Hey guys, another newbie here.
My roommate has a Centurion Le Mans RS, I believe to be made roughly around 1987. It's virtually identical to this bike seen here:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...6434%26fvi%3D1
It's Japanese made bike with Tange #2 Chromoly seamless tubing for the three main tubes and Mangaloy alloy steel for the forks, seat, and chainstays. It also has 36 spokes front/rear with a wheelbase of approximately 40 inches. Would this be a decent bike to turn into a touring platform? I realize it's not in the list of common touring bikes and has a somewhat small wheelbase, but it does have a steel frame and I'd obviously be upgrading the chainrings/front derailleur in order to provide lower gears, as well as upgrading the seat and buying decent racks/panniers.
I'm not looking to get into camping/completely independent touring just yet, but possibly in the future. I was planning on doing a several hundred mile credit card/hotel tour with a buddy of mine and wondered if this would be a good choice to do that with?
Thanks in advance for any input you guys might have
Henry