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It seems member Bedouin does a lot of touring. I would be interest what he and the others mentioned (who have not posted) have to say about the bikes.



Sergio Ciao!

I have been doing long motorcycle tours every year (bar one) since 1981.
This year I did 4 tours, the last one (August) being 11.200 kms to include Nordkapp.
Some of my tours included Iron Butt mileage but that was purely coincidental and not planned (I consider them an excercise and not a ride per se).
As for the Speedy, I have taken it to 25-26 countries in the past 2 years (and that's just on 2 rides - 10.000 and 12.000 km's respectively). It can be done but don't look for any high-speed (Autostrada or Autobahn) touring (especially when 2-up). It's ideal for Balkans and Eastern Europe where the terrain is somewhat tighter (and bumpier ).
I would think that if you wanted to include higher speed stuff and you were looking for a cruiser, then the T-Bird would be more suitable (if it suited to your taste, obviously).

The last ride I did on a GS 1200 I bought in order to prepare for future off-road work but I could easily have done it on the Speedy. I chose this one in order to be better matched to my other bike, an RT1100 which Dwight was riding for a major portion of this trip.

Any questions I would be happy to try cover for you.

Bedouin. Blessed are those eyes that have seen more roads than any man! (Homer).