Most comfortable sportbike?

[DynaSport]

This may be a crazy question, or at least an unanswerable one, but I am curious. I currently ride a cruiser, but I often want something sportier. Something like an FZ1 may be the best bike for me, but I have seen several articles about people using sport bikes for touring. So...I was wondering if anyone had any opinion on which sportbike would be the best for setting up for some touring. I am talking about adding some soft luggage, maybe a different shield, possibly lowering the pegs, and putting helibars or something like them on it to raise the grips a bit.

I am not the least bit concerned with which one is the fastest, although I do want one with decent torque in the midrange. I think for me though, the comfort will be a bigger issue as I am sure they are all faster than I could ride them.

Thanks

Dan

 

[El Toro]

Hayabusa. Check out Warchild's set up.

Honda Interceptor... bags available.

BMW K1200Rsport... bags available.

None of these are true sport bikes in the sense of FIM or AMA Superbike, but all three are a lot of fun, and if you're not yet crippled, you may string together several long days.

 

[MojaveFJR]

For a straight on sportbike you will not find "comfort" such as an R1, CBR 1000, Zx whatever. Just not in the game plan.

FZ and SV are not true sportbikes but deliver some really good performance with comfort. You can put bags on them without looking out of place.

That new VFR looks sexy...

 

[Canes]

Hayabusa. Check out Warchild's set up.
Honda Interceptor... bags available.

BMW K1200Rsport... bags available.

None of these are true sport bikes in the sense of FIM or AMA Superbike, but all three are a lot of fun, and if you're not yet crippled, you may string together several long days.

My R1 is very comfy. I added Helibars, a Tail Locker tail bag and modified the stock seat. I have done 10 hour days on it with no problem.

 

[SacramentoMike]

FJRs are pretty damn sporty. And pretty damn comfy.

 

[gasportrider]

Comfort is relative. I have an 03 GSXR1K with pegs 1.37 inches lower than stock and bars mounted above the tripple clamps. The only other comfort mods are a gel seat and a touring windscreen. I took it on a 7,000 mile trip over 21 days from Ga to the NW and then to the USGP and back. Altogether, I rode about a 1,000 miles of interstate. I didn't have too many issues during the trip which wasn't bad for a 56 year old. However, I had 4 massage sessions when I got back just to get the knots out of my ass. The high speed touring in the west was a real hoot, however and I wouldn't exchange having done US1 on a sport bike for a bit of greater comfort.

Pick the sport bike of your choice as long as there are lower pegs and higher bars available for it. Chances are great that you'll enjoy it.

 

[DynaSport]

Thanks guys. Its funny, everyone's take on comfort is so different. Having not ridden a sport bike other than a couple of short rides of demo bikes, I am not sure what kind of endurance I would have on one. I know there are things that allow them to be made at least some more comfortable, but I am not sure they would ever be truly comfortable for me. I am not really for Iron Butt comfort here, just 300-400 mile days without feeling like I need traction at the end.

Anyway, I know a bike like the FJR would probably be the smartest move for me, but I was really wanting something lighter to ride in the mountains, but comfortable enough to ride from Florida to North Carolina to get to the mountains.

I know, a Gold Wing with a trailer hitch to tow a CBR.

 

[Tenchi]

I know exactly what you mean by sportbike for touring. I am faced with the exact same problem as you: I want a lightweight bike that would be comfortable to ride all day long, would not have trouble in the twisties but at the same time be great for touring. I'm young, love going fast and cornering as much as the next rider, but at the same time I value comfort and fatigue-lowering components. I'm not ready to move to a FJR just yet; it would do the job well but I'm looking for something a little lighter in the meantime.

I was thinking of getting the FZ6 and setting it up for longer distance riding; I got over the ugliness of the Suzuki V-Strom DL650 and I'm looking into that one too (dual sport). Either would be great for touring. I sat on the DL1000 and it was a significantly bigger bike in all aspects; I found it slightly uncomfortable compared to the DL650 in terms of weight and ride height. The FZ1 was a VERY comfortable bike to sit on by comparison and felt very light after sitting on the DL1000.

My friend who was with me (rides a BMW K1200R) also sat on the DL1000, R1 and FZ1 and said, "I do not know how people can stand to ride on a R1 all day long when you have that (FZ1) available. It feels so much lighter than the V-Strom 1000 and I would love to take one of these for a ride all day." And it looks shit hot too. I'm looking for a smaller bike but the FZ1 would win, no questions asked, if I had to look for a 1000cc semi-sportbike.

When I asked the same question half a year ago, the Honda Blackbird CBR1000XX also came up on the list of sportbikes that are fun to tour on, as did the VFR. Generally a lot of people have suggested getting a sportbike and putting a slightly lowered comfort seat and lifting the clip-ons a little, but I'm looking to keep it as stock as possible.

For the record, I'm just shy of 6'0" and I have a slightly short inseam for my height.

 

[JRO]

Kind of a funny question to ask on an FJR forum, if you're 'considering' an FJR. An FJR isn't a true sportbike, but it's plenty sporty enough. If you want to go touring on a sportbike, you should look into sport tourers. FJR's are great for touring, or just riding on. I think you'd like one.

However, if you're interested in a true, real sportbike for endurance, I'd suggest an RSV. I've been riding one, and it's easier on the posture than just about anything else I've tried. I don't think I could cross the country on one, but I'm starting to think I can get used to the thing. The level of suffering isn't too bad.

 

[Aasland]

I've toured on both a VFR and an SV650. One would argue the VFR is too heavy to be a sportbike, and the SV650's bars are too high. Nonetheless, they are reasonably comfy and offer awesome performance. While they can't hold a candle to the FJR in terms of comfort, wind protection, and luggage options, their short wheelbases and light weight makes easy work of tight corners.

 

[RTSR1/FJR]

Comfort is relative. I have an 03 GSXR1K with pegs 1.37 inches lower than stock and bars mounted above the tripple clamps. The only other comfort mods are a gel seat and a touring windscreen. I took it on a 7,000 mile trip over 21 days from Ga to the NW and then to the USGP and back. Altogether, I rode about a 1,000 miles of interstate. I didn't have too many issues during the trip which wasn't bad for a 56 year old. However, I had 4 massage sessions when I got back just to get the knots out of my ass. The high speed touring in the west was a real hoot, however and I wouldn't exchange having done US1 on a sport bike for a bit of greater comfort.
Pick the sport bike of your choice as long as there are lower pegs and higher bars available for it. Chances are great that you'll enjoy it.

oster_stupid: My '04 R1 with Helibars and Valtermoto setback plates make it pretty comfortable. Not FJR comfortable, but a whole lot better than stock! I have rode or raced in poised racer form for many years, thats why I bought the FJR, to get away from that. Still like to go blasting once in a while though!

 

[mmonroe]

I think that most people universally feel that the ZX-14 is more comfortable than the Busa. Most of the magazines concur as well. The amount of weight on the hands is *far* less and it seems that there is more room on the bike for me at 6'0" anyway.

I would say that overall, as far as sport bikes go (no Vstroms or whatnot) that the ZX-14 would be the most comfortable of the "real" sport bikes.

The BMW K1200S is a comfy bike as well and you can purchase factory beatle bags for it. It comes with factory heated grips, ABS and a shaft drive. It is also a powerful bike, however, nothing like a 2008 Busa, 2008 ZX-14 or a 2008 ZX-10 and whatnot. If you dont mind the price premium, can be happy with the power level and dealing with BMW dealers/maintenance - the K1200S could be a nice option.

Mark

 

[FZ/FJR Mike]

A used Gen I FZ1, from 2001-2005 is a very good choice for a sport bike which can easily tour. I've owned an 01 which was converted into a sport tourer by the guy who bought it from me. Yamaha changed the focus of the FZ1 from '06 to present to make it more sport oriented, ostensibly to differentiate it more from the FJR. Plenty of low mileage 05' FZ1's available.

 

[Zute]

This may be a crazy question, or at least an unanswerable one, but I am curious. I currently ride a cruiser, but I often want something sportier. Something like an FZ1 may be the best bike for me, but I have seen several articles about people using sport bikes for touring. So...I was wondering if anyone had any opinion on which sportbike would be the best for setting up for some touring. I am talking about adding some soft luggage, maybe a different shield, possibly lowering the pegs, and putting helibars or something like them on it to raise the grips a bit.
I am not the least bit concerned with which one is the fastest, although I do want one with decent torque in the midrange. I think for me though, the comfort will be a bigger issue as I am sure they are all faster than I could ride them.

Thanks

Dan

I had this exact same dilemma a few months ago. I have always been a "cruiser" guy, owned a Honda ACE 750, Suzuki Marauder 800, and a Kawasaki Nomad 1500. I once got a bug for a sportbike and bought an 88 Suzuki Katana from a co-worker for cheap and completely restored it, but quickly discovered that I wasn't comfortable and everywhere I went - I did 100mph. So I sold it, sworn to cruisers - never to own another sportbike.

Recently, with some ignition problems with my Nomad and have been unable to ride for much of the summer so far, i decided to start looking at new bikes. A friend of mine (who knows about my lower back and wrist problems) suggested the Honda Interceptor VFR800. Not being much of a sport-guy I started doing my research and found that (in addition to this bike) there were some nice sport-tourers on the market. Yes, the VFR was more comfortable stock than some of the other sportbikes, but I also had a passenger to think abot, so I let her sit on teh back to help my buying decision. I had never really thought of a sport-tourer as an option before, so we went a sat on some in the dealers. Both of us were much more comfortable on the FJR than anything else we sat on and with 140 horses standard, this bike will keep up with many of the sportsbikes, especially with some minor mods.

I made the purchase last week and havent had a single moment of regret. I love this bike better than all my cruisers and am glad I went with the FJR over the VFR (I had it narrowed down to those final two).

If comfort and ride quality for touring is your ultimate goal, you won't be sorry with the FJ. It's light, quick, nimble, comfortable. fast and looks great. You can compare the features/options with any of the comparable sport-tourers (bmw, motto guzzi, kawasaki, honda, etc). If getting a sport bike is just to have a sport bike, I guess it really only boils down to what "looks" good and what you can afford. In my opinion, there isnt a comfortable sport bike - sure you can make mods to em to make them more "upright", but it's still too much lean-forward for me. The FJ gave me everything I needed right out of the box.

But then again, this is just my biased opinion - after all, you are on an FJR forum!

 

[mehaffydr]

I have a 2006 CBR 100RR I cant compare to anything this is my first sportbike. But it is nit that comfortable but Fun as Hell to ride. I have added corbin seat, Heli risers, GPS, Radar Detector , I pod, Autocom. abd Luggage. I rode from Saint Louis out to West Virgina this spring about 500 miles per day and it was good. But no comparo to FJR

 

[zenwhipper]

[SIZE=12pt]VFR + Helibars[/SIZE]

Best combo of sport + comfort!

ZW

 

[Canes]

[SIZE=12pt]VFR + Helibars[/SIZE]
Best combo of sport + comfort!

ZW

I had an 02 VFR with Helibars, very comfortable. The hard part for me is I have never owned a bike that I didn't love when I owned it. The new VFR, if it is real, is going to very tempting.

 

[Fred W]

I just took a nice long ride on my viffer yesterday. After riding my FJR most times, the VFR takes about an hour or two to get really comfortable on. But then, it's great. The key component is the rider. You need to get yourself in "the position" and get the weight on your legs and off your hands. We get lazy on the FJR or any more upright bike (cruisers obviously) and it takes a while to train yourself to get off your hands.

Here's a few teaser pics of my 5th gen, 1998 VFR, with the mods I've made for longer distance use... Items of note: Helibars, Gel grips, Givi hard bags (and trunk not shown), Staintune convertible exhaust (can be rotated up for w/o bags, or down when bags mounted), GIVI touring windshield (only in cold weather), Y2K Honda VFR mirrors, Datel Voltmeter, Targa Tank Bra (not shown), and the list goes on...

People say the VFR is too heavy. Ha! Hell yeah, so am I. After riding an FJR and old school Concourse, the VFR is a friggen featherweight.

And it rips. No, it's not a 'busa nor any other true sport bike. But it IS comfortable, and it goes way, way, way faster than I ever need to. Oh and and it gets there in a pretty good hurry. I recently mounted some Pirelli Diablo (non Strada) tires on it (got a great deal on a pair) and with sport bike tires it has become transformed.

 

[protondecay123]

Comfort is relative. I have an 03 GSXR1K with pegs 1.37 inches lower than stock and bars mounted above the tripple clamps. The only other comfort mods are a gel seat and a touring windscreen. I took it on a 7,000 mile trip over 21 days from Ga to the NW and then to the USGP and back. Altogether, I rode about a 1,000 miles of interstate. I didn't have too many issues during the trip which wasn't bad for a 56 year old. However, I had 4 massage sessions when I got back just to get the knots out of my ass. The high speed touring in the west was a real hoot, however and I wouldn't exchange having done US1 on a sport bike for a bit of greater comfort.
Pick the sport bike of your choice as long as there are lower pegs and higher bars available for it. Chances are great that you'll enjoy it.

oster_stupid: My '04 R1 with Helibars and Valtermoto setback plates make it pretty comfortable. Not FJR comfortable, but a whole lot better than stock! I have rode or raced in poised racer form for many years, thats why I bought the FJR, to get away from that. Still like to go blasting once in a while though!

I'm 6'3" and being comfortable on a sport bike has been challenging.

1. BMW K1200S. Test rode one and it was the most comfortable I have been on a sport bike.

2. (Tie) Kawasaki ZX -14 and 2007 Yamaha FZ-1.

3. Yamaha R1

I haven't rode a VFR, but of what I've rode in sportbikes those are the best.