Traveling by motorcycle is amazing, but traveling by motorcycle with someone is raising the bar. That is precisely what our friend Francisco does. A regular reader for years, which we greatly appreciate, he sent us a very interesting query to MotoGuía.
Until recently he had a Kawasaki Versys 650. A more than interesting motorcycle for its balance between price and quality. But since he likes to travel with someone and that also entails an extra load of luggage, he noticed that the motorcycle was becoming a little tight for him. For this reason, when it comes to renewing, it is looking for options that exceed the 67 HP of the Versys and has set us a minimum of 90.
With motorcycles of 90 HP or more we are more than convinced that it will have enough, so we are going to look at what options may be interesting taking into account that it already starts from a more than interesting motorcycle. In addition to thinking about an asphalt trail, Francisco does not give up a Sport Touring, so let's see what options can serve as a reference.
If you want to follow the Kawasaki path, the option of the Versys 1000 is perfectly feasible. With its tetra-cylinder engine it is already at 120 HP, and traveling with it is comfortable and easy without reaching exorbitant powers like those found in other trail models. The Ninja 1000 SX option for our taste would already be much more power than what you are looking for, which is why we ruled it out despite being a good option.
But, logically, we are going to look outside of Kawasaki because the range is almost infinite. At Honda, for example, we would rule out the Africa Twin because although it is a great motorcycle, it is perhaps not the motorcycle profile you are looking for. In that sense they have the NT1100, with 102 HP. A full-fledged sport touring motorcycle that is even available with the DCT transmission.
Today the line between an asphalt trail and many sport tourers is not so defined.
If we look at Yamaha we are going to look directly at the Tracer 9 and its different equipment versions. The 889 cubic centimeter three-cylinder engine offers 119 HP, making it also perfect for traveling. As with Honda, the asphalt trail option is not contemplated, although it must be recognized that the line that separates one type of motorcycle and another today is very fine.
And since we are talking about three-cylinder cars, we cannot forget the kings of three-cylinder cars: Triumph. The British have their Tigers and it is a matter of budget or taste to choose the Tiger 900 with its 108 HP and 90 Nm of torque, or the new Tiger 1200 which already has 150 HP and 130 Nm.
To top it off, although the list is so extensive that we left out many interesting options, we can look at the Suzuki V-Strom 1050 Tech with 107 HP, which is the asphalt version. And if we look at the Sport Touring option we find the GSX-S1000GX although already with 150 HP.
What is clear to us is that the options that we find between 90 and 120 HP are perhaps the most conducive to traveling and with moderate consumption and maintenance. Personally, opting for powers of 150, 170 or more horsepower is not necessary and in the long run it will be more expensive to maintain that type of mechanics in every sense.
Of course, as always, the options are so many and so varied that Francisco will always have the last option.
