MG

The Ideal Touring Bike

The other day I was talking to a fellow tourer friend and we were discussing about our touring expeditions. Though it started more as a generic chat but soon it turned out to be a serious discussion about our bikes and the bikes that are available in Indian market in context of touring. My friend cribbed the inability of his bike to cruise at anything beyond 100km/h which also for him is an unsafe speed for his bike, he was also pretty much unsatisfied with the stock tyres when it comes to touring. I couldn’t agree more with whatever he felt. Although, we and all others are using their bike for light to extreme touring but the answer to a question that whether these can actually be called tourers is a resounding no. Whatever we are doing is a compromise to extract maximum out of our machines. I in no way want to undermine our bikes ability and I actually feel proud of our bikes ability to take all kind of battering and torcher that we throw at it.

Surely there are bikes in the world market which fits the role of a touring machine but they are out of reach for most of us because of the huge price tag that they come with. Even if we are able to import them the running cost and the unavailability of premium fuel in most parts of our country make them pretty useless other than the one off national highway rides. So we need a machine which is indigenously built and is able to take us everywhere .Let me scratch my head a little bit and see if I had to own one such machine then what all things I would like to have in it.

So let’s get started. I don’t care much whether it’s a single or multi cylinder but what I do care is that the engine needs to be atleast a 300cc mill churning out 35ps of power with a true top speed of 150km/h. The more important thing will be the ability of the machine to cruise at 120km/hr all day long. Liquid cooling heart will definitely be favoured over its air cooled counterpart specially when you are touring and overheating of engine is always a concern. Similarly fuel injection is a must for all its advantages over a carbureted one and I don’t see it to be a difficult proposition as the age of Fuel Injected bikes is finally here.

The one thing that puts me off in almost every Indian machine after longer hours of riding is the resultant loss of smoothness and vibration from various body panels. The engine needs to be refined but that does not mean that the overall engine feel should be boring. The low and mid range torque spread needs to be thick and juicy and the bike should have the potential to climb a steep slope of more than 45˚ without making a fuss. Even if the bike doesn’t set the road on fire but a 0-100 speed in around 9 sec is desirable. Also a taller 6th gear is a necessity so that the engine is not overstressed and it helps in the laidback cruising abilities of the bike.

Though a twin spar frame will be a welcome addition but its okay if the manufacturers stick to single or double cradle frames, diamond or otherwise provided that it is redesigned to adapt the powerful 300cc. Remember in touring it’s more important to feel safe at higher speeds than attaining it. Like the twin spar a completely adjustable rear monoshock will make me happy but if the conventional twin gas charged shocks are able to perform brilliantly both on and off road conditions and is able to take all the beating then I have no complaints. Remember we need a machine which should be in the reach of most of us and the final product shouldn’t cost a bomb.
I don’t want to scrape my knee on every corner but the handling needs to be nimble enough so that even an average rider like me can make most of all the power around the corner. The bike should feel planted both on a high speed run and around the corner. It shouldn’t make the rider insecure when taking the bike to the limits.

Looks are subjective but the bike should boast a standalone styling which should look different from anything currently present in the market. Also since I’m looking at a machine which will be primarily used for touring so a bikini fairing will be favoured over a round headlamp one. A digital instrument panel which other than showing the basic stuff should give a lot more data like time, temperature, altitude, distance to empty and average fuel consumption.

Touring is all about riding in rain, fog or in pitch darkness so a powerful projector lamp with very good spread and reach is very much needed. Blinkers like cars and the option where the low beam glows with the press of starter even in daylight can be nice add-ons which can also be termed as basic safety features. Adding to the safety list it should come along with a factory fitted alarm system or have a provision where I can add it with ease.
The one advantage that the car guys have over two wheel riders is the amount of space for carrying luggage. Carrying luggage on a bike is always a pain and you have to be choosy while picking stuff. Surely the tankbags and saddlebags have come to the rescue of the bikers but if we want to carry a laptop and some camera equipment then the only choice we have is to carry it on our shoulder. Over prolonged period it takes a toll on the body and neck. So the option of fitting a company owned Top case or Top Pannier will be a welcome addition. Other than this a little bit of underseat storage space where you can keep smaller things like say a raincoat and a notebook will be a nice addition in the feature list.

Tubeless are a must but more than that the quality of rubber is very important. If the rubber quality is not good then you won’t feel confident while riding even if the machine is very good. Touring demands riding in all conditions so I will like to have a specially designed rubber (Company fitted) which will hold good on broken tarmac, gravel or in wet and slippery conditions without compromising it’s on road qualities, something like Michelin Sirac. Sirac is more of an off road than on road tyre but I will like to have a tyre with superb on-road grip aided by equally good off-road abilities.
Like tyres, brakes also hold a very important position when the final analysis of a bike is done. Braking performance on all the Indian bikes has been pretty good till date. I just want them to continue the good work with this bike also. The desired bike won’t require a dual disc upfront. A good pair of disc, one each at front and rear will be more than enough. Seating position need not be too sporty. Anything similar to Pulsar 220 minus clip-ons will do. For touring I will any day prefer a conventional handle bar over clip-ons but clip-ons won’t hurt me either. I will prefer a split seat arrangement rather than a one piece. The seats (Rider and pillion) need to be wide enough to support a section of thigh for comfort during long hours of riding.

Mileage is always a key issue for the success of any Indian bike, even the one which belongs to performance segment. I for one will be very happy if it returns a constant mileage of 25km/l and runs on normal petrol. Remember availability of premium fuel is always a concern in our country.
I didn’t want to get into any of the technical aspects like whether a single cylinder with a 300cc heart will be able to produce 35bhp power output or not. This is just an honest effort to pen down my requirements for a touring machine which will not be hard on my pocket. Even though most of us crib the unavailability of big bikes on Indian market but when it comes to buying anything similar we develops cold feet. This is more of a reality check for most of us and many will agree that they will like to own something similar when it comes to touring. The only other bike which comes to fulfilling all the requirements of Indian performance oriented bikers is the soon to be launched Ninja 250 but that bike belongs to a completely different class and is for different kind of usage.

So how much money I’m willing to pay for my desired tourer with all those wishlist? Without thinking I can say that I will be very happy to pay even 2-2.25lakh for the bike but looking at a bigger perspective and going through the wishlist again I think a price tag of 1.5-1.6 will be ideal for it.

ken cool

Looks like the tourers of xBhp have not yet taken notice of this very insightful interesting article which will yet again be noticed and used by the auto manufacturers of this country (hopefully I add) to further their biking industry with more useful stuff than just graphics and stickering.

I remember our discussion MG and I will bring out the points now, the ones that I had mentioned when I talked to you...

1/ A 300CC single mill cannot effectively and efficiently produce 35 Ps.
2/ If point number 1 cannot happen, it cannot have a true speed of 150Ks.
3/ A bike with a true 150Ks top whack, will not be able to cruise at 120 all day long without stressing the engine. It would feel stressed, vibes coming in after 3 long tours, 15000 kms. This WILL happen.
4/ I personally will be happy if such a bike comes. But such a bike will still have one big drawback. On highway riding, there are umpteen occasions when a rider on a slightly different "looking" bike is often challenged to by wanna be Rossis or other cagers or often even by our dear old Volvos B7R. A 35 ps will NOT have, I repeat, it will NOT have enough power or acceleration left at 100 to make even a Scorpio eat dust, Old Fox, you can recount them your incident and thus you will be left gasping for breath. I am not saying that I need 150 Arab horses under my belt. Read my article on Hard Torque and you will know my clear stand on this issue. I personally feel that if you have 60-65 Bhp available under the hood, you got it going man. But 35 will just leave us in the lurch.
5/ You talked about a console giving, I quote "time, temperature, altitude, distance to empty and average fuel consumption", you forgot to mention GPS, strategically placed cameras, cable TV, onboard talking computer, highest speed, avg speed recordings of the last 10 outings.
Just joking, but with these, the price of the bike will invariably go up. You really need stuff like that, carry a basic GPS. I would rather they spent the money under the hood and not much over it. A basic console, giving me what we have on a 220 with coolant temperature and time added will be fine. I am not interested in altitude or my horoscope!

My call would be this. 300CC would be too little. A single mill will NOT do what we are asking for. If there is ANY indigenous development, I would like something that gives me 60Bhp, let it take any number of CCs that it requires to give me those horses. For touring I do NOT want Clip-ons. I want adjustable rearsets. I am all for Top Cases and company fitted side Panniers as well. Bikini fairing. Less than 170 kilos. A decent ground clearance, I do not recall MG talking about this. A good traveling front fork that does NOT dive like the Indian bikes. Pricing ranging between 1.8L to 2.8L depending upon the variant that the customer wants.

Interesting article MG. I am glad that you brought this up. I have tried to be as objective as I could keep myself without going overboard. I hope this constructive criticism takes us somewhere...

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The Wheel was a great invention; Two Wheels with a Motor in between was even better!


BMW Motorrad Days 2011

Xbhp's Indo-French Kashmir-Ladakh Tour

backsplash

know its ot but the way xbhp has come back wud make even armstrong sit and take notice....have been a member of this site for the past 2 yrs and i feel truly proud to be a part of something that has born again but never died......all my best wishes to the people who take efforts to keep hopes,dreams,motorbikes and xbhp alive....about the topic sold my car a month ago and looking for a new bike to do a fair amount of touring......which one would u suggest between a p220,zma and a 500 lb....had a zma previously and i love its unhurried nature...

Harmeet

I think a KTM duke690 should fit our requirements,,
its a single cyl,,60+ bhp,,reliable,,,and its a ktm

the thing is willl bajaj launch it along with superduke or not,,,i think they should and it might sell better than superduke itself,,if priced right though

myg124

hey MG, glad you brought this post up. I reckon a few things like..

1. The engine should be around 250-300 cc, 250 will suffice as our companies will always give us de-tuned engines. Well, if they think different, then my say, 25 horses should be fine enough for our roads. No ones going to burn em at 150ks all day long!

2. Tubeless and fatter tires as well as HID lights ARE wanted badly.

3. A bikini fairing or even naked shall do. Monoshock is also a must have, as are split seats. With the amount of money that ones paying, this should be provided as well. Cmon, we all have been demanding the same things for the past few years but all we have got are bikes with lesser capacities, nothing upto these points.

4. Fuel injection will be handy and at the same time the co should tie up with luggage manufacturers to provide quality storage accessories for the machine.

I guess its high time some company took note of this and gave us a bike of this kind. we really need it.

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"Never recreate from your memory, always imagine new places"

gautam

What do u think about comet, does it fit ?

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ken cool

I have ridden 27 Horses for long enough to know that 25 is just not enough. You get pushed over, shoved aside by Scorpios, Accents and the rest. They chase you down and you just dont have enough power left at 120ks. 60-65 Horses will really help. Please read my detailed post above.

Nobody is talking about grinding 150 all day. You cannot do that in this country. But the ability to actually cruise at 120 all day which cannot be done easily for umpteen tours with the current crop of vehicles that you see on the roads.

Let the R&D decide how fat tyres are required for your bike.

@Harmeet: The 690 does fit our requirements. But it does not fit our wallets with the current customs duty structure.

__________________
The Wheel was a great invention; Two Wheels with a Motor in between was even better!


BMW Motorrad Days 2011

Xbhp's Indo-French Kashmir-Ladakh Tour

prabhubravo

As of now its doing ! but again the parts are bit costly as they are to be imported. An Indian Bike such could do, but again the Scorpios(or other high end taxis) push!

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archistar

MG, after reading this post i was in my dreams and riding such a bike on NH-1 with himalayas in my eye..... []

definitely this will be a good composition... but a GPS is must as Ken da said... and i would not mind paying 2L for it but not beyond...
tourers are so happy with ZMA, and i think it's not a hard task for indian auto makers to bring somthing similar with 2.5X price tag...
and when the question of indian roads and traffic comes, i personally dont find 100 kmph a bad crusing speed for a whole day...

archistar

otherwise it's an Indian bike upto the standard.
a querry, is insurance still a prob for comet !!!
many days before i came to know from Vrooom that no one is providing him insurance after his crash...