So can you tour on a Bonneville, absolutely! I'm taking a few days to tour upper Michigan. Rode 150 miles to go visit a friend and tomorrow I'm taking of for I don't know where. Just taking state roads and back roads, no highways after today. Bike was great on the highway but I like a little slower roll so I can admire the beauty of the country side I'm going to be riding in. One burly bag has a bike cover in it and the other has rain gear, I hope I don't need either but the weather forecast is iffy. I'm really enjoying this bike!
Well I ended up cutting my trip short due to a low pressure system and thunderstorms moving in. I don't like riding in the rain and I'm not going to spend money being trapped in a hotel. But I did get 300 miles in and learned a lot about the bike, yes you can tour on it. I finally got the windshield set right, I can look over the top of it and I don't have wind buffeting around my helmet, I would call it a slight vibration but not severe and not fatiguing. My windshield was covered with bugs but only a couple on the top of my helmet. Bike is excellent for long jaunts on the freeway with the bags and gear on it. I have a little over 1000 miles on it now. I did get to do some country lane roads and it was splendid. I think I averaged 51mpg at 75mph turning 3000rpm. Funny that it seems to do better around town. So this rain is supposed to blow out of here in a couple days and then I'll get another day of riding in before I have to go back to work. My only 2 complaints are the seat needs to be upgraded as it does get uncomfortable after awhile, fuel stops are a blessing, lol. And I think I want to get the motone up and back handlebars risers. I rode through a lot of road construction areas and the bike is absolutely stable on uneven and rough surfaces. I'm actually very impressed with the bike. It's kind of a cross between a gentleman's hot rod and a gentleman's cruiser, lol. I'll keep tweeking it to make it mine.
What windshield are you using? I rode from New York to Los Angeles a few years ago in my T120. I put heated grips on (mine did not come with them from the dealer), a Madstad windshield, and an Airhawk seat. I definitely could not have kept the pace that I did without those upgrades. I did 800 miles the first day. I'm sure there are better and more comfortable bikes I could have done the trip on, but my T120 did just fine. I'd love to do it again and go way slower.
I too have the madstad windshield, added the heated grips. Now I need to figure out what I'm going to do about the seat. Maybe a comfort seat from triumph and an air hawk for the long touring ride days.
Start with the Airhawk; it's a relatively low-cost option before deciding that you need to invest the retirement account in a new Triumph seat. I have found that the OEM seat on my Sprint GT to be just fine. Unfortunately, I have very few options for improved windshields on my. I added a Zero Gravity windscreen to gain a little height and width, but my helmet is still in the wind (and FULL of bugs on long rides).
I got a deal on a Triumph Comfort seat on ebay...It is definitely better than the stock seat but an Airhawk seat pad is better. But so dorky looking.
I fear that few people are looking at my seat anymore (ha, ha), so I would opt for comfort on the longer rides. The Airhawk also gives you a bit more leg room by raising your seat an inch or two.
