Who Uses Their 7 for Serious Touring?

[MisterMike]

Still a newb, but I do have a serious question. If I decide to build/buy a 7, it will likely serve as a replacement for my sport-touring motorcycle (a BMW R1200ST). I'm not as nuts as some of the BMW riders I know, but I do put on a few thousand miles a year, including occasional trips to the Southeast or the Rockies.

 

Most of what I've read here and elsewhere seems to indicate that not too many 7 owners use their cars that way, opting for shorter trips. However, I'd expect a 7 to serve, at least occasionally, a touring function, giving me some degree of long-distance capability. Is that feasible, in terms of comfort, weather capability, and reliability?

[slomove]

I suspect the low rate of 7s touring is related to several factors:

- there are some (not all) spouses who just don' like riding along in a Seven for extended time (too fast/noisy/dangerous). I suppose this does not apply to spouses who are used to motorcycles.

- many Seven owners have track-oriented cars

- many US drivers don't have (or spend) enough vacation to make touring meaningful.

- Some drivers just don't like touring

 

In the UK there are many more people touring or using the Seven as daily driver.

 

Here in the US I was lucky to get 8 cars at a time on the Pacific Northwest Tour 2007 ( 2 weeks) and there were 12 cars on USA2005 with the folks from the UK. I hope to get between 3 to 6 cars next year on the Black Hills tour.

 

Otherwise there is nothing wrong with touring in a Seven. A bit more comfy than a bike but still noisy, limited weather protection and limited luggage space. But my wife and I like it much better than touring in a boring tintop. We did probably some 15,000 miles on long distance trips over 3000 miles and another 10,000 on weekend trips.

 

Absolute requirement: a solid build that does not break down every 50 miles.

Recommended: good seats and at least a half-hood. Company of another Seven is more fun and an additional safety net (imagine a unique part going out in the middle of Wyoming)

[DeanG]

Actually there are a few who make long distance trips. Some on a regular basis. There was one Lotus Seven that made the trip from Colorado to Pennsylvanian for LOG30. A group is getting ready for an Ozark tour. People are planning an east coast to Las Vegas road trip for LOG31. Tony V. will drive his Se7en anywhere.

 

Remember there are probably more BMW bikes sold in the USA each year than there are Se7ens.

[Kitcat]

A Se7en that is sorted out is reliable and anything that breaks can usually be easily fixed, even by a total non-mechanic, like myself.

 

It has reasonable storage space if no passenger.

 

My Caterham is 99.8% waterproof.

 

I don't plan on 1K mile single day trips. My record is about 500 miles. And I make plenty of stops to stretch. Typically I am on back roads/blue highways and so I don't make a bee-line from point A to point B, which slows me up.

 

If you relax and enjoy the ride it can be wonderful. As on a bike, the se7en experience is totally different than a car (no radio, no cosseting, loads of fresh air, unimpeded views of the mountains, etc.).

 

And you are never lonely-every stop is occasioned by lots of admirers. Se7ens are somehow disarming and make people smile and want to talk. Again it slows you up, but enriches the trip.

 

Happy trails.

 

Mike M

[MisterMike]

Thanks for the replies. I'm still not there . . . in terms of a decision to go forward . . . but it's likely, due to budget/space/time issues that I'd find myself moving away from motorcycling.

[Alaskossie]

Serious touring? I drove my 2007 Caterham S3 on a 6150-mile marathon tour in August of this year, from Denver, Colorado to Anchorage, Alaska, via California, Oregon and Washington, then through British Columbia and on up the Alaska Highway. I was on the road, on the move, almost every day from August 1 through 27.

 

I didn't have a passenger, which is a mixed blessing -- the companionship is a plus, while the crowded feeling in the cockpit might be a minus.

 

The lack of traditional car comforts like a/c and cup-holders was no problem, except in a hot cross-wind on a 105-degree afternoon crossing the Mojave Desert. Next time, I'd do it at night.

 

I built a custom luggage rack, and as it turned out, I had more than enough luggage space for gear, clothes, camping equipment for emergency use (I didn't need it), etc. My objective was to carry enough luggage for the trip, without obstructing rear visibility and without filling the passenger seat or footwell, which is like cheating....

 

I believe the Seven that was driven from Colorado to Pennsylvania for LOG 30 was Ross Robbins' car -- it is an original Lotus Seven, and Ross doesn't even travel with weather gear when he makes those long trips. That is hard-core!

[Ruadhd2]

Would like to tour but worry about long range seat comfort. Don't mean to hijack this thread but wonder if anyone has seats that have proven to be consistently comfortable for long trips. I realize that body types and preferences vary, but there must be a reason why some seats work better for long rides for more people than others, such as the new seats that were introduced in the 2006 Elise.

[Kitcat]

I found the cloth standard seats in a Caterham to be among the most comfortable I have ever sat in. Just needed to add a lumbar pillow.

[rzempel]

I used to do quite a bit of bike touring on my airhead BMW, but since I bought the Se7en, I've not put a leg across the saddle since. I bought the car in Chicago and quickly discovered, as I drove it home to Los Angeles, that it was the perfect touring vehicle. It offers the same open air sense of freedom and involvement with the surrounding environment as a motorcycle, yet it also offers a bit more comfort on long days plus the possibility of continuing relatively comfortably during inclement weather. I also like that my wife now sits beside me rather than behind--that makes communication far easier.

[Alaskossie]

I found that long-range seat comfort was no problem in the Seven on my 6150-mile drive.

 

I have the Tillett carbon-kevlar seats, and as long as you are not a press-fit (they're hip-hugging tight), their contours are very good for long distances.

 

I added an Oxted quilted leather-and-foam seat pad, and an adjustable foam lumbar support pillow.

 

The limited fuel range of a Seven means that you will get out to stretch your legs every 150-175 miles, in any event.

 

Also, I found that with the half-hood up, the effort involved in getting in and out when I really didn't need to, meant that I stayed in the seat nearly continuously between fuel stops, with no problem.

[Kitcat]

Alaskossie:

 

Where did you buy the seat pad and lumbar support? I replaced my stock driver's seat with the CF Tillett (so I cld use the 5 point harness at track days) and it is reasonably comfortable but could be better.

 

Mike M.

[MisterMike]

The limited fuel range of a Seven means that you will get out to stretch your legs every 150-175 miles, in any event.

 

I hadn't focused on the fuel range, but that makes sense. My comfortable fuel range on my BMW is about what you suggest. I can do 200 miles, but I get a little nervous, since I generally get a low fuel warning before that point.

[Alaskossie]

Kitkat,

 

I bought the quilted leather/foam Tillett inserts directly from Oxted Trimming, the company that makes the factory Caterham tops, carpets, etc.

 

I bought a pair of Sparco lumbar pads from Demon Tweeks company in UK (their catalog has lots of seat options and accessories). Each lumbar pad is Velcro'ed to a piece of black seatbelt webbing that loops around and under the Oxted seat pad. This seatbelt webbing has Velcro (hook side) sewn to its outer side under the seat pad, where it sticks to the glued-on Tillett seat fabric covering as if this fabric were loop-side Velcro.

 

All seem to work well for me, for long-distance travel.

 

Attached is a photo. Let me know if you have more questions.

 

I also made a small, flat foam pad insert, covered in nylon, that is Velcro'ed to each headrest, and these are hidden under the SoftBits wind blocker, whose mounts are naugahyde pockets that slip over the Tillett headrests. (My car is a rolling gallery of a "fully SoftBits-optioned" Seven).

 

Scannon knows all about the little tweaks and fetishes that I indulged in when I dreamed about, and then gradually built, my Seven (I'm sure that some of them brought giggles or scorn behind my back....). As I've said before, I freely indulged in "upgrade-itis" before a wheel of the car turned on the road under its own power.... Some of the things would require major disassembly if done later, which was good enough reason for me to embellish the Caterham assembly manual as I went long.

 

If there is any interest, I'll try to put together a list of the things that I did to "personalize" my S3 Seven as I built it up -- if for no other reason, then just so I won't forget them. I can't recall any little mod that didn't work as planned, to the extent that I would now remove it.

 

If USA7s'ers are interested in any of these little mods, I could provide more details.

[Kitcat]

Alakossie:

 

"Scorn", never. "Envy" is more like it.

 

I will look into ordering the seat padding from Tillett. The headrest and lumbar tweaks are also nicely done and the whole look is quite professional.

 

Mike M.

[TheDingo8MyBaby]

Sparco also makes head support cushions and lumbar side cushions that I found more comfortable in my pro2000 than the longer lumbar support.

 

 

Here are some of the products:

http://www.winecountrymotorsports.com/index.php?cPath=131_132_52

[KiwiBirkin]

As others have said a Seven based car is great for touring in as you get to see a lot of your surroundings and are quite engaged with them, its no harder to set up for touring than a bike so if you all ready have that mindset you will manage it very easily.

[Vernlocost]

A friend of mine told me about this forum and suggested I respond to this thread. I completed my Locost 7 five years ago and my wife and I have taken a lot of trips around southern Ontario. This summer after adding a detachable trunk box we took a 14 day, 6,000 k/m trip to the east coast and the car ran great. It is all steel construction with a Toyota drive line. The exhaust volume has been further reduced with a second muffler and the side curtains, carpeted interior, and top offer acceptable comfort on longer highway trips. I put together a summary of our trip to hopefully motivate more Seven owners and builders to equip their cars for overnight trips. And I will post it along with some pictures if the group is interested. I realize it is difficult to put on side curtains and to a degree reduce your driving experience. But once you have completed your first 500 k/m highway trip in comfort you will wonder why you ever went without !! Who knows, your wife or girl friend may even go for a spin with you when it is 7 degrees C like my wife does.

Thanks, Vernlocost

[lancylad]

Alaskossie

Really interested in all the mods to your ride, we had a great time last season on our run from Nanton,Alberta to Vancouver Island and all the touring in between.

Our next venture as regards long distance will be down to the U.S.A, havn"t decided on the route yet. My wife is as excited about it as I am. Touring in a "7" is a blast, brings back the real meaning to the word 'Motoring'. Look foward to more info on your "mods".. Cheers. Steve

[Alaskossie]

Lqncylad,

 

I'll see if I can put a list together of the various simple mods and tweaks I did with my Seven build.

 

If you are interested in more touring, and a venture down into the States, take a look at Slomov's plans for this summer: http://www.usa7s.com/vb/showthread.php?t=5889

 

It will start in Wyoming on July 9, and end back there on July 22, but in the meantime will venture up into the Black Hills of South Dakota, which is not too far from your home base.

 

You ought to give it some thought.

[locost7018]

Or if you really want a long drive come to the Midwest Se7ens Gathering in Harrison , Arkansas June 9-12. Russ