Making the CBR work for touring

While the CBR was a fun ride, it was not real comfortable and had absolutely no storage. If I was going to be able to ride for more than 100 miles or go on a multi-day ride I was going to have to address these problems...

The first thing I did was order and install a corbin seat. The new seat was a great improvement over the wafer thin stock seat. To solve the storage problem I bought a Bags-Connection luggage system, which was big enough to hold pretty much everything I would need if I went on a weekend trip. Then in April I loaded up and headed down to Solvang for a weekend at the Worldmark Resort, about 260 miles south. This was both a weekend getaway and a test of my new setup.

While it was definitely better with the new seat my rear was very uncomfortable at the end of the ~260 miles. In addition, my poor arthritic knees were screaming for relief. As were my shoulders and neck. If I was going to really make this work I was going to have to make some serious and costly modifications like adding handlebar risers, foot peg extenders, and a more touring oriented windscreen. I was starting to really feel the "I wants" for an ST...