Is the classic sport-touring motorcycle doomed to extinction?

I would be one of those people, you would be sorry for, 36 inch inseam at 6 ft tall. One of the reasons I never but a Goldwing my legs bang into the back of the engine. What is a problem is finding a big enough bike, same thing with riding pants,wait till you have to buy 34 waist 36 inseam. But I have picked up my feet as soon as I feel the clutch engage for the last 40 years. (Stops you from running over your feet).
 
Dave @dduelin , I look at tall motorcycles as an opportunity to improve my skills. A friend of mine at church bought a R1250GS. He wouldn't take no for an answer, so I had to ride it. This wasn't just a case of which side to put my foot down on, but I had to slide my butt over to make even one foot touch.

Chris
 
dduelin said:
I feel sorry for taller people that can flatfoot both feet and especially those that can do it with bent knees. They lose out on learning how to manage a tall seat motorcycle in challenging situations and slow speed maneuvers. Telling people to settle for a pony with they can ride a stallion does them a disservice. I would hate to have heard that 50 years ago and then settled for low seat bikes the last 485,000 miles.
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Most of the cruiser-type bikes also have a low center of gravity so getting on a bike with a much higher center of gravity is a problem for them, too. I'm not sure how many cruiser people ever transition to other types of bikes, though.
 
Daboo said:
Dave @dduelin , I look at tall motorcycles as an opportunity to improve my skills. A friend of mine at church bought a R1250GS. He wouldn't take no for an answer, so I had to ride it. This wasn't just a case of which side to put my foot down on, but I had to slide my butt over to make even one foot touch.

Chris
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I do too as I have no choice with a 29” inseam 15 years ago now more like 28”. Long ago I decided to master the bike instead of it being my master and telling me what style of motorcycle to ride and where I would ride it.
 
One if not the last new bikes that fit the category I've seen was an FJR in the Yamaha Powersports [?] dealership earlier this year. Same bike that had been there the fall before and at around 22,000 Canadian I thought it was a great price. A friend of mine had listed a 2013 for sale found no interested enquiries but recently sold for only a bit less than asking a year earlier. It's almost hard to watch declining sales and interest in a bike like the FJR but I guess the dream of the open road with the option of two up and room for luggage is not popular
I think once a manufacturer breaks the mold on these bigger models there's little incentive to begin over.
I can understand some of the attributes of a lighter bike but I've never actually had to push or perform any work in handling the ST. The one time I dropped it I gave it a tug and called for the Jeep and ropes was even thinking of getting a crane. There's taxis and tow trucks and Uber and well, dropped is dropped. I've got a pebble driveway and only back it down and would never park the bike in a spot where I had to push it backward up an incline. Another characteristic of the bike which I completely forgot until I started riding my blackbird, is that it has a weird little off centre gyroscopic force that you only feel just prior to take off. As balanced as the V4 is [and it is] once back on an inline four you remember that it doesn't matter if you could plant one or two feet, you don't need either for a considerably longer time and slower speed.
I haven't riden anywhere near the miles or variety of bikes as most here but I know I made a good choice with the ST for my height, weight, physiology, location / circumstance, prognosis [getting old].
Watching the revs [which is possible on the ST] I'm in around 6,500 whereas on the blackbird I'm never more than about 5,500 and getting comparable performance. The ST is a comfortable enjoyable ride in that range between 4C and 28C The wind protection is awesome, it has momentum and stability when you need that, crosswinds don't change the bike's bearing and I think that can be a big plus if you do get old.
 
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An ‘03 ST for 12 years and a ‘14 Guzzi Stelvio NTX for 7 years were great steeds, but we get older. My solution was to shed a lot of weight with a ‘21 Tracer 9GT. Lots of HP on a 490 lb bike that is flickable works for me and the triple likes to howl. I found what works for me
 
PS I leave the headlights on high so both are lit.
 
ST1100TX said:
Most of the cruiser-type bikes also have a low center of gravity so getting on a bike with a much higher center of gravity is a problem for them, too. I'm not sure how many cruiser people ever transition to other types of bikes, though.
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You'd have a better idea if you had seen some of the Harley vs. BMW arguments on farcebook or advrider, as I have recently.
A number of cruiser-types have dumped HD dressers for the GS and GSA, and swear they will never go back.
An equal number of Harley guys cuss the Beemers, and vice-versa. But some recognize the pros and cons of each, as applied to their personal riding style.
 
St-Gerard said:
Give it 30 years and Sport touring will come back in Fashion.
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W0QNX said:
And we will still be riding our extinct Honda ST's!!
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You guys must be a lot younger than me. If I'm around in 30 years, this is what my ride will be.

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Chris
 
ChucksKLRST said:
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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I've always liked the Wee-Stroms. A friend of mine is having hip surgery in a month and rides an Indian Chieftain which is huge. He's thinking about selling it. He just texted me and asked me what I though of a 2015 V-Strom 650 for sale here. It has 30k miles, hard bags, Corbin seat, looks nice. $3950. I told him to get it. You appear to be fond of yours. What should I tell him to expect from ownership?
 
This is a cool bike [not mine or the model of it, shown right side up?] I see outside of a place I work on the roof beside, the plain blue yamaha is mine, it's a great ride and will be putting some miles on it coming weeks, but different strokes for different folks applies to everything especially anything on two wheels, they're all great rides. Like my Uncle used to say, if you didn't have something you liked better, you'd have been glad to have it.
They come in all shapes and sizes, two things come to mind, I guy I met fifty years ago that said they're like girls, [he was talking about horses, his name was Art] I love em all and of course the famous line ending in ... we'll ride them some day... hope springs eternal


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ST1100TX said:
I've always liked the Wee-Stroms. A friend of mine is having hip surgery in a month and rides an Indian Chieftain which is huge. He's thinking about selling it. He just texted me and asked me what I though of a 2015 V-Strom 650 for sale here. It has 30k miles, hard bags, Corbin seat, looks nice. $3950. I told him to get it. You appear to be fond of yours. What should I tell him to expect from ownership?
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Will not leave him stranded, easy to maintain, comfortable to ride, inexpensive to own, will go any where he want to ride it. Lots of aftermarket stuff for it. Make sure he checks for all or any recalls have been done. There was a recall for the stator. Not sure if the 2015 were involved. He will have lots of smiles for many miles.
 
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