Originally Posted by
Vulcanrider
Well I may as well pile on with the rest of you 1600 lovers! I can't speak for other makes/models, other than I sat on quite a few in the dealer showrooms. I was at a shop that had the V-Stars, Hondas, and Kawasakis from 800 up to 2000. My take is that the first, most important aspect of picking your scoot is how it fits YOU. The "cushy" factor of the seat itself is one factor, but keep in mind that after-market seats are plentiful, so I'd concentrate more on seat height, position, and how your reach to the handlebars suits you. Some like leaning forward, but I personally like having handlebars that come back to meet me without having to sit forward or reach. As they point out in MSF classes, you should sit upright in the seat, but your arms should have a slight bend in them as you grasp the grips.
Now, the bikes I sat on all had issues...the V-Star seats were very uncomfortable and pitched me down and into the fuel tank. That and the fact that the 1100 just wasn't enough UMMPFH for power eliminated the Yamahas.
The Honda Spirit was too upright, and although the Sabre was a good fit and felt nice, it was a bit pricey for the cc's. The VTX series were also quite comfortable, but the handlebars were simply too far forward, and made me lean up to grip them.
The salesman mentioned that the Kawasakis were a great value and I thought to myself, "I don't want a Ninja". But then I looked at their Vulcan line and my jaw dropped. I sat on the 800VN and thought, this is nice, but my brother-in-law reminded me that I really needed the larger size, and so I sat on the 1500 and LOVED it. I also sat on the 1600 and thought it was just as comfortable and ergonomically sound, but thought to myself...TOO much bike. While it didnt have the girth of the monstrous 2000, it was still a LOT of bike, and I had never ridden a street bike until then. So I started shopping for the best price on a 1500. Well, as luck would have it, I started talking to guys at work, and they mentioned the spoked wheels on the 1500 and that I may quickly grow tired of trying to keep them clean. I took another gander at the 1600 and noticed they had the semi-solid rims (no spokes). I was eventually convinced that the bike would not be too big for me if I just took it easy and gave it a chance. In the end, I found a GREAT deal on an '05 black 1600 up in Georgia ($9170 out the door) and I swooped on it. We trucked it back to Jacksonville and I haven't had ANY second thoughts. I simply LOVE this bike. Yes, I'd like to get new pipes (stock pipes are HUGE, but sound pleasantly deep). I was finally able to take it up to speeds in excess of 60 after my 600 mile break-in, and as I gunned it past 60, I almost made a mess on my quite comfortable seat.
Moral of this post is, find the bike that fits and pleases YOU, and if, by chance, it's the 1600, I'm convinced you'll be quite happy with the performance/ride.
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