Two Extremes of Touring:
TWO EXTREMES OF TOURING:
Honda’s Gold Wing Limited Edition and the BMW K100RT.
MOTORCYCLE TOURING DOESN'T have to be a big deal; all you need to do is to get a motorcycle, any motorcycle, really, and ride it to someplace far away. And back. It can be that simple.
But it rarely is. For one thing, there’s the matter of deciding which bike is best for your long-distance riding needs. Do you merely wrap a few changes of underwear in a Hefty bag and bungee it to the seat of a commuter
bike, or go to the other extreme and ante up for a fulldress. two-wheeled version of a Winnebago? And before you can make even that choice, you first have to decide which si vie of touring you prefer: all-American touring, w hich emphasizes comfort, on-the-road entertainment and mostly vertical riding at or near the speed limit: or European touring, which is. in effect, not much different than sport-touring, except that it involves taller windshields, larger saddlebags and slower speeds.
Not surprisingly, most touring riders in this country opt for the American way. just as virtually all those in Europe prefer to do it Euro-style. And for good reason: Each type of touring has evolved over the years to meet the exigencies of its particular environment—the geography. the topography, the economy and the prevailing attitude toward motorcycles. The end results are two kinds of motorcycles that are distinctly different yet quite the same, that have a common mission but go about accomplishing it in a very different way.
That’s whv we've brought together w hat would seem to be the best of both breeds. Honda's Gold Wing Eimited Edition is a rolling accessory display that outAspencades the Aspencade. which was last year's King of American louring: and BMW's K100RT isa bike that comes to America alleging to be the best European-style touring rig ever built. We want to see if either one lives up to its billing. In the process, we hope to use both bikes to help illustrate the differences and similarities in the two styles of touring. And in the end. some of your notions about American vs. European touring bikes just might be shattered. >
