Is the classic sport-touring motorcycle doomed to extinction?
- Thread starter Andrew Shadow
- Start date
rwthomas1
Site Supporter
For me, the definition is:Let's see... is the Classic Sport Tourer doomed to extinction?
Well, it was never really all that popular to begin with... in a Cruiser and Gold Wing world it never beat any of them as far as sales go... so from a business decision, yeah doomed.
Then came adventure styled bikes which really messed up the equation...
What classic sport tourers actually still exist? Tough question as the definition of a sport tourer is also a bit all over the place, most manufacturers don't even call them sport tourers.
Currently:
- FJR - but have heard rumors it's on the chopping block - but have heard that before so still around
- BMW RT - still around
That's it IF - classic sport tourer means:
- shaft drive
- full fairing
- included luggage
Then, you dip your toes into the big guys that cross into both the touring and sport category - some say more touring but I've had a tough time keeping up with @amorley on that big K1600 when I was on the Tracer 900 and should have been easy - I'm sure I just had a bad day, didn't sleep well, there was sun in my eyes and was hungry.
K1600 - Several variants - GT/GTL/Bagger/Grand America
Gold Wing - Tour and Bagger
That's it... so.. it's not dead... BMW and Honda will continue to sell the models above and you can skew the results by including bikes w/chains, that throws a couple more bikes in the mix but some of those are crossing the adv styled bikes even if they aren't targeting that segment.
-Full fairing or good wind protection
-Integrated hard bags
-Decent sized fuel tank
-Capable of extended cruising at 80+, with power enough to pass.
Shaft drive is nice but its still maintenance. There is wear on the ST1100 splines and that is one of the parts no longer available. Used will likely be worn as well. If there is anything that will kill these machines is loss of these critical parts. Mirrors and covers availability is annoying, but certainly not a show stopper. Drive unit is. That said, an auto-oiler on a chain is just fine. I like simple.
I hate the look of the "steamer trunks" bolted to many ADV's. Nope. Givi is nice, but still not perfect. Nothing beats factory integrated bags. Top boxes are OK, but weight high and rearward I'll pass....
Money is always a factor. Newer BMW and Wings are not a solution for me. I can't spend that coin on what would get me a decent used car, I need that money for other toys and adventures....
The NC750X is the closest thing I've seen that checks all the boxes, provided the wind protection is what others say it is, as well as the power. Next in line would be a BMW F800GT. That belt drive, hard bags, etc. is very compelling. The idea of paying for BMW parts/service is not. But maybe. The NC750X maybe worth the test ride.....
Clayshooter08
Site Supporter
Looks like Goldwing floorboards??? Great idea for two up...I'm not concerned one bit!
At 72 years of age, I still have two ST1300s (both with less than 40K miles), and both are in such good shape I'd ride them across country, if the opportunity came up!
And,
#1. It took me a long time to find the right bike (that suits my riding style the best!)
#2. I'm NOT looking for another bike, anyway.
#3. They want too much, for what is available.
#4. I couldn't afford a new one, anyway.
#5. I don't get bored with what I have like many others do!
As for what my kids will do with my bikes? Three of my sons (out of the 5 sons, I have) already own ST1300s (thanks to their dad). They'll fight over them and the parts (including the 2006 ST1300P & the 2005 ST1300 with the bad engine).
So, I'm not concerned one bit!
the Ferret
Daily rider since May 1965
Yes, Goldwing 1800 floorboards on home-made brackets. I had a tute on here at one time.. maybe in the archives some place? but the bracket is just a piece of steel flat stock 1 1/2" wide x 1/4" thick x 5 3/4" inches long (with 2 holes that bolts to the back of the Goldwing Floorboard) with a nub of 3/4 square stock welded to it with a hole drilled thru it for the peg pin. They mounted into the stock footpeg bracket with the stock push pin. They even folded up and down. A real piece of cake to make for a handy guy like my younger brother
post 37 but the pics are no longer available
[URL ]https://www.st-owners.com/forums/threads/passenger-floorboards-for-st1300.11696/page-2#post-478280[/URL]
You can see small boards on the rear of my FJR too. My wife always wanted her feet on flat places instead of pegs.
Last edited:
Sadlsor
Site Supporter
YOLO.
At least that's what I've been told.
the Ferret
Daily rider since May 1965
I don't know about you guys but I find the shape of the oem saddlebags on a lot of the new sport tourers just funky and hardly looking built in, more like an after thought
www.cyclenews.com
www.cycleworld.com
Scroll down to see Mandelo bags
dancingthepolka.com
probably the best shaped of the lot but certainly not integrated
www.cycleworld.com
2020 Kawasaki Ninja 1000 ABS Review
2020 Kawasaki Ninja 1000 ABS Review | Kawasaki’s given its sport-touring Ninja 1000 a freshening up and a name change for 2020.
www.cyclenews.com
2024 Suzuki GSX-S1000GT, GSX-S1000GT+
The 2024 Suzuki GSX-S1000GT and GT+ deliver superbike performance and sport-touring comfort, perfect for riders seeking speed and long-distance capability.
www.cycleworld.com
Scroll down to see Mandelo bags
2023 Moto Guzzi V100 Mandello – Ride Review Round-Up
Is this a return to form for one of Italy’s most unique moto brands?
dancingthepolka.com
probably the best shaped of the lot but certainly not integrated
The Yamaha Tracer 900 GT Is The Best Evolution Of A Sport Tourer
In this first-ride review, Cycle World spends a day sweating in triple-digit temps to come away impressed by the 2019 Yamaha Tracer 900 GT.
www.cycleworld.com
the Ferret
Daily rider since May 1965
I would be real surprised if that were real
and is the V4 like we have now or V4 like the old Interceptors making it a bear to do valve maintenance on?
Last edited:
What do they get out of that?
$$.. from ads and/or subscribers...
Too bad, it looks purty
Uncle Phil
Site Supporter
If you looked closely at the video, the mufflers and the rear end 'changed' from one design to another during the video.
OP
OP
Andrew Shadow
Site Supporter
Before purchasing my first ST1100 I rode cruiser style motorcycles. My last one was a 1992 Honda Shadow 1100. I did 240,000 KM, 150,000 miles, riding all over North America on it. It was this experience that taught me that I should look in to a proper touring motorcycle. It was also that experience that taught me that I don't agree that most any motorcycle can be turned in to a tourer by adding a windshield and luggage of some kind, which is what I had done to the Shadow. Some can, but I have my doubts about the success that will be derived with most. Regardless of what you add you still have the inherent limitations of the motorcycle itself, like the suspension, or a gas tank that is to small, or the engine performance. Adding a windshield is not the same as having a full fairing by any means when crappy weather hits.
Touring on that motorcycle also taught me that I wanted something with more power, more acceleration, more top speed and top-end power. I could cruise all day long at 85 MPH on the Shadow but accelerating to 100 MPH instantly to avoid an unsafe situation wasn't an option. I also learned that I wanted more ground clearance and better suspension. Trying to keep up with riding partners through the twisties could get challenging when the pegs kept hitting down all the time. The three gallon gas tank capacity quickly became tiring while touring in unfamiliar territory because you are constantly concerned about running out of gas. One of my major tours on that motorcycle was spent riding a lot, sometimes days on end, in the rain. Even when I wasn't wet I was cold from the wind chill. What I learned was what I wanted in a new motorcycle, so I put a list together of my needs/wants before I went looking for another motorcycle. This is what I came up with.
- It needed to have good weather protection. I say weather because I not only wanted protection from the wind, but also from the rain, and the snow, and the hail, etc. that I had encountered.
- It needed to have a lot of gas on-board with a large range. I was fed-up having to stop every 120 miles for gas, and I was tired of always having to think about gas.
- It needed to have plenty of power and performance not only for the fun of it but also for safety. Not being able to get out of an unsafe situation due to insufficient acceleration capacity is not fun, neither is having traffic two feet behind you trying to push you up the Rockie mountains because you are holding everyone up because at that altitude you just don't have enough power available.
- Once I get to where I am headed I also want to have as much of the performace of a sport bike as I can get without actually having a sport bike. Getting there on a real sport bike is not fun.
- It needed to have enough luggage capacity to allow me to take along enough clothing to travel for two weeks and for all types of weather.
- It needed to have luggage that kept that clothing dry.
- It needed to have good ground clearance and good suspension that would allow me to properly run through the twisties without worrying about grinding the pegs so that I could enjoy the ride.
- It needed to be comfortable so that I could do the high mileage days neccessary to get to where I wanted to be- North America is a big place.
I had had no familiarity with the sport-touring class of motorcycles at all at that time. When I started researching what was available at the time that met my check-list of items it turned out that the sport-touring class of motorcycle is what I was looking for. I have done many tours and ridden many miles on both a BMW GS1100 and a GS1150. I have no idea if the newer ones are better but the weather protection offered by those was nowhere near in the same class as my ST1100. Riding the BMW's wearing the same clothing that I would wear on my ST1100 I would be freezing to death. At that time this precluded me from even considering those adventure style bikes as being in the same class of motorcyle.
In the end it came down to the ST1100 or the BMW RT1100 which, at that time, were both being advertised as sport-touring motorcycles. Back then I could not find any good reason that justified why the BMW was many thoudands of dollars more than the ST1100, so I bought the ST1100 and have never looked back.
Today if I were beginning the search for another motorcycle that I consider to be a sport-touring motorcycle, that is to say one that I would be using in the same way that I have used my ST1100's and now use my ST1300, I would be evaluating it against the same check-list of requirements. So I guess that the above check-list is what a sport-touring motorcycle is and what it needs to be capable of for me. I really wouldn't care one iota what the manufacturer called it or what class they advertised it as. Regardless of what class they advertise it as being in, if it met those criteria it has the amenities and the performance for me to quite happily use it as what I consider a sport-touring motorcycle to be.
We each evaluate a motorcycle by our own criteria, needs, and wants- Choice is a wonderful thing.
Touring on that motorcycle also taught me that I wanted something with more power, more acceleration, more top speed and top-end power. I could cruise all day long at 85 MPH on the Shadow but accelerating to 100 MPH instantly to avoid an unsafe situation wasn't an option. I also learned that I wanted more ground clearance and better suspension. Trying to keep up with riding partners through the twisties could get challenging when the pegs kept hitting down all the time. The three gallon gas tank capacity quickly became tiring while touring in unfamiliar territory because you are constantly concerned about running out of gas. One of my major tours on that motorcycle was spent riding a lot, sometimes days on end, in the rain. Even when I wasn't wet I was cold from the wind chill. What I learned was what I wanted in a new motorcycle, so I put a list together of my needs/wants before I went looking for another motorcycle. This is what I came up with.
- It needed to have good weather protection. I say weather because I not only wanted protection from the wind, but also from the rain, and the snow, and the hail, etc. that I had encountered.
- It needed to have a lot of gas on-board with a large range. I was fed-up having to stop every 120 miles for gas, and I was tired of always having to think about gas.
- It needed to have plenty of power and performance not only for the fun of it but also for safety. Not being able to get out of an unsafe situation due to insufficient acceleration capacity is not fun, neither is having traffic two feet behind you trying to push you up the Rockie mountains because you are holding everyone up because at that altitude you just don't have enough power available.
- Once I get to where I am headed I also want to have as much of the performace of a sport bike as I can get without actually having a sport bike. Getting there on a real sport bike is not fun.
- It needed to have enough luggage capacity to allow me to take along enough clothing to travel for two weeks and for all types of weather.
- It needed to have luggage that kept that clothing dry.
- It needed to have good ground clearance and good suspension that would allow me to properly run through the twisties without worrying about grinding the pegs so that I could enjoy the ride.
- It needed to be comfortable so that I could do the high mileage days neccessary to get to where I wanted to be- North America is a big place.
I had had no familiarity with the sport-touring class of motorcycles at all at that time. When I started researching what was available at the time that met my check-list of items it turned out that the sport-touring class of motorcycle is what I was looking for. I have done many tours and ridden many miles on both a BMW GS1100 and a GS1150. I have no idea if the newer ones are better but the weather protection offered by those was nowhere near in the same class as my ST1100. Riding the BMW's wearing the same clothing that I would wear on my ST1100 I would be freezing to death. At that time this precluded me from even considering those adventure style bikes as being in the same class of motorcyle.
In the end it came down to the ST1100 or the BMW RT1100 which, at that time, were both being advertised as sport-touring motorcycles. Back then I could not find any good reason that justified why the BMW was many thoudands of dollars more than the ST1100, so I bought the ST1100 and have never looked back.
Today if I were beginning the search for another motorcycle that I consider to be a sport-touring motorcycle, that is to say one that I would be using in the same way that I have used my ST1100's and now use my ST1300, I would be evaluating it against the same check-list of requirements. So I guess that the above check-list is what a sport-touring motorcycle is and what it needs to be capable of for me. I really wouldn't care one iota what the manufacturer called it or what class they advertised it as. Regardless of what class they advertise it as being in, if it met those criteria it has the amenities and the performance for me to quite happily use it as what I consider a sport-touring motorcycle to be.
We each evaluate a motorcycle by our own criteria, needs, and wants- Choice is a wonderful thing.
Maybe Honda concept bikes , concept cars are displayed at new car shows. It still may come to be but not that exact version.
...and here's another not-so-happy video on the future of motorcycling....
But, those have typically been released by Honda... They are never loose-lip about MC announcements in the past..
What's really strange... you can't buy a current year model ST1300 but you can still buy a Fury Chopper
the Ferret
Daily rider since May 1965
What's really strange... you can't buy a current year model ST1300 but you can still buy a Fury Chopper
Isn't THAT the truth!
and they are still not bringing the NT 1100 into the US according to that list. Disappointing! And the 2025 gets a host of great new features and improvements
Last edited: