ladies: sport bikes vs. cruisers?

[Sin-d]

Hi ladies

I have a Ninja 500R and a cruiser - 800 Marauder. The cruiser came first. My husband would say,"try out a sport bike, you'll never go back to the cruiser". He's right. I love the ninja, but wish i had gone bigger. But, still love the cruiser, love the exhaust and love to make noise.

[tam636]

Hi from the UK

I ride a 636 and love it 2 bits. Also ride a suzuki 600 round a track from time to time, but still prefer my 6.

[mommaDC]

I ride a Drifter 800 and love the the vintage look and the smooth ride.

I think sport bikes can look kuhl and very sleek but a cruiser with a simple retro look is like a piece of classic art!

[ervins]

Out in my area, I see more women on cruisers than sportbikes. They are generally older. The young ones here have gixxers.

[Sin-d]

Well, I did it. I bought the 2007 vn900 and i love it. Too bad the Maine weather is setting upon us. You can bet I'll be putting some exhaust on it. Anybody got some suggestions?

[Kawi-girl]

I've got a 800 classic cruiser
First bike ever...looking at the Nomads for the second one

Tried hubbys 1300 Honda...didn't like it..it's not quick or nimble. Kinda have to plan a corner a week in advance before you try to turn it.
The little 800 whips around them...and everything else

[Jeanh]

I started out on a Suzuki S40. Love that little bike but it was just not power enough for the highway. Traded it in on a Ninja 500 after sitting on it at the dealership, I was in love with it. It was comfortable and just felt right. I also sat on the 650 but it was a little too high for me at the time, I had just started riding 8 months earlier.

I love my Ninja 500. But last week my husband and I stopped by the kawi dealership to see when the 250's were coming in. Of course I had to play on the bikes. lol! I sat on the vulcan 500 and I have to say it was really nice. I also sat on some used bike they had but found myself still liking the vulcan 500. It was light and the seating position was comfortable. If I could I would have my ninja and the vulcan but since I don't ride enough to have two bikes I'll keep my ninja!

Jean

[jukief]

I've really been thinking about a sport tourer--like maybe the new Concours. My husband has an FJR, and it's a great bike. But I watch him riding in front of me, and I notice that on long trips (with 500 to 600-mile days) he seems to get pretty uncomfortable. His seat is great; it's not that. It's his legs. He has highway pegs, so he can move his feet forward. But sometimes he lets them dangle down (man, that drives me nuts; his feet are about an inch from the pavement; he's lucky his legs are so short). He says that his legs cramp. I have bad knees and fibromyalgia, and yet my legs never, ever bother me. I have highway pegs, and when I want to change positions, I drop my highway pegs and put my feet up and sit back against my driver backrest. My floorboards are large enough that I can move my feet around quite a bit. It's just so very comfortable for long trips. I'd hate to have my legs stuck in the same position for 10-12 hours.

For touring, I really appreciate my big saddlebags, the t-bag I can attach to my sissy bar, and the roomy bag that goes on my luggage rack. I can carry quite a bit of stuff with me.

On the other hand, I sure wouldn't mind having a little sport bike to zip around town on. Having two bikes really would be the best thing. Just no room in our garage or in the budget for that right now.

[A2rider]

Julie, have you ridden the FJR? I know you're tall enough, but the seating position is a concern.

[Kawi-girl]

I hear you with the dangling feet, my hubby does that too. But he never ties up his boots. One day he's gonna loose a shoe, and I will fall over with laughter!!

I like the idea of a cruser and a sporty type bike, I've been on my little 800 for 7 hrs in a 9 hr day of riding. I could still go for more, so maybe I have the best of both worlds

[jukief]

Originally Posted by A2rider

Julie, have you ridden the FJR? I know you're tall enough, but the seating position is a concern.

I haven't taken it for an extended ride, just around a big parking lot. I like the seating position. It's upright and very comfortable. I have longer legs than Alan, but I still can't flat-foot the FJR, and that makes me a bit uncomfortable. I'm used to having both feet planted firmly on the ground!

[jukief]

Originally Posted by Kawi-girl

I hear you with the dangling feet, my hubby does that too. But he never ties up his boots. One day he's gonna loose a shoe, and I will fall over with laughter!!

I like the idea of a cruser and a sporty type bike, I've been on my little 800 for 7 hrs in a 9 hr day of riding. I could still go for more, so maybe I have the best of both worlds

The 800 is a great bike. I loved mine. The only reason I traded up is that I wanted a bit more power. The 800 revved so high that I was always wanting to shift to another gear, but there wasn't one. I talked to my mechanic about changing out the sprockets, and he said, "Why not just get a bigger bike?" And I thought, hmmm.... I really wish I could have kept the 800. It's such a great bike for around town. But I needed the trade-in to get the cost down on my 1500.

[Kawi-girl]

Yeah, I've had that problem with the lack of gears

[mommaDC]

Hi Kawi-girl

My husband has been researching the regearing of my drifter. He wants to change it to belt drive and there is a kit that everybody on the delphi forums seem to like. I have asked him not to do anything until I ask him to though. It is a conversion kit that regears and switches out the chain.

Around town I don't usually notice a need for additional gears but I sure do on the highway. However, I love my drifter and can't imagine any other ride that would be so sweet and perfect for me.

mommaDC

[Ninja_Wendy]

For those who have ridden both, how does the engine size in a cruiser compare to a sport bike? Is the rush of power in the cruiser easier to control when you get up over 600cc? Or is the power more manageable. I see a lot of people talk about being careful with super sports but then I see a lot of the cruisers have much bigger engines like 900+ and a lot of ladies have them. I'm just curious.

[mommaDC]

Wendy
The sport bikes are designed for speed and agility. They are lighter and much more nimble because of that.
The cruisers are designed for power to move the weight down the road.
They are both fun when ridden how they were designed.
mommaDC

[tonedeftony]

OK- Liz asked me last night about the power of big cruisers vs sportbikes last night and it became a long discussion in basic physics, based on Wendy's question.
I have had all types of bikes and I started out on the street with cruisers and even a (I now ashamedly admit) 1977 sportster.
The power of a big cruiser is no more or less manageable than a sportbike, but it is definitely different.
"The rush of power," as you put it, is hardly a rush. It's a big initial push that runs out quickly, not an exponential burst of mid-to-high RPM power like the sportbikes. I know many of the bigger bore import cruisers boast numbers in the 100 BHP range, but they achieve those numbers at low RPM. If there is anything that makes a big cruiser hard to control, it's the bike's ergonomics.
for the sake of comparison, I'll use two bikes I am familiar with. A friend used to have me work on his Honda VT1100 shadow and he lived about 50 miles away, so if I worked on his bike, I got to make the round trip on it.
I am also very familiar with the 2000 Kawasaki ZX600e- not the race bike the more practical one, hehe. Many guys will instantly want to suggest I compare the Hayabusa to the V-Rod, but the same basic information applies.
Anyway, the 1100 cc Shadow weighed 570 pounds and put out 50 horsepower, where the ZX6e weighed 430 pounds and put out 87 to 97 horsepower (online numbers vary).
I see that Wendy's bike is an EX250 (great bike) so she will be familiar with the ergonomics and performance characteristics of the ZX6e. The power comes on in a similar fashion, slow and manageable at first, increasing exponentially as the RPM climbs.
The Shadow relies on rotating engine mass to get going. As soon as you let the clutch out, the bike accelerates quickly, but power levels off about 4500 RPM, and really doesn't accelerate much after 5000 rpm.
The ZX6e will reach 100 mph with two gears to go, while the Shadow will struggle to reach 100 at all, especially at higher elevations.
Like I said before, the ergonomics of the Shadow make it harder to manage. At 6-foot-3, I felt like I was hanging on the very wide handlebars of the Shadow. When you take off on the Shadow, you are forced to lift your legs forward in order to get feet on the pegs. (sitting where you are, stretch your legs forward and lift them up) If you have to react to something quickly at this point, you are kinda screwed, because getting to the foot controls is rather awkward.
The ZX6e's ergonomics are far better for safety, comfort and control. In fact, if you look at a runner on the starting line, a football player on the line of scrimmage or even a wrestler about to pounce, they share a similar position with the sportbike rider. They are not stretched out, focusing all their weight on their butt, with their arms and legs raised up in front of them (similar to a sitting on the couch, feet up on the coffee table with remote outstretched).
The ZX6e puts the rider in a position that keeps them ready for anything.
When riding the Shadow, a 'curvy road ahead' sign made me start grabbing the brakes in sheer panic, while on the ZX6e, I smiled, leaned forward and sped up.
The sheer weight of the Shadow also works to it's disadvantage, especially in slow traffic, bank drive-through windows, and in the corners. The torque is kinda fun, just to feel the bike lurch forward at the stoplight, but to keep the power coming, you have to keep shifting.
I included a chart of dyno horsepower/torque tests (not manufacturer claims) from MotorCyclist magazine, 2006. It's easy to see the difference in torque and horsepower between sportbikes and cruisers. Look at the RPM at which the max horsepower and torque are achieved.
A very interesting comparison lies between the ZX6R and the VTX1800. The little 600 puts out more horspower despite being a third the displacement(better yet, look at the horsepower difference between the 1200 cc Sportster vs. the 1000cc ZX10).
Anyway, in my experience, it's not the power, but the riding position that is the biggest difference between the two classes of bikes. Although the power characteristics are different, the ergonomics are far more noticable.

[Ninja_Wendy]

Originally Posted by tonedeftony

OK- Liz asked me last night about the power of big cruisers vs sportbikes last night and it became a long discussion in basic physics, based on Wendy's question...

Wow that was an awesome explanation. Thanks!

[lilredridingliz]

Wendy, I knew you would appreciate the technical information!

Tony does know bikes so I was glad when he offered to just jump into this thread and offer up his take on your question.

[NCDave]

Originally Posted by tonedeftony

....When riding the Shadow, a 'curvy road ahead' sign made me start grabbing the brakes in sheer panic, while on the ZX6e, I smiled, leaned forward and sped up....

Tony,
You haven't ridden with my friend and I on our Vulcans!

I liked your discussion, but not sure if I agree with you about riding position being most important though. How much of a paradigm is it that the seating postion is what it is between cruisers and sport bikes? I know some have put V's in sport bikes, but I don't know if anyone has tried a "layed back" position for a sport bike. In theory, it seems like it would be better cornering if you would work out steering geometry and such because it would put the rider lower which would improve center of gravity, therefore handling.

Just something to make you say Hmmm...