Ewan McGregor has become the latest Hollywood star to strike a major commercial deal, after he was signed up by a classic Italian motorcycling marque for his latest road trip.

 

The Trainspotting and Star Wars actor ready to tackle an expedition down to the tip of South America.

The 44-year-old Scottish actor has already circumnavigated the globe and ridden its length on motorbike, with friend Charlie Boorman, for the TV documentary Long Way Down

However, for the star's latest trip he has swapped his faithful BMW motorcycle for a Moto Guzzi and has become the face of the oldest motorcycle manufacturer in Europe.

Launching the firm's California Eldorado cruiser, McGregor said he was already planning a trial run. "I'd love to do South America one day; all of it.

"But I think the next one will be Mexico or Baja.

"I'd like to explore Baja. I've never done it and I know a lot of bikers go there and it's like good trails, good tracks, off road, on road.

"So I think that will be my next trip."

The Baja California penninsula, in north-west Mexico, is over 770 miles long, and one of the country's most inhospitable regions with four deserts, and several doormant volcanoes.

It would serve as a warm-up for the almost 7,000 miles ride from southern California to Tierra del Fuego, in Chile.

In 2004 McGregor and his best friend Charley Boorman travelled from London to New York in their 22,000 mile The Long Way Round trip.

 They followed it up with another epic journey, The Long Way Down, from John O'Groats to the southernmost point in South Africa.

The television series of the two marathon journeys - broadcast on the BBC - became a worldwide hit.

McGregor - a longtime ambassador for the children's charity Unicef also found a new member of his family on the road.

He and his wife Eve adopted daughter Jamiyan from Mongolia in 2006. He has since gone on to adopt another girl.

McGregor broke his Long Way Down journey to stop off at Moto Guzzi's headquarters at Mandello del Lario for the first time. The company launched their own Stelvio adventure bike to rival the BMW model McGregor and Boorman rode on their journeys.

The actor, who has several vintage Moto Guzzi's in his collection, said: "I do ride them all and I ride them wherever I am going far or going just round the corner, it doesn't really matter.

"I've got some early 70s bikes that I love to ride around. I've got a Norge, really for my dad to ride around when he came to visit me, but I'm riding that all the time as well. I seven have a 1974 Eldorado police bike with a siren on it. Mine is a bit distressed - it looks like it came out of a river.

"I like nothing better than once the children are in bed, getting down to working, tinkering with my bikes."

The actor's French-born wife Eve Mavrakis learned to ride a motorbike, joining him on a stage of his African odyssey.

Before then, McGregor is due to talk about his acting career as part of this year's Edinburgh International Film Festival.