Which Is The Best Bike For Touring ? - Page 4 - xBhp.com : The Global Indian Biking Community

pundrick · 09-29-2008, 02:18 PM

Also the riders physic strength may make a lot of difference. A guy with good physique will not be stressed much by riding positions in concern. Hydbiker is an example for that who toured all night on R15 without any complain whereas every time i drive more ~150 km a day in city on RTR, i come back home with a sore back.

prakash_mvpa · 09-29-2008, 02:27 PM

may be.but I am not subscribing this height thing reg riding of motorbikes.FYI ,there are nerds who swear with kids motorcycles in west

.

I am 5"9 and I can find it home on both zma or unicorn to bullet to rx100s.

On a serious note ,height will affect a small person in city traffic manoeuvring a high bike.thats it.but once into cruising mode ,all are almost the same.

but what pundrick said is very true.

locusjag · 09-29-2008, 02:27 PM

About fitness:

Yes Pundrick is right on that count too.
Medically, riders with an already bad or herniated disc between their back bones [in medico jargon: L5-S1 joint] will always feel uncomfortable on any bike after long hours. You won't know that you have a medical problem...the pain will speak out though.

prabhubravo · 09-29-2008, 03:11 PM

I too agree on the "already affected discs", but here riding a bike that doesnt suit us/has a seating position which is not good for the discs will affect the 'good phsyic' too.

Ps: here am not speaking about doing 500km in a day or for the first time in "sporty" position. Am speaking about 500kms for 2 or 3 days and doing such tours twice a month, for an year will surface its effects !

locusjag · 09-29-2008, 03:20 PM

Exactly Prabhu,
One aspect of a good tourer should be smooth shock-absorbers, and a good seating position of course. Positions and comfort levels vary of course. So i guess, good quality shock absorbers and bike stability is the common denominator of a good tourer. Add reliability to this as an unrelated but equally important factor.
Secondary factors should be power, speed, mileage,maintanability etc etc.

BOOO · 09-29-2008, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sandeep_K_Ram

I disagree. Even my P200 with a slightly prone position was a sore point for touring 500kms. I dont know the position of the 220 relative to the 200 ...but the drawback is that you can't even adjust the handlebar to swing it back in so that you can sit with your back straight. You cannot extrapolate your experience of doing 20km on a highway and extend that same logic onto what might happen over 500km+ but i will also say that some people seem to be able to sit in difficult positions - not ideal positions - for long long durations so for such ppl all this is irrelevant

But On a long tour, is essential to have your wrists, shoulders and back in a relaxed position. Else ....

About Headlamps - I doubt how many people here will tour in the night on stock headlamps. When I saw 500km its not a night ride automatically. We would leave early - 4-4.30 AM and reach our destination by 8PM etc. Not much night riding. And even then we would be using 60/55 at the very least if not a 100/90 or a HID.

IMO R15 is least suited for touring. Take it to a track... take some corners ...enjoy what its meant to be - a superb track bike .... why waste its USP by claiming its a tourer ? ? ? I respect your opinion but .... its plain to see its not meant to be tourer.

As someone said - best choice is a K-ZMA with HID.Period.

1. We did night rides. on R-15, P200, P220, RTR. none of us guys had modded head lamps. and all of them were more than 500.
2. You guys were talking about mountains... one of our buddy just says that Fi has its advantages on those altitudes.
3. r-15 has a comfy seat. and comfy ride due to the suspension.
4. long rides are never like 150km rides, every increase 100kms you need double the mental strength. because there is only one way; you cant go back. for example you ride all the way from hyd to vizag (some 650 kms) and the toughest part is going 30kms inside the city to the guest house. through traffic. not the 650kms.

if you can tour on p200, you can tour on r-15 too. don't sideline r15 by saying that its not a touring bike just by looking at the spec sheet. and yeah, zma is a good tourer, but imo not as good as r15.

realredice · 09-29-2008, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BOOO

1.
if you can tour on p200, you can tour on r-15 too. don't sideline r15 by saying that its not a touring bike just by looking at the spec sheet. and yeah, zma is a good tourer, but imo not as good as r15.

Each one has their opinion and you have given yours... But most of us here don't give opinions based on spec sheets... please don't make mindless accusations... anybody with any experience on both machines will tell you that ZMA is a much better option than R15 when it comes to touring... its the best overall machine for touring for any rider... R15 is not suited for all... i know how R15 feels like and how ZMA feels like when you pass a coupla hundred kms on the road... you can do highways easily... but when it comes to bad roads and luggage it falls behind by quite a lot... and i'm one of the biggest Yamaha fan boys... but that doesn't stop me from calling a spade a spade...

Quote:

Originally Posted by BOOO

1.
3. r-15 has a comfy seat. and comfy ride due to the suspension.

if you get into bad roads that suspension kills you...

rossiter · 09-29-2008, 05:41 PM

Too much effort on a trivial matter.

On xBhp, there are guys who tour regularly (750 kms+ a day) on a Platina/Disco, and guys who do the same distances on an R1.

Don't flame each other over this

Aparajith · 09-29-2008, 05:49 PM

As for this thread, check this :: A short trip to Cuddalore and back!!

OT :: Rossi sir, where is your title of "Moderator". You now became a "Junior member" ??!!!

sunilg · 09-29-2008, 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jasmeetsinghchawla

In 150 cc its Unicorn
Karizma in little higher range
Bullet in more higher range

higher range? as in high altitudes? care to elaborate?

The BEST bike that I have come across as a tourer is Pulsar 180 DTSi V1. It has a huge 18 liter tank (in fact 19) that gives you a range of more than 700 km (18 x 40 kmpl. You can easily do manali-leh-manali in a tankful

i have seen it giving fuel average of 40+ kms even if rip your hearts out. It just never fails. It has more or less same power as a karizma but has much better fuel efficiency than a karizma. Has quite an upright sitting posture that makes it easy to ride the whole day without any undue tension on your shoulders or back.

Karizma is also quite good, but i would prefer it with better fuel economy and a bigger fuel tank.

but then, its not the bike its the rider that matters. Here people have done world trip on an R1; heck, our very own Sunny has taken Fireblade through the length and breadth of this country; and then you have people who have done Khardungla on the tiny M80.

09-29-2008, 02:18 PM	#31 (permalink)
pundrick Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 138	Just a thought Also the riders physic strength may make a lot of difference. A guy with good physique will not be stressed much by riding positions in concern. Hydbiker is an example for that who toured all night on R15 without any complain whereas every time i drive more ~150 km a day in city on RTR, i come back home with a sore back.

09-29-2008, 02:27 PM	#32 (permalink)
prakash_mvpa Lazy Biker Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Muvattupuzha ,Kerala Posts: 608	may be.but I am not subscribing this height thing reg riding of motorbikes.FYI ,there are nerds who swear with kids motorcycles in west . I am 5"9 and I can find it home on both zma or unicorn to bullet to rx100s. On a serious note ,height will affect a small person in city traffic manoeuvring a high bike.thats it.but once into cruising mode ,all are almost the same. but what pundrick said is very true. __________________ Get GNU/Linux Last edited by prakash_mvpa; 09-29-2008 at 02:34 PM.

09-29-2008, 03:11 PM	#34 (permalink)
prabhubravo The Tourer Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 668	I too agree on the "already affected discs", but here riding a bike that doesnt suit us/has a seating position which is not good for the discs will affect the 'good phsyic' too. Ps: here am not speaking about doing 500km in a day or for the first time in "sporty" position. Am speaking about 500kms for 2 or 3 days and doing such tours twice a month, for an year will surface its effects ! __________________ my Travelogue -> www.roadsonwheels.com

09-29-2008, 05:49 PM	#39 (permalink)
Aparajith RIP Kriss :( Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 1,866	As for this thread, check this :: A short trip to Cuddalore and back!! OT :: Rossi sir, where is your title of "Moderator". You now became a "Junior member" ??!!! __________________ Democracy is when 2 wolves and a sheep meet to decide who is for dinner. Liberty is when the sheep has a gun.

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09-29-2008, 02:27 PM	#33 (permalink)
locusjag Occasional tourer Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: chennai Posts: 35	About fitness: Yes Pundrick is right on that count too. Medically, riders with an already bad or herniated disc between their back bones [in medico jargon: L5-S1 joint] will always feel uncomfortable on any bike after long hours. You won't know that you have a medical problem...the pain will speak out though.

09-29-2008, 03:20 PM	#35 (permalink)
locusjag Occasional tourer Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: chennai Posts: 35	Exactly Prabhu, One aspect of a good tourer should be smooth shock-absorbers, and a good seating position of course. Positions and comfort levels vary of course. So i guess, good quality shock absorbers and bike stability is the common denominator of a good tourer. Add reliability to this as an unrelated but equally important factor. Secondary factors should be power, speed, mileage,maintanability etc etc.

09-29-2008, 05:41 PM	#38 (permalink)
rossiter Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,267	Too much effort on a trivial matter. On xBhp, there are guys who tour regularly (750 kms+ a day) on a Platina/Disco, and guys who do the same distances on an R1. Don't flame each other over this

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