It's an age thing. A lot of my peers went through the sportbike phase until they hit mid to late 30's and early 40's. Hell, I'm 46 in a week and I love sportbikes, but lately there's been a nagging desire when I see a Victory Hammer or a Harley Fat Bob or '48. You younger guys can say you'll never go cruiser, but I'd love to place bets on your choice 20 years from now.
OMG - I'm no spring chicken, and I know other older guys who ride bikes - There are so many options - Sport Tourers!! will plenty of power, and comfortable!, but this being Nth America, there is that Cruiser mentality etc. :-\
Rode cruisers when I started biking in my 50's had virago and a couple of magnas I am almost 70 now but would never go back to cruisers. They are much more uncomfortable than my FZ1 due to the feet forward design, kills my back, too heavy and I'm too lazy to clean all that chrome.
Can't ride sport bikes for very long either because of the bad back, so the FZ1 is a nice compromise
IMHO the best 2nd bike is some type of enduro, I will always have one of them as well.
Rode cruisers when I started biking in my 50's had virago and a couple of magnas I am almost 70 now but would never go back to cruisers. They are much more uncomfortable than my FZ1 due to the feet forward design, kills my back, too heavy and I'm too lazy to clean all that chrome.
Can't ride sport bikes for very long either because of the bad back, so the FZ1 is a nice compromise
IMHO the best 2nd bike is some type of enduro, I will always have one of them as well.
I agree. FZ1, Bandit, Z1000, Ninja 1000 don't perform like sportbikes but they have much friendlier ergos and the big motors pull nicely. I just got back from a 4 day trip down to Virginia with a buddy (both in out late 40's) and had not problems putting in 10-12 hour days on the bikes. I just stuck the Bandit it 4th gear on the Blue Ridge Parkway and had a ball. I might eventually move on to a Concours, FJR, Multistrata, or GS but don't ever see myself on a cruiser.
Bought a cruiser once, hated it. Sold it eight weeks later. Sportbike is a lifestyle, just as cruisers are. The only thing in common? Two wheels. It ends there.
For someone with a bad back, or not quite happy with the aggressiveness of their SS, a good alternative is, and always has been the VFR. Looks the part, acts the part:
It's an age thing. A lot of my peers went through the sportbike phase until they hit mid to late 30's and early 40's. Hell, I'm 46 in a week and I love sportbikes, but lately there's been a nagging desire when I see a Victory Hammer or a Harley Fat Bob or '48. You younger guys can say you'll never go cruiser, but I'd love to place bets on your choice 20 years from now.
I'm 53 and would never own a Cruiser,lousy ground clearance,poor handling,dont like the sound (especially the Harleys with loud pipes). Gutless and i include the V-Rods et al that mmmnaked keeps going on about in that statement
Naked bikes like the Speed Triple are what i like.....almost sportbike handling,amazing torque all the way from about 2500rpm all the way up to about 7500rpm ,perfect powerband for around town.
Wow, the FZ1 look's pretty decent. I would imagine the insurance would skyrocket (otherwise would have to switch companies) I'm paying $61/mth for a 2010 GSXR600 atm. Yeehaww Statefarm.
Wow, the FZ1 look's pretty decent. I would imagine the insurance would skyrocket (otherwise would have to switch companies) I'm paying $61/mth for a 2010 GSXR600 atm. Yeehaww Statefarm.
The insurance would be good with the FZ1. With State Farm you would pay about 1200 or less a year as they factor below 600 and then above 600 regardless of style of bike. If you are over 25 (i believe that's when the lower rate kicks in) you are still paying for a 1 liter sport TOUR motorcycle with any other insurance company (Primmum for instance) which lowers the bill a fair amount. My SV1000S costs roughly 800 a year full coverage and it's in the same catagory as the FZ1. Age and a clean record help me a bit.
If I had some money to spare, I would definitely like to have a cruiser as a second bike. Maybe one of those little all blacked out Sportsters, or a Street Bob, something cool like that.
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