New Motorcycle Review: 2022 Suzuki GSX-S1000GT and GT+
See how Suzuki incorporates superbike performance with long distance touring comfort in this fun sporty motorcycle.
See how Suzuki incorporates superbike performance with long distance touring comfort in this fun sporty motorcycle.
Yamaha adds to its lineage of sport touring bikes with its Tracer 9 GT, an all-new, ground-up rebuild designed for long distance comfort.
WRN reader Michele Karaffa Cage used to ride a cruiser, but she wanted to ride on gravel roads. Listen to her tell us why she chose the BMW F 700 GS as her do-all motorcycle.
What’s in a letter? That’s the challenge BMW set out to tackle. The BMW F 800 ST carried the company’s middleweight sport touring flag for six years, but after listening to ST owners—and wannabe ST owners who felt something was preventing them from pulling the trigger—BMW decided the bike needed more gran turismo (i.e., touring elements).
The middleweights—the 750, 850 and 900cc bikes—are a popular class of motorcycle among women who prefer sport touring. In 2008, Aprilia introduced the Mana 850 to the United States, and women have been interested in this sport tourer ever since.
Manufacturers regularly update and improve upon motorcycles already in their lineups, but last year Honda didn’t just make an existing model better—it designed a brand-new VFR. A sleek, 167-horsepower, liquid-cooled, 76-degree V-4 VFR1200F has taken the place of the “either you love it or hate it” VTEC VFR800.
After sitting on the Kawasaki ER-6n and then taking it for a test ride, I knew instantly that this all-new motorcycle, introduced in model year 2009, has that special quality that will (and is) attracting lots of women riders.
People ask me, “What is a touring bike?” and I always say it’s any bike you’re touring on. I know I know, but really, unless you’re doing some truly hardcore riding, anything with a decent-sized gas tank that’s comfortable for a couple-day’s ride that you can strap some gear on is fine. Still, it’s very nice to have a bike that’s actually built for touring and the 650cc Versys is a versatile choice.
The Buell motorcycles have come a long way since the late 1990s, from tubular frames to frames with the gas tank included in the design. Riding a Buell motorcycle is unique in that you are included in the Harley, BMW and metric sportbike crowd. Most of the models look like the metric sportbikes but are actually open standard motorcycles, with the exception of the new 1125R and the Buell Firebolt.
The BMW R 1200 GS is one of the most successful production models for the company. BMW began as a producer of aircraft engines in 1913, and it began producing motorcycles before it produced cars. In 1921, BMW developed the M2 B15, also known as the first “Boxer” motorcycle.