Triumphrat

Jared26 · 09-17-2005

I am planning to ride my S4 from Albuquerque, NM to Seattle WA. Departing Albuquerque on or around October 10. And arriving in Seattle around October 20. This is going to be a big adventure covering around 2k miles and unfortunately I have little experience touring. I plan on camping some of the time and hoteling other times. Hopefully the camping/hotel arrangement will work out to 50/50. The big question is: what should I not forget to bring with me for a ride of such magnitude? Sorry to get off of the Daytona 675 tangent. Thanks in advance.

Joe-Dirt · 09-17-2005

http://www.visi.com/~dalebor/index.html#contents Archimedes posted this in the biker hangout forum. It's got some good tips.

timyjimy · 09-19-2005

Jared26 - From personal experience, touring on the S4 was a whole lot of fun. When I did my cross country trip, I setup my gearing as 15/42 which I believe would be equivalent to 16/45. This eliminated alot of vibration (comfort factor) but took a bit of getting used to since it changed the power band. I would recommend bringing rain gear. Even if they are throwovers, better to be safe than sorry. I travelled with the triumph soft panniers and a submersible bag that I bungied over the back seat. The submersible bag held my sleeping bag and tent while the panniers held consumables and clothes. Go to your local auto parts store and get a tire plug kit. I had to learn the hard way by getting a flat in Florida and the closest bike shop was 2 hours away. Bring some first aid stuff. Go to triumphs site and get a list of all dealers in the states you will be travelling through. That is all that comes to mind right now. Enjoy your trip and be safe

If your heading north, look at Hwy 64 near Taos, NM. There was still snow when I rode through but it is a fun road.

Jared26 · 09-20-2005

Does anybody have a recommendation for luggage? They all seem to be about the same as far as capacity, quality, etc.

johnny5 · 09-21-2005

I have the Triumph throwover sports panniers and a givi topbox. The panniers are great and did me fine for a 2000 mile 7 day trip around the Scottish coast. They didn't leak (with the membrane pulled over them) and stayed on the bike, had to keep checking they were there as they look a bit vague at first. The top box would be good for your tent and shoes. Touring is great and can't wait till next year when I will do it again, Ireland next time I think.

Will · 09-21-2005

My bike has a Ventura rack on it. You can put up to 100 liters of bags on the rack, assuming you don't want to use a truck to haul everything in your house! The bags will beat up your plastic, and it is expensive. If you are carrying a lot on a regular basis, it is worth the cost and the damage to the center tail plastic. I had the rack on the yellow bike, and when it blew, I just put it on the red and silver bike. It comes off easily for track days, too.