Touring on 650

K.i am 72. I owned 11 goldwings,8 yamaha ventures, one ultra classic. No more 900 lb bikes for me now. I have to go reclaim my 8w 650 csr. Its the right weight.seat is too high.no wind protection or creature comforts. But i wondered if anyone has tried a long ride,say 500 miles on one.

I usually try not to do 500 miles in one day.  300 makes a good day of riding for me.  Then you can stop every hour, more or less, and get off the bike for a few, have a meal or snack, or even some quick sight seeing.  I have certainly done a 300 mile day on my B1 and it was not bad.  That's a fairly comfy seat and upright riding position with lots of room to move around.  I like bars on the low side with no wind protection as it gets your head down so you are not fighting the wind as much but I am younger than you.  One thing I have learned, is to always keep your elbows bent and loose.  You will have better control and leaning on locked wrists and elbows is gonna beat you up and tire you out.

I got so tired of the heavyweight bikes, all the countersteering.wore me out. My 650 is so flickable it practically drives itself

Don’t forget the counter steering. It will save your life. 

I've done LA to San Franciso a few times on a GPz550 but I was 30 years younger. These days I prefer my FJR for longer trips. All day comfort, great handling, stupid power and reliable as a claw hammer.
Still, those LA to San Fran blasts were fun. Oh, to be 23 again. 

Ive done a few 1000 miles day on a B2 I had. 

Kawasaki did a lot of things right with their bikes back then but the seat wasn't one of them.  I would be more comfortable on a piece of 2 by 8.  My butt is good for maybe an hour before it gets too sore.  You might want to invest in a nice Corbin seat before going on long trips.

Having your seat retrimmed with modern foam will help with the sore butt, alternatively, I used to use a nice piece of sheepskin, Like those thick sheepskin seat covers you can buy for your car. Do you have those in the USA ?  Stitch a couple of pieces of thick elastic to the sheep skin,  cut to the size of the seat top,  and just secure it with the elastic, works well, nice and comfortable , easy to put on and off....

Everyone but my butt hate this Corbin…. 

 

wrote:

Having your seat retrimmed with modern foam will help with the sore butt, alternatively, I used to use a nice piece of sheepskin, Like those thick sheepskin seat covers you can buy for your car. Do you have those in the USA ?  Stitch a couple of pieces of thick elastic to the sheep skin,  cut to the size of the seat top,  and just secure it with the elastic, works well, nice and comfortable , easy to put on and off....
 

We do have those in the US, so that would be a workable idea.

You can also get gel saddle cushions to go on top of the seat. They're available in black (and some other colors) and will take on less water if you get caught in the rain.

I'm working on a seat pad to go on an old (1970s?) fiberglass bum-stop seat pan. The plan is to use a chunk of ~2" thick neoprene cut from one of those garden-kneeler things that older folks use. Once the piece is cut, I'll cover it in marine-grade vinyl seat material. Not sure how comfortable it will be but it's not going to be on a touring bike.

wrote:

Everyone but my butt hate this Corbin…. 

 

You are correct...!!!

I have an Air Hawk, which is inflatable and sits on top of the regular seat.  You can see it in this photo.  It adds about a half hour to my butt tolerance.