Touring Weight?

PhaedrusMC

PhaedrusMC

Well-known member
UKGSer Subscriber
Joined
Nov 10, 2015
Messages
1,562
Reaction score
1
Location
Dublin
What weight does your touring set-up come to? Bike, you, luggage - total weight?

I think my planned load for a trip later this year is as light as I can get it: bike - 1150 - could be 270-280kg fuelled (TT pannier racks, crash bars, aux lights, etc). I'm currently 96kg (aiming for under 90kg before departure, but my riding gear must easily be 10kg). Panniers could be 40kg between them (including water and spare fuel canisters mounted on them). Drybag could be 10kg, tank bag another 10kg...

That all comes to 430-440kg. GVWR is 450kg. :eek:

I'm not bringing excess stuff - no coffee machines or 10 civvy outfits.

By staying under the GVWR, I'll be legal, but it'll be ponderous fo sho - you guys the same?
 
To be honest on all the bikes I have ever owned, I have tried to stay at the limit of the GVWR, and made sure I had good tyres and hard enough to travel a fair distance, softer compound tyres loaded down will square off and get eaten up quick, mega gripping tyres not needed as fully loaded you aint going fast.
 
Wapping said:
Where are you going?

Just how much additional water and fuel are you carrying?
Click to expand...

You're lucky ... you do most of your stuff without a pillion. I have to tour with one of life's hoarders who can't travel without packing for every fucking eventuality, and then stuffing every orifice on the bike with shit like pine cones, conkers, stones and pressed flowers en route :D

I remember days where I'd have to get her to help me lift it off the side stand cos I couldn't do it myself ... :D

(my pannier is the exhaust side one - hers is the other, the top box and most of the feckin tank bag .. :mad:)


 
Two panniers and a top box is all I allow when touring - Karen has the expanded vario top box, large pannier for me, smaller pannier for waterproofs and odds and sods - no exceptions to this rule, no tank bags, or other bags permitted - not sure what the total weight is but Karen is only little and my touring weight is 81kg so is probably within the GW limit.
 
Giles said:
You're lucky ... you do most of your stuff without a pillion. I have to tour with one of life's hoarders who can't travel without packing for every fucking eventuality, and then stuffing every orifice on the bike with shit like pine cones, conkers, stones and pressed flowers en route :D

I remember days where I'd have to get her to help me lift it off the side stand cos I couldn't do it myself ... :D

(my pannier is the exhaust side one - hers is the other, the top box and most of the feckin tank bag .. :mad:)


Click to expand...

Nice BMW you must miss it :comfort and we are not buying your cover story for the flowers :rob :D
 
For trip this year I’ve ditched the vario top box, it’s got a 5kg limit and weighs 7kg on its own empty. So I’ve opted for a roll bag as 10kg of clothing could be a fair bit and it’s still under the bracket limit of 12kg. Panniers won’t have a huge amount in them.
 
Wapping said:
Where are you going?

Just how much additional water and fuel are you carrying?
Click to expand...

Giles said:
You're lucky ... you do most of your stuff without a pillion. I have to tour with one of life's hoarders who can't travel without.....
Click to expand...

Which, whilst all true does not answer my three questions of the OP as to his (presumably solo) jaunt.
 
My 2011 1200 GSA fully loaded for both of us is waaaay over the max permissible. We have however done tens of '000s of miles like this with no discernible affects. Once you get used to the weight it stops, goes and handles just fine. I have specified the Wilbers springs for this sort of loading too so the bike sits OK. I also try and get weight up front, although a decent handful will see a wheelie.

It was weighed when being air-freighted shipped back from Canada in 2015. Our clothing bags had been removed and it was 325kg IIRC. So it already had around 70Kg of stuff attached to it but including about 5 litres of fuel. That was bike, panniers full of camping stuff, tent, tools, waterproofs, maps, and other odds and sods needed for a 4 month trip. So when we are riding we add: two pannier top bags with clothes - say 5kg each, some food, water, biccies, stove fuel, etc, say another 5kg. Then there is us. I am around 120Kg in my riding suit, boots and helmet,the wife, umm well it would be indiscrete but not as light as she used to be. Together we are not that far from the max payload anyway. All up a lot of KG north of 500. Max permissible is 475Kg IIRC.
 
Giles said:
You're lucky ... you do most of your stuff without a pillion. I have to tour with one of life's hoarders who can't travel without packing for every fucking eventuality, and then stuffing every orifice on the bike with shit like pine cones, conkers, stones and pressed flowers en route :D

I remember days where I'd have to get her to help me lift it off the side stand cos I couldn't do it myself ... :D

(my pannier is the exhaust side one - hers is the other, the top box and most of the feckin tank bag .. :mad:)


Click to expand...

Snap :beerjug: especially the bloody pine cones and stones.............
 
Solo.
2.5 weeks Spain, Portugal & France.
50% camping, hence the water & extra fuel - probably one 3l canister of each, possibly 2 of each.
50% B&Bs.
2/3 paved roads.
1/3 easier sections of TET.


LEFT PANNIER - 15-18kg?
  • 38l pannier - 5kg
  • Stove (Primus Express Spider - they don't come much smaller or lighter) & gas - all stored inside my 1l pot.
  • Plastic plate, mug & spork.
  • Camping food.
  • Laptop (in neoprene sleeve) & storage - I'll be video recording the trip, and will be dumping SD card content in the evenings.
  • Drone camera (DJI Spark - again, about as small & light as they get).
  • Spares, puncture repair kit, air pump.
  • Rain jacket & pants.
  • 1l bottle of engine oil, maybe a bottle of transmission / FD oil.
  • 3l canister of water or petrol.

RIGHT PANNIER - 23kg
  • 45l pannier - 6kg.
  • 2-man tent (Vango Mistral 200 - 4kg).
  • Sleeping bag (Snugpak Jungle Bag) & Exped SynMat 9LW mat - 2kg.
  • Folding camp chair (Aldi special - can't stretch for now to the smaller & lighter Alite MayFly I'd like) - 1kg.
  • Tarp (DD Basha 4m x 4m) - 1kg.
  • Light bike cover (Aldi special) - 1kg.
  • Tool roll - 5kg. I suspect I can significantly reduce that - there's a fair bit of doubling in there of certain tools.
  • 3l canister of water or petrol - 3kg.

DRYBAG
  • Clothes.
  • Toiletries.
  • First aid kit.
  • Bike security.

TANK BAG
  • USB-rechargable stills camera.
  • USB-rechargable battery pack and/or jump starter.
  • USB-rechargable torch.
  • USB-rechargable shaver.
  • USB cables.
  • Documents.
  • Mini tripod.
  • Multi-tool.
  • Glasses.
  • Sunglasses.
  • Maps.
  • Snacks.

OCD had me wanting stuff packed like this, but after looking at the weight distribution (via looking at the overall weight), I'll probably now switch some stuff around.

Loads of you guys have done many of these trips before - I know this. I know there might be some scoffing at my approach, but remember how excited you were on your first big trip? How many trips did you take before you got it "right"?

But in terms of overall weight, I can't see me taking more than maybe 10kg off that total - that's still pretty close to GVWR...

Maybe I should be aiming to lose 2 stone of pudge instead of 1... :augie

How the fuck could you cover a 2-up trip and still stay under GVWR?!

For this trip I can't afford new suspension. I'll have a pro go over my bike before the trip to highlight anything that needs attention, and determine any must-dos. Hopefully new suspension is not a must-do...
 
Last edited:
Well, you can dump a load of tools to bring the 5kg of tools down. That's for certain.

Do you really need to carry three (possibly six?) litres of fuel in Western Europe, all the time? It can't be for your stove, as that runs on gas canisters. Need petrol for something else? Syphon some out of the fuel tank or put a spigot tap into fuel line.

Do you really need to carry three (possibly six?) litres of water all the time? Half of your time you are in B&B's who, if nothing else will have water, surely?

Do you really need a bike cover, even a light one? The bike won't suddenly evaporate if the sun shines on it or rust away if it rains. Chuck it and save a kilogram

What's with the drone thing? I looked it up.... 300g or a third of a kilo... and you are getting worried that the whole lot weighs too much? Save yourself 300g of anguish by leaving the flying thing at home

Final drive oil? Why? See engine oil, below

Engine oil? Why? They sell it - and make it - in Western Europe. Buy a bottle if (and only if) you need some
 
I’d love to be 25 again, ride a 400cc bike, carrying a toothbrush, credit card and one change of clothes. Oh, and and spare helmet for all the luscious girls I’d obviously meet, but tragically I’m a wrinkly, balding specky bloke in his 50s with a wife who wants to go on the back.

And that’s why God invented Beemers.

Our total combined weight?
Not counting the bike it’s about 160 to 170 kg.
 
When me & the mrs used to go away 2up with camping gear (Transalp) we were over weight by ~40kg. All was fine, I dunno what would be the case in the event of an accident however....



Sent from my SM-A320FL using Tapatalk
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Boxerboy55
First time taking bike to Europe . . .
2
Replies
31
Views
7,236
Ash
Ash


Back
Top Bottom