Sport Touring Motorcycle
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A sport touring motorcycle (sometimes a "sports tourer") is a type of motorcycle that combines the performance of a
sport bike A sports motorcycle, sports bike, or sport bike is a motorcycle designed and optimized for speed, acceleration, braking, and cornering on asphalt concrete race tracks and roads. They are mainly designed for performance at the expense of comfort, ...
with the long-distance capabilities and comfort of a
touring motorcycle A touring motorcycle is a type of motorcycle designed for Motorcycle touring, touring. Although almost any motorcycle can be used for this purpose, manufacturers have developed specific models designed to address the particular needs of these rid ...
. The first sport tourer is said to be the fully faired 1977 BMW R100RS. Journalist
Peter Egan Peter Joseph Egan (born 28 September 1946) is a British actor. He is known for television roles including Hogarth in '' Big Breadwinner Hog'' (1969), the future King George IV in ''Prince Regent'' (1979); smooth neighbour Paul Ryman in the sitco ...
defines the sport tourer as a "
café racer A café racer is a genre of sport motorcycles that originated among British motorcycle enthusiasts of the early 1960s in London. Café racers were standard production bikes that were modified by their owners and optimized for speed and handling ...
that doesn't hurt your wrists and a touring bike that doesn't feel like a tank," and identified the R100RS as the first example he owned. Unlike a sport model, a sport touring model will typically have more wind protection with larger fairings and an adjustable
windscreen The windshield (American English and Canadian English) or windscreen (Commonwealth English) of an aircraft, car, bus, motorbike, truck, train, boat or streetcar is the front window, which provides visibility while protecting occupants from t ...
, a
transmission Transmission or transmit may refer to: Science and technology * Power transmission ** Electric power transmission ** Transmission (mechanical device), technology that allows controlled application of power *** Automatic transmission *** Manual tra ...
with lower gearing, a
shaft drive A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power, torque, and rotation, usually used to connect ...
instead of
chain drive Chain drive is a way of transmitting mechanical power from one place to another. It is often used to convey power to the wheels of a vehicle, particularly bicycles and motorcycles. It is also used in a wide variety of machines besides vehicles. ...
, side and/or rear
pannier A pannier is a basket, bag, box, or similar container, carried in pairs either slung over the back of a beast of burden, or attached to the sides of a bicycle or motorcycle. The term derives from a Middle English borrowing of the Old French ' ...
storage systems, a larger
alternator An alternator (or synchronous generator) is an electrical generator that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy in the form of alternating current. For reasons of cost and simplicity, most alternators use a rotating magnetic field wit ...
for more accessories, heated handlebar grips, remotely adjustable headlights, a larger
fuel tank A fuel tank (also called a petrol tank or gas tank) is a safe container for Flammability, flammable fluids, often gasoline or diesel fuel. Though any storage tank for fuel may be so called, the term is typically applied to part of an engine sys ...
for increased range, and a more upright seating position. Unlike a full touring model, a sport tourer will typically have more
ride height Ride height or ground clearance is the amount of space between the base of an automobile tire and the lowest point of the automobile, typically the bottom exterior of the differential housing (even though the lower shock mounting point may be l ...
ground clearance for better cornering, less stowage, lower weight, a less relaxed seating position, less room for the rear passenger, and higher overall performance. When designing a sport tourer, some manufacturers make economies by using an existing engine, technology and tooling from their recent sport bikes, rather than creating a dedicated engine design from scratch. Sport tourer engines could be differently-tuned versions of their sport bike siblings, the emphasis becoming mid-range torque rather than peak horsepower. This often includes a different
cylinder head In a piston engine, the cylinder head sits above the cylinders, forming the roof of the combustion chamber. In sidevalve engines the head is a simple plate of metal containing the spark plugs and possibly heat dissipation fins. In more modern ...
and
exhaust system An exhaust system is used to guide reaction exhaust gases away from a controlled combustion inside an engine or stove. The entire system conveys burnt gases from the engine and includes one or more exhaust pipes. Depending on the overall syste ...
. For example, the Triumph Sprint motorcycle shared its engine with the Daytona, Speed Triple, and Tiger models; the Kawasaki 1400GTR/Concours 14 shares the basic engine with the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14; and
Ducati Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A () is an Italian motorcycle manufacturing company headquartered in Bologna, Italy. History Barely a month after the official liberation of Italy in 1944, SIATA announced its intention to sell this engine, called ...
's ST4 sport tourer used the 916's engine; the Aprilia RST1000 Futura used a differently-tuned engine from the
Aprilia RSV Mille The Aprilia RSV Mille is a sport motorcycle manufactured by Aprilia from 1998 to 2003. It was offered in three versions, RSV Mille, RSV Mille R, and RSV Mille SP. The first RSV Mille (ME) was made from 1998 to 2000, the updated RSV Mille (RP) fr ...
sport bike. As consumer expectations changed, some sport bikes were redefined (for marketing purposes) as sport touring bikes, for example, the 2000 Kawasaki ZX-6R sportbike became the 2004 ZZR600 with just a change to a fairing bracket. '' Rider'' magazine noted in 2013 that the line between sportbikes and touring motorcycles was becoming blurred "with ouringhorsepower rising higher and higher and lists of standard portbikefeatures growing longer and longer".


See also

*
Outline of motorcycles and motorcycling The following outline is provided as an overview of motorcycles and motorcycling: Motorcycle — two-wheeled, single-track motor vehicle. Other names include: motorbike, bike, and cycle. Motorcycling — act of riding a motorcycle, around wh ...


References

Motorcycle classifications Long-distance motorcycle riding {{Improve categories, date=August 2021