I want to like my Touring...

[JohninVT]

I really do but....

The geometry is all wrong.  The rear shocks are too short so the front end flops like a chopper.  If I max out the shock preload it’s a lot better but my spine suffers since every expansion joint or crack in the road feels like I’m hitting a square edged 2x4.  I’d pull the forks up 10mm in the triple but that would cut the ground clearance in corners.  There are five preload settings on the shocks but there are only two effects; wallowing or hardtail. 

It feels every bit of 700lbs in the driveway, at stop lights and in slow traffic.  The weight + the front end flopping around means I’ve almost dropped the bike a half dozen times.  It’s worse with a squirming passenger. 

The bar needs risers.  I’m 6’ tall, with long arms and the reach has my back aching in an hour.  I know, risers are available.  If I keep the bike I’ll get some but I think the cables will need to be re-routed for a set of 1” risers.  The floorboards are too far forward.  I end up riding with my toes on the back of the floorboards.  There’s no fixing them.  There isn’t room to move them back because the passenger pegs are right frigging there. 

BIG mistake going with bias ply Exedras.  They’re gonna wear like iron but there’s zero feedback and the bike slips and slides all over at any kind of sporting pace.  The compound is so hard that I actually use rain mode on the bike when it’s raining.  It’s actually more scary on gravel with fresh Exedras than it was with bald Dunlop’s.  I didn’t think that was possible. 

I hate the Mistral mufflers.  Hate them.  At anything other than WFO the sound is flat and if you chop the throttle they make the bike sound like a truck with a jake brake.  At full throttle they sound glorious but they suck the other 90% of the time.

Sooooo...it needs longer, better shocks, different tires, different mufflers and to lose a hundred pounds.  On the plus side I still think the engine, transmission, brakes and electronics are fantastic.  It’s still a very striking motorcycle and I’ve grown to genuinely love how it looks.  However, If I wasn’t in the middle of refinancing my house it wouldn’t still be in my driveway. 

I think I’m going to sell it and buy a V7II Special for a run about and an older FJR or ST1300 for Touring.

[Smithy]

I am hearing you, my Cali Custom was my first cruiser, loved the look and the grunt but the ride was killing my back. Sold it a few months ago and will most likely go back to a BMW GS.

[blu guzz]

When I read the OP, I thought I had a great idea.  Then I read what Smithy said.  My suggestion was going to be to find a used pair of the shocks from the Custom.  Of course, I have the Custom and think the shocks are pretty good.  I understand they are have an inch more travel than the Tourer.  They also have pre-load and damping adjustments.  I find them good and I love the handling on the bike.  The bars force a slight forward lean that I learned to like when I thought at first I might have to move them back or go with the Touring bars.  I test road a Tourer and didn't like those bars as they did not allow as keen control as the flatter wider Custom bars. 
With that said, yesterday, I had to run straight up our I-75 for about 50 miles and the heaves in the road did connect to my back, but with the slight forward lean, not as devistating as if I had been sitting bolt upright.  I think the only cure for I-75 would be a Stelvio or V85 with 6 inches of suspension travel and even so equiped, those bumps are so pointed that I think you would still feel them.

[ohiorider]

Thinking back to how much you enjoyed the 1200 Sport, until it was totaled by a cager.  I've not owned a 1400.  Think some of them are beautiful (not all.)  Considering an ST1300?  I saw a boatload of them the last two times I rode out West, and a good buddy of mine has pounded the miles on his, with a lengthy ride out West every year.

I owned one, and like so many large bikes, found it a little top heavy.  Of course, at 5'7" my 1200S has begun to feel that way, too.  Adding a Corbin made the bike even taller and wider.  I imagine the ST will work for you at 6'.  Think you're a sport-tourer rider at heart.

Good luck with whatever you decide to ride.

Bob

[Sasquatch Jim]

 Get a Suzuki Van Van.  Trouble free fuel injection, good seating position, bars fit me well, (I am 6' 5"), It has a large comfortable seat, gets 70+ mpg without the sidecar.  It gets 55 mpg with the sidecar.

[JohninVT]

Get a Suzuki Van Van.  Trouble free fuel injection, good seating position, bars fit me well, (I am 6' 5"), It has a large comfortable seat, gets 70+ mpg without the sidecar.  It gets 55 mpg with the sidecar.

They're too small(I have no idea how you're comfortable on one at 6'5").  I've had 5 TW's and while I love the VanVan, the TW has a taller seat and with a Seat Concepts tall kit, Renthal ATV bars and some bar risers a TW fits me better.  I love the VanVan FI but it makes fitting a larger gas tank a lot harder than on a TW. 

[JohninVT]

When I read the OP, I thought I had a great idea.  Then I read what Smithy said.  My suggestion was going to be to find a used pair of the shocks from the Custom.  Of course, I have the Custom and think the shocks are pretty good.  I understand they are have an inch more travel than the Tourer.  They also have pre-load and damping adjustments.  I find them good and I love the handling on the bike.  The bars force a slight forward lean that I learned to like when I thought at first I might have to move them back or go with the Touring bars.  I test road a Tourer and didn't like those bars as they did not allow as keen control as the flatter wider Custom bars. 
With that said, yesterday, I had to run straight up our I-75 for about 50 miles and the heaves in the road did connect to my back, but with the slight forward lean, not as devistating as if I had been sitting bolt upright.  I think the only cure for I-75 would be a Stelvio or V85 with 6 inches of suspension travel and even so equiped, those bumps are so pointed that I think you would still feel them.

I've tried.  Someone on the board had a set of Custom shocks for sale but he wanted almost retail for them.  I made what I thought was a fair offer and never heard back.  As for the bars, because the floorboards are so far forward going to lower bars would put me in an even more uncomfortable "C" shaped position.  It already feels a bit like being on a rowing machine. 

I dunno...maybe I just had a bad day but I rode 300 miles yesterday and I was uncomfortable for about 200 of it.  That's mostly down to the shocks and bars.  Maybe I'd fall in love with the bike if I could address those two things.     

[Sasquatch Jim]

 I have had 3 TW 200s over the years.  I did many modifications to make the fit better. I have tried different bars and risers on the Tis too
 The Van Van is a better more comfortable machine than any of the TiWs were.
 And I don't have to fuss with carbs or jetting because it is fuel injected.  The stock bars fit well. oh and the pegs have rubber covers too.
 I am too old to be passing other traffic on the freeways anyway now.

[pete roper]

I really wanted to like mine as well. Even though I'd never owned a 'Cruiser' I thought for a long US trip it might be just the thing.

It wasn't!

It was a huge, evil handling pig of a thing that if you showed it anything other than perfect tarmac was, at least to me, scary! The whole time we were on it Jude and I kept wishing we'd done the trip on the Mana GT I already owned in the US!

Does that mean it's a 'Bad' bike? No, not at all. If you want a slab cruiser it's great! We just like a bit more versatility so we can trvel the rods less travelled. To my mind it's a waste of a motorbike but that is MY opinion. It doesn't mean it's right.

[LowRyter]

I think the bike has great potential but Guzzi went too far to benchmark a Road King rather than an RT.  They might have gone off the rails when the sportiest version is reported here by riders to be the El Dorado version. I like the performance but just don't like the cruiser riding position and I am guessing the shortcomings described start from there.

So far as cruisers go, they built a sportier Harley but not a sporting machine that Guzzi riders find sporty and comfortable.  There's nothing wrong with reaching out to the cruiser crowd but it's disappointing that having a design with so much potential that a version for "the rest of us" couldn't be delivered.

[elvisboy77]

I think the Eldorado version is a much better handling and riding bike, mine is a dream on the highway and also back roads.  Go figure!

[JohninVT]

I think the Eldorado version is a much better handling and riding bike, mine is a dream on the highway and also back roads.  Go figure!

The Eldorado has normal sized tires and a 5" wide rear wheel.  That's why the Eldorado handles the best of the three models.  When you get the Touring heeled over it moves around on the edge of the flat, wide profile tire and it effectively changes the trail/rake which contributes to it wanting to bump steer mid corner.  If they'd put a 5" wheel with a 180 instead of a 5.5" with a 200 and used taller, more compliant shocks the bike would handle completely different.  I know a lot of guys use a 180 on the Custom and Touring but that's not the answer.  Stretching a 180 ends up flattening the profile so it might handle better than a 200 but it's still not as good as if Guzzi had used a 5" wheel in the first place.   

I think LowRyter is right.  Guzzi tried to make a good cruiser rather than a good bike.  If you're not a typical cruiser rider that becomes a deficiency.   

[boatdetective]

My best bud has a Custom. Really nice engine that has been reliable. The handling is quite good....for what it is. That being said, I just cannot get used to the cruiser riding position. I feel like I need my feet under me when it comes to handling.   Your decision Re having a V7 for around locally should work fine. However, I found that you will notice them run out of steam a bit if you want to charge up short steep hills.  I test rode a V7II and an Aprilia 750 Dorsoduro back to back- and notice a substantial difference (the Aprilia 750 is a fun engine that revs up very easily).  I bought a Shiver.  The suspension in the Shiver was crap (with no real options for rebuild as I recall).  The Aprilia mill absolutely spanked the V7, tho. There is a belt noise on the Aprilia that was a tad irritating. The underseat exhaust was brutal-

The FJR would be a pretty natural choice for distance work. An impressive, very carefully honed model. 

[kingoffleece]

Life is too short to ride a bike one does not care for.