Anyone here ride a touring motorcycle? Wife and I are toying with the idea of getting one and traveling on it. Just nor sure its really "all that". I rode when I was younger (dirt bikes mostly). Just not sure if its worth it to buy a touring bike and ride it. Is it really that much fun?

Buy you a used Honda gold wing and give it a go and see if it's still something you want to do after giving it a riding season.
Used low mileage gold wings are usually easy to pick up and easy to sell if you decide that two wheels are not for you.

Rent one for a weekend and decide for yourself if you like it, before investing in one. If you like it, shop for a clean used one.

Renting is the way to go give one more than a test ride give it weekend test ride.
Have had had more than few Road Glides I like the frame mounted faring especial in windy country.
The good they are Big and Heavy, the bad they are Big and Heavy.
Not much better for touring and long trips than Big and Heavy.
The new rubber mounted v-twins are very nice, smooth even power band, Linked brakes lots to like.
They are what I ride there are lots of other great bikes as well.

Buy a 2 seater convertible.

Give one of those three wheelers a look. Super easy to ride, with the advantages of a bike.

they're great. until you put somebody on the back. then it becomes work. a fully loaded bagger is not a beginner bike. if you have only ridden dirt bikes a long time ago, i'd probably look for something else less deadly. and this is from a guy who has been riding for 40 years.

Yep. Partner on the back and loaded for travel is a different animal. I've had Harley's and BMW's, thinking about a used Gold wing 1800. My favorite is an early 90's BMW R100RT.

As an older rider, it isn't the actual riding that is challenging. The challenge is putting up with the discomfort. Even a big bike is cold in the winter, wet in the rain, hot in the summer...you get the idea. They are a bit large for errands, though it's nice to have the storage. A nice sport tourer is more nimble, almost as much protection, and more useful, all around. Just my opinion.

Gold Wings still seem to own that niche. I've had 3 older Gold Wings and thoroughly enjoyed them. Still have one, but need to ride more. Good luck.

My opinion,....if you have to ask, you're not going to enjoy motorcycles very much.

Motorcycles are a passion to you or they're nothing.

I've done motorcycles until I'm done with them. But for many decades of my life, motorcycles were my primary entertainment.

Nothing made me that way. It's just how I was wired.

As someone has already alluded to, motorcycles are lots of fun until you put another butt on the back.

A lot depends on that butt........

Get a Jeep ... more fun

Put the girl beside you instead of behind you. Get a convertible car, no helmet, you can roll up the top, plenty of space for luggage and you can’t drop it on it’s side.

Try a Can-Am Spyder- - - -two wheels up front, handles better that a rear wheel trike, and you can even get side by side seating on some models. I'm building a two front wheel trike from the Gold Wing I crashed five years ago and nearly lost my left foot. I ride a Harley soft tail now, but one of these days I'm going to get too old and feeble to be comfortable on two wheels. Construction cost on the Honda 3-wheeler should be about 1/10 of buying a Can-Am, and I've been building dirt track race cars for over 50 years. Figuring out steering geometry doesn't scare me at all.
Jerry

I would think if you have to ask that question it prob'ly ain't for you.

Up until recent years there was a steady stream of motorcycle fatalities locally; guys in their fifties and up who had got into Harleys and whatnot as midlife crisis/retirement toys. That is less often now as the Boomer demographic is fading.

You didn't have to look very hard nationwide to find cases of those guys who had killed or crippled their wives in motorcycle wrecks either.

I was an eccentric, after getting back from Africa in my late twenties I didn't own a car myself until age 44, before then a motorcycle was my only transportation, 250,000 miles total, was all over the US. Long distances with women on the back.

Its been nine years since I crossed the US on a motorcycle. There's another one in my future but I'll ride it for a good while before I'd presume to carry a passenger on the back.

You started out on dirt bikes, that's a plus, but ride an 800lb behemoth for at least a season before riding the Missus on the back.

JMHO

If you haven't mastered a two wheeled bike you probably shouldn't be riding a three wheeler.
Living just off one of Florida's most popular roads for motorcycle riders I see a lot of crashes. On any given weekend I'll see a couple hundred bikes, typically there will be 2 to 3 good wrecks a month.
Over the last few years the three wheelers are becoming the most common to see upside down beside the road.
They can't corner like a regular bike and when you combine that with a rider that isn't even experienced with a normal bike it appears to be a recipe for disaster.

My neighbor bought a touring bike because riding across the US on a motorcycle was on his bucket list. He got to Florida from CA thought hard about selling it and flying home. He ended up making the return trip just because he didn’t want to quit. Upon getting home he sold it . Said it was miserable, climate control is whatever the weather is.

On the other hand my step son has ridden across country numerous times on very uncomfortable hardtail choppers. Apparently it’s not for everyone, but it is for some. If you end up with a Gold Wing and don’t like it maybe you can turn it in to something you do like. This is what my step son did to a Gold Wing.

Toying with the idea? Then it’s not for you two. People who travel long distances on bikes usually dream of it for years before succeeding.
Your either on the bike or in a hotel room with limited amount of gear.
Ditch the idea and try a RV instead.

The fact is, real touring, is hard to do. Set your sights to 2-3 day trips, get a bike that can carry enough stuff, and have at it. A dedicated touring bike, is like a dedicated race bike. Works great for the intended purpose, but everything else is a compromise. If you decide to go for it in the future, either get a bigger bike, or make the one you have, work. Keep it fun. It's not a car. You can't carry enough to get by, and when the weather turns to crap, you still have to get home.

'Preciate the advice.

I say let we rip.

I’m not a bike guy. But I have a buddy that takes a month long trip across USA and Canada every year. He’s never happier than when he’s on that bike.

Your experience may be different. I've had sixteen bikes of various sizes over the last fifty years. The most comfortable one and the one I didn't have to make any comfort modifications to was a Victory. With the Gold Wing, I had to redo the seat, put highway pegs on it and put raisers on the handlebars. Even then it was only borderline comfortable for long trips.

Four wheel drivers are not your friend. Riding in the rain is miserable. When young, most of this doesn't matter. You are having an adventure and the discomfort, weather, other lousy drivers and any other negatives are all part of the experience. The older you get, the more the negatives matter. Having said that, touring and long distance on a bike is like nothing else.

You have to love being outside... in every kind of weather...
I prefer the Roadglide.
Harley seats are crap. Be prepared to spend serious money on a real seat.
When your bum is happy...your happy.
Tooling around with mumma on the back is some of the best times I.ve had.
dave

Now 76 years old, over 4 days in June I rode this bike 1485 miles from Gig Harbor, Wa to Venice, Ca, mostly along the Oregon and California coast route.

This a Bonneville-sized bike, not a big touring model, and not really built for days in the saddle. I'm no longer up to the task of carrying a passenger, but still want to ride as long as I'm able.

Rent before you buy!

Describe “touring.”

For on road and off road, the Honda Africa Twin is exceptional.

I suggest you rent for two days before purchase.
Lay a Gold Wing on it's side and pick it up.(953 lbs)
If you can fine if not rethink it.
Try to put it on the centerstand without help.
I owned one for 2 years, put 25,000 miles on it.
Now I have a Heritage Softtail Harley Davidson. I like it better, 200 lbs lighter. I am 65 years old and plan on riding the wheels off it this summer.

I owned a similar bike, (2002 Hinckley Bonneville) for 9 years and had a great time with it. They're styled after the Brit bikes of the late 60s but everything about them was different. Mine was stone ax dependable the entire time I owed it.

Somewhere along the way motorcycles started to take on track bike ergonomics and the styling of the old standards fell by the wayside.

At the same time that I owned the Bonneville, I also owned a Ducati 900SS.A 200 mile ride on the Ducati was about all the fun I could stand. But I could stay on the Bonneville all day.

The Ducati soon went on to another owner.

I had owned a few 60s era Brit bikes, but keeping them on the road was far more trouble than they were worth. When the new Bonnievilles were introduced, they were the Brit bike that I had always wanted.

I put a lot of miles and had a lot of fun on the Bonneville. It was the only bike I wanted for a long time.

This bike is a 2000 Kawasaki W650, a Bonneville redux that evolved from Kawasaki actually licensing the drawings from BSA. Numerous advancements were made, including bevel gear/shaft-driven overhead cam, 4-valves/cylinder, etc. I found this one with only 2300 miles on it.

I love riding my motorcycle. I love "touring". However, even for those of us who have been riding forever, it is work. I love it. It's fun. It is work. Also keep in mind that big old heavy weight 1500s and 1800s aren't the only appropriate bikes for touring. Plenty of touring is done on 650s and below. If two-up is your goal, bigger is better. Anyway, if you are new to it, buy a smaller bike and ride it for several months. Take it to work and back. Ride the local highways. Head over to the town 20 miles away and back. You will learn really quick whether it is something you really want to do. If you decide it is not, no big deal.