My son did a meetup ride on our 2003 Kawasaki Concours sport touring bike that he calls the 'Boatercycle' cause it is big as a boat. This bike has a 1000cc engine, 7.5 gallon fuel tank , is 200 pounds heavier than a sportbike and has suitcase saddlebags. Here is a picture of this model motorcycle.
I belong to a forum supporting these bikes and some members have more than 300,000 miles on their bike and still running strong. These bikes are very top heavy due to large fuel tank and are easy to tip over. The Concours Owners Group has a CDA# award for dropping your Concours. We did it with this picture as my son bumped it with the Silverado. Uh oh, new $75 foot peg to fix the drop.
The suitcases kind of protect the bike and fairings during a tip over. Sport touring bikes excell at long freeway, highway mile trips and have the luggage to carry your clothes and necessaties. We were waiting for an electrical part for my sons green bike so he rode the boatercycle in the following video.
The large fairing and windshield let you ride in comfort on the big squishy saddle. They are fun to ride in the twisty curves just not as nimble as the smaller sportbikes. The heavy weight disappears over 25mph speeds. At slow speeds it is very easy to tip these bikes over so requires extra care with the heavy weight. The saddlebags get in the way if you are trying to 'lane split' on the freeway but other than those two things, these are excellent on the freeways. Thanks for watching are enjoy your ride!
Now that's what I call a proper motorbike! :o)
The Concours is made for running the freeways and highways in comfort. The large fairing and windscreen keep you out of the wind so you can relax and not fight the pressure pushing you back. I don't 'lane split' as much as this bike is just wider. I like having both with sport touring for the highway and a sportbike for twisties and in town. 😃
How many bikes do you guys have?
I had nine but have since got the herd down to 4. I bought a lot of different ones to find one I liked the best. They all had issues so fixed them and sold most except my black zx10r. I could easily have 4 or 5 for me as they have different purposes. 😃
I think the heavier bikes would feel safer to me (I don't ride). I get queasy when I see these young guys on sportbikes doing wheelies on a busy highway!!
The heavier bikes are better in the wind and for long highway trips. My son called this one a rolling couch because of the comfort. You shouldn't get queasy cause the young guy is fine and will only damage himself as a car always wins. If the young guy is over riding his skill level will come back on him. 😃
You could live on that thing. Best of all, it's all off grid. LOL!
Yep son called it a rolling couch. The luggage bags are great for shopping can get 6 to 8 six packs each side. Even fit a helmet in each side. The bags hold a lot. This bike is shaft drive so no chain maintenance to do. They run forever so make great commuter bikes for back and forth to work. 😃