Dare we say Honda’s been bingeing on Street Glide-style models? Some may consider it blasphemous to include the CTX in the same sentence with Street Glide, but when it comes to motorcycles sporting fairings with low-cut windscreens and hard luggage, Honda boasts five new ones: CTX1300/Deluxe, CTX700 and Gold Wing F6B/Deluxe.

The Motus MST is the most distinctive motorcycle we’ve seen in years. Designed and built in America, and using what is basically half a Corvette V-8 engine, the 1650cc MST offers a bold new take on sport-touring motorcycles.

Introduced in 2011, the Ninja 1000 bridged a gap between the uncompromising performance of Kawasaki’s flagship ZX-10R and its more docile, long-distance counterpart the Concours 14 ABS.

Back in 2008, Can-Am shook up the motorcycling world by introducing its intriguing, not-a-trike, not-a-bike Spyder RS line of V-Twin-powered, three-wheeled sport riding vehicles. Solid initial sales of the RS encouraged the Bombardier-owned Canadian company to produce an encore, and in 2009 the Spyder RT luxury liner was introduced. It was an instant hit among touring riders who were advancing in age but didn’t want to give up the freedom of the open road.

Adventure-touring bikes can also make great sport-tourers, and none more so than Ducati’s 2013 Multistrada S Touring model. With amenities such as traction control, ABS, lockable/removable hard luggage, heated grips and an adjustable windscreen, Ducati’s Multi differs from its sport-touring counterparts mostly by way of styling and suspension travel.

Ducati’s new-for-2013 Hyperstrada wheelies, slides the rear wheel, jumps curbs, is nimble and flickable, and a hoot in urban environments. Characteristics, according to Ducati, distance riders look for when considering a new model to go “touring, Italian style.”