Touring: CB1100 vs. F800GT

[Stichill]

I simply don't have the experience of all the bikes other members have mentioned. Indeed, I don't have years of motorcycle touring history, but I have done a couple of serious tours on my CB1100. I have no fairing or screen and a top box. I also have an AirHawk seat cushion! For the rest I heave a duffel and, where necessary, camping gear on the seat and off I go. It's been just fine. It cruises comfortably at Australia's speed limits all day, the additional weight doesn't seem to make any difference to the performance and it remains a delight to ride.

I'm sure there are bikes that are way better for extended touring, but I can afford only one bike which I want to use for the occasional tour. The CB1100 does me just fine.

By the way, your CB250 looks just great.

This is so encouraging! I think there's something to be said for "clean air". I have ridden the CB1100 and a Hawk GT...in both cases I never objected to the wind blast. However on my own 250 I did find it necessary to deflect the wind higher to get it off my neck. Maybe unfared bikes are underappreciated? Perhaps the choice should be between "naked" and "fully fared batwing"?

I simply don't have the experience of all the bikes other members have mentioned. Indeed, I don't have years of motorcycle touring history, but I have done a couple of serious tours on my CB1100. I have no fairing or screen and a top box. I also have an AirHawk seat cushion! For the rest I heave a duffel and, where necessary, camping gear on the seat and off I go. It's been just fine. It cruises comfortably at Australia's speed limits all day, the additional weight doesn't seem to make any difference to the performance and it remains a delight to ride.

I'm sure there are bikes that are way better for extended touring, but I can afford only one bike which I want to use for the occasional tour. The CB1100 does me just fine.

By the way, your CB250 looks just great.

Thank you...it's a keeper!

First off..BS on the 250 not being a highway machine. It's not without drawbacks as noted, but it works just fine on the highway. I rode mine all over the place before I got my CB. While we're at it, BS on screens, fairings, saddlebags, as requirements to tour on the CB. Oh, and one more thing, never noticed buzzing over 65, never felt like I was being blown off it, and I got used to the seat. I have 15,000 miles on mine with no windscreen. Two week long trips to NC/Tenn, Two weekend trips to Wisconsin, and another week planned to the Ozarks. Most folks like a screen for touring, but it's fine without it. I'll let someone else comment on the ergos, the chain, and the maintence, but none of them have been a barrier to my travels.

I'm not trying to talk you into it, but it's a wonderfully versatile bike. Strap a good sized waterproof duffle on the back and take off for a week. There are better touring bikes and you may already be riding a better around-town bike right now. Someone said of this bike that it's not great at anything (except turning heads), but it's very good at almost everything and isn't bad at whatever's left.

I hope you're keeping the CBR. Love that bike.

Any reliable motorcycle is a good fit for touring. A 250cc bike gets excellent gas mileage, and might even be more suitable than bigger bikes with lesser range. The only thing that can make a bike non suitable for highway riding, is truly the sitting position. Standard position is ideal, and even often better than cruisers with forward controls. All Harley touring rigs have a very conservative sitting geometry. Nothing with rear set controls, and clip on bars will ever do. People tour on scooters, and have a great time. To me a motorcycle should be reliable, fun, and cheap. Both my Triumph Scrambler and my CB1100 are just that. I have a harder time justifying $15k-20k bikes, for a set of hard bags, and a fairing. It's nice if you have the money, but IMHO way over rated. Any bike over 800cc will do find for 2 people and gears. Anything bigger is just ice on the cake. I would love to tour the world on a Kawasaki KLR650. Its a 651cc bullet proof, water cooled, fuel injected single, that gets around 50mpg on a 6.1gl tank. People do it all the time.

My CBR250R's fuel economy averages 69 mpg (3,46 L/100km) in spirited backroads riding. However, out on the superslab at 85 mph with the mill turning 9,000 rpm...it drops to around 53 mpg (4,44 L/100km). With a 3.4 gallon (12,87 L) tank, that is not a lot of range. In my group I compete with the Harleys for who needs to stop for fuel first.