Have you ever dreamed of touring your country, or the world, via motorcycle?
It sounds like a daunting task for even the most adventurous of explorers. That is exactly why we are starting SMALL!
This article will go over what we have done to turn our Honda Groms into “Touring Motorcycles”.
What is the Smallest Touring Motorcycle
The smallest touring motorcycles that we know of are 125ccs. That is not a lot of motor, but a handful of people have been proving that they are mighty little machines, capable of great adventures.
There are a few of them on the market, but hands down, the most popular is the Honda Grom.
We have matching 2019 Honda Groms. These are the Second Generation, SF Models.
SPECS:
125cc Motor
1.5 Gallon Gas Tank
100+ MPG
4 Speed Manual
Street Legal Motorcycle
Initial Motorcycle Upgrades
When we finally picked our Groms, we couldn’t possibly leave them stock. We started by installing some bar-end mirrors. Then we followed that up with rear fender elimination kits.
Later down the road, as we were traveling the country in our DIY Built Promaster Van, we decided to add a phone mount.
We chose the RAM Mounts X-Grip.
The mounts are easily adjustable and we have really enjoyed them.
RAM Mounts have been in the game for a long time and have great products.
Our one recommendation is to buy more of the rubber tethers. Joe has snapped one of those when it was cold out.
The last thing we decided to add was a USB Port. This allows us to charge our phones / GPS on the go. This has been an invaluable upgrade because we use our phones for everything. It is really nice to have a solid charge everywhere we go.
Our Touring Motorcycle Gear
Luggage
We chose to use universal fit 25 liter dry saddlebags. The bags are very affordable and had excellent reviews. We have left them on the Groms for a good week in Florida rain and are happy to report that they have stayed completely dry.
Mindy opted for a Motorcycle Tank Bag. This bag is in place of a purse for her. It is very easy to mount and dismount from the motorcycle and is large enough for everything she needs including our DSLR Camera.
The top bags we are using are our Fjallraven Hiking Packs. We have had them for a while now and they hold everything we need. Plus they have rain covers. These are not designed for touring motorcycles, but they work for our application. They are the same model, but Joe’s is a men’s 45 liter and Mindy’s is a women’s 35 liter.
Touring Motorcycle Specific Items
The stock seat left a lot to be desired from Joe. After a couple of years riding with it, the time for an upgrade had come. We reached out to our GromSquad and this seat was hands down, the most recommended. So far, it has proven to be much better than stock.
Your motorcycle chain is what allows you to drive. The chain on our Honda Grom is a Number – 420. These are master link replacements. Every once and a while, with hard riding, the retaining clip can pop off. For under $10, these spares will give us peace of mind if that were to happen to us.
This awesome piece of technology is a lithium-powered portable air compressor. Not only can it fill our tires to the psi required, but it also functions as a backup battery to charge our devices in an emergency. It, quite literally, can fit in your pocket. We are very excited to have this piece of kit, although we hope to not need it.
The last piece of motorcycle-specific gear is a Tubeless Tire Plugger Kit. Hopefully, we never have a flat, but just in case, it is a good idea to bring these along. This kit takes up very little space and can be the difference between a ruined day or a riding day.
Summary
We hope this article showed you, that you don’t need the largest, most expensive, gear. Just the right gear for you. Every person and trip will require different things. That being said, we will be reviewing all of this gear after we spend some more time testing it out.
To see all of these products and how we carry them on our Mini “touring” motorcycles checkout out our video below.
That’s it for this article guys. Although we are a part of the Amazon Associate Program none of these products are sponsored by a specific brand; they are products that we use or think are good options.
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Cheers,
Mindy and Joe
