Bonneville America Forums Forums General Motorcycle Forums Other Bikes touring bikes; has anybody owned one?

i was just wondering if anyone here also has owned a touring bike, like a goldie or voy? what did you think of them?

i bought a kaw voyager 12 last summer and i have to say it's a nice ride. it has true cruise, radio/tape deck search, air suspension, of course lots of storage space, great wind coverage, back rest, and really some usable power for such a heavy bike.

i haven't taken any long trips over 250 miles, but it sure is a nice change once in a while.

my first choice is always my speedie, but i like the voy and so does my wife.

the bike has 92,000 miles and runs like a top.

not bad looking either.

cat
this is not the actual bike, but looks just like it:

This is true...my MOTHER used to ride one of those and loved it. But with 92k on the clock it will be needing rings and valve work soon.
A Goldwing would be a great choice for a trouble free tourer and can be had very reasonably as well.
Now, my druthers would steer me towards BMW though. More $$ but ohhhhh soooo nice for touring.

A few months ago I got real close to buying a Triumph Trophy 1200. A real nice bike for the long haul...don't know why they quit makin' em. The new Sprint ST is supposed to be a winner...haven't seen one except at the bike show. Here in the just-past-mid-semester of my life, the allure of creature comforts can get overwhelming. Maybe I'll crack out the old '76 Goldwing & give it a makeover.

TM

pat,

doesn't use a drop of oil so far. there's a guy on the voy wizards site that has 220,000 miles no rebuild.
the former owner (origianl) has all the oil change records at 4000 miles, dates and all.

i'll cross my fingers and ride.

cat

Well, my mom used to ride hers pretty hard, really! I used to give all my poor little Honda 900 had to keep up, and she pulled a trailer all the time too.
We'd get some strange looks when stopping to fuel or drink.
And she also wore combat boots while riding.

Pat, did did you ever get chewing tobacco spit on you for following too close :-) Gordon

One of my buddies just sold his Voyager Trike conversion on Ebay. He had that thing all over the states with no troubles. One of my neighbors pulls a small trailer with his G-wing. Another has a BMW LT1200, boy talk about a luxo-boat! Wife and I sat on a new Gold Wing this past fall, one of these days: definitely!

Naw, no chaw, but the old one nostril snot removal was pretty funky on the Winjammer shield.

Nah, she backs him off by throwing ball bearings over her shoulder.

>I got real close to buying a Triumph Trophy 1200. A real >nice bike for the long haul...don't know why they quit >makin' em.

Because the T3 motor no longer meets the emissions requirements in several countries. Expect to see fuel injection on the twins in the next 3-4 years for the same reason.

I've owned a Trophy 1200 since '98 and have done several long trips on it including a 3000+ mile tour of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. I can't see owning a full dresser unless you plan to do a lot of touring and/or ride two up most of the time. I find the BA a much easier bike to live with on a day-to-day basis and rarely take the Trophy out unless I'm planning to ride 200+ miles.

Keith

I don't know about all the rest of you, but my BA seems to do just fine for a touring bike. Last summer I took a 4800 mile ride from lower Northern CA to Northern OR then onto Burnet TX (near Austin). With some comfort mods, seat/highway pegs/windshield and so on, I was turning 500 miles a day easy and up to 750 on some days. It was kind of nice with no "sounds", just the wind blowing by and mostly open roads.

Jazzplayer:
That's exactly why I'm looking for something to tour on. My wife & I go to Wyoming/Montana every summer. I love my SM, but my tired old back won't let me go much over 200 miles at a time in that position. Have you had to do any major service on your Trophy? I've heard that a valve adjustment can be a pain.

love those wide open spaces, TM

Hi Cat...I have a BMW K11RS...sport tourer...great bike!

was on a ride saturday and stopped by the bmw dealer and looked over the new 1200 lt and rt. boy, those are nice looking bikes. the lt looked very cool.
out of my price range at $21,000.

those are nice bikes.

cat

ooooya
great pictures super trip. Looks like you guys had a great time, everyone should do a trip like that. My buddies and I did a trip from jersey to key west 3900 mi round trip a few years ago, and I'm ready for another. thanks for the break during our snow storm here.

bill

My uncle has a Goldwing and loves it. I have taken it for a few quick rides and was generally surprised with how nice it rides and handles. I do like the 'reverse' gear, pretty funny but useful. I just wish it had a coffee maker...

custus

custus -

i'd thought the new ones came with the coffee maker as well as a small microwave & fridge?

count on Triumph offering a full tour vision of the R3 within 2 years.it will truly be the King of the Road until japan retools.

must admit i've been looking at BMW'S of late. that suspension makes me think the bike would be like riding on glass & pretty inpressive numbers regards performance.

Mouse,
Sorry it took ao long to get back.
I actually just finished doing just about everything to my Trophy. Checking the valves wasn't too bad and I didn't have to change any shims so it wasn't a major ordeal. At least with the Trophy you don't have to remove the cam shafts or mess with a cam tensioner. The ugly job on the Trophy is replacing the airbox or filter element. The carbs have to be removed from the bike to get the airbox out (or open). Otherwise the only other issues I have had with maintenance were little surprises left by the "Official Triumph Factory Trained Mechanics" like striped bolts, busted body work tabs and the like.
I'm thinking of selling mine. If your interested ping me off list. The bike is located in Longmont CO about 40 miles north of Denver.

Keith

keith_ley@hotmail.com

I had a bummer R90/S once. Can't say I was terribly impressed with it, but it did hold up a lot better than anything from japan. The seat was far too high and the riding position was really bad.

Never owned one. Never had any desire to own one. I always thought pain was part of the experience.
I dunno my reasons but to me after all the fairings, lowers, saddlebags, tank bags, trunk, radio, seats with armrests, etc. are put on a bike, I'd rather just take my truck or the wife's Blazer....
To each his own, I guess. I see ooooya's post and remember Nobby's adventure and to me, that's riding...
Again, to each his own....

all 4 of my bikes are very different from each other.

i put 150 miles on my bsa yesterday after a carb tune. that bike kicks and grunts and snorts and vibrates and runs like a top. you need a gorilla grip to throttle it and hold on, vice grips for hands to pull the front brake and clutch, and it sure kicks my ******. there are drips of oil under it and you can't see the front spokes when it sits at idle, and that's why i love it. tools: bailing wire, heavy object to clunk float bowl, some electrical wire and tape, screwdriver, crescent wrench, and ibuprofen...

at a gas station, some harley guys were watching me kick it over. you wd. had thought they were watching an alien. they've probably never owned a bike w/ a kicker.

then i rode my speedy; it was like being in a car after that ride.

so it's all perspective for me. one of the reasons i like my voyager is my wife enjoys riding w/ me on it. those big bikes aren't for everyone, that's for sure. but if a suv pulls out in front of you, you know you're on a bike...
cat

I've had both a BMW K1200LT and a Harley Ultra Classic, both with every farkle known to man. I loved them both but I'm quite happy to ride my TBA or KLR anywhere now I would have gone on them and both together with all their mods cost less than half of the beemer.