by Chris Parker
If I am being honest, the question at hand here could be a conundrum. Sport touring or adventure riding? Or a mix of both? Former MSTA President Pat Mogavero makes an interesting observation:
“Take a look around the parking lot at your next MSTA rally and you’ll surely see that bikes you find there are quite different than what you would have found in the early days of the MSTA, or even just a few years ago. More and more of them are adventure-type bikes, and less and less often are pure sport bikes.”
I have owned eleven motorcycles in the past twenty four years. Eight of those have been sport touring machines from Honda, BMW and Yamaha. I have also owned three adventure bikes, all BMW GSs of various generations. I started out on a simple and yet easy-to-ride Honda Pacific Coast and currently own a BMW R 1100 GS and a Yamaha FJR 1300. About as different bikes as you could possibly have in the garage, but they do complement each other nicely. Most of my motorcycles miles have been on pure sport touring machines, but lately I have gravitated towards the adventure bike for reasons that I find hard to ignore.
First, at six feet, two inches, I am folding myself up on most sport touring bikes. I’ve always had to adjust the ergonomics of any RT, ST or FJR. Rarely has that been the case on the GS models I’ve owned (I did put a much better and higher seat on the older GS, but the others, right out of the crate, were good to go). Second, as I started to explore more of the rough pavement of roads over the last five years, along with the occasional dirt road, my old R 1200 RT just wasn’t going to work. Enter my GSA, which provided me with access to better handling prowess. But something changed in an effort to tackle rougher pavement and forest service roads: I found myself more confident and faster on the ADV bike. Why is that? A combination of factors are on my list: skill level accruing almost imperceptibly since swinging my leg over that Pacific Coast. The comfort of the wide bars and front tire wanting to turn in a bit faster than the standard seventeen inch you find on sport touring machines. Slightly less weight to haul around sinewy curves also comes to mind.
I still laugh in my helmet when I pin the throttle on the FJR. It is extremely smooth and a mile eater. But my GSA was the better bike for me as it fit me like a glove. I miss it to this day and am looking forward to the upcoming 2025 version this time next year. But thinking back on my pure sport touring days (as defined by the standard template we have come to know, whether it was any of my RTs, the rocketship K 1600 GT, the ST1300 or the Feejer), I find that the best sport touring bike is the one that allows me to explore in comfort and also hussle when the mood suits me.
So, the question is what is sport touring in 2024? The answer to that is widely argued about and also defined by each individual. I remembered something from over a decade ago that began to break the mold of what a sport touring bike could be. I vaguely remembered an article in the much loved but now sadly defunct Motorcycle Consumer News in April 2010. They ran a story of a three-way shoot-out between a Kawasaki Concours 14, Honda VFR1200F and Yamaha FJR 1300. If memory serves me right, the FJR came in first place… save for an asterisk and instructions to turn the page. The following spread highlighted the support vehicle for the team that did the piece (all riders got to put seat time on it, including the story’s photographer). They all agreed it was the better sport touring bike there, even with it not officially in the comparison. That bike? The BMW R 1200 GS. I’ve never forgotten that some thirteen years later.
So, when I am at the next MSTA event and looking at the variety of machines in the parking lot, I expect to see more of these. And not just ADV bikes, but whatever you can throw some bags on and make into your own mile eater. I’ve seen an Aprilia Mille RSV with luggage strapped on; I’ve seen people touring on Honda ADV150 scooters.
Ride your own ride.