| Author | Message | ||
     Jon |
Looking for opinions about Sport tourers. Don't know a thing about the genre, but I don't want a cruiser type slug or a luxury barge. Hardbags, power, power, and power. Wife+X1=back-ache. She deserves better. I am keeping X1, BTW. I'd like to go used to save money. | ||
| Rex |
honda st 1100, 1300. nice bike, lots of room, smooth. rex | ||
| Crusty |
Kawasaki Concours. Been around for 20 years. Durable. Comfortable. Low purchase price; especially if you want used. | ||
| Jlnance |
Crusty will remind me it's not technically a sport-tourer, but make sure you testride a Uly as you're looking around. It's pretty close to one, and a very nice bike. Passengers rave about them. | ||
| Buellinator |
Honda ST1300 is incredible to ride. Very comfortable at speed. Good handler. Nice growl from the motor. An abundance of parts and accessories available from the factory and aftermarket. I got rid of mine because it was too fast.  I was either going to kill myself on it or lose my license. | ||
| Bigdaddy |
Crusty shows his wisdom with the Connie recommendation -- + 1. My recommendation  CBR1100XX with Givi bags,,,,power, power, power, and power. All day comfort. You can take a 1997-2002 XX and surprise many a 'Busa rider when they try to pull you. Stupid fast. If you were closer I'd make sure you had the opportunity to try one G2 | ||
| Johnnylunchbox |
I took this lamost verbatim from one of my older posts... If you do I'll recommend the Kawasaki Concours. They have been relatively unchanged for 21 years, and they still sell. (2008 marks the entry of the Concours 14, a hyper tourer $$$$$) That says a lot. It has a retuned (not detuned) ninja 1000 motor in it. There are plenty of used ones out there for $3 - 5K. They are bulletproof, easy to maintain, have a shaft drive and screw/locknut valve adjusters, 7.5 gallon tank, standard hard bags, and the best weather protection of any bike I've owned. They are rated at about 100 hp and can do the quarter mile near 12 seconds flat. They have a ultra loyal (fanatical) fan base and a great owners group. Parts and technical support cannot be beat. Check www.concours.org It is not uncommon to find concours with 100K 200K and even a few at 300K miles. Also check: http://www.mcnews.com/mcn/model_eval/Kawasaki%20Concours,%20Part%201.pdf http://www.mcnews.com/mcn/model_eval/Kawasaki%20Concours,%20Part%202.pdf http://www.mcnews.com/mcn/model_eval/Kawasaki%20Concours,%20Part%203.pdf http://www.mcnews.com/mcn/model_eval/Kawasaki%20Concours,%20Part%204.pdf I love my Concours and XB equally. If you want the newest flashiest sport tourer with the most gizmos then the Concours is not for you. If you want a solid, comfy, mile eater, that is fast, handles well, and is at a price that'll save you enough money to buy gas for the next 5 years then the Concours is for you. By far the best bang for the buck in the sport touring world. No contest! | ||
| Jaimec |
My definition of a "Sport Tourer" is any moderately comfortable bike you can throw a set of saddlebags over. You don't need a purpose-built bike to go sport touring. By that definition, the Lightning Long, Suzuki Bandit, SV1000S, and most "naked standards" qualify. Givi makes hard, lockable bags for most of the more popular models. To me, the ultimate sport tourer is the ORIGINAL, a nice BMW R100RS. Full coverage fairing, light weight, simple mechanicals, an engine that'll run at redline all day without complaint and available hard bags. For a little more comfort, find a nice example of an R100RT. Taller windscreen, higher bars, slightly wider fairing... those are about the only differences. | ||
| Josh_ |
FJR1300  | ||
| Josh_ |
Hmm, I can't find of picture of it setup for our 3500mile trip last summer: sidebags, topbox, tank bag, windshield up. | ||
| Bomber |
Triumph Sprint is a great scoot! check out the following url: www.sport-touring.net good folks, lots of information, a lively classified section -- there is even the stray firefight over issue of grave consequence, so you'll feel right at home ;-} | ||
| Lake_bueller |
I'd agree with Josh on the FJR. Otherwise, I'd concider a Uly. Both are on my short list of replacements for my S3T (but that's still a few years away). | ||
| Bomber |
btw, Kaw is releasing a new Concours based on that cruze missle 14! appears to be the motorcycle equivalent of a small, high performance business jet, or a good follow on the the Blackbird mentioned above | ||
| Roadrailer |
How exactly is the Ulysses NOT a sport touring machine? Comfortable enough to get you there, decent wind protection with the addition of an aftermarket screen, hard bags that hold a ton, plenty of room and comfort for a pillion, and runs like, well, like a Buell once the roads get twisty. I did almost 1,000 miles on mine this past weekend in the Ozarks and only wanted for more time. Otherwise the bike was flawless. The only potential flaw I can see to the Uly as an ST mount is the relative lack of fuel range. Realistically, though, with the exception of some parts of the West, going 200 miles without coming across a gas station is rare. If you just MUST have a "true" sport touring machine, I'd go with either the FJR or ST1300, probably in that order. Both are powerful, comfortable, and handle well. I'd only consider the Concours if budget was my main criteria. The design is 20+ years old, and it shows in almost every regard. In addition, for me, it was possibly the most uncomfortable bike I have ever sat on. The ST1300 and FJR eat the Connie's lunch in everywhere except price. Yes, I am prepared for flames.  | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
on '05 and earlier FJR's beware of ENORMOUS radiated engine heat (may or not be an issue depending on where you live - here in SoCal it was an absolute bitch), and relative lack of cornering clearance (may or not be an issue depending on how you ride). FB | ||
| Hattori_hanzo |
Miata...   | ||
| Chasespeed |
CBR1100XX, my personal favorite..but cant afford one... Fun, fast, quick, and NOT a Busa | ||
| Jlnance |
How exactly is the Ulysses NOT a sport touring machine? I've asked the same question. The two complaints I hear are the seat height and lack of a fairing. Particularly the fairing. Some people want a lot more wind protection. | ||
| Josh_ |
fairing, and ... fairing I can put the shield up on the FJR and run aroung town in a tshirt at 50degrees just fine. 'Course the fairing/sheild is a big part of the heat problem Ferris refered to, but there are a fixes/workarounds. My only lasting gripes about the FJR now is the weight and the ground clearance. | ||
| Macbuell |
I'd personally look at the new Triumph Sprint ST. Beautiful bike, sweet triple, optional hard luggage and good reviews to boot. | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
Josh, i'm not sure the heat "fixes/workarounds" for the FJR would actually fix or work around the heat issue here in the desert southwest. MAYBE, 'cause i opted to off the bike rather than deal with it anymore, but i'm not SURE... the weight of my FJR was never an issue to me, but the relative lack of cornering clearance sure was. i imagine there are a lot of riders for whom this is not an issue, but ESPECIALLY two-up with full saddlebags it was something i paid serious attention to in the twisties. FB | ||
| Bigdaddy |
Chase, You've got excellent taste XX brings much joy on the big long sweeping stuff. It handles like a battleship in a fishing pond when it gets tight. The only UJM with a soul IMHO. G2 | ||
| Doerman |
I have put a lot of good touring miles on my BMW R1100S.I am not sure how well it works with a passenger. My wife rides her own ride. A good used one can be had for 6-8K Asbjorn | ||
| Tgroghan |
I'm in a similar boat... I'm leaning for a 2 cylinder BMW. I'm not partial to the BMW but they are the only one's that have a decent 2 cylinder with some nice perks for traveling. If she's happy... then I'm happy. Heated seats, comfortable ride and those come standard on BMWs | ||
| Josh_ |
Removing the windshield fixed all my upper-body heat issues and there are several options to direct air that are not as drastic. My remaining heat issue is the incredible blast coming off the cat.converter, I might throw on a Dale Walker pipe and be done with it. What do you mean lack of cornering clearance?  | ||
| Jon |
Wow. Really appreciate the feedback, guys! I will probably test drive the Uly in Vallejo, but I am kind of expecting to go out of the Buell world for what will be me and my wife's "togetherness sled". Long fuel range is desired. Kevin from last night's ASBN meeting raved about the Triumph Sprint and told of his girlfriend's comfort on a very long ride to Yosemite and around those parts. He rode his to the meeting as well. Looked the part. So that's on my hit list. OK, so I'll check out the Honda and Yamaha. Keep them cards and letters coming! | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
the heat on mine was intense, so much so that on a hot day (90+ F) i HAD to wear my Aerostich, just to keep from burning my knees and lower legs. no amount of farkling (you had to remove your windshield? wow!) was gonna make that kind of heat go away, and i opted to go another route (i.e. new motorcycle). cool pic! my peg feelers on both sides were long gone, both pegs were badly abused, and the end of the splined shaft on the right side that held the rear brake lever was about a third ground away. this, to me, FB (Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 03, 2006) | ||
| Ulywife |
The Uly has comfort from the passenger perspective. The bags are not in the way when riding 2 up. The 07 seat has made a world of difference for me. Before I could only ride 50 miles or so before I had to get off the bike. A few weekends ago, we rode 360 miles in 2 days, 100 miles being the longest stretch. While I know 360 isn't much, it's well over double what I could have done on either of the 06 seats. Daves tells me I just need more saddle time to increase my distance! Oh, to have the time. Best of luck on your search.  | ||
| Josh_ |
Were I in the market today, I'd look a lot closer at the Sprint ST. I still wish I'd given the Duc ST4s a closer look. If you want more touring than sport, the ST1300, more sport than touring the Sprint ST. The FJR would be right between them, thus it's popularity. Give me a S3T with adjustable bars, better fairing lowers, a movable windscreen, Uly bags and a XBRR motor and I'll be happy  | ||
| Jaimec |
I miss the Aprilia Futura. Damn but that was a neat looking bike. And the fact that the magazines had difficulty getting top speed ratings on it (it was nearly invisible to radar) was just icing on the cake! Only complaint I heard about were the mirrors; they blurred too much to be useful at speed. Can't replace 'em easily because they're also your turn signals. |
