For me the ultimate touring bike has got to be the Honda Pan European. I have had both the 1100 and the ST1300. A little heavy at walking speed but open them up and the performance and handling is stunning.
@@Glyder1959 How easy are they to maintain? I'm looking for a budget touring bike, I hear the maintenance on these can get expensive. Especially tires.
@@cesartapia610 These are fantastic sport touring bikes. If you can find a low miler(these are 200k mile machines) even 80k mile bike I wouldn’t be afraid to buy it. I find maintenance, oil changes, coolant change intervals, brake fluid flushes, tire changes, brake pads all to be easy to do by myself. Very reliable bike.
I LOVE THE SUPERTANKER ... I have had the ST1100, ST1100A, St1100P, and ST1300A. All GREAT bikes. 50MPG at highway (+) speeds, and a 7.5 US-Gallon tank! An easy 300miles / 3 hours between gas stops if you are eating slab, yet it will chase sports bikes in twisty canyons all day, and be a fluffy bunny below 5mph. I used to carry a fuel hose to refill cruisers with sub 150 mile ranges. The ST had gas to spare after they burned 2 tanks.
I owned a 2004 Honda Blackbird for 2 years - an absolute rocketship, but even with bar risers installed, the riding position is very heavy on the wrists anywhere under 150kmh. You find yourself relieved to stop at the traffic lights and give your wrist joints a rest. Also, on anything less than broad sweeping curves, handling is hard work. It's such a heavy bike and it feels like it too. I was happy to sell it and get myself another Gen.5 VFR800 - now that's a great sports tourer.
I am on my second Bandit 1200 (2006 model currently), ergos are the most comfortable for touring for starters, excellent engine, very good handling etc etc, hard to fault the bike really. HUGE seller worldwide! How it didn't make the top 10 of your list is quite unbelievable. I have owned a number of bikes over the past 37 years including vfr750, hornet 919, z1000. If you want a powerful comfortable do it all bike then test ride a Bandit 1200 or the newer 1250 cc.
+TheSteps62 Hi, I had an 1200S bandit and now i have the VFR800. I really loved the bandit, but the sound of the V4 engine and its characteristic makes it the best for me. It is a fact, that the big bandit is better if you're looking for an all-rounder.
The Blackbird is an awesome bike, comfortable, reliable, durable, and is a Honda what more do you need? I got both X11 and XX on my garage, not even one failure what so ever on both machines, although I must say that the new VFR1200 overtakes the sport-touring crown, but either Honda will make a great tourer. Cheers mates.
The GSXF750 is a rock solid all arounder for riders using their brains rather than their emotions. More than enough power to get you in trouble, nice top end rush and likes to rev like the GSXR engine it's based on. Many have well over 100k and still going strong, and dead nuts reliable. Brakes are mushy, but a set of upgraded pads fixes this. For the power hungry a set of GSXR cams (direct replacement) gives you well over 110HP at the loss of some low end torque. The motor is the key here, buy a 98+ model and you have a bullet proof bike that will take a ton of miles and smiles while asking for more.
Being very biased about the gsxf750, they are a cracking bike as long as you don't treat it like a super bike. They are heavy and you have to work abit through the twisties but that what riding is about. I love mine and do alot of miles on it, no disrespect to people who don't like them but for what I need it definitely delivers
Don't let this put you off the gsx750 (katana), go give one a test ride because they do everything you could want from a sports/tourer are very comfortable for its class and are super reliable , yes they are a bit heavy but if you're doing more touring type riding that isn't a big negative and the positives make up for it
Yea the weight helps in the rain on the highway just to feel more planted love my sprint st but that’s why there are so many bikes we all like different things so rock on
Who are the dotes who put this list together? What qualifies them as sport tourers? Hyabusa a sport tourer? No bags? Vfr is a great bike (had two) but that’s the number one? Come in man.
Yes, old video. I just bought an '03 Sprint ST, lowly 10th place finisher. However it was compared favorably to the VFR in another review. As said by others, not all 10 are sport tourers, and others that are, were omitted like the Caponard and the Norge. And the difference between the ones that are, are more styling exercises. Take that out of the equation and there was little substance to the criteria. BTW, I love my Sprint. 118 hp in a sub 500 lb. bike: what's not to like! Any of these bikes maintained per the manufacturer are a tremendous value in 2017 if you look around. You can have all the modern computer controlled riding aids the new bikes are equipped with. They don't enhance the riding experience: only the cost of ownership.
I guess our definition of "tourer" is different. I do recognize that Europe and USA have different roads as a rule of thumb. More twisty turny roads in Europe, more long open stretches in the US. But, sport touring to me suggests a fast good handling bike with the added capability of bringing luggage. Most of those bikes dont have saddlebags. I realize a Harley Electra Glide doesnt fit the definition, but what about the Concours and bikes like that?
Don't let any of these downers give any motivational speeches. The audience might be slitting their wrists before it's over. The bald dude is especially depressing.
Brett Vogel I know right? I've ridden a sprint 955 before and it was awesome! These guys are bike snobs and can't appreciate a good motorcycle. I ride an old shit bike that won't pass inspection but I love it and probably have more fun on it than the dudes in this video.
Bike snobs? If that means they're typical uneducated Sport Touring aficionado's who haven't got a clue about the Sport Touring class of motorcycles, then I would wholeheartedly agree!
Fjr is the only one that really stood the test of time and evolved to be a true sports tourer. The Kawasaki is a bit long in the tooth not keeping up with modern technology and the rest are more sport bikes. Can’t believe they put the Hayabusa in the mix
@@stephenjohnson2345 I've ridden Yams for most my adult life, having 5 of them since 1987, as well as Honda 500/750 fours, and never once did I feel empty. The Yamaha's have a soul. If you work on your machine, you know what heart and mind went into building such beauties. I ride by feel, and I can feel my FJR1300 ES. I rode one bike that gave so lil feedback that I felt uncomfortable, that was a BMW RT. No to the Tele-lever for me
To me a Sport Tourer has to have hard bags standard on the bike. What happened to the Concours 10? St1100/1300? Triumph Trophy? Half of the bikes presented were flat out sport bikes. Hayabusa as a sport tourer? Might as well add the ZX12r as a sport tourer. The BMW K1200RS has a midrange that stomps! That is what sport tourers need is midrange punch!
Try the k1200s sometime.. the horsepower and torque is insane. And yes the concours should be included! Unfortunately (and i considered one) theyre not popular. Theyre... simplistic... i dont know how to say it but put a k1200s or a triumph st1050 next to one youd never pick a concours (though theyd be better long range bikes i bet)
charles reid I always wanted to try a K1200S with the "Japanese" styled four cylinder..... I did not know the ST1050 triple was that good. I will have to find one and try it out. Thanks brother.
I agree... I know this video is old, but man it's pretty bad. And the FJ1300 as number 7? It's almost always regarded as in the top 3 Sport Touring bikes, many rating it #1.
You can get factory fitted hard panniers on the Triumph Sprint ST. I won’t fit soft bags to any bike I ride, always looks like someone has strapped shopping bags to an otherwise gorgeous bike, to me.
One of the things I would say is that way back then the perception of bikes was very different (I am 65), and there was a lot of snobbery if you owned the latest and greatest hyperbike/Moto GP replica/Super Bike, with matching leathers with said "Bird" on the back also wearing said matching leathers, and a credit account with your local chiropractor! Anyone who was not in the "club" would be looked down upon, but having said that there are so many bikes from that era that should have been included since now we have the benefit of hindsight after all these years! My pick for the contest would be.. Suzuki Bandit 1200/600, Yamaha Fazer 1000 and 600, Honda VFR800Fi/and VTEC, Kawasaki ZZR600, Kawasaki GPZ1100, Suzuki GSXF750/600, Honda CBF1000, Honda 600 Hornet, Aprilia Futura RST1000 (as featured in this film), Triumph Sprint 1050 (as featured), Yamaha FJR1300 (as featured), Ducati ST3/4 (as featured), Yamaha TDM900, BMW 1150RT/850RT, BMW1200ST?. Loads of people around the time toured on Ducati M800s/M900, Suzuki SV1000(2003) , Honda VTR1000, Yamaha TRX850's none of which would really qualify for this category so its very subjective and not definitive. Bikes such as the Hyabusa, Blackbird, and the ZZR1200 and VMax should not really be included as they are big super powerful hyperbikes for the time, because if you do then all the 1300/1400/1500/1600cc muscle bikes would then have to be included! Just to also put prices in perspective 10000GBP for a bike around 2000-2003 was a lot of money in those days, in comparison to now, you can buy a new bike that outperforms most of the above mentioned, today for around 9000GBP (and certainly nearly new/low miler examples) with the exception of the current Hyabusa and other current hyperbikes. Tastes and aspirations have changed over time. Just My "Two Penneth's worth".
Did they say that an Italian bike is just as reliable as Japanese bikes? Correct me if I'm wrong but I barely see any of the European bikes mentioned in this vid in the street or for sale but the Japanese bikes are still selling and running strong after all those years.
I don't understand why you didn't mention the Honda St1300 European Pan. In my opinion, this is the right thing. I have an ST1300, 2002, and I wouldn't change it for I don't know what. Very Reliable, I would go to the end of the world with it if necessary.❤🎉
FJR1300 is the one i'd pick. A sports tourer is basically a comfortable sports bike... Anything more is a tourer, anything less is a sports bike. This is a strange mixture of bikes - probably all they could hold of on the day of filming. The VFR has that crouched over riding position, so i wouldn't want to tour on that. If the Hayabusa and Blackbird were releaed today, with performances relative to our time, they'd be classed as hyperbikes. The rest, nah, for me FJR, works, truely comfortabe, truely fast, not as heavy as the Concours (GTR1400), ST1300 that it's usually grouped with.
The silver VFR800FI shown at start of the film, is pre VTEC 97-99 models. Many would argue this version is better that the '01 onwards VTEC models. ..I've had a '98 VFR800Fi for around 5yrs now and am about to get a '07 Blackbird!
I have #9 and it's a great bike. Aside of maintenence since it's a 98. It's been lowered, wider rear tire, and better jet kit. Made this handle a lot better. It's pretty fast mid range in my opinion. Vibration starting at 80mph and not many performance upgrades. One thing mine has factory luggage rails, but I can not find factory hard luggage (panniers ) . Any idea where I can find them.
I've owned 5 of the bikes mentioned & done over 100,000 klms on 3 of them. Bike choice is a personal thing so what one person says is a great bike someone else will not like them at all. Another reason why these so called "experts" have no idea what is good for everyone. Just because a bike can do 40-60 k's faster than the other one does not mean you will get there faster,you would still sit on your preferred cruising speed & be comfortable & get there in the same time.Saying the ZZR1100 ruled the roost in the 80's is a bit strange seeing as they didn't even come out till 1990,I should know as I had 7 of them in the 90's & preferred them to the ugly 1200 as well only just than the 'Bird but once I rode a Hayabusa all the others were as they say "just like prey" I've covered a quarter of a million klms on a Gen 1 & a Gen 2 Busa & I ride my '09 model almost every day & it still excited me every time I get on it,that feeling stopped after a couple of years on the others. The only bike that comes close "for me & the way I ride & the riding I do" is my ZX14R Kawasaki which is what Kwaka should have brought in the early 2000's to have some sort of competition against the 'Bird & the 'Busa instead of the dingo ugly ZZR1200 & the fast but not that comfortable ZX12,yep I had one of those as well.Nowdays I only ride my 'Busa as my Mrs has taken over the Big K as her preferred ride over her last bike which by the way was.....a Gen 2 Hayabusa. To each his/her own people & most of what these Poms say is rubbish especially the Hayabusa being ugly,wtf??? most pommy mags say this yet they like things like the RS Sprint or the ZZR1200 both goggle eyed monstrousity's to me personally. Ride a bike,if you feel comfortable & completely at home on it then buy & enjoy,if not pick another,after all in this day & age you have the biggest choice of motorcycles ever. Keep ya knees in the breeze!
I ride a 750 Katana and I love it despite many people criticyse its looks. Just bought a 07 busa and it is even better. Thing I disagree is about the ZZR1200. You really find it that ugly? First time I saw it I loved its looks. It is also fast, comfy and has awesome tank mileage.
@@cesartapia610 Yeah ma dude, it is cheap, low maintenance, easy to ride, very comfortable, has enough power and is light on fuel. Besides, it leans and attacks the twisties much better than you expect. Eres hispanohablante?
Great Bikes are brilliant at specific things. My BMWR1200R classic is for me the best bike on the planet. With the Telelever front end nothing comes close when a pillion and heavy luggage for touring is added. It is also very fast well made and safe. But its no Blackbird but that edge is beyond both my skill and ride style but that's okay.
I rode from Windsor, Ontario, Canada to the Tail of the Dragon in Smokey Mountains, USA (9hrs) on my Hayabusa with soft panniers and a big tank bag. Made a weeks vacation out of it.
I've just replaced my old, red, battered vfr800fi (pre vtech) with.......another (nearly mint) vfr800fi in red. I did masses of research l, really fancying a change but just kept coming back to the same bike. For what they cost now you really cannot do better. There are loads out there that have been maintained meticulously and the bike ticks every single box. The only thing I found odd is that the Triumph Sprint wallowed in 10th position. If I would have gone for something different, the Sprint would probably have been the one.
They show the VFR 800 Fi Then rattle on about the Vtec..Having owned the 750 the 800Fi and a Vtec the best of the 3 is the Fi.. The Vtec felt flimsy in comparison and didnt like the Vtec engine so much.. So went back to the Fi and after it sat in the garage for 2 years untouched and ignored it started on the button.!. chuck a nice Hi level can on it and they sound Great too.. Pick up a clean loved low miler for under £2k now and you can ride round the planet on it, and still feel your Ass when you get off.
Is there a reason we have to be informed that all these bikes have a 4 stroke engine? You'd have to go back 30 years to find a new bike with a 2 stroke engine, and that wouldn't have been a "sport tourer". These guys just love to hear themselves talk, and think their personal opinions should determine our decisions. "The Honda Blackbird is feeling a bit slow now" LOL!
So the winner was the smallest capacity, lightest and physically small motorcycle. Not very imaginative conclusion from so called expert reviewers to me. I thought this was meant to be about sports-touring bikes which by definition means there has to be a compromise between handling and comfort. Cleary the VFR800 would struggle to carry a decent amount of luggage and a pillion with the same comfort as the larger bikes?
Time has told which bike the paying public really rated. FJR and Busa are still on the books...others are dustbin of history. Still want a blackbird though.
The k1200s is still sought after and popular...check their book value.. i own one. And the k1300s is incredibly popular.. not exactly in the dustbin. Of course it's expensive but youre buying Quality.. ride one. The busa is a joke and laughed at in the biking world.. ride one and watch the eyerolls.
charles reid quote, the busa is a joke? What planet are you on, it's a fantastic all rounder if you ask me, comfortable & very fast too. I Fitted a luggage rack to strap the tent etc on the back of mine & a big tank bag with the misses on the back we toured France.
Everytime I watch reviews from these guys, and then the "experts" show up to tell you how horrible everything is and how the styling is a disaster, phewf, misery!
Love the Triumph Sprint. It looks like a track bike. It’s fun to thrash a smaller displacement bike than rolling down the road on a recliner. I’ve had a BMW K75RT that was a great sports tourer. After that I had a couple of st1300s and loved the way it could cover ground. They were awfully too heavy though and at 74 I was having trouble reaching the ground and holding it upright.
Mate, does it EVER stop raining in England? Also I rode a Blackbird 400kms on a cold wet day. Most painful instrument of torture I have ever had the displeasure to use. Cramps and lousy wet grip with the Dunlops made the whole trip a misery.
I know this is a old video and all the bikes on it are great motorcycles only three of them would be true Sports Tourers the FJR BMW & Honda VFR. All the rest are more sport then tour no bags and very little wind protection.
You forgot one. The Aprilia Futura has, unlike the others, factory integrated saddlebags. It has a superior fairing, and the best pillion and seat of them all.
Yep. It is an old video. I wouldn't consider the VFR a sport-tourer although there is an old guy named "VFR Larry" who you see at Honda ST rallys. He has over 100,000 miles on his red VFR with a yellow front fender. Something the U.S. riders need to consider once you see the "City Limits" sign in your rear view mirror: "I'm in the middle of Montana. Where is my nearest dealer?" If you are not an an H-D, or one of the Japanese Big Four, you will be SOL. And Ducati? They tend to be gorgeous bikes, capable of awesome performance - when they work. Otherwise, Ducati is Italy's revenge for loosing WW II. Disclaimer: I have a 2013 FJR. It's a little porky, but with a few mods, it is fast and comfortable. It will happily run all day on the 85 octane gas you frequently find Out West. And it will cruise faster than most Harleys can run on a daytime, desert crossing.
The FJR1300 came available in US markets in 2005. i bought one brand NEW IN 2005. i was very dissatisfied with it and traded it for a Kawasaki concours 14 in 2008. This video is old!
The vibration was terrible. i bought handle bar risers which helped with my neck pain when traveling long distance. The key lock cylinder came out of one of the side bags hard luggage and i had to duck tape it closed. This bike was very disappointing, i will not buy another Yamaha!
Strikehold PIR , you are judging the most reliable bike ever made, because you had to install risers and the luggage lock. It shows that you don't know much about bikes...
How old are you and how many bikes have you ridden? I have ridden many bikes and and many miles and when i find a bike that works and is comfortable i am honest with my evaluations. opinions are like assholes and everyone has one..I bought a brand new yamaha FJR1300 and it was a piece of shit!!!!! You are an asshole.. keep your FJr and stick it up your ass!!
While everyone is entitled to their opinions about reliability, control, structure - all things that can be traced to mechanical design and engineering, all the other words about looks, comfort, "soul", are just subjective thoughts that only go as far as that person's bias.
Since 2006 BMW have been ultra unreliable, service it, component failure, service it component failure, service it component failure...All high end and super high price. ABS modules, ESA Shocks, Fuel Strips, Switch Gear ,Final Drives are all very common failures. Any post 2006 BMW is not for the feint hearted and certainly not for anyone wanting to run a bike on a tight budget.
Shaft drive makes the trip so much better, more fun when riding more and maintaining it less. You wouldn’t want chain drive on your car, so why have it on your bike?
i was looking at these bikes and i started asking myself "why are they so ugly? are they retro styling them already?" I looked down at the published date and its pretty recent (march 2015) so in my head i was like "holy shit! they're serious.. whyyy? . they were doing so good with the styling now-a-days" then i scrolled down more and saw that i was originally aired in 03... fweee
Some rather odd arguments made for if a bike is good or not. "Its british", "Im not keen on this engine (gives no further explanation)", "I dont like shaft-drive (uhhhm. Ok? Why you care that much about the power transmission?). At this point, the review stopped being interesting for me at least
nice reviews but really not in line with Sport Tourers if you ask me. A Hyabusa is a racing bike, you do not go touring on it. I wonder why one journalist is against a drive shaft?
also V strom 650, Dominator 650, Africa Twin, triumph tiger explorer, bmw gs....i mean they have considered as touring bikes three of the most powerful and fastest bikes at the time...But i don't think they are comfortable for long trips...i didn't mentioned the gold wing because i don't like it but it is definitely a better touring bike than the hayabusa or the honda XX...by the way transalp is TOP bike, i like it too...
10:36 ''like the Aprilia'' Does that mean that he likes the bike or her compares it to Ducati ? Because that bike was Ducati, not Aprilia, i'm confused a little bit.
Why are they asking motorcycle journalists about touring bikes? They only care about sports bikes. I remember Bike magazine did a "special" on touring bikes. All the winning bikes had insane amounts of power and not one of them had any luggage ability.
Wow... um why the RS? The k1200s and the Triumph ST1050 are the only ST bikes youre ever going to find UNIVERSALLY loved by their actual owners. The rs is a strange choice anyway. These two should be #1 and #2 followed by a yamaha (im not a fan but)... who pretty much are the standard in Sport touring bikes. Oh.. and the 'i dont like shaft drives" guy?? ha.... haha... hahahaha .. there are no words .. you hired your cousins to do reviews???
Sport touring review? Hayabusa? Most of these bikes are sport bikes - not sport tourers. Only the FJR and the K1200 are really sport tourers. If you tour you will need some bags.
I had the 99 VFR as shown in the profile pic. Unfortunately a dirty bastard stole it. It had everything just right for me except I wanted a bit more than 100 hp. However it is not a sport bike it is the ST. 1999 had no o2 sensor nor cat converter. I did have some great fun and great appreciation on the road. I could ride from NC to PA with no problems. Buy a 5th gen for the best engine. 11.087 1/4 m run with powercommander and piperwerx.
