Good long touring motorcycle?

Question

I'm looking to buy a good, used and reliable motorcycle for some long touring/vacations. I'm 5'10" tall and average weight. I'm looking for something that I can put side bags on and that has very good/forgiving road manners with some pretty good pick up. Any ideas?

Answer 1

Any of the big 5 will do. Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Harley Davidson all make excellent touring bikes. The Harley Davidson Road King and Suzuki Blouevard will best meet your requirements as far as low center of gravity and power. The Boulevard can be customized lighter to fit your traveling style without having too much extra accessories you might not need. But the Boulevard is more of a Cruiser machine that can be made into a custom touring bike. Whatever bike you choose, new or used, get one that at least has an 800cc or larger engine. I would not go any less than that for the extra hauling and pick up power. My personal choice would be the Suzuki Boulevard for the short distances you make to and from work. But like I said, customize it to fit your traveling needs and consider installing a Gel seat in place of the factory one. Your butt will thank you for not making it saddle-sore.

Answer 2

While not the very best touring bike, the Kawasaki ZG1200 Voyager (4 cylinder) is an excellent bike. Good engine that'll last forever, hydraulic valves so no adjustments needed, great fuel mileage for a bike of any size, plenty of saddlebag and trunk room, decent fairing (although wind protection is a bit shy for the passenger), nimble and maneuverable, sound system, reasonably priced and they made them more or less unchanged for 19 years, meaning you can find parts anywhere for them. 5th gear is a true overdrive, meaning the engine loafs along at highway speeds but in the lower three gears, it'll really haul butt. Maybe not sport bike fast, but probably faster than you'll ever want to go. You may consider it a bit top heavy, but I have the older 6 cylinder Voyager that out weighs the 1200 by 200 pounds and it's very top heavy. I'm only around 5'8", average build and 54 years old and I can handle my road barge without any problem. If I can do that, then you can certainly handle a ZG.

Answer 3

Find a BMW K75 if you can. These models existed from 86 to 96. The bikes never broke down, so the dealer's shops never saw them and it cost BMW Motorrad about 95% of the cost of a K100 to produce the K 75. Basic economy:you cannot sell a bike that cost as much to build as the bigger bikes, when the displacement is expected to sell at below cost. Great bike, but bad business plan.



You should be able to find plenty of parts and information on the K75 with the BMWMOA forum. Lots of BMW folks think that the K75 was the best of the "modern" BMW models. I've seen many selling for $3500 or less. A good buy for somebody that needs a long distance bike.

Answer 4

Currently riding old Goldwing after some years of BMW-R69/2, r50/2, R75/5 models. Some Harley's before the shafties. Goldwing was good price at the time and more Honda dealers than BMW dealers- so still partial to BMW as well as Wing. Shaft drives available on other models and is a moderately high priority after some incidents with broken drive chains. Lowdown engine mass means easy handling for the size of engine. 5 to 10 years old means decent priced.

Answer 5

I got my first true "touring" bike in 2002. A Harley Road Glide. It has been super reliable and I have cranked out lots of 1000 mile days on it. The comfort level is great. I can ride 12 hours and be ready for a party that night. Sure a change from over 30 years of rigid frames!

Answer 6

I have a group of friends that ride Honda Goldwings and they swear by them for cross-country touring. They wouldn't consider riding anything else.



I love my Kawasaki Concours, and wouldn't hesitate to ride coast-to-coast on it.



Those are two very good suggestions for you to consider, and both come with sidebags from the factory. Not sure about the Goldwing, but the bags on mine come off in a few seconds total.

Answer 7

What i think of you're in seek of is interior the sport traveling classification. I kawasaki and honda the two make a 1300cc bike it truly is tremendously stable. notwithstanding, the superb highway bike to take on the twisties is the Victory imaginitive and prescient. it relatively is the superb looking super bike available. era. It additionally has extra constructive reliability than very just about the different bike available. in case you prefer evidence, purely youtube victiory imaginitive and prescient dragons tail. i might gladly trip this bike from key west fl to alaska in a heartbeat.

Answer 8

any of the BMW 1000cc plus bikes...........



but... did I say BUT...



can you ride a bike.. how long have you been riding... what distance do you call long..???



long ride for me... Adelaide to Sydney.. 900miles.. good days ride..



if your only riding 100 miles a day... you can do it on a scooter...



& if your touring... why do you need good pickup???