I need ideas for a sport touring bike?

[Timpala]

So I am looking into some sort of touring bike. I've never done any touring, but for some reason I am getting a wild hair to take a trip this Summer. I have 2 motorcycles already, but neither of them are comfortable for more than an hour. I need some ideas for a new or pretty new sport touring bike. I'm not wanting a Goldwing or Harley or too much of a grandpa mobile. My first thought was a BMW or something of that nature. I am looking to keep the price range around 10-11k. Any ideas?
I may be up for an "Adventure Tour" motorcycle. I want to be able to ride the highways and the gravel roads off the beaten path. Not extreme off road, but maybe a bit more rugged than your normal street bike. I also would probably put a couple of tour cases on each side of the seat to carry my stuff.

 

[BillWells]

A gold-wing is very comfort ride, I've traveled all of old 66 with mine, now has over 100,000 miles. Still rides great

 

[JetDoc]

Any good "Dual-Sport" type of bike will work. Try to find something in the $7-$8 K price range because you're going to want hard bags, clothing and accessories for touring, and that will quickly add on another grand or two to the purchase price.

BMW makes several different GS style bikes, but they're all expensive. I rode a Suzuki V-Strom that was a great bike for highway and light off-road riding. Kawasaki advertises their KLR 650 as a dual-sport, but the big single cylinder engine gets kind of buzzy at highway speeds. Honda and Yamaha also have dual-sport bikes that could work out.

Get out of the house and spend a weekend or two shopping all the bike stores to find what you're looking for.

Good Luck and RIDE SAFE!

 

[pinemiser]

I would like to own a Connie 14, its got major power and comfort. Its a brother to the ZX14 which is competitive with the Hayabusa. This bike is cutting edge, the BMW sport touring is also a very nice bike but does not pack the punch.

 

[MreSmartypants]

I'm guessing by 'sport touring' you mean a bike that's good for long trips but not just for that.

BMW makes whole different categories of sport-tourers. The big flat twin would be my choice (I own an old airhead, ride it all the time). But they make some very nice medium-sized water-cooled bikes that might be more general-purpose..

Maybe you could find a nice used Honda ST1300. VERY nice bike, kinda big for just tooling around, but powerful and smooth and stable and lots of stamina.

How about a Suzuki SV 1000? I've seen a few of those out on the road covered with luggage and sleeping bags.

Cuisers have some advantages if you don't mind cruisers. Maybe not a Harley, maybe a Yamaha Star or Honda Shadow or something like that. 750cc is enough for any kind of trip, but 1100 would be more comfortable.