Sport-Touring vs Sport Riding: The different mentality...

[V4]

People always wondered about the difference between sport touring and sport riding....both have the word sport in it....

as for me, its not the speed or how fast one charges in the corner that makes it sport touring but rather the lack of it and the restraint of doing it but still with the skill and experience of handling one's own bike with the mindset that reaching the destination and back safely for everyone is the goal....

to me, its more of a spiritual thing.....the joy of checking out new environments and just being there or just doing it for no other reason....

most of it, the love of riding no matter what one chooses to ride makes the most part of it as well....

any other thoughts, please give your input....

(gotta get this section rolling , ya know.... )

 

[pashnit]

Here's a quote from my Highway 1 page

The Poetic Side of Highway 1

Somewhere along this ride- it occurs to you... The smoothness of the road, the wind coming off the ocean chilling the air prompting you to zip up that jacket. There's an occasional car here and there and you're running at a relaxed pace through the straights. Is this why you finally bought that motorcycle after all those years of wondering if you'd ever ride again? Does it all make sense now? The sensation of the bike leaning smoothly back and forth, and the sound of the wind melding with the sweet hum emanating from the motor beneath you.

Life is simpler when astride a motorcycle.

You twist the throttle and your life fades into the background. There's no stoplights out here. No boulevards. No rows of nondescript tract homes. This is what riding a motorcycle is all about. This is a road where you feel everything. The throttle in your hand, the vibration of the bike beneath you, and the ever-present wind in your face...

That's Sport-Touring.

 

[pashnit]

Quote from the Stoney Hill Road webpage

You're screaming up the hill, your left foot is getting a workout, your left hand is grabbing the clutch- it's all happening so fast- you even shift a few times without the clutch by blipping the throttle. You need that extra second of reaction time. Your boot is rubbing against the pavement.

Your tossing the bike back and forth, manhandling it, working it. You can feel the front tire biting, the fork absorbing the bumps, you pick your line a long ways off and listen to the wind in your ears.

Is it all happening in slow motion you wonder? You lose all sense of time. All that matters is the next curve.

At the top of the hill, a straight appears and the bike rockets forward. This sensation of glee settles over you, seeping through your leathers. Of euphoria.

The roar of the exhaust is a sweet sweet song. The rush of wind against your chest and legs. The helmet pushes against your cheeks. Relaxing in straights, you watch the world go by. The next corner appears and into a full tuck you go, chest on the tank...

That's Sport-Riding.

 

[Max Smiley]

getting out of the bay area ping pong loops and seeing new places :thumbup something I haven't done very much of. so it's a big adventure! I am still in awe of the varied natural beauty of California and it's rich history, some of it my own from generations before me. so I want to stop and smell the :rose roses :rose :rose not just rip by them.

 

[NoGall]

Sport riding to me is:
I have got a few hours, and I want to work on my skills and cover as many miles as safely possible in that time frame.

Sport-touring:
Give me the map so I don't have to come home for a while. Or, I want to see that perfect sun rise/set; meet some country folks; not shave for a while; feel what the West is all about; and be free.

 

[lefty]

Sport-Riding to me is;
Riding my Gixxer and being focused on every line, body position, braking later and later, a mental and physical workout, scaring the crap outta myself........ All for what? I'm not getting paid to do this- why risk killing myself or someone else?

Sport-Touring to me is:
The exact opposite. Being able to ride my Kawi ZX9-R at a fun, but relaxed pace through the twisties. I look for sweepers not hairpins. Not feeling awkward because you have a tank-bag. Being able to buy tires that cost less and last 4 times as long!Being able to go alone and not worry about 'what time it is'? Making time to stop and take a picture of that lake, and perhaps talk to a local about the 'quality' of the fishing..........

 

[WickedWahine]

Sport-touring is that zen-like state when all is right in the world.

Endless ribbons of desolate road before you and the banality of life just a speck in your rearview mirror; you find that the experience is in the journey--not so much the destination.

The excitement of adventure, the companionship of your closest friends and the sensation of oneness with everything around you. It's my religion

Some of my fondest memories I owe to sport-touring.

 

[donoman]

I've never gone on an overnighter. For me, sport touring is any ride where riding is 95% of the agenda and stopping is only because it's necessary. The longest ride I've done is from LA on my RC51...

 

[WickedWahine]

You need to go on an overnighter with us Dono...

Good times!

 

[RydTher]

overnighters, day longers (16hrs in the saddle is my max so far), its all good. Altough the overnighters seem more fun.

ride to Utah and the northern rim of the Grand Canyon next spring.
Would be a fun trip

 

[NoGall]

I have the most fun with overnighters when you get a room with no TV. Gotta try roughing it next year (camping).

 

[Primate]

To me, sport riding largely belongs at the track. It seems the more track time I get the slower I go on the street. In fact, of my three bikes (GSX R750, 954 and BMW 1150RT) I enjoy riding the BMW the most. I usually use very little brake and stay to one or two gears.

The amazing thing is that I can go by most guys on sport bikes, and often times two up. Just by picking good lines, flicking the bike (yes, you can flick a 615 motorcycle) and being smart. Also helps to know the roads!

My moto is it is much more fun to ride fast on a slow bike than to ride slow on a fast bike.

 

[GAMBLER]

Sport touring, a fancy word for riding. its being in the atmosphere, not isolated from it by glass and metal. you see Death Valley from a car.... you breath it on a bike. and live it.

 

[aloois]

My riding buddy and I were mostly sport riders, out into the hills for a few hours, hitting a few great roads like Hwy 120 into Groveland and linking it up with Cherry Lake and Cottonwood Rd (Thanks Pashnit). Mostly waiting for the turn and burn sections. But now he's selling his bike and through the late summer and fall I've been going out touring by myself; over Hwy 120 and back via Hwy 108, over Hwy 4 and back via Hwy 88. Seeing the sights, riding the pace, and getting into a rhythm.
Now it's less about "what roads do I want to ride and how quick can I get there" and more about picking a destination and checking out new roads and sights. Since I'm from the central valley I've done most of my riding up in the Sierras and foothills; now it's time to "tour" my way over to the bay.
Here's a brief day trip list of places I'd like to ride.
Pt. Reyes
Mt. Diablo
Mines Rd (only 1 hr away but I've never headed that way)
The Wall in Berkley
Hwy 9 and Alice's
Hwy 1 around Bodega Bay

 

[budman]

Sport riding:
"wow that was awesome..damn that turn got my attention...shit did you see Joe blast by that car...were you dragging your knee through there?"

Sport touring:
"Wow that was awesome..did you see the sunset on those cliffs?...shit did you see Joe pack all that shit in is bags? Where we going next?"

Great quotes of yourself pashnit! Those are so on the spot:thumbup

I love it all..and I do get way more out of sport riding at the track than on the street....but a :teeth is a :teeth..no matter how ya get it!

:smoking

 

[ghan]

ride to Utah and the northern rim of the Grand Canyon next spring.
Would be a fun trip

In mid May every year BMWST.COM has a gathering in Torrey, UT at the Chuckwagon Inn .
We gather on a Friday from all over the country to eat, drink and tell lies. Then ride the scenic byways and carve up the canyons on Saturday.
If your headed that way in May, stop by. Just be prepared for a lot of curious drooling over that fine ride of yours.

 

[deaconblues]

Sport riding is picking a specific road because it's curvy and relatively unpopulated so you can REALLY push the envelope.

Sport touring is picking a general direction and riding whatever roads you happen to find.

Sometimes you get a little of the former in with the latter... other times you set out to do the former and it turns into the latter.

 

[wakked1]

Sport riding: Clean bugs off after ride.

Sport touring: Clean bugs off (regularly) during ride.

 

[Raghu]

overnighters, day longers (16hrs in the saddle is my max so far), its all good. Altough the overnighters seem more fun.

ride to Utah and the northern rim of the Grand Canyon next spring.
Would be a fun trip

sign me up!