Let's talk medium cruisers 750-1300...

So in my constant CL review of bikes, I've seen some cruisers that caught my eye. I was kind of surprised at first because I never thought I would like cruisers, but some are cool. I see the Japanese brand bikes Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki in the 600-1300cc size that fit my price range. And of course now I have questions concerning cruisers in general, motor size, weight, drive train, steering, and of course mods:

-In general- can I use one for commuting? I mean they have bags, windshields If I want, etc. But what about comfort? I assume they are like riding a lazyboy. Correct? Are there viewing issues because they sit so low?

-Motor size and weight- From what I gather the 600cc bikes are looked at as girl bikes. I don't really understand that because the Yamaha V-star 650 looks HUGE in person. Is it because they are slow? I am concerned with what will haul my butt up the road without me becoming a road snail. When you look at the stats on some of the cruisers they are 40hp and 500+lbs. I've been told I need to look at 1100+ but take the V-Star 1100 this time, has 62hp, but it weighs 700+ lbs. Are their any cruiser bikes that the power to weight is better? Or are they all kind of that heavy slow design? I'm 185 and pretty fit, but even still I can't lift 700+ lbs should the beast fall over. Also what size will carry me well. Will a 750 Honda Shadow get it done, or in a few months will I be looking to trade for MORE POWAR!

-Drivetrain- I don't want to start the great debate, but shaft drive or chain? Is there a benefit to one over the other? I had a co-worker who rides say that chains are faster off the line and shafts allow for higher top end. IDK if there is any truth to that or not. Someone else told me shaft drives shift smoother. Again IDK if there is truth to that one either. Shafts may shift smoother but 100+ sportbikes don't use shaft drive and they seem to shift just fine. Again, I'd like to know if there are any real differences between shaft and chain.

-Steering- I know handle bars can be swapped out, but my question may be more related to steering feel. How do they steer? Is is slow and heavy like the bike is? I "assume" steering one of these is similar to a car without power steering, when moving it is fine, but in parking lots it is just tougher to turn the wheel. Would that be a fair assessment?

-Mods- Hey it's GRM right? As far as mods, my first question is there a way to get less chrome? Don't get me wrong, I think there is a place for chrome. For example, 50's American sedans need chrome, lots of it. But for I don't want a motorcycle dipped in chrome. On the flip side I don't want a flat black rat bike either. I'd like to find a happy medium. Second, exhaust, geez-e-petes is the first thing you do change "pipes"? Every bike I see mentions changing pipes, if I get one I'm half tempted to cut off the pipes and be that guy just because. But what other mods can you do to these besides pipes and bars?

Thanks

The Miata answer to your question is the V-Star 950. Read any review, and you will see why it won Metric Cruiser of the year in 2009 and has won every comparison it has ever entered since. The touring package brings large saddle bags and a windshield, making it ideal for the daily grind or long haul trips. The motor is not too big and not too small. Plenty of power to ride two-up or to blast around on the freeway. Handling is great, but limited by a very low lean angle, but its a cruiser not a sportbike right? Quiet, smooth belt drive. Fuel injected. Air-cooled for clean looks, but a very modern engine inside. Decent mileage. Long wheelbase for stability with a low seat height. I could go on and on, but trust me. Ride one and you will agree that it is the best all-around middle-weight cruiser there is. I added a luggage rack and a pouch inside the front fairing for little things, which makes it great for long-distance use.

Oh, and the MSRP new is $9750 for a touring, but I have seen them as low as $6500 brand new, and you can pick them up for $5K all day used.

What budget? Lifting a downed bike is mainly about technique, not strength. Without going up in displacement, you aren't going to get a E36 M3load more power for the weight.

I think the Triumph Rocket III still is one of the most powerful cruisers out there. I watched one go 11.97@121 at the dragstrip last week.

I ride a Shadow 750 several times a week, so I can probably offer some insight:

-Yes, you can commute on them. They are very comfy. People with back problems occasionally prefer the more upright position of a standard, people with knee or hip problems like being able to stretch their legs on a cruiser. I hope to avoid both issues for a while yet.

-My bike is on the low end of your size and power range. It only has ~40hp. On a bike, this means it ONLY runs 14 second quarter miles. From a stop, you're still faster than 90% of things on the road up to about 70mph, especially if you actually run it to redline and shift appropriately. Blows my mind how many people short-shift, even on sport bikes, and then complain about it being slow. I have no concerns about power on any of my bikes. As a bonus, my bike knocks down 55-60+ mpg as a commuter.

-Shaft vs. chain isn't a power or smoothness debate for me, it's a maintenance issue. Two of my bikes are chain drive, three are shaft driven. Not having to clean and lube chains every 1000 miles is nice. Belt drives are also low maintenance.

-Steering is fine. Avoid ape-hangers or anything ridiculous and you'll be fine. Practice in a parking lot if you're worried. Searching "Captain Crash" on youtube yields some great examples.

-Please don't cut the pipes. Stock exhaust is what all the cool kids do.

-Ride every bike in the class you're interested in. One of them will jump out at you from an ergo/comfort/handling/lean angle/etc. perspective. Buy that one.

Oh, on mods. You can do whatever you want to do....on any halfway mainstream bike, there should be a huge aftermarket.

A buddy bought a used Goldwing and completely de-farkled it. To the point of using black and grey vinyl to de-chrome some of the stock Honda bits. It looks awesome.

In reply to pinchvalve:

That's a very pretty bike , Yamaha does a very nice job with most of their lineup.

I am watching the Yamaha Warriors depreciate, I'd really like to add one to the garage in the next couple years....just because.

I was never a real cruiser guy, but a few years ago I was looking for a used bike under $3k and picked up a 99 Honda Shadow ACE 750. I liked the way it looked but really didn't expect much in the way of the "riding experience." That bike really surprised me. It was really a great bike for around town, was decent on the highway without a passenger, and was overall just a nice bike to have around. It handled fine, and as mentioned although it was not fast by motorcycle standards it had enough oomph to get you to the front of the pack at a light.

My suggestion (assuming you are buying used) would be to determine your price point, look and see what bikes are available at the point, then look at older comparison tests and see how they stacked up. The reason I say this is because although cruisers aren't sportbikes, there are still new models introduced every year so what may be considered ho-hum today may have been the hot bike in its time. One comment I would add to that is that as you read those tests through the years, you will see that the "hot" bike for any given timeperiod may change, but one thing that always stays the same is that the Honda will always come in 2nd or 3rd.

PS - the ACE was chain drive but the bike that replaced it (in Honda's line-up, not my garage), the Honda Aero 750 was shaft drive. I prefer a chain drive for its simplicity and the ability to change the gearing, but either works fine in a cruiser context.

Well I'm no cruiser guy, but seeing the new Indian Scout got me kind of excited. Still I would consider it underpowered for its displacement (1133cc, 100hp, 72 lb-ft), but it also only weighs 598lbs which I consider heavy, but seems light for a cruiser. Best part, it sells new for $10,999.

I can't speak to the specifics of different cruisers.

My understanding of chain v. shaft is an issue of simplicity vs. maintenance. Chain drive is simpler and requires less space. It does need semi-regular maintenance. Shaft drive needs very little maintenance. However, it's really expensive when it does. There are also supposed to be differences in the way they squat under pressure, with shaft drive historically doing some weird things, but BMW figured out the geometry to fix that a while back and everyone else learned from them.

Basically, this is why you see most of the big touring and adventure bikes that people do looooong trips on having shaft drive instead of chain.

Baron - What is the deal with Belts then? That new Indian Scout runs one and HD has been on those for years. My understanding is that you have higher change out vs a chain but it is maintenance free otherwise.

singleslammer wrote: Baron - What is the deal with Belts then? That new Indian Scout runs one and HD has been on those for years. My understanding is that you have higher change out vs a chain but it is maintenance free otherwise.

This made me chuckle. The local HD shop tried to tell me that the belt would never need to be changed (yeah right)

I suggest renting/borrowing a cruiser before buying.

I thought they would be comfy, I bought one, never had so much tailbone pain in my life.

I find sport touring rigs far more comfortable.

Shawn

Grtechguy wrote: This made me chuckle. The local HD shop tried to tell me that the belt would never need to be changed (yeah right)

Most HD riders don't put on enough mileage, unless the pub is really far away.

In reply to toad9977:

If I could ditch the fenders and it was two grand cheaper I might be in. I was interested in the Star Bolt, but it looked bulky in person.

Dude,buy a cb750c and be DONE with it

I've got 40-50K on my current belt. It's still just fine. It is my third belt, but I stopped going through them when I stopped doing wheelies. A chain will stand more abuse, but then on a cruiser, that's not really what you're supposed to be doing.

I rode my bike to school (Harley Dresser) for 4-5 years. Dr.Linda rode her Sportster a lot to school during that time too. Check out a 1200 Sportster. Good, reliable, fast, comfortable. An 883 is all that, but not as fast.

I'm not really a fan of the cruiser but I loves me some bulletproof Honda 750 V4 goodness. I'd prefer to have it in a VFR-750 chassis but if you are exploring rolling couches... they made the Magna in a wide range of years from somewhere 'round aboot '83 to '03 so there ought to be a match to your style and budget in there somewhere.