Riding with cruisers.. I want one!!

I think the Vstar 650 is weak as water. I don't like it much at all for 2 up.

I like:
HD sportster 1200 (or an 883 with some go fast parts)
Honda VTX 1300 , Shadow RS (also weak, but it has personality)

But, I'm a weirdo.

I've had my America since '06 and I've never regretted choosing it. 790cc or 865cc and carbs or fuel injection depending on the year. Its light enough in traffic and is one of the best handling cruisers I've ridden when the road gets twisty. I cruise at 80-85 mph with occasional kicks up to triple digits and it holds it's own.

Oh, and it still feels like a real motorcycle. Wherever you park, crowds will gather.

I posted earlier.....I'll advise it again.....the Shadow RS750 has a more upright seating position ( I have herniated disc(s) L5-S1) quite comfy actually......ultimately, the choice is all yours.....good luck!.

Weird, it showed up on my screen. Anyway, I was talking about the '94-'03 Honda Magna. They had a retuned version of the Interceptor V-4 engine. Pretty nice bikes and you can find them for just a few grand nowadays. Comfort seems to be kind of hit or miss though, from the couple of people I've talked to who've ridden them.

Flanders mini-ape bars and a Goldwing saddle made mine fit me pretty durn well. Vetter Windjammer fairing and some very modified Califia bags and trunk on the rear. I made them extra huge.

Noisy bike though (intake as much as exhaust), and a small gas tank. Loaded for bear I'd get but about 80 miles before hitting reserve.

It also has a different rake/trail than the other cruisers you find in the range, so it's a little more nimble.

And there are still leftovers hanging around in shops and on eBay.

+1, friends don't let friends ride cruisers

lol!!!

Damasovi

I don't think you will regret the cruiser. I've owned more than 20 of them, and never did regret a single one. Bikes I did regret were a '93 ZX11, a '94 YZF1000, an '86 Ninja 600, an '01 and '05 KLR650s, an '07 Ninja 250, and an '09 Ninja 500. The KLRs were not that bad comfortwise, but pretty bad compared to a cruiser. The others were great fun, but for only a few miles at the time. Definitely not something to cover miles on. If you want long distance comfort, and don't want a full touring bike, like a Goldwing, a cruiser is the ONLY way to go. Again, if you don't like the cruiser look, I would look long and hard at the new Honda CTX700, a cruiser in disguise.

Displacement never meant much to me either. I've had cruisers from 125cc (Kawasaki Eliminator 125) to 1500cc (Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Classic) and had a blast on all of them. Even the little 125 was comfortable for someone my size, a lot moreso than a Rebel 250. It's only issue, and my reason for selling it, was it was not freeway legal. If it had been, I could have crossed the country on it.


The Magna is another nice cruiser, with power. Nothing wrong with it, other than all those valves and carbs to deal with.

The R1200C is the ONLY cruiser BMW ever built, the Moto Guzzi and CB100, as nice are they are, are far from being cruisers. I consider them on the sporty side of standard. And bikes like the V-Strom, while they have their place, are definitely not cruisers. Your KLR will do what those types of bikes will do.


http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=861320

I took the MSF on an Eliminator 125 & I'd totally buy one if I could find it cheap enough That was a fun weekend

that cruiser has never been abailable in Mexico, just a couple of years ago honda brought this one, Honda V men, 125 cc and it is pretty, if it had been available in 2004 when I bough my first bike, I am sure I would gone to the cruiser side:


here is what it looks like! They are also not expensive (less than 30,000 pesos or like $2,500 USD)

Damasovi

Not too different from the Eliminator at all

I would definitely go with that over the Eliminator. More my style (a lot more retro) and it has cast wheels, which I assume means tubeless tires. I had to carry extra tubes, tire irons, tools to remove and install the wheels, a pump, and a small homemade jack around with me, which completely filled up my saddlebags.

Honestly you have to go check some bikes out. I find the 650 star to be small...smaller than my HD sporty. The honda 750's are a bit bigger than the star but still a touch too cramped. The 900 kawi and 950 star feel pretty big but not huge. If you want a larger mid size cruizer look there or a suki c50. If you decide to go the HD route try to find a 1200 you'll not regret it. CTX is a comfy bike...ugly and not out yet but could fit your bill too.

I'm a bit on the large side. I have sat on the V-Star 650, and have put some miles on a couple of Sportsters. I found the V-Star a much better fit. It felt bigger to me, the much wider gas tank may have had a lot to do with that. But the pegs/seat/bar layout seemed more spacious as well. The Sportsters had mid pegs. You can get forward pegs for them that would give me a lot more leg room, and you can get any kind of bars you want. So a Sportster could be modified to fit me ok. One big difference between the Sportster and the V-Star 650 is weight. I don't have the numbers, but the Sportster is one heavy bike for it's size. A lot of that weight is probably the engine, which is built like an anvil to handle all the shaking caused by the single crankpin long stroke small bore 45 degree engine. I doubt a Sportster 883 has any more power than a V-Star 650. They certainly feel like they do, but a lot of that is just noise and vibration.

The 900/950s are a nice size, and so are the 1100 and even 1300 v-twins, like the V-Stars and the VTX1300. Any 1300 will carry you and a passenger across the country with ease. Anything bigger is just an image thing as far as I am concerned. I had a 1500 for a while till it blew up, it was a lot slower than many much smaller bikes I've had. And it was heavy and handled like a dog. Would have made a good interstate touring bike though. My most powerful cruiser was probably my 1980 Yamaha XS1100 Special. It would EASILY leave ANY v-twin cruiser for dead.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=861320

Just to throw another wrinkle in here. The BMW R1200C actually is a very comfortable cruiser and they can be found at a good price. They were never very popular and I have seen low mileage bikes for a lot less than your budget. Some love them and some hate them for the styling, but they are a good do it all comfy ride.

I can't wait for the comments on this one.

Marc

My V-Star 650 is bone stock when it comes to engine, intake, and exhaust. If anyone wants to know what the horsepower and torque numbers really look like at the rear wheel, here you go I got to put my bike on Dynojet's mobile dyno during an open house at BMW Motorcycles of Las Vegas' open house back in April of last year. The printer was having issues, so I took pictures of the screen after they did my bike's dyno runs. Click the pics below for full size.





It's funny - I didn't know what I didn't know when I was first looking at bikes. I wondered if 50 horsepower in a BMW F650 single would be enough for me, but then thought my V-Star was just fine

yes I will like to sit at all and then ride some (I know I can't ride them all) so tomorrow I will spend an hour or so at the local dealer to see what fits and next weekend I will try to barrow someone's bike. I do not know much, just that I will consider all bikes, and after making THE LIST I will come out with a winner (on paper) and then decide.

Tanks for writing !!

Damasovi

hey P that a cool thing to put your bike on a dyno. By looking at this chart I think I would like the v-star even with the added weight, I don't care for 0-60 or the bling bling, I just like to ride, I guess I am the type of rider that will spend more money on seats, racks and gas than chrome accents!!

Thanks for sharing this!

Damasovi

I've had over 20 cruisers, and never spent a penny on "bling" All of them had stock pipes. I did add backrests, luggage racks, saddlebags, windshields, better grips, all functional stuff. I bought them to ride. My current Vulcan 750 may not look like it in the pictures (cheap camera) but it is plenty dirty and has a lot of scratches from it's almost 80,000 miles. I wash it occasionally, but never bother with detailing. IMO, even washing does more harm to a bike than leaving it alone. I have a dual sport bike I've had for 10 years, and it has never been washed. I do over maintain it, so the chain and air filter get cleaned, the oil gets changed, the cables and some other things get lubed, but the only cleaning I've ever done is around the airbox cover, oil filler, and spark plug hole, to keep dirt out of the engine. I used to spend too much time cleaning and waxing my bikes back when I was a lot younger, back then I actually enjoyed it. But there is no way to keep a bike clean in the AZ desert, even when you keep it in a garage. Dust and sand are everywhere.