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Can you take a sportbike on a 3 hour trip without hurting your back. I'm interested in buying a sportbike but I was wondering how long a healthy, inshape individual can ride one for.

not speaking much from personal experience, but it depends a lot on the bike. Something pretty cramped like an rc51 or gsxr1000 can definitely make you cramp up and get sore faster than something a little less sporty such as a cbr900 or zx6r.

You could tour any bike, the question is how sore will you be afterward and how often will you be forced to stop. As far as sport bikes go, comfort has taken a nose dive in recent years. If a bike is considered a race replica, comfort wasnt a serious consideration.

On the other hand, there are sport bikes that are more comfortable. The Hayabusa,ZX-12, and the ZZR1200 are purportedly more comfortable. Ive never sat on said bikes, so I cant say for sure. And of course, none of those bikes should ever be considered by new riders.

The biggest problem I have, and my bike is supposed to be considered comfortable(its really not), is my back and wrists/hands. My knees also get serious fatigue after about 2 hours in the seat. The thing you want to keep an eye out for is how straight up your back is. Most sport bikes will hunch you forward, that is uncomfortable. Some bikes have you sitting more upright, thats what you want.

If you have some experience, take a look at a ZZR 600, Im looking at that as a second bike. It is also possible to get things like gel seats and clip-on risers for the handle bars, those will make a huge difference. I was also just thinking of getting a ZX-6R, and modding it for comfort. There are lots of possibilites.

Not really, that's why they make sport touring bikes....seriously.

I have done 700 mile days on a VF1000F Interceptor with no ill effects. The riding position is not as extreme as the newer sport bikes though. My wife has a 86 VFR750. This is before Honda turned it into a sport-tourer. She has done 500 mile days on it and not complained about undo discomfort. No more than on any bike that you sit on all day. We have done multi-state tours on these bikes. Note that we had our regular gear plus our camping gear. It can be done. A lot of it is what you get used to. Personally, I find the ergos on a cruiser to be very uncomfortable for long rides.

Age is everything....well body condition is everything....
I never used to understand why someone would want a heavy and comfy bike. I've done tons of touring on sportbikes but to be honest I can't do it anymore. Give me a reasonable riding position and a good seat and I'm happy. I'm still a long ways from a Goldwing, but a V-Strom is tempting....

i think it just comes down to the person. if you dont mind being a little sore then its not a problem. if you know how to keep moving around to keep from getting sore that will help to.

will a new rider not used to sitting on a sport bike enjoy riding long distance, probably just for the fun factor, but you will be hurting after wards.

go to the gym and work out your lower back that will make all the difference.

There exists a condition called saddle fitness. A friend of mine has just sold his TL 1000 for this very reason. He could toss the bike around and scratch for an hour and he was happy. However he could never come on the weekend runs with us. He bought A Kawa ZX 1200 and even after a 500 km trip complained of being sore. I ride a BMW K1200S and only get sore after really hard trips. Your muscles learn, the more you ride the fitter you get. Riding the bike once a week on a Sunday morning is not enough. The, around the block jogger, is never going to be fit for the marathon.