Am I the only crazy1? SS and a cruiser simultaneously.

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I ride a cruiser and have no problem doing 1100 km days when touring. I cruise all day at 130 and more if I can get away with it.I upgraded the shocks to Hagon Nitros because the stockers were too harsh and a Corbin seat but other than that it is basically stock. I don't understand why people get on here and generalize about a whole class of bikes based on hearsay or a few test rides.
 
omnivore said:
LOL....try riding a cruiser any distance on open highways. They are way worse than a sportbike. A cruiser's design parameter is below highway speed cruising, like in town riding. In town is EXACTLY where I would expect a cruiser to be used. The legs out front riding position puts alot of strain on your body, and every bump runs straight up your spine without your feet below you to help isolate your body from the impacts.
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I'm going to have to disagree with you there. I've ridden sport bikes and find them way more uncomfortable than cruisers. The riding position forces you to have your weight either on your wrists or your knees the whole time. They have their use, but claiming a sport bike is a better ride for a long highway trip is just silly.

And, unless you're riding a hard tail or a waaay forward controls, bumps are simply not as you claim.
 
Took a cruiser on a trade once, sold it a week later. I was riding it like a supersport. The crash-bar was scraping and sparking as I had it leaned beyond its limits. I went home, put it on Kijiji and sold in a week. I hated the sound of it and hated the "born to be wild" song that wouldn't escape my head!

Omnivore is correct. On a cruiser the maximum pressure point is your lower lumbar. Watch a cruiser rider and you'll see that area constantly jarring. Those discs (L1 - L5) are the discs that get herniated the most.

Sore knees on a supersport? It's because they are supporting you. Get some MSM from your local health food store and take at least 2000-4000 mg's daily. Say goodbye to joint pain!

Look on Kijiji at how many guys have bought cruisers and now have the cruisers listed as "trade for CBR or GSXR."

The Stryker is an evolution of the Warrior which is the bike of choice for supersport riders going cruiser. It's a muscle bike with an R1 frame. The midnight edition looks sick. However, I saw two on Kijiji this summer with "trade for CBR, Ninja, or GSX-R." Once you have the bloodthirst for speed, it's really hard to shake and go slow.
 
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KillFace said:
I'm going to have to disagree with you there. I've ridden sport bikes and find them way more uncomfortable than cruisers. The riding position forces you to have your weight either on your wrists or your knees the whole time. They have their use, but claiming a sport bike is a better ride for a long highway trip is just silly.

And, unless you're riding a hard tail or a waaay forward controls, bumps are simply not as you claim.
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I think he is talking about the style of bike the OP wants to buy...a Stryler and not a Honda Civic (Goldwing). The chopper style cruisers will destroy your lower back.
 
MLadin said:
Took a cruiser on a trade once, sold it a week later. I was riding it like a supersport. The crash-bar was scraping and sparking as I had it leaned beyond its limits. I went home, put it on Kijiji and sold in a week. I hated the sound of it and hated the "born to be wild" song that wouldn't escape my head!

Omnivore is correct. On a cruiser the maximum pressure point is your lower lumbar. Watch a cruiser rider and you'll see that area constantly jarring. Those discs (L1 - L5) are the discs that get herniated the most.

Sore knees on a supersport? It's because they are supporting you. Get some MSM from your local health food store and take at least 2000-4000 mg's daily. Say goodbye to joint pain!

Look on Kijiji at how many guys have bought cruisers and now have the cruisers listed as "trade for CBR or GSXR."

The Stryker is an evolution of the Warrior which is the bike of choice for supersport riders going cruiser. It's a muscle bike with an R1 frame. The midnight edition looks sick. However, I saw two on Kijiji this summer with "trade for CBR, Ninja, or GSX-R." Once you have the bloodthirst for speed, it's really hard to shake and go slow.
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Well, personal preference always wins out I guess.

I've been riding cruisers for almost a decade and my back is fine.

I'm not sure why you think cruises go slow... Perhaps we're not as quick in the corners, but we can still haul ass.

I got nothing bad to say about super sports, but it annoys me when people rag on cruisers without knowing what they're talking about. It doesn't always have to be an us-vs.-them fight.
 
KillFace said:
Well, personal preference always wins out I guess.

I've been riding cruisers for almost a decade and my back is fine.

I'm not sure why you think cruises go slow... Perhaps we're not as quick in the corners, but we can still haul ***.

I got nothing bad to say about super sports, but it annoys me when people rag on cruisers without knowing what they're talking about. It doesn't always have to be an us-vs.-them fight.
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It isn't. Personally I find the cruiser crowd a lot friendlier. They're more into the spirit and comradery of riding vs the competitiveness of the SS rider.

The Yamaha warrior is one sick bike! The thing I hear most from supersport riders that have gone cruiser is they are surprised by the torque of the cruiser. There's a video floating around here of a hand-made HD rat chopper smoking an R1. Three times!
 
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MLadin said:
It isn't. Personally I find the cruiser crowd a lot friendlier. They're more into the spirit and comradery of riding vs competition.

The Yamaha warrior is one sick bike!
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I'll agree with you there.

A generalization, but it seems to be, the sportier the bike, the bigger the ego that comes with it.

I just want to ride and enjoy it, not impress anyone or compete for who can be the bigger dick.

The amount of ego on this site often shocks and baffles me.
 
I just swapped in a set of floorboards instead of the forward controls on my Meanstreak and it took care of the "feet forward" problems. There are some "sporty" cruisers like the Stryker and Meanstreak that are a lot of fun.
 
You have to get the right cruiser to have fun.I did several days rides .The only sore part was my butt .That will be taken care of this winter with a new seat .
 
Ride what ever floats your boat, just walk into the garage in the morning and choose the bike that suits your mood for the day! Adventure, Dirt, Cruiser, Sport, Sport Touring, Touring.

Dont stop buying bikes until you can no longer get into the garage!



 
MLadin said:
Took a cruiser on a trade once, sold it a week later. I was riding it like a supersport. The crash-bar was scraping and sparking as I had it leaned beyond its limits. I went home, put it on Kijiji and sold in a week. I hated the sound of it and hated the "born to be wild" song that wouldn't escape my head!

Omnivore is correct. On a cruiser the maximum pressure point is your lower lumbar. Watch a cruiser rider and you'll see that area constantly jarring. Those discs (L1 - L5) are the discs that get herniated the most.

Sore knees on a supersport? It's because they are supporting you. Get some MSM from your local health food store and take at least 2000-4000 mg's daily. Say goodbye to joint pain!

Look on Kijiji at how many guys have bought cruisers and now have the cruisers listed as "trade for CBR or GSXR."

The Stryker is an evolution of the Warrior which is the bike of choice for supersport riders going cruiser. It's a muscle bike with an R1 frame. The midnight edition looks sick. However, I saw two on Kijiji this summer with "trade for CBR, Ninja, or GSX-R." Once you have the bloodthirst for speed, it's really hard to shake and go slow.
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No the suspension is far softer than a sport bike.You want to sit upright long for distance.Ideally you want midsets or floorboards but forward controls are still for more comfortable than rear sets for long distance.Look at sport tourers upright seating position midsets and softer suspension.A c90 or Road King is more comfortable than a car in the highway.Most come with factory cruise control or throttle locks off the showroom floor for highway cruising.None of my sport bikes have either cruise or throttle lock but most sport tourers do.Also dont confuse a long stoke cruiser motor with a short stroke sport motor.That Stryker will rip you head off and launch harder than a sport bike as it's all torque and rake so it wont loop.They just run out of steam a 6000 rpm.The opposite of a sport bike.
 
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I just came from a cruiser to a ZX14 because I couldn't handle the back pain from the cruiser, 200km and i was in pain, I did almost 1200km on Friday on the ZX and felt great!
 
Everyones body is different, what's comfort for one person is another's pain. I can't last 1/2 hour on a cruiser, sitting that upright puts pressure on my tailbone, and the burning sensation makes me want to get off. I have no problem riding sport bikes all day, although a 1000 km day on a cbr600rr was pushing it.

If OP can enjoy both, wtf not, go for it. I do little for others approval, don't see why outside opinions matter.
 
I say go for it! If you've got the money and space why not? What's the worst that can happen? You sell one! LoL One for each day of the week! I just wish I could afford more than one bike but unfortunately our insurance is NOT very moto friendly here and doesn't help having more than one bike...paying 100% of each bike's insurance ... no thanks.
 
If I had the cash I would totally rock te goldwing. I have a thirst for travel, not speed and taking my girlfriend with me
For comfortable, endless rides is ideal for me. Next on the list would be a nice sport tourer. Haven't don't too much research but the BMWs seems to be pretty prevalent. If I wanted a second bike, it would be a sexy cafe racer. That would be my fun bike.

Nothing throws people off like a 20 something year old asian kid on a goldwing.
 
omnivore said:
LOL....try riding a cruiser any distance on open highways. They are way worse than a sportbike. A cruiser's design parameter is below highway speed cruising, like in town riding. In town is EXACTLY where I would expect a cruiser to be used. The legs out front riding position puts alot of strain on your body, and every bump runs straight up your spine without your feet below you to help isolate your body from the impacts.
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Which is exactly why when Harley riders go to a meet a long distance away, they trailer the bikes. Try all that on a hard tail. Oh, the high cost of fashion.
 
I love sport bikes but they are a track only thing for me now. I just find them very boring on the street where you can't actually push them. Found cruisers hurt my lower back after a long day of riding. Needed something more upright considering I'm commuting on the bike every day.

Since I only have room for 1 street bike I ended up with a wee-strom. Not super exciting but its more upright and I can ride it all day through just about anything and it doesn't complain unless I start to push it hard well into hta172 area.
 
Cruisers just don't have the handling, design, ergos to ride aggressively. I also feel the pressure in my lower back after a while. Sport bikes, on the other hand, are generally forcing you into a sitting position that is only good for a race track.

Best all around bikes for longer trips are bikes that were actually designed for it - sport touring and touring.

I did own a cruiser (1999 Magna) and a pure SS (1997 CBR900RR) and neither one really suited my needs. I preferred both the SV650S I had before and the VFR800 I have now. However, if I was forced to pick one at gun point, I'd pick a SS over a cruiser just because it's more capable in terms of performance and handling.
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