Bike Choice opinions

gallusscozzie · L Plate Warrior Joined: 21 Oct 2012 Karma :

Hi all,

First post here looking for advice/opinion on choice of bike for touring.

I'm planning a trip from Istanbul to Lisbon generally following the northern Med coast taking in Greece (some Greek Islands) and Italy, possibly also heading north to Switzerland and Germany.

The last time I toured in Europe (ferry from Rosyth to Zeebrugge then South of France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany (Oktoberfest) and back to Belgium was in 2005 before emigrating to Australia. That tour was on an old mates ST1100 which was a fantastic, fast and comfortable drive (Thanks Nick). I had a Honda Firestorm at the time with a p**s poor range, hence borrowing the ST

Times have changed and bikes have moved on so I'm currently thinking of BMW GS1200 Adventure, Ducati Multistrada (I like Ducatis), Honda ST1300 or Yamaha FJR1300.

Trip duration will be in the region of 3 months starting April/May.

Your thoughts and advice would be much appreciated.

Cheers from Oz.

spnorm · Crazy Courier Joined: 18 Aug 2007 Karma :

Also consider the R1200RT - I swapped my GS for one in March and it's a brilliant fast tourer which is day long comfy and fun in the twisties Thumbs Up

Enduro Numpty · Could Be A Chat Bot Joined: 31 Oct 2012 Karma :

Not long back from 2 months around Europe on FJR1300. I can't say enough good things about it - Fast, Comfy, great range, great luggage carrying capability, super reliable. Can't think of a better way to do it.

Below is link to my report. Will give you an idea of where we took FJR.

https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=258584