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Main Area => General GS500 Discussion => Topic started by: common sense on June 15, 2006, 01:44:53 PM

Title: is it possible to be a sportbiker and a cruiser?
Post by: common sense on June 15, 2006, 01:44:53 PM
First off I've been a member for a while, but haven't posted since I've found all of the answers to any questions I've had searching the forum (thanks for all the help)

Question of the day: Is it possible to like cruisers and sportbikes? I just got my GS500f about 4 weeks ago and have decided that my 3rd bike might be a cruiser (after another sportbike). Provided I may be getting ahead of myself and we are talking some time down the road...) A sportbike for my speed fix, then a cruiser for the weekend around time cruising,

But does anyone here ride both or share my sentiment?
Title: Re: is it possible to be a sportbiker and a cruiser?
Post by: pandy on June 15, 2006, 01:57:58 PM
I can't think of one good reason not to have both, can you?  :icon_mrgreen:

I'm always very happy when I see sportbikes and cruisers riding together, and--who knows--I might have both when if I grow up, too! :icon_razz:  :thumb:
Title: Re: is it possible to be a sportbiker and a cruiser?
Post by: papiocho on June 15, 2006, 02:01:44 PM
i take my wife's s-40 out almost as much as i do my GS, even considering that i may be a little to big for it  :icon_mrgreen:
Title: Re: is it possible to be a sportbiker and a cruiser?
Post by: scratch on June 15, 2006, 02:06:54 PM
I have ridden a couple of my cruisers like sportbikes, and they were quite capable.
Title: Re: is it possible to be a sportbiker and a cruiser?
Post by: blue05twin on June 15, 2006, 02:07:56 PM
Alot of people down here do that. . . sportbikes for tracks and the mountains but for long trips ride cruisers or sport touring.  And some trailer their bike to the track or mountains and don't ride anywhere else  :cookoo:
Title: Re: is it possible to be a sportbiker and a cruiser?
Post by: RVertigo on June 15, 2006, 02:23:18 PM
I'm all about that...  I want an M50, but I don't want to get rid of my GS.

They're different animals...  They ride differently...  You use them for different things.

If you can have both, then by all means have both!
Title: Re: is it possible to be a sportbiker and a cruiser?
Post by: 3imo on June 15, 2006, 02:33:38 PM
A BIKER is a BIKER.

My signature below has a comment:  THere are two types of bikers: which are you?

the two types of bikers are....Those that seperate bikers into groups and those that don't.

--------
even if a sportbiker doesn't particularly like cruisers.....I bet he'd enjoy a quick ride on a fast cruiser. ( I know I do)
And Vise Versa, a Cruiser may not like sportbikes, but they can appreciate the vehicle.

to each his own... I plan on having a lot of different bikes when I grow up...cruisers, dirtbikes, pocketbikes, dual sport, touring......etc.etc..
Title: Re: is it possible to be a sportbiker and a cruiser?
Post by: manofthefield on June 16, 2006, 11:18:38 AM
I'd personally like at least 3 or 4 bikes:
1. Naked hooligan bike   ie. ducati monster
2. Sport tourer   ie. V-strom
3. Cruiser   ie. M50 or some kinda bobber with a parallel twin
4. maybe a dirtbike

For now the GS does pretty good at all of these :laugh:
Title: Re: is it possible to be a sportbiker and a cruiser?
Post by: vtlion on June 16, 2006, 11:28:15 AM
it is the hallmark of a true bike enthusiast to appreciate all sorts of bikes for their unique characteristics.  If money were now object, my stable would include (in the following order):

GRXR-750
SV650S
VTX1800
Buell Firebolt
V-strom

and of course the list goes on and on....

It's been my experience that the people who are blindly loyal to one style of bike and/or riding simply have never given the others a chance.  Many of them don't seem to be very well educated about the type the are so fiercly loyal to in the first place  :cookoo:
Title: Re: is it possible to be a sportbiker and a cruiser?
Post by: Egaeus on June 16, 2006, 11:37:06 AM
I prefer money to be an object.  A round object.  Many of them.  With a non-zero object in front, and no decimal point for a while.  :icon_mrgreen:

But I'm too lazy to ever have that.  Oh well....
Title: Re: is it possible to be a sportbiker and a cruiser?
Post by: Chuck on June 16, 2006, 11:40:09 AM
Bikes I want:

KLR 250/650
SV 650
GSX-R 600/750
VFR 750
CBR600RR
Burgman 650
Goldwing

Also I want to fix my FZR600... damn job.  :mad:
Title: Re: is it possible to be a sportbiker and a cruiser?
Post by: common sense on June 16, 2006, 03:05:31 PM
Quote from: vtlion on June 16, 2006, 11:28:15 AM

It's been my experience that the people who are blindly loyal to one style of bike and/or riding simply have never given the others a chance.  Many of them don't seem to be very well educated about the type the are so fiercly loyal to in the first place  :cookoo:

good point, I didn't realize how nice a cruiser was until I rode one during the beginner MSF class. From other posts I got the impression that I was the only one that appreciated both, but apparently that's not the case.
For any cruiser's: do you or anyone you know on a cruiser ride with a full face helmet? Just curious, usually see either half or no helmet
Title: Re: is it possible to be a sportbiker and a cruiser?
Post by: RVertigo on June 16, 2006, 03:28:44 PM
I know a few people that ride cruisers with full face...   And...  Who gives a shaZam! what other people do?  It's YOUR face!!


As for the people that like one kind of bike and hate the other... :flipoff:  (Although, plastic covered bikes are ugly.  :laugh: )


I'm still planning on having a GS500 and an M50...  It's just about when I can actually do it...  Then maybe I'll get a Thruxton too.  :laugh:
Title: Re: is it possible to be a sportbiker and a cruiser?
Post by: hmmmnz on June 16, 2006, 03:49:15 PM
my old man has a big fat old harley, its a tank i dont like riding it at all, such a pig to ride, but i bet you could ride all day comfortably.
i used to have a nv750 as well that was a vtwin cruiser, hated it only kept it for about a month then swapped it fro a zxr
me i personally like the upright rides and don't like to be riding a lazy boy chair, so ill probly never get another, but each to there own, it would be a boring world if we were all the same :icon_mrgreen:
Title: Re: is it possible to be a sportbiker and a cruiser?
Post by: Caffeine on June 16, 2006, 03:49:51 PM
Yamaha V-Max:  sort of a cross between a sportbike and a cruiser.

I like any kind of bike.   But the bike you BUY depends on what your priorities happen to be.   People who look down their noses at someone else who rides a different kind of bike are f*cked in the head, IMO.

If I had the $$$ and storage space, I would definitely have a cruiser next to the GS in the garage.   And a touring bike.   And something with a sidecar.   But I'm not greedy.   :icon_rolleyes:
Title: Re: is it possible to be a sportbiker and a cruiser?
Post by: daneilah on June 17, 2006, 06:42:23 AM

By their very design, the bikes that are going to be the most fun in the canyons are not going to be great for touring 700km a day.  For that reason alone, you need at least two bikes!   :icon_mrgreen:

I'd go sport-touring over a cruiser, but same diff.


Title: Re: is it possible to be a sportbiker and a cruiser?
Post by: Wrecent_Wryder on June 17, 2006, 07:22:02 AM
g6
Title: Re: is it possible to be a sportbiker and a cruiser?
Post by: Gisser on June 17, 2006, 03:27:13 PM
http://www.suzukicycles.com/Products/S50K7/Default.aspx

The Suzuki Blvd S50 (formerly Intruder 800) is a good motorcycle that happens to be a cruiser (semi-chopper, really).  Lean & clean.  The Blvds' C50 and M50 are mechanically the same bike as the S50 but with 100lbs of American classic styling added on.  Literally, 100lbs.  In that case, form over function is so skewed that there's no way I could consider these good motorcycles. :cookoo:   
Title: Re: is it possible to be a sportbiker and a cruiser?
Post by: scratch on June 17, 2006, 03:48:38 PM
Y'know...I would love to add a Rocket III to my GS...  :icon_mrgreen:
Title: Re: is it possible to be a sportbiker and a cruiser?
Post by: CirclesCenter on June 18, 2006, 11:58:25 PM
You know what makes me want a cruiser? My GS's seat.

Bikers that don't return the wave? That is prevalent among ALL types of riders, as being an @$$hole is prevalent among all types of people.

My cruiser of choice : Suzuki Boulevard M109R  (The seat is bigger than most airports!) Just for how it looks though.

But, I can't say that the cruiser would see much seat time. If I want to relax and have a big cushy seat I rock my 1979 Buick Regal V-8 with power velour seats and ICE cold AC. Put in an Aerosmith 8-track (Yes it does, and yes I do.) and put (65mph x 9 hours = ) 585 miles away in one day.

When I ride, I can't really help craving up the canyon.
Title: Re: is it possible to be a sportbiker and a cruiser?
Post by: ets_gs500f2004 on June 19, 2006, 01:11:30 PM
me the reason why i like sportbikes is because of the plastic..... i love the plastic and when the engine is unshowed.... i ride with eather sport bikes or cruisers..... my dad has a hd road king and i have more fun riding with him then my friend some times ....... shes got a fzr 400 and we have a lot of fun
Title: Re: is it possible to be a sportbiker and a cruiser?
Post by: Maduro Mistress on June 19, 2006, 01:52:30 PM
I just don't like cruisers. The more plastic the better. I despise ape hangers, despise watching people in my rear-view with their legs spread to kingdom come and their big fat bellies hanging out all over. I have great friends who have harleys, and V-stars, etc.  but I just can't find one redeeming quality. We get yelled at because our pipes are too loud, yet they run free with their almsot stalling horrible loud, annoying put put cracking idle - I can't stand that. I hate the sound, I hate the furry seats, I hate the fat chicks on the back - I hate it all. Maybe it's because i live in the Harley state of Wisconsin, but I told my boyfriend if he EVER added a non-sportbike to our garage then I was moving out.

(Yet, I still wave to most all of them on a single-lane-highway. THey are still bikes even if I do dislike them so! :)
Title: Re: is it possible to be a sportbiker and a cruiser?
Post by: CirclesCenter on June 20, 2006, 12:12:54 AM
My bike is one of the UN-faired GS500's.

I don;t know if I would have bought it if it was faired.

I like that lump of iron on display.
Title: Re: is it possible to be a sportbiker and a cruiser?
Post by: Kerry on June 20, 2006, 12:28:12 AM
"lump of iron"?   Oh ... you mean the frame.  ;)
Title: Re: is it possible to be a sportbiker and a cruiser?
Post by: chrisalberts on June 20, 2006, 06:06:34 AM
Quote from: common sense on June 16, 2006, 03:05:31 PM

good point, I didn't realize how nice a cruiser was until I rode one during the beginner MSF class. From other posts I got the impression that I was the only one that appreciated both, but apparently that's not the case.

I hated the cruiser seating position on the bikes we used during MSF.  I felt like it lessened control, wasn't especially comfy etc.  I very much like the upright position on my GS, though I sometimes wish it was slightly forward leaning.  At my advanced age (37) and size (big belly) I'm kind of surprised that I like that posture, but so be it.  Hopefully I'll continue to like it when I pick up my next bike (Ducati Monster 620), which is supposed to happen today, but with the weather I'm not sure.

I don't have any problem with cruisers or people that ride them, they're just not for me.  It's the same with cars - a gearhead is a gearhead and creating artificial barriers between people is silly.

C.
Title: Re: is it possible to be a sportbiker and a cruiser?
Post by: Egaeus on June 20, 2006, 04:51:07 PM
A biker is a biker.  While I personally dislike the design of most cruisers (insufficient lean angle, V-45 engine, too much rake angle, inablilty to use your feet for control....), we still have the joy of riding.  I wave at all motorcycles, and they wave back.  As a matter of fact, a guy on a cruiser actually gave me the wave when I was caging it with the bike in the back.  He was the only one in the entire 1270-mile trip.
Title: Re: is it possible to be a sportbiker and a cruiser?
Post by: CirclesCenter on June 23, 2006, 09:15:08 AM
That's pretty cool, I mean waving even when you have it in the back.

Goes to show, there are nice guys (even on cruisers) and assholes (squids anyone?) everywhere.