Who tours on a sports bike?

[Swoop]

On a sports bike you are naturally putting a lot of weight on your wrists as you are leaning forward.

You shouldn't have any weight on your wrists!

[Bikernereid]

How long are yu plannig to tour Europe for and how much d you want to see? This summer OWNER with me pillioning did over 7000k in just over two weeks due to time constraints. I would recommend that if you can go for longer do it. The distances here are way beyond NZ standards and you may well find that your wrists sieze up quite severly if you have a long ride and not much time to do it. If you can take as many breaks as possible and stay off the highways (they are boring as sin). IMHO

We had previously done NP to Auckland on OWNERs CBR600RR and I think that even OWNER will admit that our Yamaha Fazer 600 is a far more comfortable ride over longer distances. The longest ride we did in one day was from Zurich (Switzerland) to near Rotterdam (The Netherlands) and that was a very hard days ride (over 900ks). There is no way OWNER could have done that ride safely on the CBR.

At the end of the day it is your choice but I would suggest that if you want to enjoy a trip round Europe it is far more enjoyable if you are not constantly in pain and not enjoying the ride or the scenery. IMHO

[piston broke]

if the weather is ok this weekend,i'm gonna go down to hawkes bay on saturday return sunday.
if all goes well i'll let you know how an unfit (enough of winter) rider goes over 1k/km in 2 days on a sportsbike.
fingers crossed for nice'ish weather

[TLDV8]

A Corbin seat made long days easy as far as the TL went.
Before that by 600 kms the stock seat was getting to be a (real) pain.

[justsomeguy]

I don't do any of that, and I can ride 4 hours without a break, not that I recommend that. Wrists got used to it after about six months.

If you are cruising with your wife, you are going to be following her at her pace - this was VERY hard on my hands. As soon as I was back to 120clicks on my own I was mint again,

That seems to be what I do. I have no problem with it, except under 100k's.

It sounds to me like you should just do it. Its not going to kill you.

HTH,
Steve

DangerousBastard your hands simply got stronger and used to the strain over six months. One shouldn't feel any strain at any speeds if one has proper posture, which again comes from practice.

Not directed towards Dangerous B - but in general.

There shouldn't be any weight on your wrists. If your bike is set up normally it should ride in a straight line with only the slightest pressure from your hands to maintain direction - not grip. To change direction you simply push on the bar and peg on that side with your hand and foot.

Keith Code advises that you should be able to wiggle your elbows freely and be able to swing them to touch the tank depending on the length of your arms. If you can't do that easily you are gripping too tightly.

This is more important on sports bikes as the firmer suspension means the bars may judder more than cruisers or tourers meaning more wear and tear on your hand muscles during the ride. This may seem like gay oversentivity but it all ads up if you're trying to do some higher speed all day riding and need your emergency countersteering abilities ready when you want them to be.

[-df-]

How long are yu plannig to tour Europe for and how much d you want to see? This summer OWNER with me pillioning did over 7000k in just over two weeks due to time constraints. I would recommend that if you can go for longer do it. The distances here are way beyond NZ standards and you may well find that your wrists sieze up quite severly if you have a long ride and not much time to do it. If you can take as many breaks as possible and stay off the highways (they are boring as sin). IMHO

We had previously done NP to Auckland on OWNERs CBR600RR and I think that even OWNER will admit that our Yamaha Fazer 600 is a far more comfortable ride over longer distances. The longest ride we did in one day was from Zurich (Switzerland) to near Rotterdam (The Netherlands) and that was a very hard days ride (over 900ks). There is no way OWNER could have done that ride safely on the CBR.

At the end of the day it is your choice but I would suggest that if you want to enjoy a trip round Europe it is far more enjoyable if you are not constantly in pain and not enjoying the ride or the scenery. IMHO

Planning on a month of riding, only a couple of countries I really want to see (germany, italy, scotland...and head thru the alps) so will definatly need to make sure I can "handle the jandle" before setting off.

So to sum it all up I guess...lots say yes...lots say no...guess I'll just have to find out!!

Cheers all.

[Okey Dokey]

justsomeguy, I couldn't agree more with what you have written.

I've toured 2-up on my gixxer, all around N and S Islands. I have a Ventura pack that holds all the 2 of us need. Note- we don't carry a tent, but stay at friends or tourist cabins at campgrounds.

In my experience, the best way to get motorcycle-fit is to ride.

Good luck and enjoy your tour!

[terbang]

Biggest tour I ever did was on a Hayabusa it was 6000 KM in 2 weeks. Not exactly a sport bike, but still quite a crouched riding position. I was pretty well beat up on the first few days but sort of got used to it and it all went fine. Apart from the memory loss and headaches from all the beer drinking, I arrived home in reasonable shape and had an awesome trip . I rode my old GSX1100F (its a sport tourer) from Nelson to Auckland last week. A much more plush and comfortable ride considering all the rain. The biggest difference I notice is in the fairing, the busa is faired with speed in mind (hot legs, cold body & frozen hands) while the 1100 is more faired for rider comfort.

[CookMySock]

There shouldn't be any weight on your wrists. If your bike is set up normally it should ride in a straight line with only the slightest pressure from your hands to maintain direction - not grip. To change direction you simply push on the bar and peg on that side with your hand and foot.

Oh ok. I dont grip tightly. I make a point of taking a firm wrap if there is an oncoming truck, in case I put pulled off the bars by the buffet. My difficulty was leaning forward on the bars at slow speed. At 100k and over there is little or no weight on the bars, and I dont get sore wrists. The faster I go and the more time I spend off the seat, the more comfortable I am. Earlier on, around town was a real BIIIIAAAARRRRRCH on my bike, but less so these days.

This is more important on sports bikes as the firmer suspension means the bars may judder more than cruisers or tourers meaning more wear and tear on your hand muscles during the ride. This may seem like gay oversentivity but it all ads up if you're trying to do some higher speed all day riding and need your emergency countersteering abilities ready when you want them to be.

Hrm, my most comfortable riding postion (more forward) isn't compatible with my most powerful countersteering position (seated well back.) To be comfy, my shoulders are more overhead the bars, meaning I can apply limited force. When seated well back, its a straight push to the bars, so I can push hard and suddenly (not that I do much) and also my front gets jittery with all my body weight on it and throttled off. Conversely, sitting back and powered on it feels like it will corner forever.

Shot through to auckland today, 3 hours. Cruisin at 110 to 140k no sore anything whatsoever. Brain was a bit fried after 3 hours and a bit (from hoofin it), but body was mint in all respects.

Interesting, justsomeguy. Thank you for your insight and feedback.

Steve

[R1madness]

I have spent my whole biking life touring around on various sports bikes. The roads are well suited to it here in the south island. Even in canterbury there are enough twisty bits to keep you interested. Carrying gear is easy with a good set of panniers and a tank bag. Nothing like pulliong up next to a fully laden dresser at a stop and comparing distances travelled in a day.

[Grub]

I'm totally blown away by all these people saying ... don't do it, it hurts. What sort of horror machines are they riding I ask myself.

I was very careful about my bike selection the 2000/01 CBR600's were the last Honda sportsbike to have a decent riding position - so that's what i bought. Since then, sports bikes have gone to clipons and all that sort of garbage and made them totally useless for anything but a wank or track days.

I've now done 20,000km in 9 months on my CBR and have ridden for 12 hours with only gas/meal stops. So it comes down to being clever about what you buy. Don't buy something like an R1 or R6, GSXR etc etc because they're crap for touring ... but there are great sportsbikes out there that you can tour on.

[glice]

I've toured on my cbr250 before. wasnt all that bad.

[R1madness]

Don't buy something like an R1 or R6, GSXR etc etc because they're crap for touring ...

eh??????? what a load of crap. I did the whole south island in 4 days a couple of years ago on my old R1. It was fine.

[98tls]

Happily tour on my TLS with no problems.

[NighthawkNZ:Me]

Happily tour on my TLS with no problems.

I happily tour on the VTR as well with no problems... and happily riden all day with only a couple of break mainly for fuel...

As for sore wrists... not really I get a sore but before that happens.... but touring just throw over the sheepskin.