No Harley Bikes here ..? | Page 10 | GTAMotorcycle.com

No Harley Bikes here ..?

Forum Sponsor
J_F said:
but really
anyone that claims this doesn't stir them a bit
needs to start being more honest with themselves

not ready yet, but there will be a day........

05MdNi5.jpg
Click to expand...
That pillion looks uncomfortable AF!
How am I supposed to let my son ride back there??

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk
 
blackcamaro said:
I admit I am struggling to think where riding a cruiser has helped me on other bikes.
Click to expand...
Dealing with traffic maybe. That is definitely an important aspect of surviving on street bikes.

... that's his bird perch.
 
Being called a really good motorcycle rider by all your peers is quite something if that group of peers includes ALL types of motorcyclists.
 
Wingboy said:
To each his own.But i do get a laugh when a GSA worth $30,000 pulls into a rest stop like the Forks and pulls out a can of plexus to wipe down the road dust accumulated on his Jesse bags and CF bits.Drink your starbucks ya wanker. ;)
Click to expand...
I've always said that I love my Shadow (when I can actually ride it), and it's the bike (or style of bike) that I've always wanted.
But when it gets replaced, I'm losing ALL the chrome. Something similar to the black HD posted earlier.
It seems that I don't really enjoy cleaning my bike all that much.

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk
 
I still like throwing a leg over my old cruiser from time to time
it's comfortable, very easy to ride and it never pushes me to go fast

totally different mindset from a sport or ADV
it's all about the journey, man

and JB
that Street Glide is really a one person machine
suppose in a pinch you could have a stripper back there

and then there's the old saying
a motorcycle has two wheels
it should never have four nuts
 
Never pushes me to go too fast.


Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
 
GMAN said:
I find your post interesting. I’m a sport bike rider and have never owned a cruiser. But I’ve always said the same as yourself, except from the other point of view, it’s much easier learning on a light bike that
handles than on a a cruiser that doesnt.
Click to expand...
The reason cruisers are easy to ride is because they are designed to be easy to ride. Way back HD mastered this -- it was a big part of why they won the military contracts that kept them going in the 30s. The 45 had a low seat to make it easy to walk, and a big rake to make it inherently stable, and tons of torque and low HP to make it forgiving across the gears (less stalling, no power wheelies)-- important because the riders were young men who for the most part had never ridden a motorcycle. They got 1 day of training, they had to be easy to ride.

That same engine setup, geometry and low seat height on modern cruisers provide the benefits to new riders today. That's why middle aged beginners can hop on Honda Shadows, Sportsters, M50/M60s after M2 school and not kill themselves. It's also why so many seniors ride cruisers -- I sometimes ride with my neighbour who's in the Southern Cruisers MC, many of their members are well into their 70's riding Goldwings, and heavy HD and Vstar baggers.

Don't get me wrong, small bikes offer a lot of the same. A Ninja or CBR300 or has a relatively low seat, rake bigger than a sport bike, and is geared and tuned with torque not HP in mind to make them easier to ride.

600+ sport bikes, standards and ADVs are considerably tougher for novices. Steering it twitchier and less stable, gear selection and throttle response serves up more surprises to a new rider.
 
  • Like
Reactions: J_F
For all those dissing cruisers and how they handle like tanks, are easy to ride, blah blah... yeah, some of it's not without merit.

They are big. They can be unwieldy. Easy to ride? Arguable - a lot of the squid crowd hop on a SS that's a million miles ahead of their skillset and manage to go fast in a straight line, and even go around corners without crashing... but I'm pretty sure manyof them would struggle more on a full decker cruiser that weighs 3-4x as much. Does that mean it's "easier" to ride?

But to suggest that they can't be incredibly capable and even nimble bikes in the right hands is naive.

Anyone seen this video?


I've learned some of the skills in that video. I *can* do some of that stuff myself. I can scrape the **** out of my floorboards on both sides and my exhaust on the right hand side of my bike all day now. And it's FUN.

Would I make it through that whole course without touching a cone or maybe having to drop a foot a few times? Almost certainly not. Bit I *could* get through the course likely without having to stop.

I know because I've done some of it.

I'd argue (and anyone is very much welcome to call me on my statement - come out, I'll buy you coffee and we can go ride..I own my own cones!) that I would surprise a lot of people demonstrating exactly what a "big tank" cruiser can do, and I could almost certainly slow speed outmaneuver many on more nimble and sportier bikes ridden by riders without any advanced training.

Training goes a LONG way when it comes to motorcycles. Experience doesn't hurt either, but trust me, until you've done some advanced rider training most people have no idea what they, or their motorcycles, are capable of....the same as how the average newbie SS rider "think's" their a pro, but will get slapped over and over again by 250's at a track ridden by trained experienced pros.

I plan on doing the next level advanced training next year. The part I did this year was absolutely amazing and was a real eye opener about what a small percentage of what *every* motorcycle is capable of, regardless of it's genre.

The butt in the seat play a huge part in making a motorcycle do magical ****, not necessary what type of motorcycle it is.
 
You would probably do better on that course than I could do on my Yamaha R3 race bike. I doubt if mine has enough steering angle to do those tight turns! I have steering stops installed to allow the handlebars to be positioned where I want them. It's set up for the race track, not a parking lot course. It probably has a bigger turning circle than my van.

Every different type of bike that you learn to ride, can teach you something about riding, if you are willing to learn ...
 
PrivatePilot said:
For all those dissing cruisers and how they handle like tanks, are easy to ride, blah blah... yeah, some of it's not without merit.

They are big. They can be unwieldy. Easy to ride? Arguable - a lot of the squid crowd hop on a SS that's a million miles ahead of their skillset and manage to go fast in a straight line, and even go around corners without crashing... but I'm pretty sure manyof them would struggle more on a full decker cruiser that weighs 3-4x as much. Does that mean it's "easier" to ride?

But to suggest that they can't be incredibly capable and even nimble bikes in the right hands is naive.

Anyone seen this video?


I've learned some of the skills in that video. I *can* do some of that stuff myself. I can scrape the **** out of my floorboards on both sides and my exhaust on the right hand side of my bike all day now. And it's FUN.

Would I make it through that whole course without touching a cone or maybe having to drop a foot a few times? Almost certainly not. Bit I *could* get through the course likely without having to stop.

I know because I've done some of it.

I'd argue (and anyone is very much welcome to call me on my statement - come out, I'll buy you coffee and we can go ride..I own my own cones!) that I would surprise a lot of people demonstrating exactly what a "big tank" cruiser can do, and I could almost certainly slow speed outmaneuver many on more nimble and sportier bikes ridden by riders without any advanced training.

Training goes a LONG way when it comes to motorcycles. Experience doesn't hurt either, but trust me, until you've done some advanced rider training most people have no idea what they, or their motorcycles, are capable of....the same as how the average newbie SS rider "think's" their a pro, but will get slapped over and over again by 250's at a track ridden by trained experienced pros.

I plan on doing the next level advanced training next year. The part I did this year was absolutely amazing and was a real eye opener about what a small percentage of what *every* motorcycle is capable of, regardless of it's genre.

The butt in the seat play a huge part in making a motorcycle do magical ****, not necessary what type of motorcycle it is.
Click to expand...
That's what is capable on a Harley, this is what's possible on a sport bikebike.
 
Low rider said:
That's what is capable on a Harley, this is what's possible on a sport bikebike.
Click to expand...

Apples to Oranges comparison of course. On the public highway, the police cruiser is the most practical for general law enforcement. To look at an Electra Glide you wouldn't think it can handle, but it does. Sport bikes are great fun for a Saturday at the track, or a Sunday on a twisty road, and they truly handle well, but few people like to be scrunched up in a ball feeling like they're going downhill all the time. It's what makes you happy that counts though.
 
Low rider said:
That's what is capable on a Harley, this is what's possible on a sport bikebike.
Click to expand...

I'm not debating that a sportbike is more capable. That was never the intention of my reply.

What I was debating the common argument (and belief) that a big cruiser or touring bike is akin to a huge lumbering cruise ship that has no actual abilities beyond being a couch on wheels. That's simply not the case. The butt in the seat is the difference.


Here's another...watch starting around the 30 second mark.

 
Brian P said:
Every different type of bike that you learn to ride, can teach you something about riding, if you are willing to learn ...
Click to expand...

Exactly, and I agree 100%. Much like a Corvette is better suited for the track than a Cadillac, at the hands of a skilled driver there's a lot of Caddy's that would spank an unskilled driver in a Vette.

This is my pet peeve about people suggesting that big bikes are useless tanks.
 
PrivatePilot said:
For all those dissing cruisers and how they handle like tanks, are easy to ride, blah blah... yeah, some of it's not without merit.

They are big. They can be unwieldy. Easy to ride? Arguable - a lot of the squid crowd hop on a SS that's a million miles ahead of their skillset and manage to go fast in a straight line, and even go around corners without crashing... but I'm pretty sure manyof them would struggle more on a full decker cruiser that weighs 3-4x as much. Does that mean it's "easier" to ride?

But to suggest that they can't be incredibly capable and even nimble bikes in the right hands is naive.

Anyone seen this video?


I've learned some of the skills in that video. I *can* do some of that stuff myself. I can scrape the **** out of my floorboards on both sides and my exhaust on the right hand side of my bike all day now. And it's FUN.

Would I make it through that whole course without touching a cone or maybe having to drop a foot a few times? Almost certainly not. Bit I *could* get through the course likely without having to stop.

I know because I've done some of it.

I'd argue (and anyone is very much welcome to call me on my statement - come out, I'll buy you coffee and we can go ride..I own my own cones!) that I would surprise a lot of people demonstrating exactly what a "big tank" cruiser can do, and I could almost certainly slow speed outmaneuver many on more nimble and sportier bikes ridden by riders without any advanced training.

Training goes a LONG way when it comes to motorcycles. Experience doesn't hurt either, but trust me, until you've done some advanced rider training most people have no idea what they, or their motorcycles, are capable of....the same as how the average newbie SS rider "think's" their a pro, but will get slapped over and over again by 250's at a track ridden by trained experienced pros.

I plan on doing the next level advanced training next year. The part I did this year was absolutely amazing and was a real eye opener about what a small percentage of what *every* motorcycle is capable of, regardless of it's genre.

The butt in the seat play a huge part in making a motorcycle do magical ****, not necessary what type of motorcycle it is.
Click to expand...
That course is a lot easier on a cruiser than it is on a sportbike, mostly for the reasons I mentioned earlier. Thanks to torque and rake, that bike maintains recovery power and stands up straight just using the clutch. In police competitions I believe most ride HD,s because they are easier to rin thru the course than police FJRs or BMWs.

I agree that unless you have had advanced training, you have not likely mastered your motorcycle. 1 or 2 days of instruction on clutch feathering, rear brake stretching, head and eye positioning will make you feel like a pro.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom