A slick mover in the touring game

The parts brought Harley Davidson's £11,995 handsome Fat Bob - great for getting around town for meetings - up to a decent touring spec... at a price.

Two "distressed" leather panniers cost £574 plus £48 for brackets and £48 for optional locks. The clear perspex screen - good for deflecting the wind and rain on long rides - added £358 while the rack and "sissy bar" (useful for attaching luggage) added £435. So we ended up with a 1,584cc V-twin, six-speed, belt drive beauty for a total of £13,458, all fitted by experts at the friendly Warrs dealership on King's Road, labour costs £150.

The Fat Bob is a surprisingly agile, smooth and gutsy performer that enjoys bends, its nimbleness belying its slightly brutish, very chromed looks and the stonking 93lb of torque at 3,500rpm making the most of that imposing, fat, rear tyre.

It weighs in at 320kg but on the move is light and manoeuvrable, confidence boosted by the low seat of 663mm meaning that most riders can get both feet flat on the floor. Most of its miles have been in London traffic where - at first - HD's fabled foot-forward position seemed odd - but it swiftly gelled.

So how did it perform on "tour"? Superbly. The panniers looked a bit Wild West but they were practical and a perfect compromise between capacity and size. The two panniers and a small HD tote bag slipped over the sissy bar to swallow more than enough for three days away including hiking gear, waterproofs, clothing and other essentials.

The screen was great at removing wind pressure on long open stretches, but significantly increased helmet buffeting over 65mph. Otherwise, on motorways, A-roads and snaking, muddy back roads, the Fat Bob always felt sure-footed and achieved precisely 52mpg. It was eye-catching too, even attracting a crowd when parked up at Stonehenge, where I believe there are other attractions...

The rubber-mounted engine meant minimal vibration, but I enjoyed the reassuring vibes from the long-legged V-twin through the bars and well padded seat. A highly entertaining ride - I could have ridden all day and almost did.

Tough jeans give perfect balance

Motorcycling trousers are a tricky choice. Leather or man-made fabrics can be hot and uncomfortable if you sit in a cafe or walk around, so it's tempting to wear jeans but they give little protection if you come off.

After viewing Draggin Jeans' video promoting their Kevlar-reinforced version and hearing Andrew Taylor - who runs the superb Urban Rider store at New Kings Road extol their virtues - it seemed a no-brainer, so I tested a pair.

As you can see at dragginjeans.net, the Australian makers are so confident in the toughness of their jeans that they perform dramatic "drag tests", towing riders along racetracks behind bikes on their backsides - wearing their jeans. Looks painful but they walk away smiling.

Close examination of the Next Gen pair (£199) reveals that vital parts - knees, backside, thighs - are protected by Kevlar fabric as used in military body armour and they are well made.

Slightly thicker than traditional denim, you could wear them on the bike and at home, without any downside; they look great and come in different styles, although it's best to choose them slightly long, to accommodate your riding position. On my tour they proved breathable, comfortable and stretchy.

Usefully, Andrew provides them with extra "sock"-style knee pads that fit underneath, for £15. They dug into my shins a little but give extra protection. Urban Rider is well worth a visit - it's at 51 New Kings Road, where the old Bullet store used to be. More at urbanrider.co.uk

How not to get lost

There's one thing I dread on bike tours - getting lost. It means parking, taking your gloves off and rummaging around for a map unless you strapped one to the tank.

So I tried TomTom's Rider Pro UK (inset), a compact, waterproof £250 device that comes with a helmet headset. It was a Godsend. Directions were clear and audible and the battery lasted a healthy four to five hours.

It has its own bracket and wires and its touch-screen controls work well. It even warns of speed camera locations, and boots up quickly. As many riders don't want to wire a sat nav to their bike I tried Arkon's clip-on waterproof GPS case, £24.98 from Bikebits. It worked well thanks to its easily-fitted handlebar clamp. You can operate the screen through the plastic "window" although the TomTom's projecting "hood" made this slightly awkward. It remained firmly in place at speed, takes seconds to unscrew when you park and, although protected by my bike's screen, did prove waterproof. More at buybits.com