10 Sport Tourers That Combine Track-Ready Performance With Touring Comfort

Sport touring motorcycles are one of the most versatile kinds of motorcycles. These will allow you to ride to work without complaint, attack your favorite twisty road over the weekend, and then set off on a multi-day ride with luggage, and it will do it all without batting an eye. However, the customer always wants more, and sport tourers have been getting more and more performance without sacrificing all-day comfort.

The ten bikes below are the kind that have enough power, speed, and engineering to keep a few sport bikes honest on a racetrack in the right hands, and they are enjoyable to ride around a track as well. At the same time, you won’t need a trailer to take them back home – you hop on, and ride off. These are ten sport tourers that combine track-ready performance with touring comfort.

Yamaha Tracer 9

Price: $12,599

Yamaha

The Tracer 9 can be everything to everyone. It is ostensibly a tourer, but underneath the skin it is powered by the same engine that powers the YZF-R9, and in the same state of tune. There’s a big hint in the riding position; the footpegs are so aggressive that it might get a little too uncomfortable for an all-day ride. Yamaha has also left in all the electronics required for a track day, including slide control – on a touring motorcycle! It isn’t a bad tourer either, with a large 7-inch TFT color screen, ride modes, and standard luggage.

KTM 890 SMT

Price: $13,949

KTM

A supermoto and a travel bike are at opposite ends of the spectrum, so developing a touring motorcycle from a supermoto might seem foolhardy. But KTM has done just that, and the 890 SMT is a whole bundle of fun because of it. This is like the Tracer 9, but turned up to 11. You get a really light motorcycle with a torquey parallel twin engine, but it also generates a good 104 horsepower. KTM has equipped it with a six-axis IMU, which means track days are stress-free. And with the luggage-mounting options, you can truly tour on it.

Suzuki GSX-S1000GT+

Price: $14,299

Suzuki

This was an easy choice for this list, seeing as how the GSX-S10000GT+ is built from the bones of old GSX-R1000s. The chassis is from one generation of GSX-R, while the engine is from another. Suzuki hasn’t turned the wick down much, offering 150 horsepower from 999 cc. That means it can be a little gutless at low revs, but this engine will come alive on a racetrack. The touring bit is taken care of by a 6.5-inch TFT color display, color-matched hard luggage, cruise control, traction control, and ABS.

BMW S 1000 XR

Price: $17,995

BMW

The S 1000 XR has a lot in common with the S 1000 RR. It makes allowances for touring with the long travel suspension and different riding position, but it can’t hide its supersport roots. It is even more aggressive than the Suzuki, offering 170 horsepower from its 999 cc inline four. You also get switchable ABS, cornering headlamps, and keyless ignition. However, things like a two-way quickshifter that are essential to a track day are on the options list, which can drive the price significantly higher.

Suzuki GSX-S1000GX+

Price: $18,599

Suzuki

If you prefer your crossover to be Japanese and loaded with everything right from the start, Suzuki has you covered. The GSX-S1000GX+ uses the driveline from the GSX-S1000GT+ but follows the format of the S 1000 XR for a potent Japanese crossover-type missile. Unlike its sibling sport tourer, it includes a six-axis IMU, and has smart cruise control which doesn’t disengage even if you change gear. The suspension is not just long travel but electronically adjustable as well, which justifies the higher price, both over the GSX-S1000GT+ as well as the S 1000 XR.

KTM 1290 Super Duke GT

Price: $20,499

KTM

The 1290 Super Duke GT has been around for a while now, and it is due for replacement with a 1390 engine. Just because it is long in the tooth doesn’t mean it isn’t pant-wettingly quick; the 175 horsepower and 104 pound-feet from its V-twin will have you going into hyperdrive pretty quick. Of course, it has all the electronics to back up its hooliganism, so you won’t find yourself on the wrong side of the ragged edge. The 1290 Super Duke GT can also be had for a bargain used, which is only more good news!

MV Agusta Turismo Veloce RC SCS

Price: $22,998

MV Agusta

‘MV Agusta’ is just another way of saying ‘fast motorcycle’. That holds true even of its tourers, which include the Turismo Veloce. This is a middleweight bike but is priced at the level of full-size ones because of its premium positioning. However, in the case of the Turismo Veloce RC SCS, there is a case to be made for value as well; the ‘SCS’ stands for ‘Smart Clutch System’. That means that it can function as a clutch-free gearbox, negating the need for manual clutch operation.

BMW M 1000 XR

Price: $24,495

BMW 

The M 1000 XR is what you get when you don’t water down the S 1000 RR to make a tourer like the S 1000 XR. BMW means it when it calls this an M Division product: you get over 200 horsepower, the redline sits at 14,600 RPM, and there is no governed top speed. If you fancy rolling up to a racetrack and then showing up other track day participants on a single motorcycle, the M 1000 XR is one of only two motorcycles we’d recommend for the job, the other being the Multistrada V4 RS.

Kawasaki Ninja H2 SX SE

Price: $29,100

Kawasaki

The H2 engine is one of the greats, not just because of the sheer engineering ability that was required to bring it into production, but also because it has taken so well to different applications. One of them is powering this sport tourer, the Ninja H2 SX. The sport tourer gives up significant power to the sport bike it is derived from, and it still remains the most powerful bike in this list. It also delivers over 100 pound-feet of torque, so you’re never going to be wanting performance, even two up with luggage. Kawasaki has loaded it up with semi-active suspension, blind spot detection, forward collision warning, self-healing paint, and launch control.

Ducati Multistrada V4 RS

Price: $37,995

Ducati 

The Multistrada V4 RS is like the KTM 890 SMT: it is something that shouldn’t work, but boy does it work well. This is a Multistrada fitted with the Panigale’s Desmosedici Stradale V4 engine, complete with Desmodromic valvetrain and all. This is also now the only Multistrada with a single-sided swingarm. It might have ‘only’ 180 horsepower, but it is ferociously quick, and will show a clean pair of heels to a sport bike around a track in the hands of the right rider.