First time tour - advice needed

Hi,

I thinking of taking the bike (SV650 K5 pointy) on a summer tour to Italy to see some mates. I've seen stuff like corbin seats, heli bars and raised clip on bars fore added comfort. There all pretty expensive. Any one got views/advice on which to go for to stop me requiring a new spine after the journey? Also tail packs, tank bags and ruck sacks. Which is the best combo? Any adive would be great before a spank my salary on stuff I may not need.

[yorkie_chris]

A few people have taken a bicycle gelpad seat cover and put that under the stock seat covering.
I wouldn't get another corbin seat, certainly not at full price anyway. I would send my seat to tony archer, he will gel pad a seat for about £40.

Luggage, you can either go mental with £700 worth of plastic stuff. Or you can bungee a bergen to the back seat for about £20 and have more room...
I've got a set of oxford panniers, which are alright, and a tankbag which is an excellent purchase. If you don't have a high level pipe, then you can pick up some perfectly useable panniers for £30 or so.


You probably won't need helibars etc. but it's always worth making sure the levers are set at the right angle for you.


Other stuff; ear plugs, decent kit, breakdown cover, plenty cash.

[Luckypants]

Originally Posted by Perko

Any one got views/advice on which to go for to stop me requiring a new spine after the journey?

Man up? Claire did 3400 miles in two weeks on her cut-down seat (she is small) - she has a K3 SV650S. The only big problem she had was with the clutch giving her tendonitis after so many gear changes! I would say that a few biggish days out (200+ miles) to harden the sit bones will make the journey on a standard seat ok.

Originally Posted by Perko

Also tail packs, tank bags and ruck sacks. Which is the best combo?

Tailpack and small tankbag if you can travel light. Panniers if you need more room. Tailpack and panniers is a bit over the top IMO. If you are camping, panniers for your stuff and strap the camping kit on the rear seat.

You might also want to find the Eurotour section on here which has loads of stories / tips / Q+A about this stuff.

EDIT: Just noticed this was your first post, so sorry about the 'man up' comment, it was just banter. Also you might not be able to navigate the site easily just yet, so here is a link to the EuroTour section http://forums.sv650.org/forumdisplay.php?f=120

[punyXpress]

Welcome to the .org, Perko
Most of what YC says is fine - many of us hang on hi every word!
The only thing I would add is : try to get a couple of good long runs in before you plan eirher your trip or modifications - many of the latter may not improve your ride.
The best way to do these is join one of the many rideouts that are held in different parts of the UK - whereabouts are you?

[Binky]

I did over 1500 miles in around four days last summer on the stock seat and had no trouble at all. Never really felt uncomfortable. Admittedly going to and from Italy will be more than double that, but i agree with Luackypants, get a fare few miles in first and harden youself up.

Cheers for the advice guys. Noted on the 'man up' (no drama's as banter is the spice of life). I will endevour to get some enduro time under the belt before heading off into the blue.

PunyXpress- I live in Winchester, Hants

I couldn't get on with the stock seat at all, I bought the gel one from suzuki, and it's made a world of difference. No point in being miserable, IMO.

[pmapp]

I did Switzerland and back last year - stock seat etc. Did the home run from middle of France in one go - about 650 miles with no real dramas.

[Swin]

I'm still adjusting to the SV, but I'm finding that it's becoming more and more comfortable as the miles go on - so from an expenditure point of view I'd give it a few runs as mentioned before, you may find that you need to replace nothing.
I'm fitting a top box to my SV, which may not be to everyone's taste, but a tankbag and rucksack on the back instead would provide lots of room!

oh, welcome by the way!

[embee]

I assume yours is a faired bike from the comments about the bars, in which case I'd say you would really benefit from slightly higher bars. I have some on my curvey and they greatly improve the comfort factor over longer distances. Heli-bars are expensive though, but there are alternatives.

The other thing touched on earlier is the clutch. Make sure it is correctly adjusted (search for the Sid Squid guide to clutch adjustment), starting at the bottom end worm drive which I suggest you take apart and grease well. If the cable is at all notchy then consider a new one (small change compared to the cost of a long trip), and oil it well. I use a small plastic bag, snip a corner off and fit over the loose top end and secure with a rubber band, then add oil of your choice and leave overnight to work down the cable. It makes a world of difference.

Make sure you have the "wet front plug" fixes in place, fender extenda, dielectric grease (Maplins etc) on the plug cap.