The Un-Standards
THE UN-STANDARDS
HOW TO TELL THE PLAYERS WITHOUT A SCORECARD
SPORTBIKES. SPORT-TOURERS. Dual-Sports. With all the names given to streetbikes these days that include the word “sport,” one has to wonder if motorcycles were ever really used just for transportation. And, short of freeway shootings, how simple commuting could ever be considered a sport ....
Regardless, as a walk around any motorcycle shop will confirm, there is a wide variety of streetbikes for sale these days, most of which fall into specific niches. So to simplify your shopping, here’s a primer on the various motorcycle genres besides the standard-style bike detailed in the accompanying article.
Sportbikes
Sportbikes are easy to distinguish, what with their full fairings and racy paint schemes, but in reality they fall into two separate categories: Racer-replicas and, well, let’s call them rational sportbikes. Racer-replicas, as the name implies, are bikes which have been developed from roadracers, with the bare minimum in street-legal equipment. Low, clip-on handlebars and high, rearset footpegs are tipoffs. Bikes that fall into this category include the Ducati 851, Honda RC30, Kawasaki ZX-7, Suzuki GSX-Rs and Yamaha
Rational sportbikes are more streetworthy than their racer-replica counterparts, with less-radical seating positions and more streetgoing accoutrements. These include Ducati Pasos, Honda CBRs and VFRs, the Kawasaki ZX-6 and ZX-11, Suzuki Katana 600, 750 and 1100, and Yamaha FJ 1200.
Sport-touring bikes
Sport-touring bikes, as defined by Cycle World in our February, 1991, sport-touring comparison, are sporting motorcycles which come with hard saddlebags as standard equipment. These are the best mounts for extended rides at a sporting pace, particularly while carrying a passenger. Bikes in this category include BMW RS models, the Honda ST 1 100, Kawasaki Concours and Suzuki Katana 1100 (when equipped with Suzuki’s accessory luggage).
Touring bikes
With their luxurious accommodations, highly protective fairings and abundance of storage space, touring bikes are the two-wheeled equivalent of motor homes. Suitably, they’re also some of the most expensive motorcycles available. These include BMW RT models, Harley Electra Glide and Tour Glide models, Honda Gold Wings, the Kawasaki Voyager and Yamaha Venture Royale.
Cruisers
A few years back, cruisers were all the rage, and if you look at the success of Harley-Davidson-unarguably the leader of the pack in cruisers—they’re still quite popular. Cruisers can be distinguished by their pullback handlebars, forward footpeg location, stepped seats and abundance of chrome. Popular models include most Harleys, the Honda VLX Shadow, Kawasaki Vulcans, Suzuki intruders and Yamaha Viragos.
Dual-purpose bikes
Dual-purpose bikes (or dualsport, as some manufacturers insist on calling them) are exactly what their name suggests: bikes designed for street and ofi-road riding. Bikes of this type include the Honda XR250L, Suzuki DR/Ss and Yamaha XTs.
However, as with sportbikes, there is a distinct sub-group: ParisDakar Replicas, patterned after the racebikes used in the annual African desert marathon. The difference here is that while dual-purpose bikes have traditionally been streetlegal ofi-road bikes, the booming popularity in Europe of the P-D Rally has spawned a whole line of what are essentially big, faired, singleor twin-cylinder streetbikes disguised to look like off-roaders, with long-travel suspension and wide, motocross-style handlebars. Notable here are the BMW GS models and Kawasaki’s KLR650.
—Brian Catterson
