Riding Cruisers

[TwoSmokeDS]

Anyone enjoy both cruiser and dualsport and have both in their stable?

Do you find it difficult to go from a 300# flickable dirt bike to a 600# unresponsive monster?

[The Bruce]

I have a DRZ and used to ride an Ultra Classic. It's just different riding styles. I had no problem switching back and forth. You simply have to respect that 900+ lbs and ride accordingly. You need to anticipate more so you aren't left with having to "flick" the beast because the beast will most likely flick you back.

[tshelfer]

You can't beat having a 450# dual sport to cover all bases.

[cheez]

Do you find it difficult to go from driving a Civic to driving a 3500HD pickup? They're different vehicles, they require different styles of operation. It's not 'difficult' other than remembering which one you're driving/riding, imho.

I switch between a VTX1800 that weighs in at 800+ lbs and a Suzuki Burgman 650 that weighs in at 600lbs with no issue; my buddy next door switches between a Harley Street Glide and a Kawi 450cc dirt bike with no issues.

[aharbi]

Originally Posted by TwoSmokeDS

Anyone enjoy both cruiser and dualsport and have both in their stable?

Do you find it difficult to go from a 300# flickable dirt bike to a 600# unresponsive monster?

I think your weight numbers are off. Only 300# bike I know of are dirt bikes. Most dual sports bike are around 400+-500# and a cruiser is 700+ to 933 for a Goldwing. I hardly consider my 893# full-dress cruiser an "unresponsive monster". Even riding two-up I find it difficult to keep within the speed limits. I've had a ball riding two-up and "flicking" it thru the Rockies, Davis Mountains, BRP, and the Texas Hill Country. Granted I can't lay it over as much without dragging my floorboards as my dual sport adventure tourer. But it has a joy all it's own rallying a heavey cruiser thru the twisties. And the comfort of a big cruiser, set the cruise control, listen to some tunes, set back and watch the miles roll by.

I have no problem switching from bike to bike. It's more a state of mind. I use my dual sport for flower sniffing. When I don't know where I'm headed and don't know when I'm gona run out of road. Yes it's deffenitly "flickable" and with 30+ more HP than my cruiser will take off like a shot (suppose that's why I only get 5-6K miles to a rear tire). I also have taken it thru the Rockies and have explored more roads than I dare try with the cruiser. I find myself a little braver on the dual sport in my travel adventures.

I'm fortunate enough to have several bikes in my garage and being retired all I do is ride. It's nice to choose which one I want to ride any day pending what mood I'm in or where I'm headed.

[SilverBullet]

have had cruiser, touring bike, dual sport, dirt bike and a scooter at the same time. No issue just took a deliberate and quick reacquainting when I would switch bikes on the same day. The weight wasn't the issue it was the difference in controls, i.e. feet forward heel/toe, clutch pull and release, stopping power, CVT and hand controls on the scooter, ground clearance (big bikes scrape metal), etc. What I would do is drive a 1/2 mile from my house and ride a turn around under an overpass. Do a few figure 8's until I felt comfortable.

_

[ninthlord]

300lb?

[h2000fb]

Originally Posted by TwoSmokeDS

Anyone enjoy both cruiser and dualsport and have both in their stable?

Do you find it difficult to go from a 300# flickable dirt bike to a 600# unresponsive monster?

You are not really "flicking" on the street so you really enjoy the smoothness of nice road bike. Have had both the light bikes and big bikes. Love them each for their own qualities.

[The Bruce]

DRZ 400 around 325; KTM 450 EXC around 250 dry, XR650R around 330 ish.

[road_thing]

I've got a Road King and a KLR 650. After a long ride on either one, the other one feels kinda weird, but that wears off in an hour or so.

rt

[John Dirt]

I rode a neighbors dyna low rider and he rode my ninja and I was amazed at how flickable his cruiser was, to me it came down to ground clearance but some cruisers have good corner ground clearance. Right now the most fun I am having is on my DRZ, but it's no match for a cruiser on a long ride.

[swoody126]

TTR230 - 242#

DR350 - 286#

WEE - 418#

R1100GS - 536#

1500 VULCAN - 657#

THEY ALL TAKE DIFFERENT SKILLS

MOST IMPORTANTLY, THEY ALL REQUIRE A POSITIVE ATTITUDE & CONSTANT ATTENTION

SHINY SIDE UP

sw

[Rsquared]

I'll play... I've come to appreciate light weight just as much as performance in a motorcycle, especially the older I get. I get a kick out of the saying "It feels lighter than it is". Right....

990 Adventure “My Cruiser” 462#
450 EXC “My Dual Sport” 250#
350 SXF “My Hare Scrambler” 231#
200 XCW “Crazy Fun” 205#

[TwoSmokeDS]

I guess it's not just the weight but the riding position also. Having my feet so far forward would be very hard for me to get used to.

I miss having a smooth street bike. Might sell one of my dualsport for a Vulcan 500 and use it for both street and forestry road type of dualsport. Anyone know if I can get knobbier tires for a cruiser?

[JMZ]

Originally Posted by TwoSmokeDS

I guess it's not just the weight but the riding position also. Having my feet so far forward would be very hard for me to get used to.

I miss having a smooth street bike. Might sell one of my dualsport for a Vulcan 500 and use it for both street and forestry road type of dualsport. Anyone know if I can get knobbier tires for a cruiser?

[KenH]

You can get knobbies for most anything. The Kenda K270 comes in 100/90-19 for the front. The 15-inch rear may be a problem. Perhaps lacing up a 14-inch rim to take the 180/80-14 from the TW200 would be a good solution.

[DFW_Warrior]

Originally Posted by TwoSmokeDS

I miss having a smooth street bike. Might sell one of my dualsport for a Vulcan 500 and use it for both street and forestry road type of dualsport. Anyone know if I can get knobbier tires for a cruiser?

No offense, but I see this as a very, VERY short lived solution. If you had issues with vibration on your previous bikes, then a Vulcan isn't going to be any better. Plus, a very rear wheel heavy bike would want to lose the front end in every corner when not on pavement. There is a good reason that all dual sports or offroad bikes come setup where you sit forward and can weight the front wheel more than the rear. Not to mention, no being able to stand up easily.

Do us a favor though, when you do this be sure to strap a GoPro to it so we can watch along.

[Sov]

I had a Vulcan 900 for several years along side my DR and FZ6. For all day rides with significant highway the Vulcan was nice, but the DR really changed the way I think about bikes - way better handling and seating position. It finally got to the point that I wasn't riding the Vulcan much so I traded it in for a Wee. The cruiser had some two-up advantages and was stable on the highway (low and heavy), but I don't miss the poor low speed handling.

I had a Vulcan 500 for a couple of months - couldn't get rid of it fast enough. It was too small for me (5'10"), but worse was that the engine would stop while I was riding (3 times this happened) and then take awhile to restart when I pulled over. The dealer couldn't figure it out and I was too pissed to deal with it.

[Gravel Guy]

Originally Posted by DFW_Warrior

No offense, but I see this as a very, VERY short lived solution. If you had issues with vibration on your previous bikes, then a Vulcan isn't going to be any better. Plus, a very rear wheel heavy bike would want to lose the front end in every corner when not on pavement. There is a good reason that all dual sports or offroad bikes come setup where you sit forward and can weight the front wheel more than the rear. Not to mention, no being able to stand up easily.

Do us a favor though, when you do this be sure to strap a GoPro to it so we can watch along.

Agree with almost everything except the vibration part....my wife had a 500 Vulcan that was butta smooth.....that little motor would crank! And yea, I wanna see the videos of this too!

[Meriden]

After reading the thread, I'm not sure what the final goal is. Switching between bikes may be a matter of ability more than anything. Like Silverbullet, my biggest problem is getting used to the controls. For me, the more similar the controls and riding position, the harder it is to make the switch. For example, I had two BMWs and the only difference was that the horn was above the turn signals on one bike and below on the other. That led to a lot of honking to clear the turn signals. But going from a left foot shift to a right foot shift, signals on the left handle bar to signals on both handlebars, etc is easy.

As for riding position, cruisers are compromised in all conditions except showroom riding, period. (Sorry cruisers.) Warrior's point is well made and I would add that bad pavement needs just as much effort as good dirt. You have to be able to ride it standing up.

Over at ADV guys putting knobbies on all sorts of bikes, but that doesn't make them suitable for unimproved roads. Likewise you can find all kinds of bikes riding all kinds of roads.