Sport Tourers; Where Art Thou?

The Norge is drop-dead gorgeous too.

My current ride is a Guzzi 1200 Sport, basically a naked Norge with different suspension. A little more sport, and less touring, but Norge bags bolt right up so it's more than capable. As you said, the character of the V-Twin more than makes up for any lack of absolute punch. I don't spend a lot of time at full throttle, so more power would be wasted anyway

His and Hers Sport Tourers



We have always felt that riding motor bikes is a sport.

I tend to think of sport-touring more as a riding style than a type of bike. Stay off the freeway, ride briskly in the twisties, and put in 500 mile days minimum. I "built" my first ST before you could really buy one (except maybe an R90 or 100RS with Krauser bags). It was a Honda CB900F, with a special-order factory Sport Control Kit (lower bars and rear-sets), a Krauser hard-bag setup, and a Bagman tankbag. I even would put on a Windjammer in the winter, with a cut-down screen. I put almost 50K miles on that bike in 4 years and then bought a factory-built ST .... a K100RS with BMW bags. At the time, the balance of sportiness and distance capability was perfect for me. But as I have gotten older, the upright ergo's of an Adv type bike are better for me, and I also ride slower and don't need the speed-friendly riding position and wind protection. I think most VStroms and GS'es are ridden as sport-tourers. I mostly ride a VStrom now, and think I'll probably have an Adv type bike as my main ride as long as I keep riding.

I do see quite a few Concours and FJRs on the road though, usually during commute hours. Most of the RT's I see are black and white and ridden by guys with 3/4 helmets and short sleeved shirts in the summer, usually sitting by the side of the road and occasionally practicing tight U turns,

-dman

I don't disagree, but what is it that's caused the switch? Just the more responsive new ADV-type bikes? After all, most of us started with upright seating positions on UJMs or the like....why the rise of the ST bike in the first place, if fewer and fewer people see the point to them now? And why now? The 1100GS, Ducati Elefant, and 95-06 Triumph Tigers never set the world on fire....?

Sitting still and twisting a throttle is not a sport.

True.......but.......if the only real genuine type of "Sport" in tarmac motorcycling involves being crunched up like a circus monkey with your arms and wrists on fire, while your ass feels like you have been passed around the prison shower, and you neck is screaming like you got hit with a 2X4, then by all means you can have it on 600 mile days !


Yes, you can tour with a sport bike, but there is a better machine for touring distance riding with a sporty style........thats why they call them sport tourers.

It's not about the kind of bike, Doesn't matter if its a Gixxer or a Gold Wing, riding on the public roads is not a sport any more than driving is.

my slow ST

one more from a little tour

I think I know where you are coming from, but your post is gonna get misread entirely.

You might wanna clarify your last post before the flame gun roasts you .

Maybe I'm missing something, it wouldn't be the first time, but I'm not sure how it could be misread.

For clarity, what I'm trying to convey is that to me a sport requires physical exertion, it's something that normally makes you sweat. Competitive racing is a sport, but street riding, or driving, doesn't feel like a sport.

If your Doctor asked if you played any sports, would you count riding a motorcycle to Stugis?

Given your definition, then my FJR1300 is certainly a sporty bike, because I work up a tremendous sweat moving all 650 lbs around the garage.

A more common definition of 'sporting' means an activity that involves physical hazard. I think motorcycling qualifies on that account, too, despite ATTGATT. To me, part of the appeal of riding, whether it's riding off-road or off, is that there is some physical risk involved and that we get to choose how much of that we accept.

Its only a sport if it is a race, and someone can win.

Got your flame suit ready? They really don't like people to use the "r" word

I know a bunch of those guys, and I've run a few one-day rallies. In casual conversation, they refer to their forward progress as 'rally pace'. And a few have to take a year off every couple to let the points drop off their license.

They can call it whatever they want, it is pretty obviously a race.

In their minds, it may look like a duck, and it may walk like a duck, it may even sound like a duck, but somehow it's not a duck. I'm with you. The stories from some of the Nevada based events and tales of "Higdon Three Veiner" speeds make that pretty clear.

Thanks Rider33 I'll check out the DR650 - I want some dirt! so to speak.....

You'de be surprised how many love the way a modern sportbike handles, etc and tweak them to tour on, the "true" heart and soul of the "sport touring" genre.
Problem is, some bikes, even tweaked fall short for some "required" features, namely range.
My 2003 SV650 has well over 100,000 miles on her, and with the bars up and back a bit, a Corbin saddle and appropriate creature comfort farkles, she's a wonderful bike to cover distances on, routinely doing 500+ mile days of backroads.
And I'm getting currently about 52mpg, so even with the smallish 4.7 gal tank, I still get 200 mile range.
Sure I'd love a shafty based off the Sv1000, but the big SV mill gets notoriously so-so mpg.
Here it is from a ride with my buddies Busa, also tweaked for long days.

Zumo for MP3s and phone link(oh yeah...and navigation) and Sirius for random music

Gotcha - we find our riding tends to be somewhat enthusiastic - of course not racing. We are both very familiar with sports that require physical activity at high levels. Pushing a K12RS around all day requires a good degree of physical activity and I know my 115lb wife works very hard riding the R12RT with a good degree of zeal.

"Riding motorbikes is a sport" it's just a riding paradigm not a race.