Triumph Rat Motorcycle Forums banner

Touring R

3K views 17 replies 7 participants last post by  Bonnocam 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I seem to like touring on sporty bikes that aren't really made for touring. My thinking is that you will have to do without massive luggage space but in return get to ride something that is nimble and quick. Not fond of the look of those giant Grampa bikes either. Seems a lot of us old guys gravitate toward the 900 lb motorcycle just as our upper body strength starts to diminish.
I'm going the other way. The Special is 348 dry, I have toured on it, the 955 i Daytona is around 420 dry, it's quite good for touring and now there's this Thruxton at 448, same as the Vincent Rapides or the Commando. There is plenty to choose from and no need to ride a heavier bike. Just jettison any
unnecessary luggage.
Nimble and quick in the mountains is way more important than having drink holders or three pairs of jeans to choose from for evening attire.

Even with my skimpy luggage requirements , I was doubtful that those nifty little Triumph oval panniers would be big enough, but it seems they will do.
Everything in the photo, other than the GPS, has to go into the panniers for a three day trip.



All in comfortably with a little room remaining in one pannier. Looks like I can add a pair of jeans. And a belt. Maybe.



Glen
 
See less See more
2
#2 ·
Way to go! That's great!

You don't need much upper body strength to handle a GL1800. I've seen a 125 lb grandma pick one up from the fallen state. That same grandma spent an entire year touring on it. And the GL1800 handles exceptionally well. The thing I love most about it is that I can do a 500 mile day with lots of twisty roads thrown in easily, and keep doing it for 10 days with no ill effects.

That said, I don't usually carry much more than what will fit in the nylon panniers of the Thruxton for weekend trips.

I've toured on my BMW that weighs 425 wet, with just a 28 liter tail bag, and had a blast on it.

Not sure if I will do any touring on the Thruxton, but I did get the nylon panniers so I can at least make overnight trips n it.
 
#3 ·
My heaviest bike ridden recently was a BMW R1200RT. The claimed dry weight of that bike is 505 lbs but reality is much higher, around 670 wet and with empty luggage in place. The owners rave about the light handling of the RT s and for it's size I thought it was pretty decent, but still a relief to get back on the light bike ( Mountain riding)
I can't imagine adding 3 or 4 hundred pounds to that with a GL or equivalent, but I know people do ride them everywhere.


Glen
 
#5 ·
Mr glen,I like you am coming off a BMW k1200s,way too much bike for me,before that a BMW f800gt not an exciting bike,before that a Ducati GT 1000 that I took cross country.nice bike,but before that was a 07 Bonnie t100,now that was a good machine,but lacked umph ! I now find my self staring down the barrel of a thruxton R.and like you I would like to be able to travel some,,,,what's your take on how the R is working out for you personally?
 
#4 ·
Honestly I could not imagine riding something that heavy either until I did it, and then was amazed to find it so easy to ride and handle so well. It's like Honda performed some kind of magic. I found it to be easier to ride than my Concours 1000, which I promptly sold to get a GL1800.

My background up to that point was mostly inline-4 powered bikes which never really felt comfortable for me in town. The GL1800 feels comfortable riding around town. It feels comfortable in a almost every situation. I even filter with it, but only on freeways. Its definitely out of its element filtering in town.
 
#6 ·
As a solo Tourer it is working exceptionally well.
I had to scale my luggage requirements down a bit but wanted for nothing on a four day trip, will do a twelve day trip ( Laundromat stop in the middle) in a couple of weeks.
I don't mind paring the luggage back a bit because the payoff is that I get to ride the R when I'm touring, and it is a sweet machine.

Glen
 
#7 ·
Pack light is certainly the way to go.

I must admit I am not overly impressed with the Triumph panniers though. They will do for now but are Just a bit too small for me. I prefer ones that can extend when needed, and ideally lock to the bike, although for the lovely looking Truxton I will make an exception to that in favour of removable rack bars. I am waiting for Motech to come up with the blaze bars for the Thruxton.
 
#8 ·
Yes, I found them a bit small, just barely adequate for the four day trip.
I'm having some loops sewn into the tops of the panniers so that 10 litre dry bags can be strapped on top. This will give 50 litres of luggage capacity which is plenty for my needs.
On the positive, the panniers look neat, zip up easily even when quite full, and according to the Beemer riders behind, do not move about even at 100 mph.

Glen
 
#9 ·
Glen, I totally agree with the concept of minimalist sport touring and sacrificing a bit of comfort (or in some cases, let's be honest, a lot of comfort...:grin2:) for fun factor through the twisty mountain roads. Plus the Thrux still looks great with those tight little panniers. I like your solution of securing a top bag so you can go a couple of weeks.

Like many I started touring on motorcycles back when we'd just bungee a duffle bag to the seat of our Honda 750's or Kawi 900's and away we'd go. Over the last ten years I've had some great fun touring on a Monster, as well as my Bonnie. Matter of fact, just got back from some fishing near 100 Mile House and decided to take my Bonnie and made a loop of it up through Duffy and back through the Canyon. EFI would've been nice at elevation.
 
#10 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hi Steve
I've rethought the loops and dry bags on top idea. This would put the kibosh on using the elastic rain cover for the panniers, since 4 good sized holes in the rain cover would be required for the loops. With four holes thru the rain cover it likely wouldn't keep out much rain.
I've tried the panniers in heavy rain once with the covers and once without. Without the covers the insides of the panniers became very wet in about one hour.
With the covers on the bags stayed dry during a four hour rainstorm coming home from Winthrop.
So the covers are needed.
I'm back to bungeeing on the back as you did years ago. One 10 litre bag sits on the rear fender quite nicely. I put some soft matting under and it looks to be an OK solution. The 10 litre bag holds rain gear pants and jacket, my bulky but comfortable sandals and a pair of spare gloves.
This leaves both panniers with some room to spare.
100 mile? Fishing? My kind of trip.

I need to give you a call.

Glen
 
#11 · (Edited by Moderator)
We left Vancouver on Saturday and are now in Laurel, Montana for a pre-rally ride. The official Vincent Rally is in Missoula, Mt and starts tomorrow, but we wanted to ride the Beartooth Pass route first.
We hooked up with part of the Vincent club this am.
My trip Odometer shows 2340 kms.



Beartooth lookout



This post is definitely over the top at 11,000 ft elevation for the summit.

 
#13 ·
I would say that these bikes are quite tourable if you don't try to haul your whole wardrope with you. Fe you don't really need to carry water with you, unless you plan to pass areas with no traffic and cell range. Normally you anyways have to stop once/hour so it's best to take stops where you can also take a sip.

Fe we had 1 week trip with wife on board month a go. We had small tank bag and 30l backback for two people. And I even had non-essentials like climbing shoes and book with me.
 
#16 ·
The fender is staying put:)

Now 3,300 kms and eight days since leaving Vancouver, BC. We left Missoula, Montana this am and went thru the "Going to the Sun " road in Glacier National Park on our way to Twin Butte, Alberta.
That's where we are now, hunkered down on a ranch in beautiful surroundings.
The bike has worked flawlessly.

Glen
 
#17 ·
Back home after a marathon riding day today. Left Twin Butte, Alberta this am at six, just getting light and arrived home in Langley BC around 8 pm just getting dark. Had plenty of stops and a couple of naps along the way. One nap was in a dry ditch that had just the right shape. I fell asleep quickly but woke up just as quickly on hearing a lady traveller asking if I was OK.
Covered 1080 kms today and felt fine afterward, no sore spots. The entire trip was 4,830 kms.

Won't change a thing on the bike. It seems to have more power now that it has some miles on. It just leapt up the Salmo/Creston grade, which is several miles long and steep.

Glen
 
#18 ·
Thanks for posting this Glen. I know for many people, a bike like a Thrux R is just a toy for 1 or 2 hour rips through the canyon, but for me a bike has to be able to cover distance and it's nice to know the new Thrux will do it well with the right rider and the right attitude. The best times I have on motorcycles are on tour.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top