Touring on a naked

[Neal H]

I bought a Speed Triple 1200RS last summer and absolutely love it.

I don’t have a commute to do, so virtually all my riding is local recreational stuff, for which the bike is perfect. I would like to do the occasional longer tour though but really can’t justify buying an additional bike purely for the occasional tour!

I know you can tour on any bike, but was wondering if anyone regularly tours using a naked and what they find the main issues are?

[Janluke]

I've toured lots on nakeds in the past and have recently "gone naked" again

Slightly lower cruising speed and a little less miles in a day, maybe one extra stop and its fine

[Jazoli]

Its fine, it just stops you doing a sustained 90mph on the motorway which can be a pain when you just want to crack on.

[Tribal Chestnut]

I’ve only ever done one little ‘tour’ and that was on my MT10. It was fine, aside from seat (dis)comfort.

[vonhosen]

I've toured (10 day tours) on a Speed Triple with soft luggage on the back. Mostly sunshine, bit of rain. I tend to avoid motorways and dual carriageways as mush as possible when touring & when I do go on them don't do silly speeds (as abroad it's where you'll often find the speed enforcement taking place). As a result buffeting etc wasn't a problem, riding position more comfortable than a sports bike for longer days in saddle. Biggest consideration is packing light for long tours.

[Rubin215]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

That's what I was coming on here to say.

A quiet helmet (not just earplugs) makes a massive difference.

[trickywoo]

Jazoli said:

Its fine, it just stops you doing a sustained 90mph on the motorway which can be a pain when you just want to crack on.

Without local knowledge is there anywhere in Europe you can do a tank of fuel at 90mph without the fear of a ticket? Excluding the autobahn.

[KTMsm]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Very true - I knew my Dual sport helmet wasn't great (it was bought for green laning) but the difference between it and my Scorpion Exo is astonishing

[HairyMaclary]

Tribal Chestnut said:

I’ve only ever done one little ‘tour’ and that was on my MT10. It was fine, aside from seat (dis)comfort.

What's the fuel range like on an mt10? Is it as bad as circa 100 miles or is that if you only ride it like a tt?

[black-k1]

trickywoo said:

Jazoli said:

Its fine, it just stops you doing a sustained 90mph on the motorway which can be a pain when you just want to crack on.

Without local knowledge is there anywhere in Europe you can do a tank of fuel at 90mph without the fear of a ticket? Excluding the autobahn.

Our September trip to the Alps included across France in a day. That was a day spent at 90mph. I wouldn't do more than that on French Autoroutes but 90 has not got any of the Old Gits into trouble ...... yet!

I have toured on a naked, once, many many years ago. It was uncomfortable and slow going. I've not done it since.

[mickyh7]

I went from Newcastle to the South of France on a GT750A in the 80's 2 up.
Lovely 2 weeks around St Tropez camping.
Used a fair bit of fuel mind!
No problem with the bike.
Just do it.

[Tribal Chestnut]

HairyMaclary said:

What's the fuel range like on an mt10? Is it as bad as circa 100 miles or is that if you only ride it like a tt?

Will get over 150 miles plodding on the motorway (not silly speeds at all, just steady). About 130 commuting (50% London - 1st, 2nd gear only). Not sure on track, would be somewhat less than 100, hard to measure filling from Jerry cans.

[Andybow]

As a group we all have nakeds, superduke, Tuono speed triples etc, no problem at all, done a few 7-10 day trips across various parts of Europe and tend do 3k miles each time.
I can quite happily do 500mile days at 90 on the motorway if needed. We all have a limit of 40l tail bags, if it doesn’t fit it Doesn’t come.

[graham22]

Le Man's on a 990 Superduke, complete with tent & camping gear, couple of trips to the Isle of Man too.

S1000R to the Island and to Ireland for NW200, all from South West Cornwall. Yes you can tour on a naked. As someone said above, just be aware of your fuel range in France but saying that, had more concerns with a Hayabusa but that was down to me being cocky when the reserve light came on.

And the naked will be more fun in the sun when you get to where you're going.

[towser44]

Done 1,200 mile trips to Scotland over 4 days on a naked SV1000 before. Worst part, the motorway getting there and back, but not too bad and the more upright riding position definitely made the non-motorway parts and the actual 'touring' the scenic bits more enjoyable :-) Only other downside was the penchant for fuel when pressing on and making sure to fill up at every petrol station in the remote parts of Scotland.

[3DP]

I've toured around Europe on Sports bikes, sports tourers and super nakeds. My view is that there is a lot of weight on your backside, so invest in a gel or comfort seat and get a big screen.

When touring, fashion and looks are not top of priorities so just go for the most effective screen than the forums/FB groups recommend, regardless of looks. Once you have the seat and the screen super nakeds are the best things to tour on short of a full tourer and certainly more comfortable than most sports tourers that in my experience are neither sporty enough to be sports or comfy enough to be tourers - they are just barges with a nod to each camp.

Additional bonus is that unless you are going to Spain or Portugal, nakeds even with screen tend to keep your speed mainly below about 120mph which is helpful considering how nasty plod is in northern Europe these days.

My MT10 is spot on for touring aside from wanting a bigger tank range, which you can easily work around.

[Cylon2007]

I've had Street Triples, 2013 675 R and currently 765 RS, since 2013 and have toured in the UK and France and Spain. No reason at not to tour on a naked.

[3DP]

HairyMaclary said:

What's the fuel range like on an mt10? Is it as bad as circa 100 miles or is that if you only ride it like a tt?

Touring you use less fuel than blatting as it's generally a more relaxed pace overall. My MT10 with re-map will see about 110 miles on fast touring, but if you take it easy you can see 150 miles to a tank. The MT10's main problem is the difference in fuel consumption between giving it and chilling is huge compared to any other bike I've ever owned. You can easily see 30 mpg, hooning for tank, or high 40s, being sensible.

They get a bad rep, but I've toured with people on Aprilia Tuono V2s and Ducati Superbikes that were filling up every 80-90 miles with permanent range anxiety in Europe. In fact, on one trip I had a ZZR and only filled up every other stop, hence my natural dozing position on the non-fuelling stops we had to allow the the Ducatis/Aprilia to fill up.



Note also, that when touring in a group, fuel stops are dictated by the bike with the shortest range, so even if you are all on GSAs, if there is person on Tuono V2, you'll be finding fuel every 100 miles.

[darkyoung1000]

1000 miles around Scotland (also on an SV1000) then an overnight ferry to Holland and riding to Hungary the following day (in a day). That was the largest amount of miles I’ve done in a short time.

I did take 2 days to come back from Hungary via Austria and the Nurburgring as I wasn’t in such a rush!

The only discomfort I suffered was a sore backside by the time I got to Hungary (it was a long and ambitious day).

I’ve also done a week around Ireland/N.Ireland on the same bike,b4 day weekends in Wales and the Lowlands, and 5 day trip round the Highlands on its predecessor (SV650).

I found it no trouble, even the sustained autobahn blasts. I’d go so far to say that the upright riding position was better than the other Scotland trips I’ve done on the VFR400 as the upright riding position is more comfortable on longer trips.

[Dog Star]

Jazoli said:

Its fine, it just stops you doing a sustained 90mph on the motorway which can be a pain when you just want to crack on.

I’m a total wuss when it comes to getting nicked speeding, so these days I really don’t get how anyone can manage a “sustained 90mph” without getting a ticket and the accompanying 3 points. A (frustratingly slow) GPS 75mph is my absolute maximum which is surely comfy even on a naked.