Help me Pick a Cruiser :) All wanted technology hard to find

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BondJamesBond

Well-known member
I've ridden sport bikes my whole life and now want to try a cruiser. Yay for me! One thing I have found about cruisers is that they don't always have the technology that is pretty much status-quo on sport bikes. I need this forums help to help me find a cruiser with what I'm looking for. Below is what I'd like to have on my bike.....

Disc brakes front and REAR
Fuel Injection
Liquid Cooling
V-Twin
800 - 900 size range
Single shock for rear tire

Recommendations?
 
With the exception of the single rear shock, just about all modern cruisers from Kawasaki, Honda, Suzuki and Victory will be able to tick off the rest of the boxes on your check list. Pretty sure Yamaha is still mostly air cooled.

Basically do a lot of reading to narrow your search then head out to the spring motorcycle show and sit on all the bikes on your short list. Basically which ever bike you like the look of and how it feels to sit on is the one to get. Coming from a sport bike you'll be generally unimpressed with the performance of any cruiser, but nobody ever bought a cruiser for its performance. All the bikes offered by the japanese oem's are excellent quality and have tons of after market support. You can't make a bad decision imo. Enjoy the search!
 
The Vulcan 900 has all of those features. Most metric cruisers do. American cruisers have most of that except there's only 1 model currently sold under 900cc. Harley has a 500cc liquid cooled model coming out but im not sure when. Could already be out.

Rear drum brake should not be something to deter you. Any cruiser that i've ever rode with rear drums were more then capable of locking up the rear wheel if you tried.
 
Vulcan 900 is a great choice.
 
The Vulcan is the only bike that has everything I'm looking for. So I guess I'm good ! Well.... a question about drum brakes. I've always assumed disc breaks have a better 'feel' to them then drum brakes. To the guys who have driven bikes with rear drum brakes, what's the 'feel' like on the rear brake? How does it compare to disc?
 
I had a honda shadow spirit 1100, rear drum felt fine to me. Roll off the throttle on a v twin and you'll slow down plenty. The Vulcan 900 specifically has a great look.


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Don't worry about a rear drum brake, the feel is fine and they are very reliable. My wife has a Vulcan 900 Classic and it's a great bike.
 
I find the disc rear brake is harder to modulate compare to a drum. It's just to powerful for the amount of weight in the rear. Between downshifting and front brakes, my rear brake is pretty much just for show.

Edit: I'll add something you might want to put on your list. Cast wheels instead of spoked. Allows for tubeless tires and way easier cleaning and can be plugged on the road.
 
I had a Shadow 1100 with a rear drum for many years. They will lock up easily if you step on it too hard. The 'feel' was fine for regular riding. Some other things to think about are foot controls. Most cruisers are changing to forward controls while mid-controls are slowing disappearing for good it seams. One last thing. You will find these motors weak. If I was about to buy a new injected cruiser I would buy bigger, but you'll have to sit on some and see for yourself. I would pick the Yamaha Bolt over the Vulcan personally if you are looking at new bikes.
 
You've provided specs not not the purpose. Several have large displacement engines but, their power delivery varies a lot. Same with rider position.

You want a cruiser? Get fitted for one. What kind of riding? Any two up? Touring or bar hopping? What's your style? Feet out front with drag bars or apes with feet in a standard position. Chopper? Standard? Bagger? Touring? Luggage options? Seat? Windshield?
 
Harley holds ride days throughout the summer .Try a Vrod it may not be the best handling .But the engine and transmission are fantastic .
 
I have a nice 2005 suzuki boulevard m50 (805cc) for sale that fits that criteria except for the rear drum brakes... It's shaft drive as well. I had the same thoughts when buying it two years ago and it's been a great bike, I have the forward controls and is a comfy ride. Now I'm looking to go the other way and try a sport or naked bike!
 

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nakkers said:
You've provided specs not not the purpose. Several have large displacement engines but, their power delivery varies a lot. Same with rider position.

You want a cruiser? Get fitted for one. What kind of riding? Any two up? Touring or bar hopping? What's your style? Feet out front with drag bars or apes with feet in a standard position. Chopper? Standard? Bagger? Touring? Luggage options? Seat? Windshield?
Click to expand...

+1

I have both.
you'll notice a difference in power/delivery. weight distribution, as it puts strain on the tail bone (in my case) when compared to sport bike which i find more comfortable.
winshield, on sport you cut through the wind, but on cruiser it hits you (mine deons't have a a windshield).

and all other things mentioned in the above thread are very good things to consider.

brakes will lock if applied improperly, but as mentioned above the bike is heavy + gearing down will slow you down easy.
i have to keep the brakes in mind whenever i switch from riding sport to cruiser. no problem, just slightly different approach in applying brakes and dealing with overall feel.

good luck. hope you find the perfect bike for you.

cheers.
 
Thanks everyone! I appreciate everyone's help. FYI... Added to my list is cast wheels and mid-controls. Downgraded is the need for rear disk brakes. I'm going to look at a Vulcan Custom tomorrow :)

Have a great day !
 
BondJamesBond said:
Thanks everyone! I appreciate everyone's help. FYI... Added tto my list is mid-controls.

Have a great day !
Click to expand...


Good luck with that one! You'd have an easier time finding a virgin in a whore house than finding mid controls on a modern cruiser. Only one that comes to mind is the Yamaha Bolt, but it is air cooled. Mid controls started getting phased out of japanese cruisers in the late 90's. As the average buyer got older and had achy knees, they moved towards forward controls.

Mid controls were every where on older japanese cruisers. Viragos, Shadows, Intruders (s50 and s80) but all of those bikes were carburated. All of the bikes I just mentioned were absolutely BULLETPROOF and can be found cheap. Limited after market support though. I gave my '96 Virago to my Wife in 2010 and she sold it to my father last season with 90,000 km. If I wanted a cruiser again I wouldn't hesitate to buy it back and put another 90,000 km on it.

The Kawasaki Vulcan 900 is a very nice bike though. It does have forward controls but otherwise ticks all of your boxes. Probably has the same power/performance as an old school 1100cc. Lots of them out there so you should be able to get a good deal.

I swear the research and shopping for a new bike is half the fun , so enjoy it!
 
True. Mid controls on a cruiser are hard to find.

Question to the cruiser guys. When you go over a bump or something like railway tracks, do you just sit there and take the jolt through your arse ? On a sport bike you can get up on your foot pegs and absorb the shock with your knees. Can you get up on your knees with forward-controls?
 
I don't own a crusier, but come from a sport bike backround. I test rode a few crusiers last year just out of curiosity.
Favorites are the Triumph thunderbird storm and the Guzzi California. Both have good handleing judged my curiser standards and decent power and brakes that actually work opposed to those on the HD's I've ridden.
Both those bikes are above the OP's 900cc limit though.
 
Morrissey said:
Good luck with that one! You'd have an easier time finding a virgin in a whore house than finding mid controls on a modern cruiser. Only one that comes to mind is the Yamaha Bolt, but it is air cooled. Mid controls started getting phased out of japanese cruisers in the late 90's. As the average buyer got older and had achy knees, they moved towards forward controls.
Click to expand...

I think one of the entry model Harley sportsters has mid-controls. Might be the only one at HD until the Street models (not sure what they use yet).

Nothing wrong with air cooled. Less to maintain and repair.
 
What about the V-Star 950? It's not liquid cooled, but I always thought it was a pretty good option in this class. What is the benefit to liquid cooling, on cruisers specifically??
 
BondJamesBond said:
True. Mid controls on a cruiser are hard to find.

Question to the cruiser guys. When you go over a bump or something like railway tracks, do you just sit there and take the jolt through your arse ? On a sport bike you can get up on your foot pegs and absorb the shock with your knees. Can you get up on your knees with forward-controls?
Click to expand...

I switched the pegs out on my Vulcan for floorboards so that I can shift my feet around more and lift myself off my arse off the seat a little if I need to. I mostly just try and be diligent about avoiding potholes though. The floorboards at least allow me to have my feet in more of the mid control position when I'm not using the shifter or brake which I find much more comfortable.
 
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