Custom Touring Motorcycles
What Makes a Touring Motorcycle a Touring Motorcycle?
A touring motorcycle, whether it is one of a class of personalized custom touring motorcycles or of standard-issue sport touring motorcycles, has a few details and specifications which differentiate it from other motorcycles. Perhaps the overarching difference is the one implied by the name itself; that it is, in fact, built for touring. Any motorcycle, of course, can be used for long distance travel, but touring motorcycles specifically are designed to make long trips more comfortable. They may include, for instance, a more relaxed seating setup, windshields to provide greater protection from the wind and weather, and even radio, MP3, and music setups. Some newer touring motorcycles, especially custom touring motorcycles, even include satellite radio among their number of other features.
Types of Touring Motorcycles
There are a number of different types of touring motorcycles, independent of the question of whether or not they are custom touring motorcycles. Different touring motorcycles are designed for different types of touring – full dress touring motorcycles, for instance, are designed almost exclusively for travel on pavement. These are excellent choices for freeway travel and are often the most comfortable of the touring motorcycles, especially if outfitted as custom touring motorcycles with personal touches and amenities. Some full dress custom touring motorcycles, for instance, are designed with air conditioning – an odd addition to a motorcycle, one might say, but the cool air blowing up from behind the expansive windshield can often help when driving through hot and arid climates.
Sport touring motorcycles, on the other hand, are designed for more rugged terrain. A key factor of sport touring motorcycles is their capability to work well both on pavement and off road – a key design consideration for builders of sport touring motorcycles is the capability for such a vehicle to go anywhere. Sport touring motorcycles often include high ground clearance to allow them to avoid rocks and the like especially large fuel tanks (as they may be required to travel long distances over wild terrain, without the possibility of refueling). This also permits under-stressed engines to allow for higher torque (very important with off road work) and skid plates to protect them from the rough terrain they travel in. It is for this reason that sport touring motorcycles often serves as the base chassis for custom touring motorcycles used in off road rallies and races like the internationally famous Dakar Rally (http://www.dakar.com).
Custom Touring Motorcycles and Enhancement Options
Touring motorcycles, whether full-dress, standard, or sport touring motorcycles, can be enhanced in a number of ways either toward a specific purpose: the Dakar Rally being a good specific example or toward a general modicum of comfort, reliability, and efficiency. This ability to customize touring motorcycles makes them an even better choice for buyers of vehicles – not to mention their excellent gas mileage, an especially important feat in today’s world of $3.60 per gallon gasoline at the pump.
One common addition to custom touring motorcycles is that of a GPS based navigational system. This can especially be important if you are traveling through foreign nations, off road for long distances, or even just in a part of the country you are not personally familiar with. When you consider the time and trouble knowing where you are will save you from, the cost of a good GPS navigation system may well be a good investment to add to your own custom touring motorcycle.
Other Additions to Custom Touring Motorcycles
Other common additions to custom touring motorcycles serve as enhancements to those great strengths touring motorcycles already offer. Large gas tanks, for example, allow touring motorcycles to travel far longer distances than standard motorcycles; one possible addition to custom touring motorcycles is that of large gas tanks—especially important on extreme adventure races and expeditions where one might well be likely to travel very long distances between gas stations.
One obvious addition to custom touring motorcycles is that of custom paint jobs and color schemes. This is a simple and relatively cheap way to distinguish a touring motorcycle as your own. You can pick whatever color scheme you think most fitting to your personal style and purpose, or even modify it specific to an event you intend to participate in – it is completely up to you.
For Further Research
Buying a touring motorcycle and personalizing it to your own preference can be a great past time, and is one already loved by hundreds of thousands of fans worldwide. In addition, while buying a touring motorcycle is relatively cheap compared to a car or off road truck, it is by no means a cheap or unimportant decision. Make sure you know what you are doing before you go and what sorts of brands are the best for what you personally want to do. One good site for those new to motorcycle touring can be found here:
http://www.visi.com/~dalebor/.
Remember, if you do your research, you will be far more likely to enjoy yourself in the wide world of motorcycle touring!
|
