Your thought on touring?

[cr0ft]

Well, the Avon's one slight weakness is from all accounts rain grip. They last a long time, which means they have to be a little harder down the center. Harder rubber means less grip when cold and wet, nothing illogical there.

That said, the R3T has some advantages - like the windshield and panniers you get stock, and the giant foot plates so you can move your feet back and forth and sideways as you ride to combat fatigue, and so on. Also, arguably the 180 makes the bike easier to corner, you don't have to wrestle it down the way you have a giant 240 that's really only there for looks anyway...

Power-wise they're down quite a lot out of the box, but a quick trip to the derestricting thread in the R3T forum and presto, back up to 140 or so (just a smidge down on the Roadster, in other words).

I didn't find the stock seat objectionable for comfort, but it looks like ****. Have a new Mustang seat on there now, looks so much better and very comfortable, and will be more so once it wears in properly. Was a ***** to install though, "snug" doesn't even begin to cover it, I thought it was defective the way I had to yank and pull on it to get it on...

 

[cusso ken]

Avon Cobra rear works well in the rain for my Touring ,but I do tend to take it easy in the wet, in all vehicles, the Touring is the only Rocket I would buy again

 

[Chris Kelley]

I rode my R3R down to OKC last year during the floods in Texas. Rolling Metz up front Expedia Max in there. Never had a problem with hydroplaning. Stopped once because of lighting, but water in the road never slowed me down.

 

[Dawg68]

I rode my R3R down to OKC last year during the floods in Texas. Rolling Metz up front Expedia Max in there. Never had a problem with hydroplaning. Stopped once because of lighting, but water in the road never slowed me down.

I've read a few posts about the excedra max... Maybe it's worth a try before I trade the roadster for the touring

 

[Chris Kelley]

Haha! Thank you for overlooking the Expedia typo!

 

[Chris Kelley]

When I had the Excedra Max mounted I heard an exchange in the back of the shop that went something like this:

Tech A: "Hey go back out there and let the guy know there's not an Excedra in his size."

Tech B: "He knows, he wants the bigger sidewall."

Tech A: "On a cruiser?!!!"

That said, it really changed the dynamic of the bike. Kinda freaked me out at first. I got used to it though and realized the bike leans into turns much easier and doesn't need nearly as much counter stear with the taller tire on.

 

[Claviger]

Not sure about the 240 being there only for looks, but, if you are wanting a Touring I'd say go for it, power capability is there still.

 

[Boog]

Hello Kevin, if you have read my silliness over the last two years, you will know I am very fond of year round riding and now have 37K miles on Brahma. I highly recommend the Exedra Max for wet roads and have ridden many hours in the rain with them on everything from city street to freeways and mountain twisties. The 13K miles I get out of them and their lower cost seem like a great way to go for me. Just inflate them a couple of PSI over the max listed to reduce the cupping on either side of the center hard strip.
For the seat, I added an inexpensive BeadRider which helps with blood circulation and more importantly, keeping one's bum dry on hot summer rides. I do several 10-12 hours days like this with little to no worries except where will I drink beer at the end of the ride...

 

[rocketjohn]

I am pretty sure the 240 tire is there to keep the roadster engine from shredding the tire too soon. We with tourers who derestrict might be careful to limit our burnouts!

 

[jake shaw]

I went from a 05 standard, I put 122000K on it over 6 yr's to a 14 touring. The touring feels heavier but I believe handles better. I added a driver backrest which helped with comfort and also backing up. I now have Avon Cobras on the touring and went thro many Avons, Bridgestones & metz's on the standard. A new nonristrictive tune in the touring will perk it up no end. It is a very capable long distance machine.