haha, hey the question was "What bikes are good for touring?", nobody said experience had to be considered!  Therefore I still stick with my nomination - the blackbird                                                                                                                                                                              

Na Matt too big and heavy, VFR800vtec ideal lol                                                                                                                                                                             

I have to agree Matt,tooooo bulky and heavy, Touring or not,you need a good all rounder. Back to the motorcycles. Hondas are perfect for touring. The Firestorm has too small a tank range, the CBR 600 is not ideal two-up (bit cramped and thirsty) and the SP-2 has a fuel range of substantially less than 100 miles at sustained high speed on the autobahn.when abroad, As for the pocket rockets (ZXR400, RGV250, CBR400) they are usually popular with girls who have recently passed their test but these are not easy motorcycles to ride comfortably over distance. Narrow power bands, cramped riding position and a need to work the gearbox all make it a tiring experience. Bigger capacity motorcycles certainly make more sense where distance is involved. And if you love your motorcycle and enjoy riding it who am I to criticise? Yes I do have a Blackbird  but I also ride a Suzuki GSR 600 solo all over Europe and absolutely love it. I think the Kawasaki ZX-9 makes a good cheap tourer and if you are on a budget there is nothing wrong with a Bandit 1200 - although the 1200S with a sports screen would be an easier ride.   I certainly wouldn't be thinking about touring until I had 12 months under my belt.   I have toured only twice,but,believe me,it can be/is very challenging..........    So when you are trying to work out the best motorcycle to go touring it is a good idea to decide exactly what you want from the tour in the first place.                                                                                                                                                                             

Thanks for all of the advice, its given me a lot to think about especially about all roundedness which I never considered. When I get the chance I will go around a few bike shops and look around and sit on a few, then when I get my licence will have an idea which ones I want to test out.  I would want a bike I can enjoy, going out for a weekend blast and to meets and I think I was focusing too much on the touring aspect.