Touring has its owns challenges and requirements and if the bike ticks most of these, then the overall experience would be very enjoyable. The type of trip also helps in deciding what kind of bike would be more suitable, a trip that has more highways would require different kind of bike than a trip that has lot of twisties or offroading.
Below is a compilation of certain areas of interest for a tourer. These points are in no particular order or priority.
Below is a compilation of certain areas of interest for a tourer. These points are in no particular order or priority.
higher power
Personally, the bikes with power above 30 bhp are comfortable. These have a cruising speed of around 115-130 kmph and is very helpful in covering long distances on highways in quick time. Most of the highways are bit boring and risky to travel, so it’s better to get rid of this section in quick time :) The Himalayan lacks a bit in this area with 24 bhp and it struggles a lot on highways and comfortable at 90 kmph only. The Bajaj Dominar, Mahindra Mojo or the DSK Benelli are pretty good here.
The service interval (some have 10K kms) and the service cost should also be a deciding factor.
Hope above points assist you in understanding your bike requirements better..
low range torque
Bikes where the max torque is available around 4500-5000 rpm are good for the twisties, climbs, rough roads, traffic and leisure riding. If the max torque is deployed at higher rpm, like the Mojo or the KTMs, you will find yourself chasing the higher revs at places where it is not advised. Plus, you can ride at higher gears rather than staying on first gear, waiting for the torque. Himalayan is probably the best bike in this area, with the DSK Benelli also good. Mojo and Dominar leave much room for improvement
luggage capacity
The last thing you want is to carry all your stuff on a backpack slung over your shoulders else by the end of the day your shoulders and your back would be sore as hell. It is best to secure the bags to the bike preferably on a luggage carrier or stuff the panniers. Hence, the bike should have good provision for luggage tie-ups. If it does not have carrier like the Himalayan, then at least it should have good anchor points and long seat for the bags to settle.
Here, the bags can be secured with bungee cords (2 of these should suffice, in criss-cross fashion) or bungee nets. Ensure that the secured bags do not slide and hit your lower back on and off, this is one of the most annoying feeling you can get...
I have not tried the panniers or GIVI boxes yet, but the core requirement is that of luggage carrying capacity.
ergonomics
One will be spending long hours, through cold, hot, humid or wet conditions on the tourer and the ergonomics is one of the points that would make your trip comfortable.
Ideally, one should be seated in a straight-up position without bending towards the handle. This would assert less pressure on the forearms/shoulders and lower back. Also, gives a better and wide perspective for good frontal and peripheral vision.
The legs should not be cramped and at a comfortable bend at the knee. The leg pegs should be wide enough and non-slippery in wet and muddy conditions. The clutch and front brakes levers should be adjustable so that you can reach it with all your fingers cleanly.
The seat height is an important factor and it depends on the rider’s preference. Some are comfortable when they are able to flat-foot on both sides, others are okay even if they can tip-toe. At any point just ensure that you are able to stabilize the bike comfortably and push the bike front and back with ease.
I believe, for touring only 1 person should be on the bike, so I would not even discuss ergonomics for a pillion… :P
seat
The butt hurt is the common problem for all long rides and the seat should be selected such that it lessens the discomfort. I don't know whether this problem can be completely solved unless you develop an iron-butt. The seat should be bit on the stiffer side so that it gives you good support. The wide and long seats are better as it allows you room to shift around a bit. There are lot of after market seats available that you can browse through to suit your purpose.
brakes
When you are on the move it is without doubt that you would need good braking power as well. The high roads are common place for lot of unexpected crossings (humans or animals) and you would need good brakes to stop quickly and safely. ABS is very much recommended on highways and ABS that can be switched off for off-roading is preferable. Most of the tourer bikes come with front and rear disc brakes and the brake disc should be well perforated to dissipate heat quickly. I am not much familiar with traction control, brake assist etc, but the bottom line is that the bike should have good safe brakes.
suspensions
The overall feel of the bike on good and bumpy roads and the turning capability and efficiency depends on the front and rear suspensions. The front suspension is preferred to be upside down so that the compression happens closer to the wheel and less bumps are travel to the handle. The rear suspension can be adjustable for preload weight and as per conditions.
Softer suspension would be good on bumpy roads but unstable at high speeds as it would bounce a lot. Stiffer suspensions would be stable at high speeds but would rattle you up on bad roads. The suspension setup is more or less a fine balance between these 2 cases.
seat
The butt hurt is the common problem for all long rides and the seat should be selected such that it lessens the discomfort. I don't know whether this problem can be completely solved unless you develop an iron-butt. The seat should be bit on the stiffer side so that it gives you good support. The wide and long seats are better as it allows you room to shift around a bit. There are lot of after market seats available that you can browse through to suit your purpose.
brakes
When you are on the move it is without doubt that you would need good braking power as well. The high roads are common place for lot of unexpected crossings (humans or animals) and you would need good brakes to stop quickly and safely. ABS is very much recommended on highways and ABS that can be switched off for off-roading is preferable. Most of the tourer bikes come with front and rear disc brakes and the brake disc should be well perforated to dissipate heat quickly. I am not much familiar with traction control, brake assist etc, but the bottom line is that the bike should have good safe brakes.
suspensions
The overall feel of the bike on good and bumpy roads and the turning capability and efficiency depends on the front and rear suspensions. The front suspension is preferred to be upside down so that the compression happens closer to the wheel and less bumps are travel to the handle. The rear suspension can be adjustable for preload weight and as per conditions.
Softer suspension would be good on bumpy roads but unstable at high speeds as it would bounce a lot. Stiffer suspensions would be stable at high speeds but would rattle you up on bad roads. The suspension setup is more or less a fine balance between these 2 cases.
high enough windscreen
Windscreen is a boon on tourer bikes to save you from the constant fight against the wind. Riding for long hours against the wind causes forearms and hands to tire quickly as the wind is constantly pushing you back and you spend more energy by hanging tightly on the handles, just to sit up right. The windscreen would avert the direct impact of wind on your body and save that much more effort.
Some bikes come with wind breakers around the clutch and front brakes.. These are advisable and also protect the levers in case of a bike fall.
higher capacity petrol tank
You want to spend most of the time riding rather than worrying about the next fuel station and halting multiple times. The petrol tank capacity of 13-15 liters may sound reasonable but with the mileage of around 20-25 kmpl that the high CC bikes provide, these are not sufficient enough for long rides. At some places, you would not find fuel station for 30-50 kms and the extra few liters would prove very helpful. Anything above 17 liters is pretty good buy.
engine heat management
All the high power engines generate lot of heat and the bike should dissipate this heat quickly and away from the rider. Most of the bikes would heat up bad in traffic since there is less airflow and ambient temperature itself would be high. If the bike dissipates heat onto your legs on highways and open roads then it is not possible to ride for long hours and very uncomfortable. The Kawasaki bikes are known for taking the heat from underneath the engine and below the rider legs to provide good heat dissipation solution.
vibrrrations
Constant vibrations, whether on the bike or on the word above are annoying and tiring. A vibrating bike would tire you soon, cause joint pains and slow you down over the day. The vibrations travel through the handle, foot pegs and the chassis, essentially the whole body would be affected. Plus it creates a safety issue by shaking the rear view side mirrors too much making it hard to decipher anything. In the long run, vibrations would eventually wear out different parts of the bike and cause them to age earlier, the Royal Enfield being a classic example for this issue.
ground clearance
Now, you would like to return on the bike, same as you had left, rather than on a grounded-up bike.. On tours you never know what kind of terrain or places would you be going to.. It is practically impossible to get condition of road of your complete trip, plus you would venture out on a whim to some interesting places. Hence good ground clearance (>170mm) is important to keep your bike off unscientific bumpers, potholes, debris and water. It is also good if the bottom comes with sump-guard for further protection.. Himalayan is probably the leader here with 210 mm clearance..
bike weight
This is probably a very important point about the bike and yet very underrated. Imagine you have to balance the bike on one leg (left or right) in traffic or push your bike in fuel station or back it up, all with the strength of your legs and if the bike weighs more than what you can control, then it is wastage of lot of precious energy.. The worse scenario would be that you have a fall and not able to pick up the bike single-handedly and need some assistance. Also, even if the power of engine may be high, the performance would be much less on a high weight bike. Personally, I am not comfortable with a bike >180kgs. This is considering my own body weight and strength, your preference may be different.
headlights
This is pretty much a safety issue if the headlights are not adequate enough to light up the road well within the frontal view of the rider. Also, it would be nice if the bike has adjustable headlight inclination.
centre stand
Some of the bikes do not come with center stand as standard, these can be added as part of accessories. This is particularly important if your bike has spoke wheels with tube. Consider you have a flat and need to replace the tube, then to remove the wheel it would be easy to put it on center stand rather than make it stand on side stand. On other hand for basic fix on tubeless, the wheel need not be removed. Having the center stand would decrease the ground clearance on some bikes, so this is a trade-off.
exhaust sound
On long roads, mostly it would be you and the bike alone (even if you are in a group ride). In such cases you would want your companion, the bike, to sound as soothing as possible to you. Your ride would be that much more better with good sounding exhaust rather than a bike that coughs all the day.. :)
safety and service
Some of the necessary accessories (if not part of standard equipment) would be leg crash guard, lever wind breakers, engine guard, sump guard and more.
The paramount thing of a ride is to arrive safely, so whatever is needed to safeguard you and the bike should be considered.The service interval (some have 10K kms) and the service cost should also be a deciding factor.
Hope above points assist you in understanding your bike requirements better..
Happy riding !!!
