Triumph SpeedMaster - Touring

[regcoles]

Hi All,

Looking to start doing some touring next year, starting with a camping trip to Southern Ireland for 10days and then maybe looking at Europe later for two weeks.
Would my 2012 Triumph SpeedMaster (900cc) be up to the challenge? It will only be me and my gear and mostly on tarmac roads.
Never done anything like this before.

Cheers
Reg

[Gipper]

Hi Reg,

Welcome to the HUBB

You can tour on anything, people ride Honda C90 stepthroughs round the world (RTW), pack up your bike and ride, don't take too much crap.

Though not essential, its good to have a basic understanding of the bike, make sure you have spare fuses and a puncture repair kit/small compressor/bike hand pump is always a good idea.

Make sure your motorcycle insurance covers you for where you are going and that you have medical coverage too. A small motorcycle cover is useful in Europe if you are away from your bike, a disk lock or chain is handy too.

Have a good time

[Threewheelbonnie]

If maintained before you go and you understand your own limitations and abilities it will be a great ride. Do some sort of route plan to avoid hours on the motorway, have an RAC card , know how you'll deal with a puncture etc. Everyone takes too much stuff first time. The phrase "what if" should trigger a lot of thought about " what if it doesn't". A spare credit card is much better weight for function than a spare cylinder head. Shopping is not the answer, you need neither multiple hard bags nor a Goldwing.

You will only fail at this if you try and go too far in a day, or get het up about not quite knowing where you are, or taking a bit of mechanical hassle as anything except a new challenge. Failing to change a plan because it isn't working will also wreck your trip. If you find something you like stay, if it isn't as good as you thought re-plan. Fun touring is mostly about attitude not machinery.

Enjoy it.

Andy

[yorkybar]

Hi Regcoles, welcome. I had an America and did a lot of touring on it. Scotland and North Sweden a couple of times two up. No problems and that from North Germany.

[regcoles]

Hi All,

Thanks for all the advice.

I've got quite a detailed plan of where I'm going, got a friend in Ireland who is helping with sites to see etc. Got myself a large map and planning the route on that. Also using Tourstart which is a great tool - Motorcycle road, motorcycle tour and events | Tourstart.org

Spoken to my Triumph dealership and going to get the bike serviced and if I need new tyres before I go going, then going to get them with the foam inside to help stop punctures. Will defintely be extending my RAC to international while I'm away. Will also be taking extra brake and clutch cable along for the ride....

Cheers
Reg

[Threewheelbonnie]

Go for it.

Search ultraseal on the forum here and you'll find a useful thread on puncture stuff. Opinion is split, I avoid the stuff.

Andy

[backofbeyond]

Hi Reg

You won't have any problems with the bike - it looks perfect for the job.

Southern Ireland looks like a good first destination as well - no language probs, great biking roads (on the right err.. left side of the road - and if you know people there already that'll help a lot. Pity about the weather (I lived near Cork as a child) but I suspect by the time you've done that trip continental Europe won't hold many fears.

Where are you thinking of going? With two weeks you're within range of Holland, Germany, France and maybe northern Spain but the older I get the more I realise that less is more. The days of riding through the night to get to Greece in three days are long gone and I'm happier exploring the places I used to blast straight past. Post up your plans and I'm sure you'll get a wealth of suggestions about where you're thinking of going.

Oh, and I'm with 3WB - forget the tyre gloop. If you're doing modest mileages on good roads with new tyres you'll be very unlucky to have any problems. I'd be amazed if you need the cables as well.

[Mike the Bike]

Are You Mad ! Must be two of us then. My wife and I did 3,500 miles on our 2006 T100 last year, Plymouth, Roscoff [that bit was by boat..] Cl.Ferrand/Millau Bridge/Valencia/Seville/Lagos/Lisbon/Serra Estrella's and home. 16 riding days, 5 as tourists and 5 working. Just check the bike's usuals, plan to fill the tank twice a day and take a water bottle. All we did was start to look for somewhere to sleep at 5 every afternoon and never failed to be somewhere comfy, downing a cold by 6pm. You will have a great time. In fact, we very very nearly, turned away from the homebound ferry loading ramp and headed back south. Next time we will only be booking one way.

Reg, why are you still reading this ? Get your keys, grab your lid and go.

[kentfallen]

Thinking of doing exactly the same thing on my newly acquired Triumph Bonneville 790cc.

[regcoles]

Firstly, Merry Christmas everyone, hope you had a great day!

Thanks for all the great comments, cannot wait to go now! (Mike - thanks for the inspiration)

Going to go in May so hopefully the weather is not to bad as it's the start of 'summer'.

As soon as I get all the details sorted out, I'll post them here e.g. route and places to see and also what I intend to take with me so to make sure I've got it right.

Happy New year Guys

Cheers
Reg