Best Touring bikes for long distance European ride

[harps1979]

Hi all

I am new to this forum and just have a couple of hopfully simple questions which i hope some of you might be able to answer.

I having been thinking about travelling europe on a motorbike for some time now but am unsure as to which bike would be best suited for a trip like this.

I am hoping to be away for a few months (looking at approx 10,000 miles) so it really needs to be of solid realiability.

Any suggestions???

Cheers

[Itchy]

Anything 4 stroke really , shaft drive is a lux item , but be wary of chain bikes sans cush drive , fairing for comfort, big cc for good MPG and progress and luggage capacity.

something YOU can get a cush position on as it may hurt when you get back.
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[map]

As said, depends on your riding style and what you want.

General all rounders would appear to fit the bill...

VFR750 or newer 800
BMW GS1100 or 1150
Triumph Tiger
ST1100
Any BMW KT series, or drop the T(ourer) tag
Any BMW RT series, likewise with the (T)ourer tag
or any shaft driven bike above 500cc
or any bike that you can fit hard luggage to

Silly:
Goldwing


Any bike can be made to tour, it's just a question of how much you want to compromise the bike, your riding and the route you want to follow.


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[feef]

can highly recommend the Yamaha FJR1300

I did a 1200 mile weekend, including an 11hr day, non-stop apart from fuel, and only had mildly stiff knees at the end of it.

blisteringly quick and handles surprisingly well considering

a
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[colin1]

if i were doing that sort of mileage id think about a gold wing or pan european
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[benvanwell]

The best thing I could recommend is that you get to know the bike. I know it sounds obvious, but if you can do most of the maintenance yourself then you'd only need to stop for consumables. 10,000 miles usually means oil/filter change, tyres, etc etc...and finding available garages may be difficult if you're in the middle of nowhere.

Cheers,
Ben
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Currently Riding: Triumph Sprint ST 1050
Previous: GSF600s, GS500, BMW F45, CG125

[harps1979]

Nice one for the advice....have considered cutting the trip down to about 6500 miles now, Will have a serious look into some of the bikes suggested...quite taken with the BMW at the momment though

[Polarbear]

[phil2alp]

As has been said it depends on the type of riding you want to do but I did a 10,000 mile, two up trip with hard luggage around Western Europe on a 600cc Honda Transalp with no problems. Still a "decent" turn of speed when you wanted it, very reliable, comfortable, relaxed v twin power, good vantage point for sightseeing. Also good on those rough roads you sometimes get in Europe especially the South of France.

Don't reduce your mileage simply because of servicing/consumables for you bike. I got a new rear tyre and chain and sprocket set in Italy and 12,000 mile service in Spain with no problems. I can't speak Italian or Spanish. It's surprising how many people speak good English on the continent.

[jacqui]

£100 for a battery in the chec rep and very few people spoke english you could understand. I wouldn't go there again. I was releaved to reach Germany!
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[Nath]

Any bike is capable of doing long distance touring.

Loads of people (comparitively) use C90s for big mileage touring, ranging from runs round the UK, to cross-Sahara adventures, to years spent riding round every continent.

I did around 5k miles round France and Spain on a Bros400. The following year I did 18,500 miles round over 20countries on a 1976 Honda cb550/4. This year I rode my homemade sidecar outfit (bike is a 1980 xs750, built up from parts), probably around 3k miles through central Europe, and then just last week I did over 1,500miles up in Scotland on it.
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[colin1]

i think he asked which bike or bikes would be best suited to his trip.

But its good to here about your exploits, they are indeed impressive, and show to us that indeed, any bike is capable of doing long distance touring.

Generally, touring bikes are better for touring, commuter bikes for commuting etc

I like c90's but if i wanted to do distance on something fairly cheap, id think about this.

https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=330158465114&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=014

You can bang nails in with a spanner, but sometimes its easier to use a hammer.

Some people are proud of the fact they dont need a hammer as they can bang nails in with a spanner, but thats more about showing off their skill really. Either that or they dont have a hammer.
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[Nath]

The point is, no bike is "best suited" for touring. The ideal bike is one with which can you affix satisfactory luggage to, and which you'll be able to fix if it breaks down. Like others have said, everything else is down to personal preferance. If you like sporty riding get a sportsbike, if you want to do some trail riding get a big trailie or an "adventure" bike, if you like pootleing about at a mild pace get something comfortable that you like the look of.
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[colin1]

yeah id agree, its about picking the right tool for what you want to do
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