The Bike

I have ridden and raced all sorts of motorcycles for most of my life, most of my bikes have been very focused on the job they had to do. e.g. road racing or trials. I have never ridden let alone owned a touring bike, but as I was planning to ride 5,000 miles in 10 days, a touring bike would be top of my list. My current bike is a BMW HP2, a great bike and really fun to ride, but would not be my 1st choice for touring with a very small fuel tank, very hard narrow seat, and it would be difficult to carry more luggage than a toothbrush. Most of the Japanese offerings are so soulless, so I chose a BMW touring bike, the R1200 RT



This bike while sharing the same twin cylinder engine block, is totally different to ride, its immediately comfortable, good mid range power from the engine, and the handling is typical of modern BMW's, very planted front end yet for such a big bike quite manoeuvrable if required.

Powerful front brakes with ABS inspire confidence when the road offers less than optimal grip. Suspension is adjustable from a handlebar button while you are riding, as is the large screen.

And a good size fuel tank and 55 mpg means I will only have to stop for juice every 275 miles.