Sport Tourers; Where Art Thou?

[DOGSROOT]

Originally Posted by Disco Stu

I just pulled my ad for my Futura

I totally saw that coming!!!!

Good for you; seems everybody who sells a Futura soon regrets it.

My plan is to sell the RS, put the proceeds in the bank, and wait for the day

that the interst catches up w/ the depreciation on the Ducati 1200 MultiStrada...

Meanwhile, I'll be happy as a pig in sh*t to ride my GT to hell and back, 'cause that's how long

its gonna take.

[SkiMan]

A little older sport tourer, but still alot of miles left!

[Contevita]

I don't see too may old school sport bikes set up for touring. I like that set up above ^

[Rider]

Originally Posted by SkiMan

A little older sport tourer, but still alot of miles left!

Gawd, that's pretty.

[DiabloADV]

Originally Posted by Androu

NT700, Honda calls it a "Sport Touring Bike". Really more tour than sport, but I have a blast exploring the mountains and desert valleys with it.

That's the new cop bike in my little town. Gave me a ticket for lack of seatbelt -- I put it on *as* I pulled away from the curb. Gave the wife one for yacking on a cellphone. She deserved hers.

[Ohio_Danimal]

[Twinz]

Originally Posted by Disco Stu

I just pulled my ad for my Futura, I can't bear to part with it.

Good call, Stu!

[Dave2]

Originally Posted by Disco Stu

I just picked this up this afternoon. 2004 with 20,000 miles.

on the way home I hit 106 on the GPS and it was still pulling like a freight train.

I've had mine since new. 55000 great miles on it. I'm on my 6th set (I think) of Conti Road Attacks
Great confidence inspiring tires in the wet and dry.

Rock solid bike. Enjoy it!

[sagedrifter]

My 34" inseam works well on the FJR1300. I went to a dealer to get a C-14, but it just felt odd, my knees hit the tank wrong. I needed to lower the pegs just to ride it home..

I mainly went with the FJR because I felt at home on it. Its the only bike I've had that I did not change the bars or the peg position. At 6-4 I just added a tall Calsci screen later, added grip puppies and a cramp buster on day one. I bought the bike out of state on a trip. I had 1100 miles on it in two days before I got home. One early oil change at 200 plus miles and then I had to head home. My bike had died on the road, so I had to choose quickly. Thankfully I had been shopping some before it left me stranded.

I looked at the K1300, the R1200RT, the C-14, the FJR and a used ST1300. Not much else was around, just lots and lots of cruisers. I don't regret the FJR at all, what a bike. only paid $11,200 off the show room floor. It had been sitting for two years with no takers. Sad really, heavy cruisers fly out of the dealer, people don't know what they are missing. ST's are great touring machines.

[montana.matt]

Some of you might not consider this a "sport tourer", but that's exactly what I do with mine... '93 CBR 1000F

[625SXC]

Originally Posted by montana.matt

Some of you might not consider this a "sport tourer", but that's exactly what I do with mine... '93 CBR 1000F

MAN! I love the old school SUPER SPORTS!

[Night Goat]

Hello all. I'm a noob here but have traveled many miles on many bikes. Here's my current bike, 2002 R1150 RS. I really want to do a trip up through Alaska, and originally I was thinking about ditching this one and picking up a GS. But after reading some the ride reports here about folks riding unusual bikes through some adverse places, I 'm thinking about attempting the trip on this.

[sakurama]

It's interesting to stumble onto this thread right now since I'm looking for a sport tourer.

When I started riding I was drawn to the look of cafe racers but I lived in Colorado where distances were far so I wanted something that could go a good distance. A friend turned me onto the BMW R90S and I fell in love. It was already mentioned here but this is sort of the first real sport tourer - the first (production) bike with a fairing and a sporting intention for distance. Anyway that R90S was a cow in the corners but I loved it then and still do now. Todd and I used to lament our quandary; a sport bike was miserable to ride into the wild yonder (say Montana or Northern California) but great fun when you got to the corners. A touring bike was miserable in the corners but nice on the open road. Well, this was true back in the 80's and 90's.

My last sport tourer was a BMW R1100S which I loved to death right up until I followed my brother down a loose gravel road in Wyoming. I came home from that trip and sold the bike and bought a KTM 950 Adventure. Amazing. I put on a set of GS sized 17/19 wheels and suddenly I had that bike I'd wished for. It was comfortable on the highway and amazing in the twisty's. It truly did do it all very well. So well I've never sold it. On public roads it will keep pace with any sport bike and when the pavement ends I don't let up on the throttle. Genius!

In reading this thread it occurred to me why you don't see too many "sport tourers" anymore: all our current bikes (with the exception of Harley - seriously Nach, that's nothing more than a troll) are really great at pretty much everything now. Today's BMW K16GT would trounce a VFR from 20 years ago. Todays FJR is as comfortable as a Gold Wing from back then. Let's face it - we have it really good. I don't think you see "sport-tourers" as much because so many motorcycles today do what that genre's idea was and do it really, really well.

Which brings me back to the fact that I'm looking for a BMW R1200S even though my KTM is well nigh perfect. I just sort of miss the look, the feel of my feet touching the ground, the thoughtful windscreens but mostly I miss the idea of a sport touring bike. The idea that I can toss a change of clothes into waterproof bags and ride 500-1000 miles to a desolate place with really amazing corners. Just like the way that food tastes better when you're camping - corners taste better when you're farther from home too.

Gregor

PS If anyone wants to buy a very nice MV Brutale 910R you would greatly facilitate my R1200S purchase.

[Disco Stu]

Originally Posted by Night Goat

]

That's a purty bike! We were looking for on of those when the wife wanted something more than her R1100R but less than an R1150RT.

[dave6253]

Originally Posted by Rider

What's your theory as to why sport tourers don't sell very well?

IMO, it has a lot to do with demographics and style. Let's face it. Not many motorcycle owners really travel very far. In the US, if you are a fan of roadracing, you are likely to be drawn towards the sport bikes. If you think of motorcycling as a reason to hang out with your buds at a local bar, you are likely to want to style of a big Harley or cruiser. Sport-tourers are a more practical choice. They combine relatively high performance and long distance comfort and luggage capacity, but not necessarily the high style of the extremes of the spectrum, Repli-racers and HD/Cruisers. Many riders interested in a practical touring bike have been lured away from the sport-tourer segment by the big adventure bikes.

I think my SPORT-tourer is pretty fun. Even though I own a big adventure bike as well, I can't see myself ever selling her.






2002 RST 1000 Futura





One Owner. Me.





More than 50,000 miles of bliss.





Not immune to a rough gravel road.









Who else would love a new Futura design with that Superbike Aprilia V4?