During normal riding i have noticed only a small difference going from sport to touring mode.I have had health problems over the past year,some days I`m very weak.Anyway this past week my buddy and I went for a short ride on one of my bad days.I was having a hard time on some tight,rough back roads untill I changed to touring mode.I was able to control the bike much easier with less effort.There is a bigger difference than I thought but it is all in the feel and feedback .A couple days later we went for another ride feeling a little better,My friend rides a 2007 1000 V-STROM so he is itching for a race,i`m curious myself so we did a few roll ons in 5`th and 6`th gears.These bikes are very close,Tenere wins at lower rev`s,V-strom seems to have a touch more top end .I tried it in both touring and sport modes-makes no difference -same speed either mode.So from my experence it seems the only difference is the feel you get from either mode.