Advice On Touring On A 748!!!
 

I HAVE OWNED A 748 FROM NEW WITH ONLY 5,000 ON CLOCK, BUT THIS YEAR GAVE IT A FULL SERVICE, CLEANED LEATHERS AND FANCY DOING A BIT OF TOURING!!!!Yike i hear you say............ on a 748!!!!

I live in Birmingham, and fancy riding to North wales first, and then do a big ride either to france or assen.

Either direction is a 2 hour plus in the saddle.. any advice:cool:

748s (and indeed 916 to 998) are prefect tourers.

A 748 riding chum of mine accompanied me on my 996 many times to parts of Europe (usually ending up in bars if I remember rightly).

Never a problem.

Just stick magnetic tank bag in place/pack light and go.

North Wales? - that's not touring; its a commute :-)

:o

Osteopaths to standby!

Ventura luggage - it's awesome!

IMHO big miles on a 748/916/996/998 isn't a problem.

Round town and at low speed they arent' too good.

Get them out on an open road at a decent speed and they really do eat up the miles.

Used a 996 and a 998 for long distance trips in Europe several times.

You can't go much more than 120 miles before you should stop for fuel.

Look after yourself, it;s not just the bike that needs a drink!

Consider post luggage if you know where your are staying and they are happy to receive a parcel.

Ray.

i have padded trousers so do not find the seat a issue. also my 916 needs petrol about every 150 miles which is long enough for a stop and stretch. as with the others its carrying your gear that might be the issue. do you ride gripping the tank and having no weight on the bars? this is another way that have never had back ache or any issues with wrists.
regards vinnychoff

I did a 2000 mile trip round france in ten days on my 748, was great fun. Had a slightly harder time than my mate on his gsxr, but got him back as soon as it stopped being either downhill or bumpy.

Do it, you'll have a great time.

Taking mine to france to see the leman 24hr in june, thats more of a commute though!

Thanks-- best tank bag/ panniers to use???
 

:D thanks for all the advice, can anyone suggest best tank bag, or panniers to use for a TOUR ON MY 748, DONT REALLY WANT TO GO FOR THE EXPENSE OF FULL VENTURA, SO something a little cheaper!

J&S magnetic tank bag and throw over panniers. Cheap and cheerful. I have used them on a 748 to south of frances a few times.

I know you've said you don't want "to go for the expense of the full Ventura", but I have to say it deffo isn't false economy. It's worth it on a Duke.

The system is bulletproof, easy to fit, easy to remove/put back on, and is super stable ( I was doing knee-down antics in Germany with a full pack like in Antonye's pic) and never felt as tho there was anything on the back of the bike let alone 20-25kg of clothes and camera gear.

You can get 2nd hand kit if you look and are lucky.

As for the 748 as a tourer. As Ray says. It'll eat the miles and pay you back with smiles.

Agree with Guido above, and don't forget that the Ventura bag and racks (to some extent) are universal, so you're only buying the specific adapter brackets for the bike.

I have them fitted to my 748 and bought the rack and bag, using it every year to go touring in France. I am going to get the brackets for the Hyper and will reuse the rack and bag so they'll keep going!

Great kit and well worth the investment.

Have found best way to do long distances on 748 mono is to eat loads of pies:D ...bulge on belly is just right on tank to take strain of wrists, tho is more expensive now what with the tax:(

I took my old 748 on trips to the Isle of Mann and Northern Ireland a few times riding up to Liverpool from Portsmouth. I used a tank bag and a tailbag and found the bike very stable with the luggage on and the tank bag was a useful chest rest. Now I ride a Streetfighter and have Ventura kit all bought off Ebay quite cheaply. It's very good kit indeed.

I did Munich to UK on my 748 in one hit , not a problem, 45K on the clock now,
with the Ventura system I bought the sports rack and hung my bags off it and a bag/back pack on the rack - 5 week tour round Europe, this keeps the C og G down and does not affect the handleing too much

Did northern spain and france on my 916 back in 05 and it was great.
2400 miles in a week and all that hampered me was the rectifier failing 50 miles from the ferry back.
I would have no problem using my 916 abroad again and i have far more suitable machinery to use.

Best advice i can give, service the cooling system, make sure the rad is clear, even consider a manual fan switch as it will get hot if you get stuck in traffic. i feel this overheating contributed to my rectifier failure.
Buy some water wetter and remove the antifreeze, it really does help.

When you considering going ? how long for? i got some ventura brackets you could borrow (bp or mono) but the bags are a bit faded so may be best you buy your own bags.

i did the same trip on a RVF400 and that was loads more fun, but couldnt carry anything like as much.

Oddly enough the little RVF was comfier overall too and loads more fun in the alps.

regarding the cooling system in the warm weather, was wondering about connecting a 12v waterpump from rad. (cooler water), electrically in line with the fan, as overheating is worse when in traffik, or town, when the engine waterpump is either slow , or erratic. An increase in waterflow, alongside the fan would surely increase the cooling capacity more?

just ride fast and avoid anywhere where you mite have to stop start otherwise youll end up with W***ers cramp in your left arm lol, or try riding no handed!!

that should do it!!

Final Question- is my 1 piece race suit suitable for european trip
 

Having ben a "born again biker " twice over, dusted down my ducatisorse 1 piece suit- and its still fits

I have a dainesse textile jacket which fits over it, :- is this combination adequate for doing my Birminmgham to Le Man trip? ( taken all your advice and everything else going in the ventura/ tank bag

I see all the old 'Run to the Sun' trippers are coming out of the woodwork.
In 2001 I led a trip down to Misano, there were 14 of us, 2 x ST, 2 x 888, and the rest a combination of 748, 916, and 996-no one that I recall had any problem with their riding position. Some of us got lost and didn't take a map-did we Ray..............oh, and I got nicked for speeding and fined 238,000 lira-which worked out at £213-we were all together but I was leading-so I got nicked.

John

dUCATI748 TOURING/ IS MY 1 PIECE SUIT ANY GOOD
 

thanks for the advice, but not a run to the sun job!:- just trying to get relise one of ambitions ever since i bought my ducati 10 years ago!!

i have a 1 piece race suit, with a daineesee textile jacket to go over, althought not ideal, im assuming that would be okay to do the trip????

I'd be more inclined to wear a 2 peice with a 1 pice rain suit; nothing gets thru them regardless of conditions and being able to remove jacket when stopped in tropical heat always a bonus ;)

just add a proper wicken base layer and some lighter over layers under the leathers