General touring Inquiry - Comfort? Baggage? Gen Mar bar riser or LSL Superbike Bar?
 

Greetings all,

...I've been riding bikes for 18 years and my last few bikes were ducati's... I've done a lot of track days in the past but am now focusing on getting a fun, cheap, reliable and comfortable bike for some mild sport touring trips (300-400 mile days) this upcoming summer... I like the price of the F4i's that I've seen and it seems you could run these things at a 9/10ths pace of a supersport once setup and dialed in... But my main concern now is comfort and carrying stuff. Has anybody done some touring on the F4i? What kind of baggage did you come up with? Are there racks for the f4i? Also, has anybody looked into raising the bars (with either the gen mar spacers or the LSL bar kit)? I'm not a stunter and don't really know if the LSL kits are designed for comfort or stunting (and I don't want to kill my resale value by putting a full-on handlebar kit on the bike), but is the 3/4" rise of the Gen Mar kit enough to take the weight off of your wrists? Does anybody know if there is another kit out there that raises the bars a little more (without going to a full-on handle bar)? Thanks...

the stock bars sit up pretty good, i dont mean this to sound stupid but have u rode with the stock bars yet?

I've done a lot of touring on my F4i and, in fact, that's why I bought it. Sport riding position, but more relaxed than your Duc's or a GSXR. I've done 2000-milers. And you're right, dial it in and it will do 9/10ths all day. It's a great track ride, too. Well ridden, it will chew up liter bikes in the corners.

As for the bars, I've kept the stock ones and had no problems. Having said that, I also have a Triumph Sprint which is designed as a sport touring machine. The riding position caused me serious upper back/neck injury after a 2K trip last fall. Just now recovering. Not sure why, because it's less aggressive than the F4i. I think it has to do with the width of the bars. Anyway, I'm changing them to Convertibars.

Back to the F4i. For baggage, I use a single large tailpack by Fieldsheer, into which I can get a rain suit, extra clothes, tools, warm layers and even a laptop. I also use a backpack when touring on the F4, for additional light stuff. There are soft bags for the F4i, but I don't like them. On solo tour, I like to travel hyper light.

I have a tank bag, but don't use it much. I also have modified the seat--custom by Sargent--to make it into a flat, touring type seat. Big difference. A Zero Gravity Double Bubble helps with the wind management.

The 4Fi is very good in the wet. Very sure footed and comfortable. Brakes are a little on the soft side when compared to Brembos, but then what isn't?

Bottom line, the F4i is just a terrific little motorcycle. Cheap to buy and maintain, fast but not stupid fast and it will just carve the hell out of corners. I love the damn thing, and I've got three other bikes.

--Paul

...Doesn't sound stupid to me at all... Because I have not ridden the bike ever! (which probably does sound stupid)... I've sat on them several times but admittedly could use some saddle time to see what starts hurting and after how long... I was just curious, if something did start hurting, if there were effective solutions to improve the comfort/ride.

...And thanks for the insights, Paul... I was considering a sprint or even the older 955i daytonas as they are cheap on the used market as well, reliable, and appear comfortable. The funny thing is, with literbikes and even big twins, the gyroscopic effect of the larger pistons/rods/cranks can make a bike feel heavier in transitions than it really is... Everything is a trade-off but I'm actually kind of looking forward to getting back to a middleweight and an I4 as well (my last 600 was back in 1997)... Just something different again? And its interesting you had issues with "more relaxed" riding position of the sprint but it made me realize something... I had a buell cityx and it had a more upright position... But I had comfort issues with it as well... Thanks again for your impressions and touring review, I think the f4i sounds like a great all-arounder...

If I can recommend one thing its to go and get yourself some corbin seats. I have them on mine and they handle the 600-800km per weekend I put on the bike. Fiance lives 4 hours away so lots of saddle time. The stock seat I find uncomfortable after 30 min but the corbin has given me no problem at all. More comfortable than the banana seat on my old vfr even.

I did a week of touring on the cbr last summer.... was very easy and comfortable (only doing about 400-600kms/day). Bar risers probably wouldn't be a bad idea but I didn't find them necessary and would definitely take them off for city/twisty riding. Saddle was also fine but I am sure the Corbin would be better.

Baggage: medium sized tank bag and backpack/tent/sleeping bag tied to the rear seat. I carried everything for camping the entire week and was still comfortable leaning the bike way over into the corners (though I did pack lightly).