Touring?
- Thread starter AFDavis11
- Start date
Here's my custom windscreen. Notice the hand guard... I would rather have the Givi hard luggage but those are fine for now. (It's on the list...) Got those on ebay for about $65.00 if I remember. They are ok. We did 2 long ride lately on those packed like you won't believe! I got myself a tank bag too, kind of thing you should put on your list. Very convenient for rain gears or extra storage.
They are nice for the price. Not the best quality but get the job done. Can't remember the brand just on top of my mind. Just search ebay for sporstbike saddle bags, they're the only one that cheap. They also expand 3"...
eBay My World - tmshelmet
Here's the link for my saddlebags. $55.00 right now... buy 2 sets and change them.... I think I'm going to order a new set
Here's the link for my saddlebags. $55.00 right now... buy 2 sets and change them.... I think I'm going to order a new set
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AFDavis,
I bought my FZ6R with the specific intent of a long road trip every summer. Coming from cruisers, I knew I wanted somthing with a lot more "oooomph" if you know what I mean and I did not want another bike that was in the 600 pound range. After riding a few different 600/650's I decided on the FZ6R. I have done many multi-day trips on the Shadow and Vulcan I used to own so this is what I have learned. First get out and do some 300+ mile days on a few weekends. See how you feel after those days. If after a few of them you are tired after 300 miles, then I would not do multi-day trips on the bike...ever.
If you can do fine on a 300 mile day, then...in my ever so humble opinion, you can do multi-day trips on it. That being said, if you are going to do multiple trips every year, then I would say, get a bike already built for the job, or be willing to put a lot of extras on the 6R, which would still likely cost less in the long run than a factory sport touring bike. I chose the 6R because the other 90% of the year, I want to be able to hit some twisties on the weekends and commute to work on a nice sunny friday. Yet it will still have the ergo's I need for the occasional long trip.
I originally had planned to put hard cases on the 6R, but after a few rides I even decided against that. Once again, I would do that if I were touring more often. I got some cheap soft bags and tank bag, plus you can strap any backpack across the saddle bags, which will do fine for a yearly trip. Again, I say that from my cruiser trip experiences. I never had hard cases of any kind for my multi-day trips on my Vulcan, but it was great for the annual trip with soft bags and a backpack strapped over the rear seat.
Finally, no matter what the bike, for long trips I feel there are 2 things that are "must haves." A good seat and a throttle lock. No matter how much I ride, after 2 or 3 days on the road I want a throttle lock and you can't sacrifice the comfort of your tookus. Haha. Get a good custom seat and/or an Airhawk. The Airhawk is worth every single penny. Like some of the other people have said...once your butt it too sore, the trip is almost ruined, no matter how much you stop and get out of the saddle. Otherwise, I used cheap raingear from Wal-mart that they sell in the fishing/camping section and it did great, but did need to be replaced after a couple trips, every season I guess. With a chain I would also recommend a center stand to give it some love after each long day or two, but that's just a matter of convenience. (oh yeah, check your luggage at EVERY stop to make sure something has not rattled loose, please trust me on this one!!!)
Last but not least, get a bluetooth helmet if you have a smart phone. Headphone cords get to be a pain on long multi-day trips and the earbuds will get very uncomfortable after a couple days. With the bluetooth helmet you can connect a smartphone and have music for the long trip with no cords, plus you will have map/gps without needing a Garmin.
I'm doing my first long trip on the 6R this May, Abilene, TX to Mobile, AL and possibly all the way to Orlando, FL. If I only go to Mobile then it will be an 1800 mile, 4 day round trip. If I head to Orlando, well, I have not figured that out just yet, but it will be fun.
One last thing, like many have said, if you go with soft bags, get lots of plastic bags and ziploc bags. :thumbup:
Here is mine with the soft luggage I just got from Santa. I put my tank bag on the tail just to see how it looked. The side bags are expandable and are pretty big once expanded. I'll have plenty of room for all my stuff to include tools, raingear, bike cover, chain cleaner and lube, etc. I threw in a pic of my Vulcan on our last long trip together. Ahhh, memories.
That's my .02 cents brother, and that's about all it is worth! Ride safe and ride long!!!
Jay
I bought my FZ6R with the specific intent of a long road trip every summer. Coming from cruisers, I knew I wanted somthing with a lot more "oooomph" if you know what I mean and I did not want another bike that was in the 600 pound range. After riding a few different 600/650's I decided on the FZ6R. I have done many multi-day trips on the Shadow and Vulcan I used to own so this is what I have learned. First get out and do some 300+ mile days on a few weekends. See how you feel after those days. If after a few of them you are tired after 300 miles, then I would not do multi-day trips on the bike...ever.
If you can do fine on a 300 mile day, then...in my ever so humble opinion, you can do multi-day trips on it. That being said, if you are going to do multiple trips every year, then I would say, get a bike already built for the job, or be willing to put a lot of extras on the 6R, which would still likely cost less in the long run than a factory sport touring bike. I chose the 6R because the other 90% of the year, I want to be able to hit some twisties on the weekends and commute to work on a nice sunny friday.
Yet it will still have the ergo's I need for the occasional long trip. I originally had planned to put hard cases on the 6R, but after a few rides I even decided against that. Once again, I would do that if I were touring more often. I got some cheap soft bags and tank bag, plus you can strap any backpack across the saddle bags, which will do fine for a yearly trip. Again, I say that from my cruiser trip experiences. I never had hard cases of any kind for my multi-day trips on my Vulcan, but it was great for the annual trip with soft bags and a backpack strapped over the rear seat.
Finally, no matter what the bike, for long trips I feel there are 2 things that are "must haves." A good seat and a throttle lock. No matter how much I ride, after 2 or 3 days on the road I want a throttle lock and you can't sacrifice the comfort of your tookus. Haha. Get a good custom seat and/or an Airhawk. The Airhawk is worth every single penny. Like some of the other people have said...once your butt it too sore, the trip is almost ruined, no matter how much you stop and get out of the saddle. Otherwise, I used cheap raingear from Wal-mart that they sell in the fishing/camping section and it did great, but did need to be replaced after a couple trips, every season I guess. With a chain I would also recommend a center stand to give it some love after each long day or two, but that's just a matter of convenience. (oh yeah, check your luggage at EVERY stop to make sure something has not rattled loose, please trust me on this one!!!)
Last but not least, get a bluetooth helmet if you have a smart phone. Headphone cords get to be a pain on long multi-day trips and the earbuds will get very uncomfortable after a couple days. With the bluetooth helmet you can connect a smartphone and have music for the long trip with no cords, plus you will have map/gps without needing a Garmin.
I'm doing my first long trip on the 6R this May, Abilene, TX to Mobile, AL and possibly all the way to Orlando, FL. If I only go to Mobile then it will be an 1800 mile, 4 day round trip. If I head to Orlando, well, I have not figured that out just yet, but it will be fun.
One last thing, like many have said, if you go with soft bags, get lots of plastic bags and ziploc bags. :thumbup:
Here is mine with the soft luggage I just got from Santa. I put my tank bag on the tail just to see how it looked. The side bags are expandable and are pretty big once expanded. I'll have plenty of room for all my stuff to include tools, raingear, bike cover, chain cleaner and lube, etc. I threw in a pic of my Vulcan on our last long trip together. Ahhh, memories.
That's my .02 cents brother, and that's about all it is worth! Ride safe and ride long!!!
Jay
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That link seems to be the seller. This one looks like the bags though. A friend had a set of Cortech soft bags on his bike and found that they shifted around a bit, and scratched up the paint. Did you have this problem?
Thanks
Here's how my bags are mounted. I pretty much drill a hole thru the bags and put a bolt with 2 big washers. We made 800 miles trip and the bags were solid... no moving around.
Attachments
That's pretty awesome! Thanks for the tip. I'm going to do the same with mine. That's why I love this forum.
Thanks Marthy.
:thumbup:
Welcome Mate. Lowes got those nice plastic knobs kind of wing nut looking...
I had nothing much going on today, so thanks for the project. I opted to try a bracket without mounting it to the frame and see how that goes. I used a simple piece of garage door opener framing, cut to the length I needed and just used pliers and a mallet for some quick bends. Drilled a hole in each bag and threw some bolts through, with a rubber gromet. I used a self-locking nut on one side and a wingnut on the other. This way I can see if the wingnut has any vibration issues. If not, then I'll get some of the larger plastic covered ones like you used. It is supposed to warm up to 65 tomorrow so I'll get a nice long test ride in.
Seriously, thanks again for the idea. Pretty nifty!
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You are putting too much into this motorcycle. Just ride. Carry what you must, but just RIDE! Who cares if you have the latest lights,fender eliminator,the best bags or the latest pipes. None of this makes any difference if the bike is setting in your garage. Ride, ride, ride! Ride the best bike you can afford. When you get good and rich buy the bike you want and need. For now, just ride! When you get to be my age you don't remember the fender eliminator or what bags you had. You remember the rides or the Trophys.Ride,Ride,Ride. I have never regreted having the wrong bags or levers but i do regret NOT RIDING.You know this is really a great do it all bike. Enjoy your ride! Time mar
ajskillz13
New Member
Throttle Lock
Just thought I would add to this touring thread instead of starting a new one.
Stumbled upon this fairly new product in another forum this morning. It's an extremely simple design for a throttle lock / cruise control mechanism. It really seems like a pretty safe product. Some guy in California must have developed it and it is just now getting out there.
Some guys on a BMW forum from Cali have tried them and are very impressed. I am really looking forward to this after my right hand nearly froze on a not so long highway ride last night.
I ordered one, so I'll report back with a review. Check out their site below.
motorcycle throttle control
Just thought I would add to this touring thread instead of starting a new one.
Stumbled upon this fairly new product in another forum this morning. It's an extremely simple design for a throttle lock / cruise control mechanism. It really seems like a pretty safe product. Some guy in California must have developed it and it is just now getting out there.
Some guys on a BMW forum from Cali have tried them and are very impressed. I am really looking forward to this after my right hand nearly froze on a not so long highway ride last night.
I ordered one, so I'll report back with a review. Check out their site below.
motorcycle throttle control
I wonder if that would start wearing out your grips after a while...
I am putting the plx givi hard bags and a trunk on mine. I am also having my stator rewound, I would like the extra ele. power. I am also getting the gears changed for the highway use as I do not need off the line speed. I would agree with a winshield however there was a post on here somewhere and can't seem to find it where a guy made a really nice one. Might I suggest also the hid light upgrade, as well as led turn signals, and brake lights added to the luggage.
I'm the man... LOL Custom Windscreen... :canada:
I find that the FZ6R is no better or worse than anything I have spent excessive miles on. Last year I put 800 miles on in one day. Rested 2 days with family then turned around and did it again. I packed everything I needed in a duffel bag and back pack. Pack light and go. The bike was just like it came from the dealers show room. I have now changed the front sprocket (+1) and find it better when cruising at 80 mph.
You don't need anything fancy to cruise. Ear plugs help but you don't need music or a cell phone. The idea is to get away from the busy world. Listen to the engine and road, watch the scenery go by and smell the world. You'll be surprised how much more alive you feel after a few days on the road.
You don't need anything fancy to cruise. Ear plugs help but you don't need music or a cell phone. The idea is to get away from the busy world. Listen to the engine and road, watch the scenery go by and smell the world. You'll be surprised how much more alive you feel after a few days on the road.
OK... I wanted to know if you will make the one I saw with out the hand guards. I THINK it was the 26". and do yo only make them tinted??
BTW.. the best touring bike hands down was my scooter lol!!!! I had an Aprilia Atlantic 500.
man I miss that thing. Longest day was Chicago to Vermont to Chicago in one 29 hour period. I was tired. lmao