Whether you’re an experienced motorcyclist or a rookie motorcycle rider, you want the most comfortasble ride possible. Every rider wants a bike that is light and agile enough to handle the turns, but it also needs to be functional. There’s a fine line between fun-to-ride and function. Most sport tourers that I have found are not light enough, and the sportbikes aren’t comfortable enough for long rides. What does an out-of-the-box thinker do? Make your own!
So how exactly do you make your own sport-touring bike that’s light enough to handle the twisties, but comfortable enough to ride long miles; especially if the OEM manufacturer’s can’t do it? The recipe is pretty simple, you take your favorite sport bike, with enough power, torque, speed, and handling ability; then you customize it with higher flatter bars, a more comfortable seat, lower pegs, a slightly higher windscreen, and somewhere to store your stuff.
Let’s look at the options to customize one of my personal favorite’s, the Kawaxaki ZX-14
1. The most important aspect of the conversion from a ultra-high performance mototcycle to a sport touring bike is the seat. For the ZX-14, the Canyon Sport Touring seat from Corbin is an excellent option. At $493, the Corbin seat will allow you and your sweetheart the opportunity to tour the country in comfort, even at a blistering fast pace.
2. The second most important part of converting a sport bike into a sport tourer are handlebar risers. The handlebar risers from HeliBars are designed to provide the most comfortable riding position possible, at just $70, you can’t go wrong with the risers from HeliBars. Whether you are waiting at a stop light in town or flying down a long lonesome desert highway, precision built HeliBars transform and improve the handling, performance and comfort of your motorcycle.
3. Keeping in the theme of the optimal riding position, the obvious next upgrade for your motorcycle will be lowering pegs to improve your comfort when riding for long periods of time. You can have a set of Corbin lowering pegs for around $100, which rounds our set of upgrades to enhance the ergonomics of your motorcycle.
4. Now that you’re legs can stretch out a little more, and your sitting up a little bit due to your handlebar risers, you’ll need a windscreen to relieve the wind pressure off of your head, neck, and back. The Sport Touring windshield from Zero Gravity is only $100, and will help keep you comfortable on those long rides.
5. Now that your sport bike has been equipped to provide the comfort of a sport touring machine, you need a place to store your luggage. This saddle bag set from Corbin is pricey at $2,293, but will perfectly match the color and style of your ZX-14. They also have bags for other sport bikes as well.