What's a good touring bike?

Over Labor Day weekend my son-in-law and I went on a road trip. Covered about 400 miles. My 700 performed like a champ. The problem is it's not real comfortable and no carrying space for the long haul. I've been thinking about getting a second bike for 2-up touring. I looked at late 80's Ventures and then came across a FJR1300. The FJR is lighter and has more HP. The Venture looks more comfortable. What do you think?

 

well i love my 750 but when i upgrade.. well i cant really say upgrade because this bike is top notch, lets say "add to my collection"... im getting a Honda VTX 1300

 

if I were going to do some long touring I would certainly do it on a bike like a Goldwing or something made to be comfortable on a long haul.

 

One of my football parents has an FJR, very very nice bike.

 

For me, when it coms right down to it, the difference between a touring bike and a city bike is how comfortable the seat is. Seats are easy to change, and cheaper than buying another bike.

 

My brother has an FJR and I have a 87 venture royale. I`ll take the venture any day over the FJR.

 

What differences do you find? Comfort? Handling? Ridability?

 

The FJR handles better and is a lot quicker and faster and gets better fuel milage when we ride together. The venture is so comfortable that I can do 7 hour rides and not be saddle sore or anything.......

 

Its all in what you like. I have a goldwing, my wife loves it and on tbe freeway its great but at slow speeds loaded its a elephant. I had a st1300 for years, great bike but the wide seat gets old quick. I owned the old model concours and a 2011, the old was a hoot to ride but very heavy, the new concours is incredible but not comfy. I loved my v-rod but no good 2 up. Most big cruisers are under powered but comfy. I must say I am impressed with the Victory Vegas 8 ball I picked up, comfy 2 up, good power for a cruiser, great looks, and decent price on used ones. You can find something you like and dislike about most bikes, I say own one of each type. Lol

 

Don't write off the XJ just yet....
Get the seat re-shaped and find suitable panniers.

http://www.xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic ... xj700.html

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Yamaha-XJ700- ... 5af03656e1

 

I've gone on long rides with my XJ750 (300 miles 2up) and with my Venture. the XJ was OK but the Venture was more comfortable and had more power but lower gas mileage. I've wanted to look into the FJR as of yet I have not. Once I went through the brakes, TCI and electrical issues the Venture has been a very reliable bike. A newer FJR would probably have fewer issues to start with.

 

my fj1200 was a comfy bike, at 100 kmh you feel like your doin 60, and np with small towns and cruisin around new cities,

 

i'll add.. you take bags off, and clean bugs,, shes a sport bike again, goodluck finding one though,, im lookin for one next season,

 

there's a guy up the street from me that has an 86(?) fj1200 that he bought new.... he won't part ways with it, ever....

 

ya their a helluva bike,, and i miss mine,(alot), i bought mine for 2500 off a guy that was a long haul trucker and it was just sittin there, grey red and gold, had a supertrap 4-1, metzlers,,17,000 (kmh)..i rode it for a season and sold it for 3700.. i should never have sold it

 

With Bags



With Trunk

 

^ Too aggressive
Concourse
GoldWing

 

the fj is a good sports tourer, get some bags and off you go, a ton of touque and a surprising turn of speed, as usual a photo

 

FJ's 1200's are great bikes. You can get used FJR1300's fairly cheaply now as well.

The VFR is not that aggressive, it is not as wild as a Blackbird or Hyabusa, and there are lower peg kits and raised bar kits for the elderly rider. I had a 750 and 800 for years, and opted for a leftover 2010 this spring. I can do 800 mile days on it, but I will likely get a different saddle in the winter as this one makes me feel a little too much like I have fire ants in my pants. I love the V4 as a motor, so I opted for it over the big inline 4's.

ST11/1300 is also nice, but I find them bland unless you do a little massaging on the engine and pipes.

In my mind, there are a few types of touring:

Adventure/Dirt Touring (Big trailies, GS, KLR)
SPORT touring (Gixxer, Ninja)
sport touring (VFR, Sprint, Multistrada)
sport TOURING (FJR, ST, RT)
TOURING (GoldWing, BMW LT)
Trailer Queens - ride it when you arrive.

Each has it merits, but it totally depends on the type of roads, if you camp or hotel it, if you need to slab it for 7 hours a day on the interstate, etc.

An XJ with a windjammer, OEM bags and a kayak bag can get you down the road as good as anything else, depends on where you go and how fast you want to get there. I saw some Seca hard bags on EBay last week, so they are still out there.

 

I have a 86 Venture Royale and they are fantastic touring bikes!!!!!

 

I like the fairing on the older Ventures. The fairing on the V Stars makes it look like a HD. I'm partial toward Yammies and I want a bike that looks like what it is. A Yamaha.
Then again, I have no problem owning any metric bike.

 

Any bike that's comfortable to ride for long distances.

My "touring bike" is also my commuter and daily rider:

 

Fitz!!! I was wondering when you were going to chime in.
After talking to the better half, she's not up for long distance 2-up riding. So my winter project is going to be making the old 700 a touring bike for one. Remove the small saddle bags, back seat, sissy bar and six-pack rack. Then build a frame for a trunk w/backrest and bigger hard bags. Something that I can put on for a trip, then remove when I get back and replace the stock stuff.
Oh, My mind is churning! Too many ideas flowing in my head! Somebody stop me!
Oh yeah, I still want a second bike.

 

An early Goldwing GL1000 or 1100 cc could make a good touring bike, specially with the flat seat (not the horrible his and hers seat) and they are sometimes pretty cheap. The GL1000s have the spoke wheels (vintage look) and were not too top heavy compared to the late ones. We're talking about a 35 years old bike though, and some have very high milage.

 

I think it is all about personal preference. The yamaha fj 1200 or 1300 are nice bikes touring or just riding. The venture is a big bike has advantages and dis advantages. 1st you have water cooling where with the air cooled bikes if you get stuck in a traffic jam your gonna cook it from what i remember fj got hot pretty quickly due to the big displacement. Never rode the 6 cyl goldwings but had my share of 1100s 81 and earlier turn more rpms then the 82 and later almost 1k more at 60mph. They are big bikes also but with the flat 4 the turning and driving felt kinda nimble because of the gyro effect from the motor. But the downside water pump or stator goes you have to pull the motor to fix. Only bad part of a 30-40 year old water cooled bike is radiators t-stats and hoses just like a car.
Go with the bike that fits you the best and drives and rides to meet your needs. Fitz likes his 550 for it as long as he is comfy that is all that matters. If it was me and i was carrying double i would want something bigger then a 550. I really liked my zx11 for touring or v65 honda. But i was never packing double

 

Every November ( early summer in the southern hemisphere ) I take a week of work and load the FJR with the tent and sleeping bag and take off. I cover about 3 - 4000 kms in the week and I wouldn,t swap the FJR for anything . I would happily buy another one if I had to replace this bike., cheers , Murray

 

Any well maintained bike is a good touring bike.

Probably the best bike is the one you own right now. Because 1. you know its limitations, 2. you have kept up the regular maintenance, 3. Because everybody brings too much stuff with them when they tour, you don't need all the hard luggage and extra tank bags and ruck sack's (plural) tied on top. I've seen so many top heavy bikes it scares me. (I live near a ferry port which brings Europeans over.)

The secret to touring is to be comfortable. So if your not comfortable on the bike you have now, sell it, and buy one that suits you!

 

ken you just made me drool.

 

davec, happy to oblige , are they in short numbers in canada? There appears to be heaps in the US and cheap, overhere, there not common but there not rare, im biased naturally , but you get alot of bike for your money with the FJ's, as they approach 30 years old they are still a solid bike that can handle anything thats thrown at it,
ken

 

They're still an XJ and XJs are indeed a solid bike that can handle anything that's thrown at it.

What kind of fuel economy are we talking? (They sure are sexy and I'm not a big fan of Tupperware...)

 

agree 100% fitz, there just a big xj, its the same for both of them, solid bikes, , i'll never sell the xj , i take it out once a f/n to keep some oil moving around . as far as milage goes, i havent done the maths to any great accuracy, but a guesstimate would be 35% heavier around town and maybe 20% on highways. at highway speeds its just loping along at 3700rpm..as usual, another photo
ken.

 

ok stop it now lol.. i had the 89 silver red white,,supertrap 4-1 metzlers,,and yes,, when i sold her for 1200 more than i paid,,the dude showed up from windsor which is 4 hours from here,,sparked it up and paid in full no bartering, just shelled out 3700. i cant find one here, i seen a couple lst month but gone and sold within a day of the ad,

 

all right, sorry dave, fingers crossed you'll find 1 soon, yesterday morning i took it up the local twisties (Mount Mee) thats what its called ,google it, only a 1/2 hour ride, as you know for a big bike its fairly nimble, being a week day there was no traffic, fantastic. ken

 

Hey Dave,

Here is a cheap one for sale less than one hour south east of Montreal:

http://montreal.kijiji.ca/c-autos-et-ve ... Z522406934

I may go inspect it and test-ride it for you if you're really interested. It is less than one hour away from my place.

Where are you located in Ontario?

 

The xj750 can make a good touring bike. I made mine a bagger just for the long runs and overnighters. With a good hiway pegs, it's plenty comfortable.

 

quebecois59, id hafya say pass on that one,, thnx anyways though.