10 Hacks For Touring On A Superbike In The Summer

Winters are gone, the sun is out, and that means motorcyclists are coming out of hibernation. It also means you have an opportunity to do some serious exploring and go touring for days. Most people do this on their dedicated touring motorcycle, armed with all the creature comforts for an easy day of mile-munching in a sofa-like saddle. But not everyone can afford multiple machines, and if you’re like me, there’s a chance your intrusive thoughts want you to tour on your superbike itself.

A few days ago, my intrusive thoughts took over, which meant I found myself on a weekend road trip to the mountains on my beloved Aprilia RSV4 RF. As I went on, some interesting realizations hit me about taking a screaming superbike on a near-700-mile trip. So I’ve come up with 10 hacks that can help you embark on a similar journey if you’re gutsy enough to do it.

Prepare For The Worst

Yamaha

No, we don’t mean a nuclear war. We mean prepare your superbike for the worst of summer. After all, these machines are neither meant for such hot weather nor for the touring abuse you’re going to put it through. There are a few things I can suggest here, based on how my experience touring on a spicy V4 was, such as:

• Put high-quality coolant
• Top up/replace engine oil
• Bleed the brakes with fresh oil (that’s meant for high temperature use)
• Different tires (soft track tires on hot tarmac can attract punctures)

Travel Light

Kriega

Your superbike was never really meant to traverse through cities. Thus, there’s a high chance you have a puny tail section with very little space. That means the bag you’re going to put at the rear will need to be small, too. So my suggestion to you is travel light. Carry only the necessary bits and pack them up smartly. The specialists at Kriega and Oxford sell some impressive tail packs for this very purpose.

The largest is 40L. But a 30L (US-30 Drypack) will likely be the sweet spot, as it won’t protrude out from your bike’s small tushy. If you don’t want to invest in this, you can simply use bungee cords to tie up a backpack at the rear. It takes some experimenting, but it’s worked flawlessly for me on a variety of bikes (Honda CBR250R, KTM RC 390, Triumph Street Triple, and Aprilia RSV4).

Keep Moving

Aprilia

No matter what superbike you ride (Japanese, European, or America), they will get hot. That’s just the price you pay for high-strung engines in tightly packaged bodywork. Heat dissipation is rarely great, and things get particularly bad if you’re on an Italian machine. The only way to hack around this is to keep moving. So avoid tight cities on your road trip and beware of traffic jams.

As long as your beast has fresh air going into the airbox, it will continue to be manageable. It shouldn’t be an issue, given how wide and long freeways are here. Oh, and if you do see a tight city or jam, try to take a break right before or right after. This will not only cool off your gonads, but your crotch rocket will thank you as well.

Heat Shielding Can Be A Lifesaver

This is a lesser-knock hack not many usually follow. But it can be a lifesaver. You can get a heat shielding kit for your superbike, which can make a noticeable difference in the summer. There are such kits for the Panigale V4, which covers the subframe, rear cylinders, and even the underseat area. Whereas, you can DIY or get a custom one made for other models. It’s a fairly affordable solution that can help make things more livable.

Invest In A Vest

Shot by Brian Hazel at Seven Lakes Drive, Bear Mountain, NY.

As much as we love the riding season, there’s no denying the weather can get seriously hot at times. And unlike a car, you’re exposed to a lot of it on your road trip. Plus, we also wear riding gear that’s already quite thick with all of its abrasion resistance materials. How do you keep cool in this heatwave then? With cooling vests. These are cheat codes for keeping upper body cool while riding, as they fill up with water and use evaporation to send cool air on your torso. Considering the average price of $50, these are really bang-for-buck.

Break It Down

Ducati

Superbikes are not exactly comfortable. No matter what ergonomics changes you make, these machines can still leave you tired out in the long run. The way around is taking breaks. This comes down to personal fitness and comfort levels, but I tend to stop every 80 miles or so, either for a washroom, face wash, or general stretching break. You can make this your short break, then every alternate break (160 miles) can be a long break for coffee or some food. This keeps your mind fresh, body rejuvenated, and your bike stress-free.

Keep Sipping

Honda

This is another hack to make touring easier on a superbike. While you’re hunched over in riding gear with a spicy 200-HP engine between your thighs, you will sweat a lot. And by a lot we mean you can literally suffer with dehydration. Now, stopping every half hour to chug water will just break the flow and removing the helmet to do that is just another task. That’s where hydration packs come in.

These will help you sip water on the fly, without stopping or removing your helmet. I’d also suggest adding lemon juice, salt, and sugar in there, so it becomes a bit refreshing. Or just throw in a sachet of electrolytes. This is another thing many riders ignore, but once you start doing it, there’s no going back.

Run From The Sun

Kawasaki

While touring on a superbike in the summer, you’re on a hot bike (literally), in full riding gears, with peak ambient temperatures reaching triple digits. You can’t do much about the first two things (just small hacks we’ve already mentioned), but you can work around the last bit. My suggestion is for you to use the summer in your favor.

Summers mean early sunrises, which means you start your ride really early at the break of dawn. This is usually the coolest part of the day. Then, by the time the temperatures hit the peak (around 12-1pm), you would’ve already either reached your planned destination for the day (or would be close to it). The idea is to avoid riding when the sun is shining at its best right over your head. So run from the sun!

Add Some Boost

STP

Imagine you’re touring on a mighty superbike, having the time of your life, exploring new twisties in the hillside, and boom, the dreaded fuel light pops up. We say ‘boom’ because most modern-day superbikes don’t show the fuel level, let alone the range. That means unless you’re keeping a track, the low fuel warning will be a surprise. To add to the trouble, most of these bikes need high-quality fuel.

Minimum 95 is what’s recommended usually and there is a chance you won’t get it during your exploration session. This is why an octane booster is necessary. It’s cheap and will help your bike run fine even with low-quality fuel. Another solution can be carrying a spare can of fuel, but that’s heavier and requires more effort. Also, remember what we said earlier: travel light!

Minimum Octane Requirements For Popular Superbikes

Follow The Speed Limit

Punya Sharma | TopSpeed

All you fast boys will shrug off on this, and I get it. But touring is like a championship rather than a sprint. There’s no point in going twice the speed limit, tiring yourself out, stressing the bike out, and taking risk when you know you have a long way to go. Enjoy the journey, soak it all in, and keep your right wrist in control. Oh, and you wouldn’t want any police trouble to ruin your trip’s budget, would you?