means II

MCN · 05-20-2009

Charley Boorman finally set off to begin his By Any Means II trip and was sent on his way by hundreds of Australian fans. Boorman was riding a Deus Kawasaki W650 custom bike for the start of the trip that...

Click here for complete article

SidecarFlip · 05-28-2009

I don't know squat about Charlie but it's interesting he's riding a W650 Kawasaki. I didn't know the bike was produced any more. It's basically a collectors bike here in the states, supplanted by the Triumph Bonneville, a bike at least 10 times better in handling, suspension, ergonomics and power.

I would have selected a Kawasaki KLR650 if Kawasaki is sponsoring the ride. The KLR is popular all over the world, has great parts and service availability and is much more suited for an around-the-world romp.

The seat on the W650 is a board. Charlie's arse will never be the same again.

The Prophet · 05-28-2009

Charley Boorman is the 'other' guy in the "Long Way 'Round" series, starring Ewan MacGregor. I understand that he's an Actor, although I don't recall seeing him in anything here in the States.

The Kawasaki W650 as Sidecar sez, hasn't been in the USA since around 2000, but is still sold apparently in Europe and Austral/Asia.

Deus looks to be a local Australian Customizer/Tweeker.

In the body of the story, Charley talks about using "a number of bikes" on this go-'round, but fails to mention what and which. He also touches upon "Rockers" and Cafe Racers, which is odd, given the Australia to Russia marathon / iron butt style run. No mention of the ever-game sidekick Ewan either, so I assume it's a solo attempt?

I could only guess that Sponsorship might have been the driver of the Kawasaki model choice, as the customized W650 doesn't strike me as a "long range" o'er the rough countryside kind of bike.

At any rate, the very best of luck to him, I like these kind of attempts, and usually they contribute very positively to the overall motorcycling image, sort of the opposite of the self-indulgent, testosterone fueled, questionable purpose "Sturgis" experience.