If you're planning to head out camping or on a long trip on
the road, why not take a bike on your next trip? If you're already a bike
fanatic, you probably already know how incredible it is to head out on the road
with a bike in tow. I certainly know how great feels to head out on the road
with a touring motorcycle!
Don't have a touring bike? Why not think about buying one?
Naturally, there are many suitable touring bikes on the market. Let's take a
look at two top touring motorcycles (wiki) for your next bike tour.
BMW K1600 GTL ($23,950 MSRP)
The BMW K1600 GTL (info) is a fast, comfortable and capable bike is a favorite of
many who like to take this bike out on the road. Many reviewers consider this
bike a 'very fast, capable and incredibly comfortable bike' that just doesn't
feel like a heavy bike—even though it weighs a little over 700 pounds.
The performance is great, too. That's thanks to its powerful
1,649 cc engine, 160 hp and 129 lb-ft of torque. It also feels comfortable to
ride, constructed to position the foot pegs lower and more forward, while the
bars are positioned higher and closer to the driver.
Couple that with various luxuries among an already
impressive standard equipment list, and you have a pretty great ride.
Honda Gold Wing F6B ($19,999 MSRP)
The Hond Gold Wing F6B (info) is best described as a long distance tourer and an
all around town cruiser—and for good reason.
The Honda Gold Wing F6B is actually an improvement – an
upgrade of sorts – from the standard Honda Gold Wing bike. And, according to
reviewers, it's a much-needed upgrade. This bike, unlike the standard Gold
Wing, makes changes that are all the better.
This 'Flat Six Bagger' (F6B) bike boasts the same 1,832cc
flat-six engine, frame and transmission as its counterpart. It does, however,
lack the electric reverse gear, among other equipment. Though, the reduced
equipment load, surprisingly, took off well about 60 pounds from the bike's
total weight, bringing to a little less than 850 lbs when wet.
What ultimately makes this Honda Gold Wing better than its
counterpart is its seat positioning, which offers the rider much more space to
move around, especially if they're already covering a lot of miles. The
construction of this bike lets you ride it like a sport bike or, if you're
covering a lot of road, settle back and enjoy the ride while cruising about.
If you're looking for your next touring bike....
As you can see, plenty of options for good motorcycles exist
out there (top 10 here). Even if the market looks a bit expensive, there are a lot of bikes
that you can look at on the market that are fairly reasonably priced—that is
how I got my new BMW touring motorcycle!
As with every new bike, there are some options which I
needed to buy straight away. For instance side and top travel cases, a tank bag
and a navigation device. There are a lot of GPS for motorcycles available, from
BMW (looks great but expensive) to TomTom Rider (affordable!) to Garmin (most popular motorcycle GPS are the Zumo 665 and 590) but in the end it’s what you feel comfortable with but make sure you get a
waterproof device… Same counts for the travel cases by the way. I’ve seen some
bikers coming to a camping ground after a rainy day and taking out of the cases
their wet clothing. That’s not really what you want of course!
Once you've bought a touring motorcycle make sure you ride a lot on it! Get the feeling of it because it will probably handle differently than your previous bike. You can go for some short weekend trips to begin with, combine it with a short hike to loosen up the muscles. Take your basic clothing (not too much) and food (breakfast because lunch and dinner you can buy on the road) with you and a tent or go to a motel.
Got anything to add to this article? Just want to comment
about your new touring motorcycle? Send me a message via the contact form!
