Why is Sport Touring dead?

[willowstreetguzziguy]

Just curious as to why Sport Touring pretty much died. Or maybe it's not. Thoughts?...

[oldbike54]

 Is it dead ?

 Dusty

[willowstreetguzziguy]

Looking at the bikes manufactured today, the major brands seem to thinks so or at least on "life support."

[dl.allen]

It got squeezed out by all the sport bikes and cruisers.
Lots of guys have a Harley and a cheap map sport bike

[willowstreetguzziguy]

Or did the category get gobbled up by the Adventure GS bikes? Maybe that is the NEW Sport Touring. And maybe the rest are not venturing far from home unless they have an 800 lb. full dresser?

[Ncdan]

Maybe because in reality sport turing bikes are not really very good at either function they are aimed at satisfying.

[LowRyter]

This one is supposed debut this month. In fact, I am headed to the dealer now to see if it's been delivered.

[Lannis]

Maybe it's not dead, and not even dying.

Euro-Bike Day last week was full of Ducati STs, Guzzi Norges, three Aprilia Futuras, and that was just the Italian ones, BMWs were there too .... ?

Lannis

[oldbike54]

Looking at the bikes manufactured today, the major brands seem to thinks so or at least on "life support."

 Yamaha , Honda , BMW , Kawasaki , and until now Moto Guzzi are building ST's . The overall market has remained about the same for years , ST's that lean too much towards the S side have always had a small share . What we are seeing more of are ST's that lean towards the T side that handle , brake , and go like sportier bikes from a few years back . The MCling population is aging , most of us have a hard time remaining comfortable on bikes with truly racy ergos .

 Dusty

[kirby1923]

Please define "sport touring bike"

Every moto I have in the states (3) could be classed as "sport" machines.
When I had a 1150 GS  I went on the track with "sport" machines for track days and could hang in with all but the well ridden repli racers. So "adventure "machines could fall into that class as well.

Sport touring casts a broad stroke as even my old CX is in that category to me!

:-)

[Scud]

Maybe it's not dead, and not even dying.

Euro-Bike Day last week was full of Ducati STs, Guzzi Norges, three Aprilia Futuras, and that was just the Italian ones, BMWs were there too .... ?

Lannis

ST, Norge, and Futura all discontinued - no longer in production. My "sport-tourer" is 25 years old (K75s). I think the Honda 800 Interceptor would be a fabulous sport-touring mount.

I didn't know sport-touring was dead... but it does make sense that a lot of people switched from traditional sport tourers to big adventure bikes. Last I saw, BMW's GS bikes outsell all the other bikes. Just my experience here... but I got frustrated on my R1100RT by not being able to keep going when the asphalt turned to dirt (or especially when it turned to rocks or deep sand). That's when I got a KTM 950 Adventure. If I were to buy another touring bike, it would be an adventure bike, because I do like to explore on the 4WD roads. I'd probably go with the Honda Africa Twin or the BMW F800GS - but only soft bags.

[Aaron D.]

Sport touring is a verb. Sport tourer may describe someone who partakes of sport touring.

As applied to a motorcycle, it is a marketing term that I never understood.

[azguzzirep]

Sport or touring or adventure. It all depends on what happens as you are traveling.

Sometimes it can be called 'mis-adventure non-touring " But at least it's doing motorcycling 😁

[not-fishing]

Not dead, the pendulum of the fickle buying public has just swung away from them.

Back in the 90's wasn't Adventure Bikes all the Rage?

A decade ago you could make the same statement about Italian Cars in the US.

Mark

[Bill Hagan]

IMO, only the marketing label (and possibly the overuse of tupperware ), not the concept, is dead.

Every day, Guzzisti do it.

Actually, so do Harley, Beemer, dual-sporters, even RE folks do sport-touring.

Me?  I'm cleaning up for company this weekend or I would be out there, too! 

Bill

[Nic in Western NYS]

I'm with Bill, the marketing label is dead.  It's not cool.  Maybe because touring is for old farts and anything associated with touring/old is by definition not cool.  "Adventure" whatever, in contrast, is cool.  So, the sport touring is now adventure riding (almost all on the road) because the sport riders want hyper sport and the tourer market already is cool with being old and uncool. 

Ironically, the sport touring rigs have a more aggressive riding position than the adventure rigs, so you can get older and cooler by transitioning from an ST rig to an adventure rig.

Of course, DOING sport touring can be done with a whole range of bikes, it's the marketing and specific product development for that niche which appears to have morphed into 'adventure'.

[Two Checks]

It ssems the moto mags, etc call a Hayabusa with a tank bag a sport touring bike.

[mgmark]

To me "Sport Touring" is a sport bike with enough touring equipment that you can travel with it, at sporting speeds. My '89 Lemans was a perfect ST. Comfy enough, and fast enough to cover the miles.

Mark

[Lannis]

ST, Norge, and Futura all discontinued - no longer in production.

That may be true, but it's really irrelevant to the activity of "Sport Touring".

I'm a member of a couple of very active riding communities, where the companies that made our motorcycles have been dead for 40 to 50 years.

There are enough Sport Touring bikes out there right now, if no one made any more of them, for every sport touring guy alive today to ride for the rest of their lives.

So I think we need another criteria than "How Busy Are The Marketing People?".   

Lannis

[bigbikerrick]

Looking at it from another angle...I have a handful riding friends that were die hard ST bike riders, but have since switched to Harleys or "cruisers" because their wives are markedly overweight, and cant ride comfortably on the back of a sport tourer. Once one of the "girls" gets to relax on the back of a harley ultra, or Victory with a big ol backrest/trunk,  its a "done deal"I have observed it spread like a virus, where the other pillon passengers  get jealous, and want the same comfort level as the other girls, and before you know it, the ST gets traded in on a cruiser of some sort, mostly to please the little princess!  .......I have personally seen it happen quite a few times.
Rick.

[willowstreetguzziguy]

The term Sport Touring was made popular by BMW when in 1977 they made the R100RS with the integrated frame mounted sport fairing. It probably always existed in motorcycling.  IMHO has always been a ST bike is minimalistic. A small fairing or no fairing, a tank bag, hard or soft saddlebags, and trip that lasts at least 1 overnight stay or more. Either camping or moteling it is involved. Otherwise... its a day trip. Then you move into the "Barn Door" fairings w large travel trunks like Gold Wings and Harleys with every conceivable amenity. I just think Americans have become too soft and want to take the comforts of home with them and heaven help them if they are inconvenienced in any way! I think that accounts for the drop in ST. But then again we have the Adventure / Extreme Sport enthusiasts cropping up that want to push the envelop in the opposite direction.

[Lannis]

Looking at it from another angle...I have a handful riding friends that were die hard ST bike riders, but have since switched to Harleys or "cruisers" because their wives are markedly overweight, and cant ride comfortably on the back of a sport tourer. Once one of the "girls" gets to relax on the back of a harley ultra, or Victory with a big ol backrest/trunk,  its a "done deal"I have observed it spread like a virus, where the other pillon passengers  get jealous, and want the same comfort level as the other girls, and before you know it, the ST gets traded in on a cruiser of some sort, mostly to please the little princess!  .......I have personally seen it happen quite a few times.
Rick.

You know, there’s a lot to that theory.   Seen it happen often also, but never thought of it that way.

Here’s ONE girl it’s not going to happen to though.   She’s vetoed the purchase of a fat cruiser more than once, and she was the one who picked out and bought our last (Triumph) sport-tourer.   An Airhawk does all she wants, and off we go.





She’s like me; she likes a bike she can RIDE, not a bike where she’s just being dragged along in a Barcalounger.   “Honey, when are we going to get there?”   “Honey, my butt hurts already, can we stop?”   “Do we HAVE to ride any more?”   “Baby, I think I’ll just stay home, you go ahead and have a good time ….”  EWW!

Lannis

[Gliderjohn]

I think the aging and increasing size of the general population is making the riding of STs less appealing. Younger guys don't have the money.
GliderJohn

[twowings]

Fads come and go...plenty of good used STs out there in Cycle Trader, ADVRider Flea Market, and other venues...check with dealers, too...if something isn't popular, it isn't selling and it's taking up floor space...go in on a rainy day and make a deal...

[azguzzirep]

Sport or touring or adventure. It all depends on what happens as you are traveling.

Sometimes it can be called 'mis-adventure non-touring " But at least it's doing motorcycling 😁

[Arizona Wayne]

Lannis, our wives are very much alike in that they're game for whatever floats our boat.  When we first got together I took my wife Judy on a multi day trip around death valley from norCal on the back of my CX100. She loved it.  We've travelled together on sidecar rigs, Yamaha 650 Std.(she hated it), VX800, 750 Breva, MuZ 660, cross country on a Convert., you name it, she's game.   

When we first got together I didn't know she had already ridden cross country with her ex on the back of a Harley that broke down repeatedly.   

To me all my bikes are sport/tourers except the hacks & Convert.

[bigbikerrick]

Great Pics, Lannis! You are a very lucky man!   
Rick.

[Aaron D.]

Riders becoming too soft? For what? Needless suffering?

It is, after all, supposed to be fun.

[azguzzirep]

Great Pics, Lannis! You are a very lucky man!   
Rick.

 :1: nice outfit . The bikes are nice, too

[Chuck in Indiana]

The Kid and I are going to do the mutton run, then a week in the Carolinas on our respective Spot and Mighty Scura in May/June.
I guess we didn't know sport touring was dead. Dang! We'll be out of style.