Sport Touring Corner By Norm Kern As we said last month, sport-touring riders view motorcycling as a skill-based sport. They look forward to a challenge and enjoy developing their riding skill, which is directed toward riding twisty roads at a brisk pace. This is best done with a bike that combines performance and comfort, with agility being an important factor. While there are many things that make a good sport-touring bike, here are some fundamentals:
FOOT PEg lOCATION The foot pegs of a sport-touring bike are located directly below the front of the rider’s seat, usually as low as possible while still allowing plenty of cornering clearance. This makes it easier to shift body position for leaning into corners, raising one’s body from the seat to avoid jarring bumps etc. They are definitely lower and further forward than the typical sport bike’s pegs in order to reduce the bend at the rider’s knees for all-day comfort. SEAT HEIgHT Many riders assume the lower the seat height the better, but that’s only an advantage for putting your feet down while stopped. Once moving, a taller seat height gives the rider greater leverage, reducing the lean of the bike needed for cornering. 30-32 inches for seat height is the sweet spot on sport-touring bikes. HANDlEBARS On a sport bike, handlebars are narrow in width, low and far forward to provide a leaned over, tucked in riding position. At the other end of the spectrum, touring bike handlebars are wide and swept back for a full upright riding position. Sport-touring handlebars fall in between those extremesheight usually allows the forearms to be near horizontal, with enough pullback to allow elbows to be bent. This allows a more upright riding position than a sport bike, but encourages more forward body lean than a touring bike.
40 JULY 2018 THUNDER ROADS MAGAZINE MICHIGAN
WINDSHIElD Since the sport-touring windshield and fairing are smaller than a touring bike, the rider gets more air and the typical faster sporttouring pace provides some wind force against the body that reduces pressure on hands and arms. Forward body lean, combined with foot peg position, enables the rider to easily shift their body position for cornering and rise off the seat to avoid painful spinal compression when encountering potholes or bumps in the road.
TRAIl (also known as castor) The diagram shows a line through the steering head axis to a point where it intersects the ground. Trail is the distance from that point to where the front tire contacts the ground and is a critical dimension for quick and responsive steering. Most sport bikes and sport-touring bikes have 3.9-4.3 inches of trail.
WHEElBASE Not as critical as trail, but a typical sport-touring bike’s wheelbase is 59-62 inches, falling in the middle between the 54-57 inches of sport bikes and 64-68 inches typical of cruisers and pure touring bikes.
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