Anyone touring on a Ryker?? Experiences?

[Danvirsse]

I ride a 2019 Ryker 900 ACE with upgraded shocks, steering dampener and some convenience/comfort extras. My hubby rides a Buell Ulysses Adventure Bike.
Between us we have plenty of cargo capacity and we're both very mechanically inclined, so on the road repairs (hopefully not required) are not a major concern to us.
We've done several 3-4 day trips riding around 200 miles per day.
What can we expect to be different on a longer tour? Do you have any "must haves" if you tour ona RYKER?
Tell me your thoughts and experiences.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I ride a 2019 Ryker 900 ACE with upgraded shocks, steering dampener and some convenience/comfort extras. My hubby rides a Buell Ulysses Adventure Bike.
Between us we have plenty of cargo capacity and we're both very mechanically inclined, so on the road repairs (hopefully not required) are not a major concern to us.
We've done several 3-4 day trips riding around 200 miles per day.
What can we expect to be different on a longer tour? Do you have any "must haves" if you tour ona RYKER?
Tell me your thoughts and experiences.

Know what repairs can & cannot be accomplished " on the road " and carry the tools needed ..... pay attention to your routine maintenance requirements with what extended trips you are planning. Tires and brake pads last a long time, but will need replacing at some point ... prepare for them .... JMHO ... Mike

[BajaRon]

I would tour on a Ryker if I could carry the gear I needed. I tend to travel light. Sometimes, too light. On the other hand. I've found that no matter how much you pack. It's likely never enough. I've done 6 hours straight on our Ryker. That's as far as I've been so far. I don't get out like I used to. But it was fine. The other downside is the relatively short range. I'd like at least another 50 miles. But I'm sure BRP expected most Ryker owners to be short trip riders.

The Ryker is a Great Ride!

[Peter Aawen]

Hi Danvirrse, good question/s ^^, but just like it always pays to check out the date on the first post in any thread you're about to reply to, AND to look at the dates on the last few posts in said thread before replying (juuust to make sure you're not doing too much pointless thread archaeology in a long abandoned or now completely redundant due to changes over time type thread... ) it really pays to do at least a little Searching thru the existing threads here before starting a new thread to see if your question/s has been addressed at all, if not maybe answered fairly fully already?! After all, the Forum's been around for quite a while now, and in that time there's not all that much in the way of questions about our chosen rydes & uses that haven't been at least touched upon, so adding yet another thread asking the same thing might not help much! Still, I hafta admit that asking about 'Touring on a Ryker' & seeking people's experiences doing that hasn't yet degenerated to the level of posting yet another 'what oil?' thread, or 'what tires/tire pressures do you use?' type thread... but unless you look FIRST, how will you ever know that it's not just another step on that same verrry slippery path?!

Simply typing 'Ryker; +touring' into the Search Field up towards the top right of the page; clicking on the 'Search Titles Only' box in the drop down list that'll appear below that Search Field once you enter anything; then Submitting your Search will return quite a few threads made since late 2018 discussing Rykers & how they've been modified &/or used for touring, including threads like this one:

https://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/...%3B+%2Btouring

or this one:

https://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/...%3B+%2Btouring

But there's a bunch more than just those two - collectively, it looks as tho at least some of them could be well worth you checking out and doing some light reading to see if they answer any questions you might have &/or sharing those experiences you're interested in; and even if they don't specifically answer any/all of the questions you might have on Touring with a Ryker &/or specifically "Tell me your thoughts and experiences", it certainly looks as tho they'll still go some way towards answering those questions, maybe even clarifying your ideas a little & possibly highlighting some even more important questions for you to hone in on, all without adding yet another thread asking & maybe going some way towards answering the same questions as one or more of those previous threads?

[greer]

We’ve been riding up through Canada/Southern Alaska and just now dropped down into Washington State, about 7000 miles into the trip so far. I brought along air filters for the engine, and I’ve been cleaning and re-oiling the K&N for the CVT. I’m carrying a gallon rotopax gasoline container and I’ve used it a few times. I brought along the wheel nut socket and am wishing I had a compact scissor jack with me, just in case. My husband is on his V85TT and our buddy is on a GSA, we plan to change our oil as soon as we find a place to buy or borrow a drain pan. So far so good on all the bikes, we’re having a great time.

Sarah

[chris56]

we ride most time 2up with luggage - no problem for a 2 week tour - 2.000 miles here from the Austrian Alps to the Italian coasts of tuscany .
(32k miles on it ..)

use a real "silent" helmet (I have an Airoh) - higher handlebars and a fairing or a windshield ..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUY2H3oj4f8&t=308s

[StalkyTracker]

... about 7000 miles into the trip so far ...

Sarah

Impressive. Now that's touring. You should have some good advice and tips for us touring wannabes.

Where/how did you attach the Rotopax?

[greer]

It’s in the bottom of a duffel strapped to the rear rack, nothing fancy. But that keeps it out of sight so I figure that’s a good thing. We also carry a pretty good selection of tools, tire plugs and compressor, jumper cables, that’s all in the duffel too.

Sarah

[greer]

We got home last night, it was 10,247 miles for the trip.

Sarah

[Texas Al]

Way to go Sarah. With all that touring knowledge I am hoping to see a lot of touring information and recommendations for us tour want to be. Al

[StalkyTracker]

We got home last night, it was 10,247 miles for the trip.

Sarah

Now that's a trip. Well done.

[greer]

We had a great time, and I am pleased as can be with the Ryker.

Sarah

IMG_1090.jpg

[Texas Al]

Sarah looks like it was a great trip. Can you tell how you set up the Ryker for the long trip.

[greer]

I didn’t do much of anything, Texas Al. I swapped to the RFY 400 mm front shocks from Amazon, I bought the Can Am Comfort seat off Ebay and the copy cat Sport windshield from Amazon. I put a Hankook Ventus V 2 on the rear. I bought the Rykerlyft luggage rack off Facebook and bolted SKB cases to it. The rack was working perfectly until a horrible frost heave caught me by surprise in Alaska and nearly threw me off the bike, it broke one of the buckets at the right side case mount:
IMG_1092.jpg

That may be entirely my fault, you can see the mounting hole is drilled right at the bottom of the weld, that may have caused a weak point. I plan to ride the bike as is to our local welding shop and see about a repair and reinforcement.

That’s all I can think of, at the moment. Any questions, please just ask and I’ll try to think of anything else in the meantime. The Ryker has been an excellent choice for me.

Sarah

[StalkyTracker]

... Any questions, please just ask and I’ll try to think of anything else in the meantime. The Ryker has been an excellent choice for me.

Sarah

Ok , a couple questions.

You mentioned you carried a RotoPax and used it a couple of times. Did you track your mpg during the trip?

Tires. You mentioned a Hankook Ventus V2 for the rear tire, and that's on a 16" rim correct? Kendas on the front? How'd they all do?

Anything you didn't take that you wish you had?

Anything you took that was a waste of space?

Thanks.

[greer]

I didn't track my mileage to any great extent. High speeds and head winds are killers, I got 27 mpg in S. Dakota. But much, much better on slower roads, I got 192 miles on a tank up in BC.

Yep, factory Kendas on the front, and a 205/45R16 on the rear. The tires did great as far as I'm concerned. I'm so glad I changed out the rear, the factory Kenda felt pitifully flimsy compared to the Hankook. Now that I've been there, I'd never pit the rear Kenda against the conditions I encountered on the Dempster Highway.

Over the years we've pared down our tool kit and pretty well figured out the essentials, so I didn't tote any dead weight. I kept wishing I had a compact scissor jack in the duffle, just in case. I may try to hunt something up.

Sarah

[GaelForce]

I haven't done any touring yet!
I just bought my 2022 Ryker 900 ACE in July.
I find that my backside starts hurting after an hour, so I bought a Gel Cushion from Amazon last week.
I want to do some ryding later this week to see how much of a difference that makes.

Cheers!

[GaelForce]

So, I did my first long-distance ride to Daytona for BiketoberFest last month.
It took me 14 hours down and 10 hours back.
Things I learned:
* I need a windshield - just ordered a "Touring" version from SlingMods.
* I need storage - I took a backpack with my camping gear and 4 days worth of clothes. It got really heavy on my back, so I slung it over my handlebars on to the Frunk. This slowed me down considerably. I ended up going to the UPS Store at the end of the trip and shipping everything back.
* I need heated gloves - my standard gloves were great going down during the day and riding in Florida, but coming back at night, the temps dropped to the low 50's and my fingers were freezing. I just ordered a pair of heated gloves that should allow me to ride year-round.
* Another potential add-on will be hand guards/wind deflectors, which will help keep the hands from freezing.

Keep ryding!

[greer]

Getting off to a great start, Gael! What sort of luggage options are you looking at?

Sarah

[GaelForce]

Getting off to a great start, Gael! What sort of luggage options are you looking at?

Sarah

I've been looking at the Can-Am Ryker 3 Piece Saddlebag & Top Case Luggage System by Spyder Extras.
It provides 93L of capacity and they can all be locked. Each piece can also be easily removed to take into the hotel.

Do you have any specific recommendations?

[Bfromla]

Don’t have a Ryker but if did would definitely be doing something like this https://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/...ight=Outlander** additional note: standard rain gear pack should include a full change of clothes too, just in case **. AMA for roadside assistance, a dedicated & ready credit card.

https://americanmotorcyclist.com/

[greer]

I've been looking at the Can-Am Ryker 3 Piece Saddlebag & Top Case Luggage System by Spyder Extras.
It provides 93L of capacity and they can all be locked. Each piece can also be easily removed to take into the hotel.

Do you have any specific recommendations?

That'd be a super nice outfit, Gael. Don't think you can do any better.

Sarah