Big Tourers

[Stately]

I recently had a ride on a Pan Euro and it was quite impressive.

However, I was left feeling that a mid sized sports tourer could do the job just as efficiently.

So have advances in Sports Tourer technology consigned these big heavy purpose built tourers to the scrap pile, or are they still relevant ?

[thelastsuperpower]

Well at the end of the day big tourers are still selling strong despite advances in sport-touring bikes so i guess the customer thinks theyre relevant.
Also something like a VFR is always gonna be compromise between sport and tourer, whereas if youre after a full tourer then you'd be more likely to go for a Pan which is designed for that purpose.

[billinom8s]

i think that the people who 5 years ago would go out and buy the big tourers are now going down the ewan/charlie route and buying the bmw gs's.

i read somewhere (no i cant produce the article) that at one point they were the biggest selling bikes inthe country.

[mattr6]

A sports tourer will never get near the comfort levels of a fully specced tourer (BMW, Pan, Goldwing etc) for either rider or pillion.

I have ridden quite a few miles on a BMW R1200RT (dad's got one) and its surprising how much you can chuck it round even embarassing the odd poorly ridden sports bike

EDIT* ref Billinom8s, you've prob got a point there. Whenever I go into Ocean BMW theres always rows of GS's sold! In a similar vein to the RT, the GS does handle very well (dads got one too)

[Stately]

i think that the people who 5 years ago would go out and buy the big tourers are now going down the ewan/charlie route and buying the bmw gs's.

i read somewhere (no i cant produce the article) that at one point they were the biggest selling bikes inthe country.

I know the article.

It was a few years back now.
They weren't the biggest selling motorcycle, but at one point, the BMW 1150GS was the biggest selling 1000+ bike, outselling even the R1.

I'm not sure that's still the case, now that the Ewan and Charlie thing has cooled off.

[SteveR3]

Quite likekly to get one of these if it gets off the ground and has a conventional clutch

http://www.visordown.com/motorcyclenews ... /5406.html

Also have a Rocket 3, not sure what to class that one as but my FJR1300 is a great tourer & I love everything about it

[Blue]

as with all bikes the big tourers will always have a place above the sports tourers due to the long range comfort levels, but as peoples demands change on what they want their bike to do and why they want a bike then more people will buy big tourers to do exactly that.

A lot of them end up as second bikes for the holidays just like cruisers. God even I am looking at getting a second bike for sunny days rather than changing my everyday bike. At least one might stay clean

[TLS-Moose]

Quite likekly to get one of these if it gets off the ground and has a conventional clutch

Auto or semi-auto is the future - certainly for commuters and tourers ...... Have you ridden the auto aprilia 850 That was one of the revelations of the Aprilia test days last year. Smooth fully auto when you wanted it, or change manually by tapping the gear lever or pressing a button. No lack of urge, no having to worry about gears - just twist and go. The only odd things to get used to were the lack of a clutch lever and little engine braking

[Funky]

i think simon is right, the big uber tourers are a dwindling market. personally i don't see the other than personal to have a massive bike such as goldwing when a sprint will do. i can normally do 300.400 miles on the motorway before im crippled

[Stately]

i think simon is right, the big uber tourers are a dwindling market. personally i don't see the other than personal to have a massive bike such as goldwing when a sprint will do. i can normally do 300.400 miles on the motorway before im crippled

Some time ago I was reading a bike magazine report on the Honda Blackbird.

In it they said, that with a set of bar risers and luggage, you have a bike with all the comfort and practicality of a Pan European, but better in every other way.

Nuff said really.

I suppose the touring hardcore might say that for big mileages with passenger and luggage, then shaft drive is preferable but I'd argue chains are not what they used to be.

A properly maintained chain can go hundreds of miles before adjustment - especially with a Scottoiler.

[SteveR3]

Auto or semi-auto is the future - certainly for commuters and tourers ...... Have you ridden the auto aprilia 850 That was one of the revelations of the Aprilia test days last year. Smooth fully auto when you wanted it, or change manually by tapping the gear lever or pressing a button. No lack of urge, no having to worry about gears - just twist and go. The only odd things to get used to were the lack of a clutch lever and little engine braking

Never ridden an Auto or Semi but I came across a Yam weblink recently Moose [can't find it anywhere now ] and it demonstrated the method used by all the switches, sensors, chips and ECU etc to change the gears and it frightened me into swearing NEVER to get one!
Fine when it works right but a nightmare if it pops
Like many other riders I don't always use the clutch anyway & I'm sure it's just as smooth

[Stately]

Auto or semi-auto is the future - certainly for commuters and tourers ...... Have you ridden the auto aprilia 850 That was one of the revelations of the Aprilia test days last year. Smooth fully auto when you wanted it, or change manually by tapping the gear lever or pressing a button. No lack of urge, no having to worry about gears - just twist and go. The only odd things to get used to were the lack of a clutch lever and little engine braking

Quite refreshing to be talking bikes again.

The bike to which you refer is the Aprillia Mana 850, which uses a CVT auto box, much like a modern scooter.

From what I can gather, this bike was aimed primarily at automatic scooter riders in an attempt to get them onto a conventional bike.

At first there was a bit of a grey area because the DVLA couldn't make their minds up weather or not it could be ridden on a full auto license because it has the option of manual gearchange.

Thankfully, this has been cleared up now, and full auto licence holders can use them.

I've spent an afternoon on one of these and rarely have I had so much fun on a bike.

Use it on auto in town like a scooter, but on the open road, change it to manual mode, (which you can do on the move), and it becomes an absolute riot to ride.

In manual, you have the option of a thumb operated gear change, or you can use the gear change peddle it comes with, like an ordinary bike.

Brilliantly thought out.

I preferred the thumb operated paddle change, probably because of the novelty of it.

I seem to remember it had 7 or 8 speeds.

I had great fun just pinning the throttle back, and changing up through the box without having to ease off the throttle between changes.

My only criticism was that in so called "sports" mode, there was actually very little difference, other than the engine getting a bit noisier.

This bike is very much on my future shopping list, but because it hasn't been out long, second hand examples don't come along hardly at all and the new price is way too expensive for me.

I tend to agree.

There is a very definite future for this sort of bike,

[ZXR400Lee]

I love the BMW GS, my Dad recently sold his 56' BMW R1200GS Adventure for a brand new 58' Yamaha FJR1300A.. he tells me the ONLY reason he sold it is because BMW after sales department are a bunch of [Censored]!

[mattr6]

i think simon is right, the big uber tourers are a dwindling market. personally i don't see the other than personal to have a massive bike such as goldwing when a sprint will do. i can normally do 300.400 miles on the motorway before im crippled

Some time ago I was reading a bike magazine report on the Honda Blackbird.

In it they said, that with a set of bar risers and luggage, you have a bike with all the comfort and practicality of a Pan European, but better in every other way.

Nuff said really.

I suppose the touring hardcore might say that for big mileages with passenger and luggage, then shaft drive is preferable but I'd argue chains are not what they used to be.

A properly maintained chain can go hundreds of miles before adjustment - especially with a Scottoiler.

Rubbish! You go an and do a 12hr day 2 up on a Blackbird and then do the same on a Pan/ BMW/ uber touring. I guarantee you'll feel far fresher coming off the tourer. Thats where tourers excell. Also need to remember that these big tourers are brought by people who have had sports and sports tourers and now want less speed and more comfort (they're also generally 50+)

[Stately]

Rubbish! You go an and do a 12hr day 2 up on a Blackbird and then do the same on a Pan/ BMW/ uber touring. I guarantee you'll feel far fresher coming off the tourer. Thats where tourers excell. Also need to remember that these big tourers are brought by people who have had sports and sports tourers and now want less speed and more comfort (they're also generally 50+)

Uh Hum

Actually I have done a lot of touring over the years on all sorts of bikes, including big tourers.

Not the Pan Euro admittedly but I've done it on a BMW K1200LT, which was a clumsy, overweight pig of a thing on anything other than a clear open road.

It was bloody hard work, although I will grant you, the Mrs. did find it very comfortable.

The year before I'd done it on a ZZR1200 and ridden every day, all day for three weeks and felt a hell of a lot more relaxed than I did on that bloody great BMW two wheeled winnebago.