10 Japanese Motorcycles That Nail The Sweet Spot Between Comfort And Performance

The Japanese are thorough people. When they do something, they prefer to take it slow and get it right the first time out, and this is something that is reflected in everything they do. It becomes obvious to us as consumers when we buy a Japanese product – and it is no different for Japanese motorcycles. However, Japanese motorcycles also have virtues beyond reliability. They are fantastically good value, the most powerful production bike today is a Japanese bike, and they make some of the most fun motorcycles on the market.

This depth of knowledge and engineering coupled with the desire to offer value make for motorcycles that are great at more than a single thing, and sometimes seemingly opposing things – like comfort and performance. To help elaborate further, we’ve drawn up a list of ten Japanese motorcycles that nail the sweet sport between comfort and performance, and that includes a cruiser and full-dress tourer!

Honda CBR650R E-Clutch

Price: $9,899

Honda

The CBR650R was never intended to be one of the traditional middleweight sport bikes. You know, the ones with the screaming inline four engines and aggressive track-focused seating. This makes nearly 95 horsepower despite displacing 649 cc, which means there is a focus on everyday usability through torque. The seating position isn’t aggressive, the 5-inch TFT has Bluetooth and navigation, and the E-Clutch system takes the pain out of operating the clutch. This is the only semi-automatic gearbox in its segment, but can be switched off for a full manual experience as well.

Honda CB1000 Hornet SP

Price: $10,999

Honda

The CB1000 Hornet SP isn’t priced like it is the most premium naked Honda, but it certainly has the performance and hardware to back a claim like that up. The engine is detuned for the US market, but globally makes a peak of 157 horsepower. The suspension and brakes are the other high points of the CB1000 Hornet SP. The ‘SP’ means that it gets some truly great components like Showa inverted SFF-BP forks, an Öhlins TTX36 shock, and Brembo brakes with a radial front master cylinder.

Yamaha Tracer 9 GT

Price: $12,599

Yamaha

The Tracer 9 GT is a touring motorcycle, so you’d assume it is comfortable. And you’d be right. However, it is a sport tourer, and Yamaha hasn’t dampened any of its enthusiasm while making the Tracer 9, leaving the full 117 horsepower from the CP3 engine in it. In fact, the Tracer might just be a little too sporty for an all-day ride, with its aggressive footpeg positioning. You won’t be wanting performance, with a six-axis IMU offering all kinds of rider aids, including slide control. Yamaha provides hard luggage, a 7-inch TFT color display, Bluetooth connectivity, navigation, and a two-way quickshifter as standard.

Suzuki GSX-S1000GT+

Price: $14,399

Suzuki

The GSX-S1000GT is like the Tracer 9, but leans more into the sport bike end of things. It has a 999 cc engine that puts out 150 horsepower, which is quite a lot for a touring bike, but the GSX-S1000GT is very much a tourer. It has standard hard luggage, a comfortable perch for the pillion, safety with ABS and traction control, and a 6.5-inch TFT display with Bluetooth and navigation. There isn’t much low-rev performance from it, but get it to the mid-range or higher, and it will surprise you with its pace.

Suzuki Boulevard M109R

Price: $15,799

Suzuki

The Boulevard M109R is a large, comfortable cruiser with a low-maintenance shaft drive and an engine that offers loads of torque across the rev range. That is its Dr. Jekyll personality. Give it a fistful of revs though, and the most powerful cruiser under $20,000 will rear its head and give you thrills that you weren’t expecting. Say hello to the Boulevard’s Mr. Hyde! Helping it keep all that power and torque in check are front forks and brakes borrowed from a GSX-R liter sport bikes, including inverted front forks, twin 310 mm brake discs, and radially mounted fixed brake calipers.

Yamaha FJR1300ES

Price: $18,299

Yamaha

The FJR1300ES is one of the old-school sport tourers. This is a large, heavy bike with a torquey inline four engine and a raft of creature comforts. Unlike the Suzuki above that is light on its feet and requires you to ride it more like a sport bike, this is a bike that is relatively calm. You will end up covering incredible distances and remain fresh at the end of the day. The ‘ES’ in the name stands for ‘Electronic Suspension’, which has more electronically adjustable parameters than most modern bikes with electronic suspension, and the brakes are a unified system.

Kawasaki Versys 1100 LT SE ABS

Price: $19,499

Kawasaki

The Versys 1100 is a crossover tourer, quite like the Tracer 9. It uses a large displacement four-cylinder engine that focuses on torque, so the figure can seem a little low at just 134 horsepower. It still has a good turn of speed, and is backed up by semi-active electronic suspension from Showa and a six-axis IMU. The format isn’t the only thing about it that is a crossover; the instrument cluster has both a TFT color display as well as a large analog rev counter.

Kawasaki Z H2

Price: $21,700

Kawasaki

The Z H2 is a naked motorcycle, so it is bound to have an upright seating position and an engine with good torque. It does have those things, but if you look at it a little closely, you’ll notice that the peak torque figure is an absolutely humongous 101 pound-feet, thanks to the supercharger. The almost-200 horsepower also sounds uncomfortable, but only if you’re at a racetrack. Everywhere else, you’re going to just have to twist your wrist for more performance. The full electronics suite that includes ride modes and cruise control is a nice bonus.

Honda Gold Wing Tour

Price: $28,700

Honda

The Gold Wing is definitely the most comfortable Japanese motorcycle right now, but what might surprise you is its turn of speed. The 125 horsepower figure doesn’t sound like much, but the six-cylinder engine generates effortless torque, and if you spec it with the dual clutch automatic gearbox, you have seven speeds to choose from. A six axis IMU backs this up with all the safety you’d expect from a flagship full-dress tourer and then some. Features include a TFT color display with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, navigation that doesn’t get confused or lost even when in a tunnel, and the world’s only motorcycle airbag.

Kawasaki Ninja H2 SX SE

Price: $29,100

Kawasaki

The Ninja H2 SX is the pinnacle of Kawasaki’s sport touring range, and possibly all Japanese motorcycles. At its heart is the same supercharged engine that powers the Z H2, but with the wick turned up to 207 horsepower. The torque from the forced induction really helps it have more performance as a tourer, and Kawasaki has packed it with features that befit a flagship model. They include semi-active electronic suspension, radar at both ends for blind spot detection and forward collision warnings, launch control, and self-healing paint that we first saw on the Ninja H2.