Your riding buddies say they can tour on any bike. You say most touring-oriented bikes have a sporty side and therefore make the best sport-tourer.
Oops! Did we just allude to one of the more controversial, even incendiary, topics in modern motorcycling?
Today, when someone utters the word sportbike, the likely response is a GSX-R, an R6, a Honda CBR, or some such thing. But ask a rider to describe his or her ideal of a sport-touring machine, and the answers are wide ranging.
Sure, lots of folks would naturally point to the likes of Honda’s venerable ST1300, Yamaha’s FJR1300 or BMW’s K1200GT or R1200RT, as prime examples of sport-tourers. Each bike offers good to great wind protection, hard saddlebags as standard, robust engines and some darn good handling qualities.
Yet for every rider that sees those sleds as icons of S-T, many other enthusiasts would scoff at the idea of most of them handily slicing up canyon roads.
To these folks, practically all that’s required is a tank bag, a set of soft saddlebags lashed to the tail section of their R1, and maybe a GPS or other accessories as-needed. Voila! Instant sport-touring motorbike! “After all,” they say, “Sport touring is about sport capability while traveling, and my bike equipped the way I want it is lighter, handles better, and costs less than a turnkey ST.”
Pursuing the unknowable
We like banging our heads against the wall ‘round here every now and then. So what better way to keep the tradition than to see if we can answer the question: What is a sport-touring motorcycle?
Three of the most interesting and inspired motorcycles to be released in 2010 are assembled here, and they made for a decent representation of the kinds of machines that could be considered as possible sport-touring steeds.
Although we didn’t enlist a purely sporting sportbike, we made due with the next best thing: a 2010 Kawasaki Z1000.
The nearly naked standard/streetfighter-inspired Z, bedecked with nothing more than a flyscreen, possesses the same minimalist spirit, if not more so, as a race-repli sportbike. Yet the Z still offers some comfort in the form of its upright-ish riding position that’s far less committed than the race-ready tuck many sportbikes demand.
Also, the Zed’s inline-Four is revvy and closest experientially to a sportbike engine when compared to its fellow competitors in this three-bike experiment.
The next mule subjected to the question that might not have an answer is the sultry, technology-laden, and rather pricey, Ducati Multistrada S Sport with accessory saddlebags and low seat.
The Multi offers the most upright riding position in this small collection of bikes; a manually adjustable windscreen and minimal bodywork provide decent wind protection.
As an S model our Multi comes with electronically adjusted Ohlins suspension and ABS Brembo binders; various carbon-fiber treats add to the MTS’s upscale character. Standard on all Multistradas are four rider-selectable engine maps, as well as DTC (Ducati Traction Control) that provides eight levels of TC – also rider-selectable.
The Multi is by far the most loaded boat in the bunch, at least in terms of gadgets.
Finally, we come to the motorcycle many enthusiasts might argue as the closest definition of a sport-tourer of the three machines gathered: the VFR1200F.
Wholly revised from previous iterations, Honda’s VFR is nothing like the Viffer you knew years ago. A big leap in displacement took the venerable VFR’s V4 engine from 782cc to 1237cc; everything else about the Viffer12 is a departure from the VFR800 Interceptor, including the new VFR’s optional Dual-Clutch Automatic Transmission.
Unfortunately, circumstances didn’t allow us the use of the new auto-trans Honda, but Honda’s CBS (Combined Brake System) with ABS is standard fare on all the VFR1200 models.
To make the VFR as touring-oriented as possible, our test unit was outfitted with accessory saddlebags, topbox, heated grips, centerstand and low/narrow seat, along with a few other lil’ odds ‘n’ ends. A wind-cheating add-on for the windscreen deflector and a wind deflector set for the outer portion of the upper cowl ¬were also included.
We’ve reviewed the dickens out of each bike (or so it feels) in previous evaluations, so simply refer to the single-bike reviews of the VFR1200F, Multistrada 1200 and Z1000 for more comprehensive insight to each bike. Additionally, the Multi has gone head-to-head with BMW’s GS, the VFR with the K1300S and the Z1000 tangled with Triumph’s Speed Triple.
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