What Makes a Great Touring Bike?

What Makes a Great Touring Bike?

So back when I did my video on possibly downsizing Your motorcycle as you get older, I got a lot of interesting responses from the folks over in the U.K. and in Europe, and most of them were kind of amazed that what we Americans think are small motorcycle. All right.

Like I have my 1200 CC Triumph tiger out there in the garage. And I think most people would consider a 600 lbs. motorcycle to be pretty large. But here in the United States, well, it’s kind of a mid-sized bike. All right. We tend to gravitate towards those big heavy

Touring cruisers rather than something smaller. So that got me thinking. Are there certain characteristics that make a good touring motorcycle? Right. Are they all about size and power or are there a lot of other things that make up a good touring bike? So I thought that’s what we’ll talk about in this video.

The characteristics of a good touring motorcycle. So, number one, I know, at least for me, the biggest thing is that the bike has to be at least reasonably comfortable. It doesn’t have to be absolutely cushy. Right. For me, I kind of want to feel that it’s a motorcycle a little bit,

But I have to be able to sit on that bike for long periods of time. Right. So I’m going to want to make sure that I have a good saddle. I’m going to want to make sure that the bars are positioned correctly for me. Right. And then I can,

You know, move around and stretch as I need to, you know, on that bike. Now, what is going to be comfortable for you may not be comfortable for me and vice versa. Right. Over the years, I have gravitated towards going with, you know, a more upright riding posture.

I actually like sitting up straighter. I like having my hips and knees back underneath me a little bit more. It forces me to keep my back straighter. Right. And it feels better. Again, over the course of a long day, I and I have also done things to my motorcycles

To make sure that they are ergonomically correct for me. Typically, that’s on most bikes. I have to move the bars up and back slightly. So again, I’ve done that on my Triumph Tiger that I have out in the garage now. I had to do that when I had my Yamaha Super Tenere, right?

I didn’t have to do that on either my victory vision or on my BMW K1600. Both of those bikes I can work with the riding position directly out of the box again. Really didn’t have to do much too at all. So I guess that’s going to be number one for me is comfort.

And I have to be able to make the bike comfortable for me. And if that means changing bar positions or buying a different saddle, then I’m willing to do that. So number two is storage capacity. I need to have some way to carry all of my gear with me

And I carry, again, my clothing, my tools, right. My camera gear, because I’m doing all of the documentation of my trips. And then if I’m camping, then I have my camping gear that comes along with me. It will just depend upon, again, what your needs are

And as far as the trips that you want to take. But again, if we’re talking about going cross-country, then I’m going to want to have some lockable luggage because I’m going to be stopping at probably truck stops and in small little towns and motels and hotels. Right.

And I want to be able to lock up that luggage. Right. So people can get it into it easily. Some people like to go with soft luggage, especially if you’re doing more off road riding. And that’s completely fine. But of course, if you have soft luggage,

Then I would make sure that you take all of that stuff off the bike and take it in with you if you’re going into a hotel every night. I know some people who haven’t done that and got their stuff taken where the guys bike right next to them with the lockable luggage,

Which is just fine. All right. So theft is primarily something that happens because it’s convenient for the thief. Right. So make it as inconvenient as possible. And that’s why I like to have some lockable luggage. So, number three. Well, that’s going to be, at least for me, dependability.

But I want a bike that is going to be as dependable as I can possibly get it right now. I know people are going to yell at me and tell me that I have a Triumph Tiger that isn’t dependable. But that has not been true for me.

I right now have 15,000 miles on the bike with zero problems on it. All right. So it’s doing okay. Now, we’ll see as I continue to travel on it, how it is. But I think that pretty much any modern motorcycle out there today is going to be at least reasonably dependable.

Yes, there are going to be problems. For example, I’ve had two bikes in the 18 years that I’ve been riding since I returned to motorcycling that have broken down on me. One was my BMW. K1600 had the overheating issue again when I was out riding in the southwest. Right.

And then I’d had a Yamaha wr2 50, which is known to be this bombproof motorcycle. But I had a brand new bike throw its fuel pump right at just the fuel pump just went out. All right. So there everything has a potential to break down. Right. You just want to make sure

That you have a bike that you know is reasonably dependable. And that’s where I like to travel on newer motorcycles. I know a lot of people do not do that. They keep pushing their old bikes as far as they can.

And again, that’s great as long as you can do the maintenance and so forth on them. We are now getting into a world where a lot of dealers will not work on bikes that are over ten years old. So it’s getting harder to find again places that might be able

To service your motorcycle while you’re out there traveling. That’s why I start to look at again, newer models of motorcycles when I choose to go out now. You know, at some point my bike is going to get old.

And I hope right now, as long as it goes and as long as I can get service on it while I’m traveling. So now, of course, everybody’s different and we all just have to make up our own minds based upon how much work that we want to do

Or can do on a motorcycle. Again, for me, I would rather be on a slightly newer motorcycle as I’m traveling around the country. So I guess that leads me into now dealer availability, which is, you know, an issue. Again, I know I have the triumph out there.

There aren’t a lot of Triumph dealers in the United States, 150 to 180, I believe. I don’t know the exact number right now, but the last time I looked that hundred and 80 dealer network was what Triumph was shooting for last year. I don’t know whether they made it or not.

That’s about the same number of dealers that BMW has, right? They have around 100 and 160 dealers here in the United States. So if you’re going to go with those kinds of motorcycles, right, then you’re going to have to work around where the dealers are in North America.

So that may mean changing your route or changing your plans, right, so that you can go and get maintenance and get service done. Yeah, it’s part of the deal. If you’re really concerned with it. Well, there are basically three motorcycle brands that you should buy, at least here in the United States.

Right. And that’s one Harley-Davidson. They’re dealers everywhere to a Honda or a Yamaha. Those are going to be the three motorcycles with the biggest dealer networks that you pretty much will be able to find in any major city. All right. So, it’s really up to you

And what you are willing to put up with. All right. As I’m planning my trips again, when I had the BMW and now that I have the Triumph again, I have to look and see where those dealers are located. And again, I may have to change my plans accordingly

So I can get have some maintenance or other service done. Now. With that said, when we went to Alaska in 2017, I went up there with a Ducati and with a triumph, and then I had the Yamaha and you would think that I wouldn’t

Have any problem with the bike, which I didn’t buy, or I wouldn’t have any problem finding a dealer to work on it. But I did all right. Up in Anchorage, Alaska, there’s a great dealer that services those European brands, and both Steve and Peter were able to get their service really easily.

On the other hand, the Yamaha dealer in town wasn’t so great. They would not return my calls so I could schedule a oil and tire change while I was up in Anchorage. Right? I mean, I called like three or four times and they just would not return my calls. Right.

So I end up then having to change my plans around right to when I was going to have my tires changed. Right. And then also do the oil change myself. And the dealer was good when I went up there and was able

To borrow an oil pan from them so I could do the change myself. Right. But it was kind of a pain in the butt. So it isn’t just the brand that you’re dealing with, right. And having access to more dealers. Sometimes those smaller dealers like the Hondas and the Yamaha’s, Right?

Well, they may not be as responsive as some of the more upscale brands, Which should lead us right into the next thing, which is maintenance, what is required on the bike to maintain it and keep it running. When I had my victory vision, you are supposed to change oil

On that bike every 2500 miles. All right. So when you’re out traveling, that’s a lot of oil changes. And I would typically do those myself. Right. But still, it’s a lot of stopping and changing the oil every well. Sometimes that could be every week. Right, while you’re out traveling. Right.

Because you’re doing 2500 miles easily within a week. Right. So there was a lot of maintenance that was required there. Fortunately, there wasn’t any chain maintenance that had a belt and so forth. When I bought the Tiger 1200. One of the reasons I wanted it over the 900,

Which would have been a slightly less expensive and a lighter motorcycle, but the 900 has a chain drive. Right. And I really like the idea of shaft drive. Low maintenance. I just don’t even have to worry about it. Every 10,000 miles, I change the differential oil and I can change

The oil on the Triumph at every 10,000 miles as well, if I need to. Right. So it just gives me a little bit of leeway. Right. And when I have to have that bike maintained. So again, all of that just plays a role in the kind of bike

That you know, you’re going to get. So the next thing that’s important to me is range. That is how far can I go on a tank of gas? I want a motorcycle that will go at least 200 miles on a tank of gas.

And that’s because there are roads like the loneliest road in America where you are pushing that limit between gas stations. All right. So, again, I want to make sure that I have enough fuel to do those kinds of things without having to carry any extra if possible.

So for me, on this triumph, Tiger, I went with the Explorer version that has, well, just under eight gallons of fuel. Yes, I know. That makes the bike top heavy. I but I really love having that 300 plus mile range on the bike. Right. It really comes in handy.

And not having to worry about whether I have to find fuel or not in some of these more remote areas that I like to ride in. So I guess here will mention fuel economy. Now, honestly, for me, that’s not that big of a deal. My tire gets around 40 to 42 miles

A gallon typically, so that works out great. But of course, the more miles per gallon that you can get, well, obviously the better, because it’s going to be cheaper for you. Right. So looking at a smaller motorcycle, something in the 650 CC range, well,

Then that’s going to get you up in that 50 plus miles per gallon range. And again, save you a little bit of money. All right. So next up, let’s talk about power. Now, is it essential that a touring motorcycle have a lot of power

And I think the answer to that is really no, It is not essential, but it also depends upon how you’re using the motorcycle. Right. If you are two large people and you’re riding two up on the bike while having a little extra power is going to be beneficial.

If you throw on a trailer behind the bike as well. Well then again, having more power is going to be beneficial. So it really depends upon how you are using the motorcycle. But if I’m riding just solo by myself, I really don’t need all of that power. All right.

If you’ve got a bike that puts out 75, 100 horsepower, you’ve got more than enough power to get up and get down the road easily and climb every hill that you’re going to encounter with no problem whatsoever. Now, again, I have a 1200 CC bike.

It puts out 148 horses and I don’t know what the torque is off the top of my head, but it’s pretty good. All right. Now, I don’t use anywhere near the power that is available on that motorcycle. I’m just riding normally, relaxed, enjoying myself.

It’s nice that the power is there, but again, it really isn’t necessary. You can get away with a lot less than you think you can. So and lastly, let’s talk about off road ability, because there are a lot of people who want to be able

To go off road with their bikes while they’re traveling. Now I have the adventure bike, but I have the GT version because I know that most of my riding is going to be done on the highway, right, or on the back roads, right on tarmac.

I will occasionally take it onto a dirt or gravel road. Right. And I want a bike that can handle that easily. Right. But it’s not a priority for me. So it again, depends upon what your priorities are. Right. Going with the rally version of the Tiger versus the GT version. Again, yes.

You’re going to get a bigger front wheel, right? A 21 versus a 19. You’re going to get spot rims. But it all depends upon, again, what you’re going to be doing with that bike. For me, a £600 bike, I’m not going to be going off road really hardcore with it. All right.

I’ve got a smaller bike. a WR250 that is perf for that kind of stuff. So for me, the bike is more purpose built, right, to travel. That’s what I want. Cover that highway riding off road. Yeah, it’s a plus, right when I get into those kinds of situations. But again, it’s not essential.

But again, you can be different. All right, So have I missed anything? Are there other things that you think are important in a good touring bike? Right. Sound system. Amy Right. Is that important to you? Is the cool factor important to you as well? Again, everybody’s different. We all have our priorities.

So let me know again what yours are and if there’s anything that I have missed while I’ve gone through all of this. All right, guys. Right. Safe. Keep squeezing your lemon!

What are the characteristic of a great touring motorcycle? Comfort, power, dependability, or a great sound system? In this video I talk about the things that I look for in a great touring bike.

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