Whats the LC like at long distances ?

[fusionpaul]

Having just done a 1000 mile trip in 3 days on my bike I've decided to look for an alternative & was just wondering if there are any owners here who have done this sort of mileage & what their impressions are ?

Did think of going for a touring model like the RT or GT that will obviously eat up the miles but not keen on the idea of using it as a daily rider. I thought the GSA would fit both scenarios but unfortunately found it very underpowered 2 up on motorways/autoroutes.

 

[Elvisto]

The most I've done in one day is 240 miles, With just a 20 mile stretch of motorway, I did try and find 7th gear a time or two on the motorway

I'm sure you'd find the new bike great for long distances, also the screen's brilliant, oh and the cruise control's very handy,

Cheers Graham

 

[Nutty]

I've done a 400 mile day, with no issues. I'm riding down to Italy on the 23rd, so will report back on my return.

 

[fusionpaul]

I've done a 400 mile day, with no issues. I'm riding down to Italy on the 23rd, so will report back on my return.

Have a good trip, hopefully will be sorted by then, well probably as soon as i've been on a test ride if the other posts are anything to go by

 

[Georgeeboi]

If you test it you will buy it!

 

[fusionpaul]

If you test it you will buy it!

Hoping its as good as everyone says Off to vines shortly for a bit of a chat & maybe book a test ride for tomorrow.

 

[MIKE R]

You'll never know how good a bike is for you on long mileage days without trying it first on a tour. I don't think a basic test ride will help.

IMHO the travelling speed of the bike is not the only factor. I find cruising at about 80/90 gets me the furthest, fastest. At a 100+ I get tired far quicker and need to stop more often, as well as pulling in more regularly for fuel. Any bike that will cruise comfortably at 80/90 is capable of eating up the miles as you don't have to stop as often

I've done 600+ days fairly often and on many different bikes (GS1100, 1150, 1200, 1200GSA Yamaha S10, done 850+ on 3 occasions on a Goldwing 1500/1800) and the biggest loss of time is stopping for fuel, meals, toilets etc and it always takes longer with 2 people, either as a pillion or on a separate bike.

Mike

 

[Yellow Peril]

Tank range helps a lot makes the day shorter, less time in the petrol station the better.

 

[Daxaar]

The most I've done in one day is 240 miles, With just a 20 mile stretch of motorway, I did try and find 7th gear a time or two on the motorway

I've found myself searching for 7th on more than one occasion so far and not even on motorways.

 

[Paul G (BHT)]

The LC is a great all rounder. Biggest day so far is 437 miles of mixed roads.

As others have said it feels like 6th gear could do with being higher, but it's not a real issue.

 

[mcinlb]

Re higher 6th gear, I think it is turning the same revs at motorway speeds as my old 1200 TC, but does feel like it could pull a higher gear.

 

[Jumblemo]

1333 miles from Kent to the Black Forest and back with a group of 7 bikes including a Blackbird, 2 Multistradas, a couple of sports 600s and a VFR. The GS was the cream of the crop. More torque than the Blackbird, more comfort than the 600s, more confidence inducing than the MultiStradas. It was well behaved on motorways, and then a blast on country roads and a complete riot hooning around the mountain twisties.

It's a bike that you can throw into a tight hairpin or swoop around a high speed curve with confidence to find new limits. If you get it wrong the linked brakes and great suspension make it easy to adjust your trajectory. And knowledge that the ABS and slipper clutch are there if you really cock it up adds to the sense of security. Though I was riding hard I didn't trigger either once, so they are not obtrusive.

The downsides? Well, the gearbox is a little clunky. And it's easy to get distracted by the satnav and trip computer toys (I left the iPad HUD implementation at home ). The screen is ok, but could be better still. And it needs the Akra's (still waiting).

But even though we were doing nearly 400 miles per day I didn't want to get off. That couldn't be said of the sports bikes or BB.

It's a real licence loser and a hoot.

 

[Jumblemo]

Oh, and I can recommend the BMW large softbag as all the storage one person needs for 4 days touring, I left my Varios at home to make the bike more aerodynamic and to keep the weight down. It straps securely to the bike with included straps and is easy to remove. However it doesn't fit the rear rack neatly, which is a minor aesthetic irritation, but makes it no less useful.

 

[fusionpaul]

Thanks for all the comments guys, much appreciated, well i resisted a test ride on the LC as I new if i rode it i'd want to buy it & they even had a pre-owned red one with luggage ready to go, but at the end of the day i'm used to touring bikes & couldn't resist a used 1600 gt se they had with a few extras already fitted (not to mention £1800 worth of akros) managed to get them to throw in an annual service & 12K service inc in the deal, will drop the price of my GSA thats in the for sale section just in case there's anyone out there that wants one, otherwise it'll go in as a p/x next week

 

[sven]

Having just done a 1000 mile trip in 3 days on my bike I've decided to look for an alternative & was just wondering if there are any owners here who have done this sort of mileage & what their impressions are ?

Did think of going for a touring model like the RT or GT that will obviously eat up the miles but not keen on the idea of using it as a daily rider. I thought the GSA would fit both scenarios but unfortunately found it very underpowered 2 up on motorways/autoroutes.

I've travelled long distances on both my GS and RT and found the GS lacking power two-up with the panniers expanded.

However, the roll-on acceleration figures of the new Wasserhead GS put it into a different league compared to the bikes with the old Twincam engines, so you can't make a direct comparison (until the WC RT arrives next year).

I much prefer the styling of the GS, so have refrained from test riding the new model as I can't afford to change my 14 month old RT just yet

 

[KrisSWFC]

I've had mine 10 days and now has 3k on the clock, just done 5 days in Alps, Italy and Switzerland doing 500-600 miles per day and the bike rode great on all types of roads especially motorways where it cruised fully loaded at 85mph with plenty of power on tap when needed.

We even went off road on mountain tracks in the alps and again it was faultless.

Smashed a pannier whilst off road and the bike is scruffy, but I'm not cleaning it until after I've been to the dealer so the latte boys can see how you are meant to use an "adventure" bike

 

[IJGser]

I've had mine 10 days and now has 3k on the clock, just done 5 days in Alps, Italy and Switzerland doing 500-600 miles per day and the bike rode great on all types of roads especially motorways where it cruised fully loaded at 85mph with plenty of power on tap when needed.

We even went off road on mountain tracks in the alps and again it was faultless.

Smashed a pannier whilst off road and the bike is scruffy, but I'm not cleaning it until after I've been to the dealer so the latte boys can see how you are meant to use an "adventure" bike

If that's a true story, I seriously approve off how you roll.
Top marks, Keep up the good work!

 

[KrisSWFC]

It's true I've got the aches and pains to prove it!

 

[Ali-bear]

Better looking

I rode most of the length of France on the Autoroute in one day on my 07 GS - that's a single cam oil-cooled hexhead to you - with only a flyscreen so keeping to the legal limit mostly. That's the only time I've ever felt like the day's riding was too long on that bike. Can't imagine the LC (Elsie?) is any worse, apart from in the looks department that is