10 Ideal Features for a Touring Bike in Indian Conditions

The Right Kind of Bike,
My Kind of Bike
The Ideal Bike

Disclaimer: But all this only for Indian conditions. May not be applicable to other geographies.

Image: On the road to Shimla

Having covered more than 85,000 KMs on a bike across 9 states in the last three years, I believe I have gained some insight into what I need for the roads. My conclusions are, obviously, based on my personal factors, which I'd list here.

Also, if you are reading this before buying your next tourer, you will probably have a clearer understanding of what you should have. The factors that affected my choice are as follows:

Personal Factors	External Factors
Weight	Overall Environment
Fitness	Road Conditions
Driving Style	Traffic Conditions
Terrain Choice	Weather

All these factors have led me to conclude the features of an ideal two-wheeled tourer for me. You'll see how:

1. Large Fuel Tank

Before we get to the engine capacity, fuel capacity is a critical consideration for me. Why? Because on a long route, I'd not want to be stopping for fuel too often. As per the Indian road conditions, it's not difficult to find fuelling stations.

However, when you are going out of the city, you wouldn't want to take more than one fuel stop a day on a regular route. Usually, I'm in a hurry to get to the new destination I've chosen and frequent refuelling kind of spoils the fun.

For me, the ideal tank size would 20 - 23 litres. Given that you cannot fill the tank to the brim, a 20 litres tank will hold about 18-19 litres of fuel. If we do a little bit of math, assuming you keep 4 litres to reserve, you have about 15 litres to run free on the road, that would be anywhere between 400 to 600 KMs of freedom.

And when you start to have to worry about refuelling you can still go about 100 odd Kms, in the search, before you have to walk with your can.

Also, this kind of capacity will leave your racks free of fuel canisters. Frankly, you won't need them, unless you are going completely off the trail and have no idea when and where the next fuel station will be.

Image: The roads are smooth as butter, and bends like a serpent through valleys

2. Good Mileage

Obviously, a very very Indian thing to ask for, but extremely useful in the Indian conditions. It's not just about the running economy, but also, if your large fuel tank would really be useful. Bikes with 300 to 500 CC engine capacity can give you between 30 KMPL to 45 KMPL, depending on various conditions.

Higher CC bikes will give less. However, if you really wish to enjoy the long winding journey on the road, 30 KMPL is the minimum threshold. With lower mileage, the number of fuel stops dramatically increase, and the distance you can cover with the reserved fuel.

3. Moderate Power

Yes, I'm not looking for a war machine with a humongous power curve. Why? Because of our road and traffic conditions. Indian roads have improved a lot over the last 10 years, especially national highways.

But, there is still a huge network of state highways you may need to cover, including two-lane highways with villages, villagers, vehicles, and animals all appearing and disappearing on them, as you drive.

One of the prime conditions in dangerous road accidents is an empty highway. It may not sound logical, but most fatal accidents have one thing in common, they always occur on seemingly empty roads, rest all is secondary.

So, you wouldn't want to be on something too powerful to brake or control, when you are being surprised by the environment, which could even be a misjudged bent in the road.

Another problem we face which creates the conditions for a bad accident is sluggishness, which hits you on a long, straight and empty road. Often on long monotonous rides, we feel sleepy, yet avoid halting because we need to save time. Speed is the first casualty, followed by lane consciousness.

Image: RE Thunderbird has an optimum suspension travel for Indian conditions

4. Good Suspension Travel

Suspension travel is one thing which may limit your exploring capacity with the bike, or irritate you on the highways. 140 MM front travel and 80 MM rear is more or less sufficient for a bit of off-roading or handling the bad roads.

Among the available bikes in the mid-segment, Himalayan offers the highest travel. However, not everyone would prefer to run this bike on a smooth highway, especially if they have experienced the cruiser style ride.

5. Semi Cruiser Handling

Semi-cruiser handling, because you need to consider three very different scenarios on Indian roads - Traffic, Open Highway and Broken Highway (or off the track drive).

We know that cruiser handling is for laid-back, highway riding, which very-very rare riders would enjoy while riding on a broken road. Plus, it may not be very bike friendly.

Quite often we feel the need to stand while going through a rough patch, and that's where semi cruiser or scrambler type handling comes into play. Hopefully, this may keep our bums comfy on a rough patch, as well as on a makkhan highway.

Image: Not all parts of the roads are smooth. (Heading to Kaza, somewhere close to Nako, Himachal)

6. Electronic Output for Charging Running Devices

Well, most riders end up putting an external contraption to meet the power demand. So, this is a no brainer, the added feature would be quite useful for the long-haul riders like me.

Thus, on number six there is the demand for a USB charger. Also, riders have reported problems with USB charging in 300 CC bikes. So that is something which should be looked after while adding this feature.

7. Sufficient Length for Luggage

Length for a bike has not been much of a concern. However, if you consider some of the cons of the luggage rack some of us just don't like the idea of using it. Though an external rack has been the preferred solution for long trips, a longer bike helps in carrying most of the luggage with the saddle and ropes.

I can confirm to it, as I took my RE Thunderbird 350 to Leh without a rack, and with two fuel cans hanging on both sides, along with the saddle. Bike length was definitely the enabler here.

Image: With luggage or without, road or no road, you can go there...

8. Medium Weight/Volume Ratio

Weight of the bike is obviously a challenge on longer, exhausting and off the tarmac rides. Plus, heavier bikes pose a challenge in emergency situations and limit your access and confidence while covering off-trail locations.

Below 200 KGs is the best bet here, as your luggage could be another 50.

9. Less Clutter

Nowadays, plastic parts are quite common on bikes, especially the ones with sporty characters. However, on touring bikes, plastic parts pose a costly repair risk. As you extend and push your limits on long adventure rides, plastic parts would be the first casualty of your error in judgment.

Not only plastic but also, any unnecessary decorative additions should be avoided on such bikes, to maintain weight.

10. Other Fancy Stuff

Most mid segment bikes which we can use for long-haul touring, need additional lighting for night rides or low visibility weathers. Bike manufacturers may want to add lights, or at least, the pods on which these lights can be mounted.

Other stuff that can be added to the bikes like, RE Thunderbird and Classic is the waterproof casing for critical components like - spark plugs, ignition, and light switches, etc. A little more plastic or rubber covering should not add a lot to the costs, and would even be cheap to replace.

Moreover, many of us do enjoy riding in the rain, which leads to some or the other electrical failures in the bike. Additional waterproofing would surely help us take our rides out in the rain for a spin.