Think affordable sports tourers and it’s hard to think past these two. Yamaha and Kawasaki cornered the market with these slick, do-it-all, dependable gems which sell by the bucketload.
Long, low, powerful and comfortable, Kawasaki’s Z1000SX is a sports tourer in the traditional sportsbike-turned- tourer sense, but Yamaha takes a fresher, more modern approach. Just like the Multistradas, S1000XRs and Super Duke GTs of the world, the Tracer 900 sits taller than the SX, with wide bars and private jet levels of legroom.
The two bikes you see bathed in British summer sunlight are special versions, but don’t worry, neither will break the bank. In the blue corner we have the £10,649 Yamaha Tracer 900GT and in the green there’s the £10,669 Kawasaki Z1000SX Tourer. Base models cost just £9999…