Cruiser Vs. Sportbike/Standard

[Combat]

I was half considering buying a cruiser for my next bike. No dresser or anything, just clean and smooth. A few weeks ago one of Hellgates post (I don't remember what thread it was on) about cruisers got me thinking. What are the Pros and Cons of a cruiser and sportbike? What are their ups and downs?

:Sport:

 

[HavBlue]

I was half considering buying a cruiser for my next bike. No dresser or anything, just clean and smooth. A few weeks ago one of Hellgates post (I don't remember what thread it was on) about cruisers got me thinking. What are the Pros and Cons of a cruiser and sportbike? What are their ups and downs?

:Sport:

Having owned both and currently having both I can tell you quite honestly they are two completely different worlds for me. One gives me the pleasure of slowing down and really enjoying things while the other is clearly begging to be pushed and turned while causing me to be focused at 100% every moment I am out there. I gues this is why I have both flavors......

 

[boogiecram]

For me its all about comfort and fun. I road my buddy's suzuki c90 and after about an hour on that bike my lower back was killing me and no matter what position I got into I couldn't get comfortable. I also didn't feel that I could react very fast on that bike. So after a day of riding, I took it back to him and got back onto my FZ6 and was happy. There's just something about the upright bike that is more comfortable to me and I feel in more control of the bike.

 

[cv_rider]

I have a softspot for the looks of a cruiser, and love that rumbling sound. I've never ridden one. My impression is that the tradeoffs for that low look are pretty substantial in the comfort and handling department. I could have ridden a dealer's test ride Sportster 883 while I was shopping and ultimately bought the FZ6. I wish I had tried it out, but was a bit pressed for time at that point and didn't do it. I'm shaping up to be a rider who uses about 10% of the FZ6's capability (reading about too many wipe-outs on gravel, and have yet to get above 8k rpm), and sometimes wonder if the lower performance of a cruiser would be an almost imperceptible difference to me. HavBlue, for what sort of rides do you choose the cruiser? What percentage of the time do you take the FZ6 and the cruiser?

 

[HavBlue]

HavBlue, for what sort of rides do you choose the cruiser? What percentage of the time do you take the FZ6 and the cruiser?

Two completely different attitudes in terms of the ride (nothing to do with the bike but rather the road) and the style (is it going to be a cruise or am I out to tear up some asphalt.) Interestingly I bought the XL1200R Sporty 28 days before I bought the FZ6. Four years later the Sporty is up on the FZ6 roughly 12,000 miles. I use the Sporty for the long haul and it has been across these United States twice and one of those was to Sturgis from California (southern.) The last run was August of 2007 when a friend with a 1200C and I went east out of Bowling Green through West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee and all on the roads less traveled as most of the time we were being helped by local folks that said, "go this way." That was very cool.....

I used to love taking the FZ6 through Malibu Canyon and eat breakfast at the Rock Store. We would then tear up the asphalt and eventually stop at Neptune's on PCH for lunch before coming home via Sunset Blvd. Great ride but again, a different purpose. I guess it all falls back on the primary question that should be asked of every bike buyer. What are you going to be doing with the bike? Answer that and you can eliminate half the hassles of buying and you may just keep from being disappointed when you come to find out the bike isn't really doing what you want it too and this other one would have been better; at least for you. My answer was simple, get them both..

 

[cv_rider]

I used to live in Agoura Hills, and visited those places on my mountain bike (but not on the same trip). I recall that one of them was a cruiser hangout and the other a sportbike hangout. Can't remember which was which. As a cyclist, I was always slightly distainful of the people who got there burning gas instead of calories. I guess I still am a bit that way.