What's the smallest bike you'd use for a multi-day Euro trip?

[Tonibe63]

Very often the trip is planned around the time available to do the trip which is also a major consideration when choosing which bike to take (if you have a choice). Those people committed to a long term career or job don't have that luxury.

Oi! Rather than posting on here at 9:15 on a Monday morning, shouldn't you be committing to your career?
Just joking, I'd agree time is a factor.
But if you've just got a sneaky week between work commitments you can still take a small bike, just don't plan on so many miles.

Lol .
After 25 years of being self employed, where I could choose the time and length of our adventures, I took a full time job just over 10 months ago. Although the extra guaranteed money was nice I have found it very restrictive on my free time (maximum 2 weeks holiday at one time and only if other key staff are not already off ) and next year is looking to be even busier/more restrictive. So at 9.15am on a Monday morning I am actively committing to my long term career as I while away the last week of my month long 'period of notice' .
The future is less certain although there will be less money going in the Bank but I can predict a 3 to 4 week trip to Bulgaria/Greece/Turkey etc next year providing our health is good .
Carpe Diem.

[Redmurty]

I would go on my DR350 and let the bike dictate the speed of the trip

cheers Spud

[Magnon]

No real experience of long trips on smaller bikes but for me the physical size of the bike - I find a F800GS a bit cramped. Also as far as my experience goes smaller single cylinder bikes, which also tend to be geared down (for trail use, perhaps) are reving their nuts off at motorway speeds and not mechanically refined so you are relying on ear plugs to a great extent.

Lightweight and nimble handling can make for a great fun ride but you need time on your side so you can take the backroads.

[bowber]

No real experience of long trips on smaller bikes but for me the physical size of the bike - I find a F800GS a bit cramped. Also as far as my experience goes smaller single cylinder bikes, which also tend to be geared down (for trail use, perhaps) are reving their nuts off at motorway speeds and not mechanically refined so you are relying on ear plugs to a great extent.

Lightweight and nimble handling can make for a great fun ride but you need time on your side so you can take the backroads.

The gearing is something you can alter and if you're going on a long trip that is going to be mainly road you can gear for it, however my old DR350 would happily sit at 70+ without revving too much and my EXC can apparently hit over 95 with it's gearing and again is happy at 60+. My wife used to have a BMW650GS, the single cylinder one, and she always thought it was revving loads even at 65-70, I'd get on it and find it was fine and it was actually over geared from standard so it'd have been no where near revving, but if your used to larger bikes then you would think that your doing the engine some harm when in fact it's happy revving away and will stay there all day for days on end.
That's not the point of touring on a small bike by choice though, the point is to slow down and take it all in, go slower and take the scenic route rather than the motorway and to be honest I tend to do that even on my 1050 so I'm seriously thinking of getting something smaller instead.

Steve

[OB1]

I would agree with the comments saying that time is probably the main factor when it comes to bike size and distance travelling: not because of the speed but rather the comfort over long distances.

In 1997 I decided to go to Faro, Portugal and, rather than taking my 1973 Honda CB750/4, I decided to go on a Honda GL500 Silver Wing (similar to the photo below). I covered 3,600 miles during 8 days of travelling with a maximum of 600 miles in one day. The split between dual carriageways and A/B roads was about 50:50 as I travelled from Lincoln, through France into Spain and finally Portugal. I think my cruising speed on dual carriageways was between 70 and 80 mph and the weather was anything from the mid 30s in Spain to monsoon rain around Paris on the Périphérique.



A few years before that my girlfriend and I completed a UK tour taking in 23 counties in 8 days, two-up on a Suzuki GS450 with luggage and a tent!

In my opinion, long distance motorcycle riding has caught a bit of a fad similar to towing a caravan. Every caravan that you see these days seems to be towed by a huge 4x4: when I was young, it would be a diesel estate. With motorcycle travel, the mindset is the larger the better.

[SteveW]

In my opinion, long distance motorcycle riding has caught a bit of a fad similar to towing a caravan. Every caravan that you see these days seems to be towed by a huge 4x4: when I was young, it would be a diesel estate. With motorcycle travel, the mindset is the larger the better.
[/quote]

.....and when I was young every caravan was towed by a horse!
I've got to say that Silver Wing Maggot looks very comfortable, with good weather protection, but I'd not really class it as a small bike (Physically)

[Jak*]

As other people have said the main factors are time and money. Plus possibly age. I once rode an MZ 250 non stop, apart from a fuel stop, from Zurich to Dunkerque. Given the choice if I had to do the same journey today I would take my Cali. If I had the time and intended to go off road I would take the CCM. A more important consideration may be tyres. Putting more serious knobbliest on the CCM has limited the top speed, at least for me, and I imagine the same would be true for a larger adventure bike.
A lot of smaller or mid capacity bikes have a greater tank range than some bigger bikes as they are more economical. This can mean that their average speed can actually be higher, particularly if you are sticking to, or close to legal limits.
Years ago a 500 was considered a large bike and a 750 a superbike. Obviously they did not have to contend with modern traffic on motorways but if you stick to back roads I suspect average speeds have not changed much since the 1950s.
Cheers Jak

[RichP]

I'm taking my KTM 500 exc on a multiday trip next week along with two mates on CCM 450s. As I speak the bikes are on their way to Bulgaria and we fly out next Monday. Coming back via Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia and Austria using tracks and road. Catching a motor rail train from Vienna to Frankfurt to cut out some of the miles as we've only got a couple of weeks. I've put a Highways Dirt Bike fairing on the bike, had the seat altered and fitted a cush drive rear wheel. Have arranged to do an oil change at a KTM dealer in Montenegro that is approximately half way though. Was going to take my 660 Tenere but thought the KTM would be better off road yet still OK on tarmac - it sits quite happily at 75 mph with plenty left for overtaking.

[SteveW]

I'm taking my KTM 500 exc on a multiday trip next week along with two mates on CCM 450s. As I speak the bikes are on their way to Bulgaria and we fly out next Monday. Coming back via Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia and Austria using tracks and road. Catching a motor rail train from Vienna to Frankfurt to cut out some of the miles as we've only got a couple of weeks. I've put a Highways Dirt Bike fairing on the bike, had the seat altered and fitted a cush drive rear wheel. Have arranged to do an oil change at a KTM dealer in Montenegro that is approximately half way though. Was going to take my 660 Tenere but thought the KTM would be better off road yet still OK on tarmac - it sits quite happily at 75 mph with plenty left for overtaking.

Rich, what bike insurance have you got in place for Macedonia?

[RichP]

I'm taking my KTM 500 exc on a multiday trip next week along with two mates on CCM 450s. As I speak the bikes are on their way to Bulgaria and we fly out next Monday. Coming back via Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia and Austria using tracks and road. Catching a motor rail train from Vienna to Frankfurt to cut out some of the miles as we've only got a couple of weeks. I've put a Highways Dirt Bike fairing on the bike, had the seat altered and fitted a cush drive rear wheel. Have arranged to do an oil change at a KTM dealer in Montenegro that is approximately half way though. Was going to take my 660 Tenere but thought the KTM would be better off road yet still OK on tarmac - it sits quite happily at 75 mph with plenty left for overtaking.

Rich, what bike insurance have you got in place for Macedonia?

Hi Steve I'm insured by Ageas through Carole Nash. They issued a green card for all the countries without any issue. One of the lads on the CCMs is also with Ageas and didn't have any issues but the other is with Avviva and they wouldn't insure in any non EU member country.