Sport touring motorcycle Sport touring motorcycle A sport touring motorcycle (sometime a "sports-tourer") is a type of motorcycle that combines the performance of a sport bike with the long-distance capabilities and comfort of a touring motorcycle. The first sport-tourer is said to be the fully faired 1977 BMW R100RS. Journalist Peter Egan defines the sport-tourer as a "café racer that doesn't hurt your wrists and a touring bike that doesn't feel like a tank," and identified the R100RS as the first example he owned. Unlike a sport model, a sport touring model will typically have more wind protection with larger fairings and an
Motorcycle safety system if required. The result is a motorcycle less prone to operator error; one that can brake effectively in a wider range of motorcycle attitudes with much reduced risk of a low side crash due to loss of traction from a combination of braking and cornering. Fuel tank mounted airbags as well as wearable jacket airbag devices have been designed to moderate the risks involved with motorcycles. The first motorcycle crash tests with an airbag were performed in 1973 and proved that airbag systems could be advantageous to a rider. These tests were followed up by tests in the 1990s