Is the classic sport-touring motorcycle doomed to extinction?

Donk said:
Apparently Triumph is paying attention and they don't think the sport tourer is headed for extinction.

Check out the new Triumph 800 Sport. Just what the Dr Donk ordered! They told me it was coming but seeing is believing. 17" wheels and cruise on a semi upright sports tourer! Right bike, right hp, right weight, not too much or too little electronics. Having owned and loved both a Tiger 1050 and the Sprint GT both of which I put a lot of miles on in a short period of time this new bikes slots nicely in the middle. Not running down to Triumph dealer straight away this morning but I'll be there by the end of the week for sure

https://www.triumphmotorcycles.com/motorcycles/adventure/tiger-sport-800/tiger-sport-800-2025
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Odd as it sounds I had a Tiger 800R between my 2012 NC700 and my 2015NC700X and couldn't wait to get rid of it. I never bonded with the Triumph and never could get the wind management right. Lots of folks like that triple but it wasn't the engine for me.

I hope this new 800 Sport is the perfect bike for you however.
 
dduelin said:
Odd as it sounds I had a Tiger 800R between my 2012 NC700 and my 2015NC700X and couldn't wait to get rid of it. I never bonded with the Triumph and never could get the wind management right. Lots of folks like that triple but it wasn't the engine for me.

I hope this new 800 Sport is the perfect bike for you however.
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That's interesting... I test rode an NC700 in the past and hated that engine but the Tracer 900 is my all time favorite engine. I probably should have kept that Tracer... but wanted a larger tank and the wind mgmt was just never sorted our by me... good we have lots of different options.
 
My son had a Yamaha 900 triple which I rode several times. He never bonded with it. Kept it one year and traded it in on an MT 10 which he loves and has had for 4 years now..

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I didn't particularly care for my NC 750 at first, but it has grown on me, and now I'd definitely buy another one if I wanted a new bike...which means Honda will probably discontinue it lol (like they did my ST 1300 and my CB 1100). Just got in from a country curvy back roads NC ride a few minutes ago and had a great time. It's perfect for the riding I do now. Plus, it gets great gas mileage. Filled up on today's ride and had gone 145 miles and took 1.8 gals of regular to fill for average of 80.6 mpg.

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The NC would not be MY first choice for cross country 2 up riding with luggage though, but I am out of that game now.
 
dduelin said:
Odd as it sounds I had a Tiger 800R between my 2012 NC700 and my 2015NC700X and couldn't wait to get rid of it. I never bonded with the Triumph and never could get the wind management right. Lots of folks like that triple but it wasn't the engine for me.

I hope this new 800 Sport is the perfect bike for you however.
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Thanks Dave I hope so too. I ordered one today!

Wind management on the Tiger 800 Adventure is what put Madstad on the map! I never owned one but rode many and wind management was not special out of the box. I guess that's true for a lot of bikes although some are easy to sort out and some are impossible.

I think we all have had bikes we "couldn't wait to get rid of" or as I'm fond of saying, rid of it like a toothache. Funny thing is it can be a bike others love but just doesn't work for you/me /us. Same for engines. With the exception of the Yamaha CP4 Inline 4s do nothing for me. But clearly most of the world loves them.
 
Looking at the title, I'm wondering if it isn't so much the "classic sport-touring motorcycle" is doomed to extinction, but more like the classic sport-touring motorcycle is being redefined...or the definition being broadened.

It used to be you needed a huge and heavy motorcycle to have a "sport-touring" bike. The engines were as big as some of my past car engines. Now, with bikes like the Tiger 800, you get what you had before...and with a whole lot less weight.

I had that 350#+ guy on his Goldwing ride with me through the Great Basin in those cross-winds. They were there, sure, but I dealt with them ...on a bike that weighed hundreds less than his (470 lbs wet). I came up Hwy 101 in a storm with rain and cross-winds. At a gas stop, a Harley rider came up to me to comment on the high winds. Again, I'm guessing my bike weighed a couple hundred pounds less...but dealt with the wind as well or better. To me, it was business as usual.

I look at it as a win-win. If you want, there's a great community of people with STs that aren't new, but are extremely capable. If you have to replace one of those and have the money, you can buy one of the newer, lighter, motorcycles that will let you still do what you love.

Chris
 
It is probably for me probably the most important attribute of the ST; what happens in a cross wind. Initially, I was only drawn to these bigger bikes on the basis of the braking system; I didn't relish the idea of getting pulverized in the event of a problem. I would have never considered riding a bike of this size [when I considered it twenty five years ago]. But back when I first rode the ST my only point of reference was the CB650 that I was on at the time, and the one that I had some 15 years earlier. Both great bikes, but a little lacking for the reality of the traffic you had to move around in.
I think though that rider weight and rider body proportion / bike center of gravity / wheelbase / what you're carrying so on becomes more significant as you move back toward lighter bikes that are in most cases have more available torque than the ST.
My XL600 that I commuted on in good and inclement weather for one year taught me a lot, mainly, don't go on HWY 1 any more than absolutely necessary. And get over the bridge without getting killed.
I do that same bridge on the ST between 4 and 28C now and I don't get blown or shoved around. It's an Anvil.
 
Chris09 said:
It is probably for me probably the most important attribute of the ST; what happens in a cross wind. Initially, I was only drawn to these bigger bikes on the basis of the braking system; I didn't relish the idea of getting pulverized in the event of a problem. I would have never considered riding a bike of this size [when I considered it twenty five years ago]. But back when I first rode the ST my only point of reference was the CB650 that I was on at the time, and the one that I had some 15 years earlier. Both great bikes, but a little lacking for the reality of the traffic you had to move around in.
I think though that rider weight and rider body proportion / bike center of gravity / wheelbase / what you're carrying so on becomes more significant as you move back toward lighter bikes that are in most cases have more available torque than the ST.
My XL600 that I commuted on in good and inclement weather for one year taught me a lot, mainly, don't go on HWY 1 any more than absolutely necessary. And get over the bridge without getting killed.
I do that same bridge on the ST between 4 and 28C now and I don't get blown or shoved around. It's an Anvil.
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I think how a bike handles cross-winds has other factors besides just weight. I have a Triumph Bonneville which weighs about 200 lbs less than my ST1300 and it actually deals with cross-winds and buffeting better than my ST. Probably because it has a lower center of gravity and less surface area.

A while ago I rented an older Gold Wing and rode it in the strongest cross-wind ever. The right side rear view mirror was looking at the sky, but that was a seriously stable bike.
 
Wind

in 2014 a buddy and I rode out to California. Coming back somewhere in Colorado between Pikes Peak and Denver I think, headed north toward 70, the wind from the west was ferocious. Gusts had to be more than 50 mph. I was on my ST 1300 and he was on his kitted Suzuki V Strom 1000. I was following him and with my lanyard camera took these pics of him lol

1st pic he was in the left tire track when the wind would hit him

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2nd pic..where he would end up

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My ST was pretty stable in the wind, a gust would move me around a bit, but his would actually move him from the left side of the lane, to over near the white line on the right. And when a gust would let up it was very dramatic for him gaining control again.
 
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the Ferret said:
Wind
And when a gust would let up it was very dramatic for him gaining control again.
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He ended up exactly where I'd expect with his leaning and no wind. Appears to me to be a simple case of his breaking wind, happens to me all the time no matter what bike I'm riding...:oops:

Tom
 
TPadden said:
He ended up exactly where I'd expect with his leaning and no wind. Appears to me to be a simple case of his breaking wind, happens to me all the time no matter what bike I'm riding...:oops:

Tom
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It definitely looks like a "simple case of breaking wind". :D That's how I've gotten up to 69 mpg on trips. Beans work great.

It doesn't appear like he's in any wind. If he was, the bike would be leaned over, and he would be sitting relatively vertical.

Chris
 
Daboo said:
It definitely looks like a "simple case of breaking wind". :D That's how I've gotten up to 69 mpg on trips. Beans work great.

It doesn't appear like he's in any wind. If he was, the bike would be leaned over, and he would be sitting relatively vertical.

Chris
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Trust me I was there... lotsa hard wind. The hardest wind I've ever ridden in. I think he was trying to keep the bike going straight by pushing it upright while he was showing the effect of the wind pushing against his body. A gust would almost push you out of your lane.
 
Worst wind I was in was while delivering a Triumph Explorer for a friend. Bike had the square factory panniers that actually mounted fairly low and close in on the bike. When the gusts hit they hit so hard it felt like my helmet was being ripped off my head and my head was being ripped off my shoulders! What amazed me was the bike was so rock solid going down the road!

There are many factors beside size and weight that determine how a bike handles wind.
 
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MT-10SP morphing into sport touring mode. Added the OEM heated grips, Michelin Road5 tires and a cold weather windshield. Cruise comes as standard. I already added the rear rack will add top box today or tomorrow. See how it works while we're waiting on the Triumph. It fits Daboo's parameters too, under 500lbs and more than 100hp although it could stand a little more wheelbase.
 
Obo said:
The sad truth is not all changes are for the better, but what choice to we have? You can only run an old bike so long before you can't get parts anymore without having them made bespoke for $$$$.
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I could still get most of the important parts for my '82 Wing, so I'm not too worried about the 2003 ST :) And as others have said, more or less, "parts schamartz, I don't need no stinking parts!!"
 
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