Most Important Touring Mods?

[rider1a]

How much do the Bill Mayer saddles go for? I am probably going to get mine stuffed locally for now since I don't have exorbitant amounts to spend.
I'm 24 and 6'0 and I was thinking of getting the medium CalSci screen with +8 inches. I prefer laying on the tank on the interstate and planned to get a tank bag and fill it with clothes for a nice pillow to lay on for long jaunts.
Is +8 going to be too short for someone who mostly leans down?

With Bill Mayer you take various inseam measurements and several pictures of you on the bike in your traditional riding position. If you have bar-risers or any special ergo mods, you should mention this to him. Then you mail in your specs with the stock seat. The customization process takes about 2 weeks before the seat is returned. If you chose the stock vinyl and no welts, backrest, or custom colors or leather, the cost is around $450.00. This does not include shipping which is around $50.00 roundtrip.

If money is no object, plan to keep your FZ6 a LONG time, the BEST custom seat though is Russell Day Long which adds another $200 to the seat. If you decide to sell your bike, the Russell seat will sell very quickly! They are in demand. Expect to wait 1-2 months for a Russell once you mail in the stock seat (yea they are that good). They do have a program where you can RIDE into their store in Northern California and have the customization performed the same day. This is a popular service especially in the summer when the hard-cord long-distance riders show up for their custom seat.

Regarding the CalSci screen, the XXL size looks like the size for you. Some people have also added a Laminar Lip to it to increase the wind protection. At around 80 bucks, the Laminar Lip can quickly be removed when you don't need such aggressive wind protection.

If you have other fellow Fizzers in your area with different wind screens, you might consider swapping bikes for a short ride to see which set-up works best for you.

Cheerio,

Fred

 

[Beknatok]

+100 to all of the various suggestions.

I'm a big fan of hydration packs as well. Helps me to stay hydrated while riding through the Midwest summer heat. I sneak in a sip every now and then.

 

[bard]

Givi Tour screen and Givi luggage rack.

Else I find nothing to "must have", I find the seat very comfy so no don't need to do anything there. To nitpick I would probably like to change the grips, not a biggie but some nice comfy ones would be good. Everything else suits me...

I ghetto rigged a 12volt out for my GPS to avoid battery usage, I find nothing wrong with the suspension, just set it up in pre load and it's fine for me, you have to experiment with it and find that out by yourself. I am 190 pounds and had my wife 150 pounds plus a loaded V46 top box on a trip and preload of the stock suspension was fine.

I don't ride boring slabs of long straight square tire roads so any cruise control is 100% waste of my money. But that might apply to your conditions.

Have a great safe trip...

 

[gearheadstu]

I'm more of a minimalist in my riding, and touring is part of that.

I've started riding with no windscreen on my '06 and I think I'd be happy touring in that configuration. FWIW, I did a 1400 mile week to the Indy MotoGP with the stock screen. It was ok, but I think the smoother airflow I get while screenless would be a better experience.

As far as luggage goes, I'm a big fan of less. Smaller & fewer bags are a natural barrier against carrying extraneous fluff. To that end, I don't travel with a tank bag much anymore.

These days, there are only three must-have items for me:

• Camelbak / similar hydration bag
• GPS
• $ on plastic

I'm even obnoxiously minimalist on the GPS: I use a very small unit targetted at hikers. It is drop proof, water proof, and has only the barest minimum functionality on it. It is essentially impossible to use while rolling, which in my eyes is a huge plus.