Some of the best-selling and most popular motorcycles of all right now are machines like Yamaha’s Tracer7 and Triumph’s Tiger Sport 800 – and it’s not hard to see why. 

These middleweight sports tourers (by middleweight we mean bikes between 500 and 1000cc) have a fair claim to saying they can truly do it all. By being neither too big or too small they’re just ‘right’ in terms of size and manageability as middleweight twins or triples with around 100bhp they have enough performance to satisfy yet are also sufficiently light and unintimidating. By being upright, faired and with an emphasis on sporty handling they’re comfortable, entertaining yet versatile. And, with prices largely around the £10K mark, they’re also temptingly affordable and reasonably cheap to run. 

But that very popularity brings its own drawbacks. The interest in the category has led to more and more entrants in recent years – Aprilia’s Tuono 660, now in top spec Factory trim only, Triumph’s two Tiger Sports and BMW’s F900XR immediately spring to mind – with the result that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to know which bike suits you best. 

So, to help you decide, here’s our round-up of the very best current middleweight sports-tourers available, in price-ascending order… oh, and before you ask, there are no ‘adventure’ bikes such as Suzuki’s latest V-Strom 800 here, if there was, we’d also have to include machines like Yamaha’s 700 Ténéré or Honda’s 750 Transalp, too and that category we’ve already dealt with elsewhere. We’re also, as I write, unable to yet include Suzuki’s exciting new SV-7GX, as it’s not yet available, we haven’t yet tested in and its price has yet to be revealed – but when it is, and we have, we will! 

 

CF Moto is arguably the most impressive and advanced of all the new, emerging Chinese motorcycle brands and its 700 MT sports-tourer is typical of its wares, being based on slightly older powertrains but with impressive style, plenty of equipment and decent ability and all being offered at a very tempting price.

With a TFT dash, inverted forks, two rider modes and an enlarged version of Kawasaki’s older 650cc twin, the 700 MT ticks a lot of boxes but is also a little raw and underpowered compared to European rivals and can’t match their refinement and durability, either. That said, with a four-year warranty, free breakdown cover and a price now £6499, you’ve got to ask yourself how much of that actually matters. 

 

Kawasaki’s long lived Versys 650 was one of the very first of this type of bike when originally launched way back in 2006, was considered pioneeringly radical at the time and evolved to pretty much set the template for the breed, even if it’s now been overtaken by newer, more sophisticated rivals. Even so, the basics remain good enough and its price has been kept sufficiently low to remain worthy of inclusion.

Developed from the old ER6n twin cylinder roadster, it’s a faired, adventure sport style machine with a willing, if now slightly outpaced and old-fashioned parallel twin. Performance, handling and comfort are OK, it’s frugal to run, Kawasaki also offer Tourer, Performance and Grand Tourer equipped versions and it’s a lot of bike for the money – but despite being successively updated and refreshed in 2010, 2015 and 2022, it’s no longer the best. 

 

Yamaha’s cute, perky and practical Tracer 7 (or Tracer 700 as originally called when launched in 2016) took over from the Versys 650 and raised the bar in virtually every respect. The result has been a Europe-wide best seller for most of its lifetime although that dominance is now under the threat from the likes of Triumph’s new Tiger Sport 800.

It was developed from Yamaha’s MT-07 roadster who’s grunty and potent ‘Crossplane’ twin cylinder motor proved a revelation. Add a fine handling chassis, upright, faired practicality and comfort and a very keen price and it’s not hard to understand its popularity. It’s been updated twice since; remains a fantastic and affordable all-rounder and the GT version adds panniers and equipment.

A great, value choice, but now also only available in semi-automatic form with Yamaha’s novel Y-AMT system. 

 

Launched in 2022 and developed from Triumph’s Trident 660 roadster with which is shares its three-cylinder engine, clocks and more, the Tiger Sport 660 was unashamedly aimed at Yamaha’s successful Tracer 7, delivers much of the same performance and versatility yet arguably beats it for handling and three-cylinder character. It’s not the most lavishly equipped (but then you can’t really expect it to be at this price point), but the Tiger Sport 660 is affordable, good looking, fine handling, a decent performer, can be specced up with luggage and equipment, now comes with cruise control as standard and is good value, too. 

 

Here’s a slightly oddball middleweight sports-tourer – but then, Austrian off-road specialists KTM rarely do things conventionally. Launched in 2023 and conceived, like the BMW F900 XR, as a ‘little brother’ to an existing, larger version, in this case KTM’s 1290 Super Duke GT, the SM-T (for Super Moto Touring), the KTM twin does things slightly differently. It’s based on the lively, twin cylinder 890 Adventure R, adds a small screen and road wheels, and the result is effectively a supermoto but with a modicum of practicality. Whether that makes it a true sports-tourer is up for debate, but there’s no doubt the SM-T is lively, nimble and hugely entertaining. It’s also now, due to KTM’s stock problems, a full £2500 cheaper than it used to be, which is worth bearing in mind. 

 

Launched in 2020, the F900XR reinvigorated the middleweight sports tourer class with its mix of performance, versatility and premium appeal – while still remaining temptingly affordable.

Effectively a ‘little brother’ to BMW’s successful S1000XR, the 900, instead of being based on the four-cylinder S1000 platform, was formed around the newly enlarged, more powerful version of BMW’s F-series parallel twin. This resulted in 104bhp, had decent handling, was well-proportioned, comfortable and handsome and, crucially, was reasonably affordable, too.

In reality, of course, being a BMW with an extensive optional accessories catalogue, most owners probably spent far more on heated grips, luggage and other accessories, but the result remains one of the classiest and best bikes of this type. 

 

New last year, the Tiger Sport 800 is one of the best, if not THE best, bikes of this type thanks to its class-besting mix of style, handling, invigorating three-cylinder performance, versatility, equipment levels and price. And yet, despite its brilliant execution, its origins are a little less pure. The Tiger Sport 800 was conceived as a ‘bigger brother’ to the Tiger Sport 660, uses essentially the same chassis and engine (but enlarged) and retains things like its slightly underwhelming dash.

Compensating for this are uprated brakes, fully adjustable suspension, a brilliantly flexible and invigorating engine and spec that includes an adjustable screen and cruise control as standard. It all gels brilliantly, in many ways is all the bike you’ll ever need and, usefully, it’s price is unchanged for 2026.  

 

Among the bigger bikes of this type (ie 900cc not 700), the Tracer 9 (previously Tracer 900 and before that MT-09 Tracer) has been nothing short of a class-defining revelation in the middleweight sports-tourer category and is the bike that acted as catalyst for the category’s rejuvenation.

Like its little brother, the Tracer 700 which followed, the first 900 was launched based on the best-selling MT-09 roadster and, with a roomier, more upright riding position and protective, frame-mounted half fairing it had all of the donor bike’s dynamism and affordability but with extra versatility and distance appeal. 

The result was a massive sales hit, has been through three updates since, has spawned two upspecced spin-offs (the pannier equipped GT and radar, active suspension and more GT Plus) and remains the bike to beat for its brilliant engine and handling, impressive versatility and ever growing sophistication although, on the down side, the upspecced versions can now be over £17,000, ridiculing the Tracer’s original cut price appeal. That said, this base version is actually slightly cheaper than before. 

 

Like many of the other bikes here, the Tuono is an upright, faired variant of an existing bike, although in this case the Aprilia was derived from the RS660 sportster launched in 2021 rather than on a roadster like the Yamaha and Triumph. That goes some way to explain the Italian bike’s slightly different character. With more of an emphasis on sports, a racier riding position and lower screen, the Tuono is more of a faired ‘naked’ than a comfortable, upright all-rounder, but it does still fulfill that role impressively.

In addition, its engine is revvier, but still flexible and its Italian style is sportier, too. The UK now only gets the upspecced ‘Factory’ version, with 10 extra bhp, fully adjustable Kayaba front forks and Sachs rear shock, an IMU for enhanced cornering ABS and traction control, a standard bi-directional quickshifter, lighter lithium-ion battery, shorter gearing and a single-seat cowl. But if you like your middleweight sports-tourers with a flavour of sporting Italian exotica, you won’t be disappointed. 

 

When it comes to alluring Italian exotica, no-one does it better than MV Agusta, which is why it’s a little surprising that, as well as its usual supernakeds and sportsters, the Varese-based brand also offers a middleweight that’s impressively practical – the Turismo Veloce.

Launched way back in 2015, like Yamaha’s Tracer 9, it’s derived from a three-cylinder roadster, the Brutale 800, but with a far greater emphasis on style, sophistication and equipment. It’s impressively capable, too, being brisk, agile, comfortable and well equipped and comes in a variety of guises.

On the downside, it’s gaining, can’t quite match its latest rivals for performance or sophistication, and now pricier than ever, but it remains the only MV you can justify buying with your head rather than your heart…