Sport + Sport-Touring Motorcycle Reviews
In this section you’ll find Sport and Sport-touring motorcycle reviews from Rider magazine plus road tests, comparisons and news. Sport motorcycles are primarily built for speed and cornering on paved roads. Riding position is leaned forward (into the wind) with a longer reach to low handlebars and high footpegs that position the legs closer to the body. Sport-Touring motorcycles have the performance capabilities of sport motorcycles, but are equipped to keep a rider comfortable and safe on long-distance rides.
2012 BMW K 1600 GTL vs. Honda Gold Wing GL1800 ABS Comparison
Greg Drevenstedt
May 1, 2012
by Greg Drevenstedt When BMW unveiled the all-new 2012 K 1600 GTL, a high-tech, high-performance replacement for the long-running K 1200 LT, the company declared that it had built “a shark, not a whale,” a thinly veiled jab at the Honda Gold Wing GL1800. Around the same time we got our first ride... Read more »
2012 BMW G 650 GS Sertão Road Test
Greg Drevenstedt
April 3, 2012
Sertão is Portuguese for hinterlands or back country, particularly the arid badlands of northeastern Brazil, the sort of place the new offroad-ready G 650 GS Sertão is designed to explore. From 2000-2010, the rock-hopping variant of BMW’s F 650 GS was called the Dakar, after the legendary rally that... Read more »
2012 Kawasaki Ninja 650 Review
Mark Tuttle
April 2, 2012
Before a burst of technology and specialization in the mid 1980s commenced sharpening our motorcycles into sportbikes, long-distance luxury tourers and cruisers, a street bike was a street bike. In those days you pretty much used the same one for everything: touring, commuting, canyon carving, even dirt... Read more »
Sport Touring Comparison: 2003 BMW K1200GT ABS, 2003 BMW R1150RT, ABS 2003 Honda ST1300 ABS, 2004 Yamaha FJR1300 ABS
Bill Stermer
March 20, 2012
Sport tourers are the gold standard for distance-riding, hybrids that blend the best attributes of dressers and sportbikes. Their comfort level approaches that of dresser tourers, but without over-large fairings, permanently mounted luggage, sound systems and all that weight. Sport tourers also lean... Read more »
Motus Announces Production Plans, Pricing for 2013 MST and MST-R
Press Release
March 16, 2012
After a year of extensive testing and development, Motus Motorcycles announced at Daytona Bike Week its 2012 production plans, including pricing, accessories, specifications, availability and an initial list of dealers. The 2011/2012 American Sport Tour led Motus through the laboratory, around racetracks,... Read more »
Riding Among Giants, A 2011 Kawasaki Concours 14 ABS Tour Test
Greg Drevenstedt
January 26, 2012
Our motivations differed, but our destination was the same. Having fallen under the spell of majestic redwoods several years ago at Muir Woods National Monument, north of San Francisco, Carrie wanted to see big trees. Having fallen under the spell of the Kawasaki Concours 14, winner of our last sport-touring... Read more »
2012 Honda CBR1000RR – First Ride
Greg Drevenstedt
January 24, 2012
Liter-bike horsepower wars aren’t over, but they’re past the shock-and-awe phase of the campaign. With peak rear-wheel figures exceeding 150, sometimes by a considerable margin, the name of the game is harnessing all those stallions. Riding modes, traction control and ABS are now found–standard... Read more »
2012 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14R – First Ride
Greg Drevenstedt
January 23, 2012
At the dawn of the 21th century, as the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-12 and Suzuki GSX-1300R Hayabusa duked it out for top-speed bragging rights, motorcycle manufacturers agreed to limit production machines to 186 mph (300 kph), avoiding legislative restrictions then being considered in Europe. Everyone grumbled... Read more »
2012 Yamaha YZF-R1 – First Ride
Greg Drevenstedt
January 19, 2012
After debuting its crossplane crankshaft in 2009, Yamaha’s 2012 update of the YZF-R1 has focused on refinement, adding traction control, updating the look and celebrating the company’s Grand Prix racing heritage. Worldwide, 2,000 World GP 50th Anniversary Edition YZF-R1s, with anniversary... Read more »
2011 Moto Guzzi Griso 8V SE Road Test
Kevin Wing
December 28, 2011
Like the chicken or the egg, one wonders what Moto Guzzi decided upon first—the Griso moniker for this motorcycle or its unique design. If the former, I can imagine the artisans at Marabese Design near Milan scratching their heads a bit at first, pondering what a motorcycle named after a muscular bodyguard... Read more »
