What is your favorite touring bike?

When I think 'touring bike' I think of several categories.

1. The Gold Wing. It's in a class by itself, a 2-wheeled Winnebago. I don't think there's anything more comfortable/safer/faster on the freeway or interstate. But it's a very specialized tool. For secondary roads it's a like riding on the back of a galloping hippopotamus.

2. Large 'sport-tourers'. The category of 'sport tourer' is kind of broad, and some bikes are more sporty and some more toury. At the toury end of the spectrum are Honda ST1300 and Yamaha FJR. Big, relatively heavy bikes with a lot of comfort built in. The Kawasaki Concours was in this category when it was 1000ccs but the new one, the 1400cc one, is kind of in a category by itself.

3. Cruisers. The bigger cruisers are very stable and easy to ride. With a windshield and bags they are probably the most popular touring bikes. They trade handling for stability and stamina, but handling isn't that important in touring. There is only ONE cruiser today that doesn't have a single crankpin twin, and that's the Yamaha Royal Star, which has a water-cooled V4.

4. Adventure tourers, like the VStrom, KTM, etc. These are bikes compromised for on/off road, but most of the ones I see on the road don't ever seem to have been taken off road. I think they're like 4WD SUVs, people get them for the look. They're very popular though. Most of them are twins, 650-800cc, which is a good 'medium' size, relatively light and easy to handle but big/fast enough for long days at high speeds.

5. ANY motorcycle. In the old days all motorcycles were standards and you dressed them up as sportbikes, tourers, etc. They used to say that any motorcycle you could bungee a sleeping bag to was a touring bike. And you can go off on a weekend camping trip or even a 3-4 day trip on whatever motorcycle you have! I've even seen people doing 'light touring' on 150cc motorscooters! Why not?

huh? We are "extremely limited by the touring bikes that are available ...." ???

You can tour on *any* bike, from a pedal bike to a Boss Hoss Trike that can pull a 16 foot long camper trailer.

In the '80's I toured on a GS450E, with a Vetter Quicksilver fairing. For a 5 week in the UK I bought and sold back a Honda 500 Silverwing. Got a Class-B motorhome, then a K2500 with a 24' fifth wheel, then kids. Went from L.A. to a military reunion in OKC, on a Suzuki 650 Savage. But now?

Now I am retired. I can have any motorcycle I want. I considered a light tourer, a V-Star 650 Classic, which can handle a camper trailer. I considered a new Savage 650 S40, which I know is extremely comfortable. But I dislike wasting gasoline money. A big touring bike drinks as much gasoline as a small car.

Question: What is your favorite touring bike?

Answer: A Vespa LX150i.e.

Stupid little thing has luggage racks front and rear, storage under the saddle, can carry a pair of saddlebags, and I can even carry stuff on the floorboard. *AND* I get 75 mpg doing 55-60 mph on the Interstates!

RIDE YOUR OWN RIDE

I do not expect you do ride my ride. I do not ride your ride.

I've toured with a Honda CB350 K1, a Yamaha TX500, a BMW R75/6,& a couple of honda CXs. Of them all I preferred the CB 350. A lot of my riding was on dirt back roads & the comparitively light weight of the 350 was handy. Only downsides were the voltage regulator & lousy front brake. The beemer was fine for high speed stuff but not all that comfortable until you got over about 120km/hr. The CX 500 was fun & handled both dirt & main roads well, was even ridden off road a few times , the CX650 was more relaxed but not as much fun.

Gold Wing is in a league of its own and next to would be the BMW 1600, the Honda ST1300 is more sport touring along with the power house Kawasaki Concours. The Suzuki Hayabusa is classed as a Sport touring, its more sport than touring and its great for high speed (unlawful) solo tours.

Triumph Trophy SE If all I was doing was pavement touring. http://www.triumphmotorcycles.com/bikes/trophy/201...

Triumph ExplorerXC If I wanted something that could tackle some dirt too. http://www.triumphmotorcycles.com/bikes/tiger/2014...

What I do tour on are a Suzuki VStrom 650 and a Kawasaki KLR650. Both are great bikes and cheap where the Triumphs are great bikes, but not so cheap.

We all have our own way of touring, I like 'light and adventurous' so my Triumph Tiger 955i does me just fine. Pack two pairs of socks and underwear and I'm good for at least a week, a toothbrush added make that two weeks.

hmmmmm my 61 panhead chopper,sleeping bag across the handlebars and some gear stuffed in the saddlebags. I dont ride baggers!

Harley-Davidson rules.