The Most Incredible Motorcycles In Ewan McGregor's Collection
Ewan McGregor's Hollywood career started in the 1993 British TV series, "Lipstick on Your Collar," (via IMBD) where the Scottish actor plays a 1956 British intelligence officer. Fed up with their daily duties, he and his male coworkers instead worry more about girls, romance, and rock & roll than deciphering codes, all of which is set against a backdrop of daydreamy musicals that take place inside their office.
Coming up on thirty years and nearly 100 acting credits, McGregor has logged some serious miles on the silver screen. His most famous role, of course, is that of Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi in George Lucas' "Star Wars" franchise. McGregor has been nominated for more awards than he has motorcycles in his collection. He's even won those awards on several occasions, including a Golden Globe in 2018 and an Emmy in 2021.
McGregor can be found on a motorcycle when he's not swinging a lightsaber, spotting trains, or staying warm in North Dakota. His love for two-wheelers stretches back to his teenage years when he strolled into a Ducati dealership in London and laid eyes on an Italian-made Moto Guzzi for the first time (via Bloomberg). "It was beautiful," he said, and it's something he never forgot. Today his garage is littered with bikes from an assortment of makers, most of them off-road capable touring bikes that are not overly pricey nor in the best condition.
You never forget your first... motorcycle
They say you never forget your first time; in McGregor's case, that can not be more true regarding Moto Guzzi motorcycles. It was the first one he saw and the first one he rode. Since then, he's owned plenty, many of which he still owns. In fact, his collection mainly consists of bikes from the Italian maker, including a 1972 V7 Sport, regarded as the world's first production café racer and, according to McGregor (via GQ), is "one of the most beautiful bikes ever built"
He also has at least one of the early 1970s Moto Guzzi Eldorado Police Bikes, which was the company's best-selling, thanks in no small part to the fact that law enforcement agencies used it. Moto Guzzi is said to have sold the Los Angeles Police Department its first two Eldorados for $1 each (via GQ), hoping to entice other agencies to use its bikes. The business ploy worked because not only did the California Highway Patrol add them to its fleet, but so did several other agencies.
Additionally, McGregor has a 2000 VII Sport and a 2002 V11 Le Mans Tenni. He's such an authentic Moto Guzzi fan the Italian company hired him in 2013 to be the face of its "My Bike, My Pride" ad campaign. That went so well that it appointed him as brand ambassador for its V85TT enduro in 2019. As part and parcel of these gigs, the company has given him a few freebies over the years (via GQ).
McGregor's passion for riding runs a very long way
Since 2004, McGregor and his buddy Charley Boorman have made three globe-trotting motorcycle rides that quite literally took them the long way round, down and up, with each trip chronicled in a different documentary series. In 2004's "The Long Way Round," the pair traveled 22,345 miles on two BWM R1150GS in three months, starting from London, crossing through Europe, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia, Canada (via Alaska), and on to New York. They originally wanted to use KTM bikes, but the company turned them down. BMW did not make the same mistake.
A few years later, they did the follow-up ride, "Long Way Down," where the duo rode some 15,000 miles from the northernmost tip of Scotland (John O'Groats) to Capetown, the southernmost tip of South Africa. This time they drove BMW's R1200GS Adventure bike, again supplied by the Bavarian company. Both of these Beemers, for obvious reasons, are sentimental to McGregor and remain part of his collection. During this trip, McGregor checked a box on his bucket list, personally visiting the Moto Guzzi factory in Mandello del Lario, Italy.
Their most recent expedition happened in 2019 ("Long Way Up") when they traveled through thirteen different South and Central American countries to the United States, spanning 13,000 miles in 100 days. But this time, they rode the first electric motorcycles made by Harley-Davidson, called the LiveWire. It, too, has a hallowed spot in his garage.
Riding off into the sunset of Tatooine's twin suns
A few of the more eclectic rides in McGregor's collection are genuine collector's items and the most expensive. First, and the oldest, is a 1952 BSA Bantam D1, one of the most popular bikes in Britain (via Money Inc.). It's believed that as many as half a million of these bikes were made between 1948 and 1971. Interestingly, it was designed by Germans and given to them as partial compensation for all the damage and injury they inflicted on England during World War II. The D1 McGregor owns is the original version of the oft-changed bike.
The next oldest is a 1956 Sunbeam S7 Deluxe, and it too is a BSA war repayment project that was "de-Germanized" from a BMW R75 and sold as a Sunbeam-branded bike in England (via Hagerty). This 2-cylinder, 487cc/24hp bike was made from 1946 until 1956. It's believed only 5,500 units were produced.
McGregor even has a customized, one-of-a-kind chopper in his stable made by the legendary Indian Larry. The stunt rider and bike mechanic helped revive the "stripped-down" choppers of the 1960s. He died in 2004 after getting in an accident at a bike show and truly believed that creating custom bikes was "one of the highest art forms because it combines all media: sculpture, painting, and mechanics" (via GQ).
With all those miles, not to mention the production entourage that follows, one would think McGregor lets others work on his motorcycles. That couldn't be farther from the truth. He prefers to get his hands greasy and make his own repairs. "When I grow up, I'll have somebody take care of them for me" (via Bloomberg).
Now that's an easy rider.