Most comfortable sportbike?

[dj313]

Like someone else mentioned if you want to lean even more to the sport side and still be able to ride distance the Triumph Sprint could suffice.

Did someone say Sprint?

I just picked up the Sprint ST for just the purposes the OP spec'd out. Great in any twisty bits you happen to run across and with a corbin seat and bar risers, even I can tour all day long on it.

How's this for sporty touring?

 

[colin]

the sprint is certainly a nice bike. Would love to give one a test ride (day).

Seems like most of what is being offered here are less sport bikes and more touring-ish.

From what I gather, the big four sports are more or less the same ergo wise. this is an uneducated opinion, mind you.

If you are looking at sport bikes, comfort to me is way down on the list of attributes I care about.... !

for sport-tourers, FJR is nice, K1200S is sweet. again, i wanna test ride the triumph.

 

[krashdragon]

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

Along with the Triumph Sprint (I'm lusting after that one!)...

BMW F800ST

While not true sport bikes..... Suzuki Bandit 1250 or older 1200 (my 02 would do 157...but not with me on it! Had a good rider!)

or Suzuki GX650F..still plenty fast enuf to get performance awards

or the Yamaha FZ1 or FZ6

It took me a while after riding just cruisers ( I still have a Softail Deuce) to get used to a different body position when riding, but on a sport touring bike like the FJR (Best choice!) I can ride way longer without hurting.

If I was a bit taller (longer legs), I'd still have my FJR.

Mary

 

[painman]

Otherwise there are many also who trailer their "sport" bike to their destination and attack the twisties from there. There is no shame in this.

How is trailering a street registered bike to "attack the twisties" any less shameful that trailering a cruiser to "Bike Week" somewhere?

Well the answer would probably be one could ride most cruisers all day long with no issues in style and comfort and IMHO most could not do the comfort thing on the sport bike for long distance. But that's just an observation from an old crippled guy who can't ride sport bikes for more than 30 minutes without taking a break.

Now I know of folks who trailer their cruisers to Sturgis etc. for many reasons. One being they can't get all the gear needed to stay a couple of weeks in comfort, can't carry the wife and kids on the back with all the gear and two are not physically able to do multiple states on any bike. But who are addicted to motorcycles and don't care what anyone thinks. The shameful part is just some gloryfied imagined point in someone's mind. Now I think all this "true biker" thing is something totally outdated, and like Clint Eastwood once said, "a legend in their own mind" anyway. But there again I'm just some old cripped guy who doesn't care one way or the other but who likes to ride no matter what. And I do have to agree with one poster here who did say, "comfortable sportbike is an oxymoron". Thus, why not trailer your sportbikes to your favorite canyon if its too far away? :dntknw: PM. <><

 

[flynbulldog1]

Did someone say Sprint?
I just picked up the Sprint ST for just the purposes the OP spec'd out. Great in any twisty bits you happen to run across and with a corbin seat and bar risers, even I can tour all day long on it.

Frankly you just ruined the handling of the bike by changing the bars and seat

I think you Missed the point all together, might as well stick to the FJR...

Personally I don't "happen to run across twisty bits" I seek them out.

I guess that's why its different for me, I ride for the excitement of riding, I don't tour.

 

[RTSR1/FJR]

So this thread went from most comfortable SPORTBIKE to lets take a SPORT TOURER and try to make it a SPORTBIKE. 2 very different animals!

 

[dj313]

Frankly you just ruined the handling of the bike by changing the bars and seat
I think you Missed the point all together, might as well stick to the FJR...

Personally I don't "happen to run across twisty bits" I seek them out.

I guess that's why its different for me, I ride for the excitement of riding, I don't tour.

For me, the handling on the bike is improved if I'm sitting in the bike and not on the bike. The bars are a bit of a distraction, but they're not far enough off that I can't get weight over the front tire if I need it. Besides, I was never one to put my ear by the front tire, I ride more like Ruben Xaus, not Ben Spies.

FWIW, I tour. The nearest twisty bits for me are an hour away and to top it off, it's a recently paved expressway off ramp.

Keep seeking and finding, my friend. I hope you find all the excitement you can handle...

 

[dj313]

So this thread went from most comfortable SPORTBIKE to lets take a SPORT TOURER and try to make it a SPORTBIKE. 2 very different animals!

I'm not sure I follow you, but IMHO, the Sprint is a sportbike with hard bags. I keep thinking the FJR would have been a better choice for me because I was looking for a sporty touring machine. I'm still concerned about the weight and I'm not buying another black bike and I don't want to buy used. So, it looks like an '09 or later for me if I decide to go with the yamahopper...

 

[Bounce]

That looks fun.

not really. look at the bars, seat, foot peg position. talk about flying C. ick!

 

[thompsonian]

Busa or possibly a 999. The busa just because I'm a large fellow (6'3 275) and I thought the 999 wasn't that horrible for a true sportbike.

 

[Fred W]

I'm not sure I follow you, but IMHO, the Sprint is a sportbike with hard bags.

Huh? The Triumph Sprint is a sport touring bike if ever there was one. The Daytona is Triumph's only sport bike model and this year it only came as a 675cc.

 

[RTSR1/FJR]

I'm not sure I follow you, but IMHO, the Sprint is a sportbike with hard bags.

Huh? The Triumph Sprint is a sport touring bike if ever there was one. The Daytona is Triumph's only sport bike model and this year it only came as a 675cc.

oster_stupid: Thanks for answering that so I didn't have to!

 

[Fred W]

I'm not sure I follow you, but IMHO, the Sprint is a sportbike with hard bags.

Huh? The Triumph Sprint is a sport touring bike if ever there was one. The Daytona is Triumph's only sport bike model and this year it only came as a 675cc.

oster_stupid: Thanks for answering that so I didn't have to!

Hey, I resemble that!!! Who you calling stupid?

I'll have you know I graduated in the top half of my Fred Astaire dance class...

 

[flynbulldog1]

The problem is there are varying degrees in the distinction between sport and touring bike. And within those variations one mans sport bike will be too much of a tourer for another guy. I agree that the Sprint is not a race bike like a Daytona but it's much more sporty, light, and nimble than an FJR. It's as close to a sport bike that can tour in relative comfort as I've been able to find.

Sport bike =GSXR, touring bike= goldwing, In the middle=FJR. I'd like to get closer to the GSXR and still be able to pack some stuff and ride all day.

I'm just not a "sit on yer butt and drive (ride?)" kinda guy. If I lived in a place without twisties I wonder if I'd even own a bike? I guess I'm lucky to live in a place with countless mountain passes and canyons.

Honestly the only time I ride the FJR is when my wife wants to ride two-up.

 

[UFO]

Please define "sportbike." :assassin:

IMO, none of what I would consider "sportbikes" (ie. supersports) are comfortable. Some bikes that are borderline sportbikes can be comfortable, like:

VFR

K1200S

Sprint ST

ZX-14

Etc.

I've done week long trips on a VFR without any problem. I recently (finally) threw a leg over a K1200S and was very surprised at the ergos. Didn't ride it because I got the hell out of the dealer before something bad happened. :lol:

 

[RTSR1/FJR]

The problem is there are varying degrees in the distinction between sport and touring bike. And within those variations one mans sport bike will be too much of a tourer for another guy. I agree that the Sprint is not a race bike like a Daytona but it's much more sporty, light, and nimble than an FJR. It's as close to a sport bike that can tour in relative comfort as I've been able to find.
Sport bike =GSXR, touring bike= goldwing, In the middle=FJR. I'd like to get closer to the GSXR and still be able to pack some stuff and ride all day.

I'm just not a "sit on yer butt and drive (ride?)" kinda guy. If I lived in a place without twisties I wonder if I'd even own a bike? I guess I'm lucky to live in a place with countless mountain passes and canyons.

Honestly the only time I ride the FJR is when my wife wants to ride two-up.

I guess my definition of a Sportbike is "If it doesn't make a good race bike (example: R1, R6, GSXR 1000, GSXR 600/750, ZX10, ZX636, and yes even the Daytona 675 etc...), then they're just varying degrees of Sport Tourer's like the FJR, of which there is nothing wrong with being! Some with more emphasis to the sport side and some to the touring side." For those who have raced or even done trackdays and pushed their limits on both, would definitely be able to recite the differences very easy. Weight being #1. Having the lack of really nice roads in Fla. does force me to seek out better riding at the tune of 600-700 mi though and hence the FJR! Plus the wife made me buy it! Thank God for trailers so I can take both! lol

 

[RTSR1/FJR]

I'm not sure I follow you, but IMHO, the Sprint is a sportbike with hard bags.

Huh? The Triumph Sprint is a sport touring bike if ever there was one. The Daytona is Triumph's only sport bike model and this year it only came as a 675cc.

oster_stupid: Thanks for answering that so I didn't have to!

Hey, I resemble that!!! Who you calling stupid?

I'll have you know I graduated in the top half of my Fred Astaire dance class...

And a fine dancer you are sir!

 

[pacoonass]

On smooth roads, a GSXR1000 is comfortable with a tank bag to take the pressure of your wrists. A Suzuki Bandit 1250S would be as good or better if it had a good seat. The GSXR's seat is pretty good as is. I've spent time on each, but the Bandit will hurt the posterior after a few hours. I need to find a good seat for it. For a taller person, the Hayabusa would be the ticket. Adding a tank bag to it would make it suitable for a shorter person. At 5'9" it is too stretched for me to be comfortable without a tank bag. The FZ1 has a really poor seat for long distance comfort. B)

 

[big ears]

With that handle you must be from around Lafayette.

 

[dj313]

I'm not sure I follow you, but IMHO, the Sprint is a sportbike with hard bags.

Huh? The Triumph Sprint is a sport touring bike if ever there was one. The Daytona is Triumph's only sport bike model and this year it only came as a 675cc.

English is such a funny language! I own an 08 ST and I've owned and raced the R6. In my opinion, the Sprint is heavily slanted towards the sport bike end of the sport-touring spectrum and is more sport bike than super-slab, mile-munching tourer. Which is exactly what brings me to this fine board! I'm thinking I can do more miles on the highway, in greater comfort on the FJR. What do you think?