Anyone toured on naked bikes or a Z900/ Another what bike.

[Harji]

Hello

The Covid years put to bed my plans I had to upgrade my bike, catching up on life now and want to change 12,000 mile 2016 ER6F. I really like the fact that my ER6 has had no issues at all in six years of ownership so am inclined towards Kawasaki again.
I test rode two bikes recently , a Ninja 1000SX and a Z900. I absolutely loved the Z900, lovely 4cyl engine, decent sound and lovely slick gear box and the riding position was perfect, the SX was also great, but I'm thinking it may be a bit too touring for my needs. I go out for long rides but not tours, but will one day. Both represented good value for money

So, whats it like having a naked as a do it all bike? Any issues with wind resistance on the Motorway (I only tested on A and B-roads) , any other models to consider? I've looked at the Aprilla, but not test ridden though there is a significant price leap putting me off.


Just to let you now, I can, and do ride for hours on my ER6F but now find it cramped (I'm not PH official powerful director height, I'm 5ft 11"), I do want to tour but more a long weekend, maybe week. I have ridden all weathers and seasons but will more likely cut it back in winter.

Edited by Harji on Friday 5th August 10:35

[LowTread]

I did some touring back in my youth(!) on a ZRX1200R, which was pretty much naked. Went round the lowlands of scotland on it. It was fine, but motorways are a bit tedious. Just take regular breaks to rest your back/neck.

I currently run an S1000R, which is a naked bike similar to the Z1000SX.

What i would suggest is finding a bike with cruise control as that makes covering distance much easier. When you're getting a fair bit of windblast it starts to feel quite tedious and tiring after a while. You're holding on quite tightly with your hands to brace yourself a bit. With cruise control you can rest yourself much more.

So that means either the newer Ninja 1000 SX, or an S1000R.

I've modded mine with givi tank bag, kriega tail pack and hand guards to make it more of a tourer. Links to the vids are via my youtube channel on my profile.

[Birky_41]

I've done plenty on my Tuono's. Pics from my 16 my 19 and my current 21 not being 'best pics' they were just examples and first ones that came up. I typed 'France' to find old pics quick but I've done europe plenty of times including nurburgring, B500 roads, all southern spain and IOM TT (riding there and back from essex)

Mine all run powerbronze double bubbles which makes 80-90mph cruising far more comfy + they have cruise control. My 16 w/out cruise and initially on the standard screen got a bit achy on the neck/shoulders after a while

Fuel consumption my 21 is the best but all will sit 43-50mpg depending on how you ride. My tours were typically 7-10 days and 2400-3000 miles. All bikes faultless but they do use a few hundred mil of oil so have full before you leave it'll drop a bit on the dipstick

My 21 was the nicest to tour it has the Gel seat and 'Tour' soft suspension when I just wanted to chill a bit

[KW1]

Aww.... all my old bikes in your pics.....;)

[cat69uk]

I only have one bike, Triumph Speed Triple R. Did 2,000 + miles in April over to Spa in Belgium with absolute ease. Tankbag and a drybag on the rear seat. Steady 80 on the motorways and windblast not an issue. Did Southern 100 on IOM last month with camping gear. September off to Chamonix which will be another 2000+ trip. Obviously a bike with panniers etc is designed for the job, and will be easier. But really who cares, I'm on a bike and exploring so that is all that matters.

[Wildfire]

Harji said:

Hello

The Covid years put to bed my plans I had to upgrade my bike, catching up on life now and want to change 12,000 mile 2016 ER6F. I really like the fact that my ER6 has had no issues at all in six years of ownership so am inclined towards Kawasaki again.
I test rode two bikes recently , a Ninja 1000SX and a Z900. I absolutely loved the Z900, lovely 4cyl engine, decent sound and lovely slick gear box and the riding position was perfect, the SX was also great, but I'm thinking it may be a bit too touring for my needs. I go out for long rides but not tours, but will one day. Both represented good value for money

So, whats it like having a naked as a do it all bike? Any issues with wind resistance on the Motorway (I only tested on A and B-roads) , any other models to consider? I've looked at the Aprilla, but not test ridden though there is a significant price leap putting me off.


Just to let you now, I can, and do ride for hours on my ER6F but now find it cramped (I'm not PH official powerful director height, I'm 5ft 11"), I do want to tour but more a long weekend, maybe week. I have ridden all weathers and seasons but will more likely cut it back in winter.

Edited by Harji on Friday 5th August 10:35

I did a full 3 days touring in horriffic weather on my Ducati Monster 821 through Wales in 2018, through a storm and almost solid rain, travelling to and from Surrey. No screen etc.

What was actually the best buy was my Goretex Proshell. My mate was on a fully loaded GS and was worse off than me. On the return I did have to stop a couple of times as the lack of wind protection basically chilled me, however no major issues. We did 2 days to the Isle of Wight and back (wife and I) on the Monster 1200 with no issues either.

I guess I would say it depends on whether you are focused on touring. If I was to do more, I would be looking at a Multistrada, but for the occasional long trips there is no issue with a naked bike for me.

[the cueball]

I’ve taken my MT09 on tour across Europe a few times now.



A tank bag and dry bag and you’re all set.

Edited by the cueball on Friday 5th August 14:49

[Bob_Defly]

I've also done week long tours on my old MT-09, with just a Kreiga 30L drybag. It was great fun, and perfectly comfortable.

I put a small SW Motech rack on the back so that I could mount luggage further back.

[anonymous-user]

Took a Supermoto and an MT-07 to the Alps, down to Italy, and back. I would say its all fine if you choose the right roads for the bike. Stay off long stretches of highways and they are brilliant.

[TypeR]

I’ve used this on multiple trips to Europe. Not much in the way of protection, but comfy and very little buffeting upto 85 mph or so.
Any faster than that is a bit of a pain.

[SteveKTMer]

I've been on a number of long trips on naked bikes, just get the right luggage and a little fly screen and it's great. Just gets a bit tiring on your neck at more than 80ish mph.

[shurm]

Went round Scotland on the Z800

[slopes]

TypeR said:

I’ve used this on multiple trips to Europe. Not much in the way of protection, but comfy and very little buffeting upto 85 mph or so.
Any faster than that is a bit of a pain.

What is that? I know it's a Moto Guzzi but which one?

[slopes]

Not to worry, i found it

[gareth h]

I’ve done 2,000 mile trips on a Superduke and R nine T, no problems, however just back from a similar trip on a Multistrada and the long days were much easier, so you pays your money ……

[off_again]

I did 2500 miles on this thing a couple of years ago:



Wasnt that bad to be honest. Though it has been pretty seriously customized with significantly more power than stock. Though I would stress that I did around half of that mileage on the Monster, but then swapped to a 1200 RT for the rest - I am 6'5" and my back was really starting to hurt as the average speed dropped.

[creampuff]

Erm, I’d say if you want a do it all bike and the “all” includes touring, then you want a bike with a fairing. Forget doing 1000km on a motorway to get to your tour destination, on a naked bike.

FWIW, I have toured on a naked bike. No thanks. Makes you much more tired, much faster.

[stang65]

Had my 900 Hornet for years. Touring on it is fine. It's been to France and Yorkshire (I'm on the Sussex coast). I guess the most relevant to the original question was a trip to Yorkshire/Lake district a few years back which was around 1,200 miles in 4 days. It was with 4 other bikes, one Sprint ST, one Tiger 1050 and two GSs. The Hornet coped well with everything the others did on that trip. We went in March and temperatures never went over 0C, so I was thankful for the OEM screen, Oxford heated grips and Acerbis bar end hand guards, but that was all that was needed to be comfortable. We rode back from Settle on the last day and as it rained nearly the entire way we sat on the Motorway at "fast lane" speeds, which I found OK. If you're going from one end of Germany to the other at autobahn speeds a naked might not be ideal though...but who does that when on holiday?

Off topic, but how does a Tuono come into discussions about naked bikes? Have I missed that there's a naked Tuono now, I really don't like the look of the faired one's but an unfaired one would definitely be interesting?

[Harji]

Thanks all for the replies, I think I'm going naked. As for motorways, I've always tended to use the back roads in a car and bike and use the motorway to ride up to the next A/B road. I tend to have a break after 1 to 1 1/2 hours as inveriably I will need the toilet a second I pass the rest stop and I'm never in a hurry.

I have a Kreiga set of bags which I use regiarly for overnight stops, I have full gore-tex gear, and I've been caught in horrendus weather so not totally inexpereinced to riding in bad conditions. Also, I get a fair bit of wind blast on the ER6 with fairing plus the parallel twin gives me tingly arms after a while, the Z900 has a slightly lean forward position and a lot smoother which may mitigate no fairings. I think currently, a full touring bike may be a bit much for my needs.

Glad to see the nakeds on tour. I also thought the Tuono was a faired bike. Right, so what naked? The S1000R has also caught my eye... but is there a BMW premium in regards to service costs?

Edited by Harji on Friday 5th August 21:49

[LowTread]

Harji said:

Thanks all for the replies, I think I'm going naked. As for motorways, I've always tended to use the back roads in a car and bike and use the motorway to ride up to the next A/B road. I tend to have a break after 1 to 1 1/2 hours as inveriably I will need the toilet a second I pass the rest stop and I'm never in a hurry.

I have a Kreiga set of bags which I use regiarly for overnight stops, I have full gore-tex gear, and I've been caught in horrendus weather so not totally inexpereinced to riding in bad conditions. Also, I get a fair bit of wind blast on the ER6 with fairing plus the parallel twin gives me tingly arms after a while, the Z900 has a slightly lean forward position and a lot smoother which may mitigate no fairings. I think currently, a full touring bike may be a bit much for my needs.

Glad to see the nakeds on tour. I also thought the Tuono was a faired bike. Right, so what naked? The S1000R has also caught my eye... but is their a BMW premium in regards to service costs?

The 18,000 mile service is £800. That's the big one though. I'd expect it to be more like £300 normally.