Is the classic sport-touring motorcycle doomed to extinction?

Daboo said:
Kawasaki Concours C10 and C14. Honda NT700V BMW R80? and R100

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Chris
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Thanks, I didn't know about the previous version of the Concours and the NT700V does agree with my take on sport-tourers. In fact, if it were offered today, I would seriously consider it when the bulk of my ST1300 eventually gets unwieldy.
 
ddemair said:
Thanks, I didn't know about the previous version of the Concours and the NT700V does agree with my take on sport-tourers. In fact, if it were offered today, I would seriously consider it when the bulk of my ST1300 eventually gets unwieldy.
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This circles back to the title of the thread. When the NT700V (the popular Deauville in Europe) was offered in the US it was after the heyday of sport tourers. American Honda withdrew it after just two years of dismal sales.
 
ddemair said:
Thanks, I didn't know about the previous version of the Concours and the NT700V does agree with my take on sport-tourers. In fact, if it were offered today, I would seriously consider it when the bulk of my ST1300 eventually gets unwieldy.
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When I bought my BMW F800GT, I had the Honda NT700V like you see in the picture. Gosh, it was beautiful to me anyway in black. I told a friend at church that I had bought a "widow maker". He was puzzled, and asked, "What do you mean, you bought a 'widow maker'?" I told him the BMW had 50% more horsepower and weighed a hundred pounds less.

He asked why did you buy it? I answered, "because it has 50% more horsepower and weighs 100 lbs less." :D

The NT700V was a great bike. I had never planned to sell it till I rode the F800GT.

Chris
 
Let's not forget the Ducati ST2/3/and4. A sport tourer that needed valves adjusted every 7500 miles.

I think Mellow hit the nail on the head, ride what works for you. Having bought an NC750X as a "winter bike" I quickly fell in love with the machine. Unfortuneately I ended up using it in a way that was probably not in Honda's design brief, lots of long rides. Bike did every thing I asked and did it well but it did leave me worn out after 10-12 hours of riding. I had the chance to pick up a Super Tenere for the right price and even though I did not want an adventure bike I grabbed it. I found that using it like a sport touring bike it does everything I want. I have no desire to go off road but the bike has the perfect amount of weather protection for me, not too much not too little and 240+ mile tank range. Best part at 5'7" with a 30"inseam I'm damn near flatfooting it (with seat in low position). So for me I have 2 bikes that are working out well in a role they weren't really intended for.
 
Lets not forget about the Yamaha FJR. I have owned a ST1100 for 10 years, a ST1300 for 12 years and now my FJR for the last 10 years. I find the FJR has the good traits of both the ST11 and the ST13 with none of the bad. Of course the FJR is nearing the end of its Model life. It has been around for 21 years in the US. A much lesser known bike which I believe is a great sport touring machine is the Kawasaki Versys 1000 SE LT. Yes it does have a chain drive (No big deal, easy to maintain) It is placed in the Adventure Touring group but believe me it is not an off the pavement bike with it's 17 inch front wheel. To me it is a Sport touring machine with an upright seating position. I have owned mine now for five and a half years and have not found any faults with it. Maybe one fault is it is a tall machine so it might not be for the in seamed challenged.
 

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No we can't forget the mighty FJR. I thought it was mentioned earlier or I too would have brought it up. I had mentioned the Ducati ST series in jest but if you include the Versys which to me is an adventure touring bike not a sport touring bike, I know splitting hairs here, then you need to include the Ducati Multistrada. I have owned a couple and they are very good 17" wheeled touring bikes. I used to joke that Multistrada meant many roads, but all of the paved!
 
Donk said:
No we can't forget the mighty FJR. I thought it was mentioned earlier or I too would have brought it up. I had mentioned the Ducati ST series in jest but if you include the Versys which to me is an adventure touring bike not a sport touring bike, I know splitting hairs here, then you need to include the Ducati Multistrada. I have owned a couple and they are very good 17" wheeled touring bikes. I used to joke that Multistrada meant many roads, but all of the paved!
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Of course with the condition of the roads here in Colorado, riding pavement is like riding off road in other places. :biggrin:
 
I keep thinking about the original question "is the classic sport-touring motorcycle doomed to extinction?" The very appearance of a sport touring category was a response to market forces. In the 80s I worked in a BMW dealership. We dressed a lot of R100 and R80 BMW motorcycles with Vetter color matched fairings and BMW hard bags. This was the beginning. BMW as well as Honda recognized a desire, on the part of the consumer for greater comfort and bikes that were good traveling companions while also being fun in the twisties. Some bikes didn't do so well like the smaller displacement touring models. Some bikes like the R100RS and the R100RT became legends. All the while, companies were responding to market forces like they are today. Is the classic sport-touring motorcycle doomed to extinction? Sort of. When the demand is there so too will there be bikes to fill that demand. My own feeling is that manufactures will concentrate on building small light weight bikes that sell for less and appeal to the younger riders of today. Used bikes will be plentiful and will fill the gap for bigger mounts. These bikes will be well cared for and low cost due to their numbers. I expect to see a lot of experimentation by factories with various models based on small or midsize offering.
 
NC750X is acceptable. Well it was until I had to add another $1500 for hard bags, a centerstand, and larger windshield. And only DCT, which I don't want. At least not yet. Used ST's it is!
 
Big_Jim59 said:
I keep thinking about the original question "is the classic sport-touring motorcycle doomed to extinction?"
Big_Jim59 said:
My own feeling is that manufactures will concentrate on building small light weight bikes that sell for less and appeal to the younger riders of today. I expect to see a lot of experimentation by factories with various models based on small or midsize offering.
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I've been told that you can tour on anything

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Let's face it guys of our generation were told you had to have 1000 cc or more to tour on. Like housing, hairstyles, music, communications, and cash money... the younger people today are saying they don't necessarily need what we thought was necessary, and indeed I also think you are going to be seeing a lot more bikes (all chain drive btw) under 1000cc being produced that will do the same thing at lower cost, lower weight and less amenities.

Try buying a V8 car these days with room for 5 full size adults. How long will it be before the "you can't exceed the speed limit" nannys that are being mandated for automobiles starting next year in Europe that set off alarms or actually put on the brakes are imposed on motorcycles?

The world is changing, and we dinosaurs are being left behind, along with our ideas on what is needed.

If you can't go over the speed limit, what is the use of 1300cc's and 150 hp?
 
I swear I read an article just this week on advrider about the demise of the sport tourer, but I can't find it now.
Anyway, - spoiler alert - it covered the same stuff we've seen in this thread, but the upshot of it is, the "adventure bikes" of today are largely replacing that market segment. Many of the adv bikes are quite capable of taking us cross country or even around the world, but now we're losing shaft drive on most of them, and having to put up with the extra complexity of electronics.
Ride modes, adjustable suspension, multi-level traction control and ABS, clutchless shifters, DCT, blind spot notification, radar-controlled cruise control, and so much more.
Meaning, in some instances if something goes wrong with a sensor or IMU, you ain't gonna fix it at some back alley shop in Katmandu or even Billings.
 
Sadlsor said:
having to put up with the extra complexity of electronics.
Ride modes, adjustable suspension, multi-level traction control and ABS, clutchless shifters, DCT, blind spot notification, radar-controlled cruise control, and so much more.
Meaning, in some instances if something goes wrong with a sensor or IMU, you ain't gonna fix it at some back alley shop in Katmandu or even Billings.
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As I always say, electronics is great ... until it isn't.
But then a lot of folks don't keep a bike long enough to 'properly' break it in so that's not a problem. ;)
 
Sadlsor said:
@the Ferret to your point, recent article on ADVrider...

https://www.advrider.com/would-you-want-a-bike-that-auto-brakes-in-an-emergency/

So much intervention... I don't NEED no damned intervention! Just leave me the hell alone so I can ride my motorcickle!
And I don't need you trying to make it "safer" for me! I already know the risks.
Flipping nannies.
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That's a big NO. Hell, I just now got my first ABS equipped bike! I don't know how I have survived riding for the last 45 plus years.
 
It wont be long before the only bike in my garage will be my V-Strom 650. Which by the way will do 90 % of my sport touring riding desires. Yes one can tour on any thing and it is a lot more fun to go fast on a slow bike than go slow on a fast bike. Yes, the little 650 V-Twin V-Strom can blast the mountain twistys as good as any Sport Bike, it can run the dirt as good as any Adventure Bike and can Tour as well as any Touring bike. Just not quite as fast as some. It has taken me places that the other bikes in my garage have not. But then at my age I want to take in the world around me so I don't need to ride as fast anymore. Ride what one likes, Like what one rides.

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It appears that Marketing dictates what manufacturers sell - not necessarily what the consumer wants.
IMHO, 'Sport Touring' bikes have pretty much been abandoned in the USA by most manufacturers except BMW.
But you look across the pond and you see even Honda with a NT1100 and Guzzi with their offerings.
I believe it is a much bigger thing over there than over here.
Consider that the ST1100 was designed over there for that market not the USA market. ;)
I reckon I've been 'sport touring' since 1973 when I bought a brand new 73 Triumph Trident - I just didn't know what it was 'called'. :biggrin:
 
If my Versys 650 had cruise control I'm not sure I'd own anything else.....maybe. I like what I call "adventure sport" style bikes. They are taller which gives you more visibility. Like Chuck said its more fun to ride a slow bike fast than a fast bike slow. It is very fun to wring the Versys' neck as it likes to rev. It always puts a smile on my face. That's what really matters.

The term "sport-touring" is so broad that it can encompass many styles of motorcycle makes it almost meaningless. Some think the Goldwing is a sport-touring bike. I do not. BMW lists the RT as a touring bike. I think its more sport-touring. They list the RS as a sport bike. I think its more sport-touring with more of an emphasis on sport, like the Suzuki GSX-GT and the Ninja 1000SX. To me, traditional sport-touring bikes were the RS, RT, ST, FJR and Connie.....all shaft drive bikes. Is that the distinction, shaft versus chain? I don't know.

If you can ride it as spiritedly as you want and throw enough luggage on it to go somewhere then you're sport-touring. So to answer the original question about the death of sport-touring bikes, I say that is impossible as long as motorcycles are still being made.

P.S. I just put down a deposit on a 2024 FJR. I'm trying to do my part to keep the genre alive :biggrin:


Mike
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the Ferret said:
I've been told that you can tour on anything
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All the time I was writing I was thinking of a Grom with giant, hard plastic, saddle bags as the wave of the future. In John Pirsig's book Zen And The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance he and his son were touring on a 1966 Honda Superhawk. Yes, you can tour on anything. You may have to take more breaks however.
 
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