Originally Posted by
ifiddles
ok...here goes...i just finished my first season on a 2009 kawasaki vulcan 500 and while i love the bike, i'm looking to "upgrade" or "tradeup" for this upcoming season...few reasons why: 1) back and shoulders get tired after a few hours (four one day without stopping), 2) very skinny front tire means i feel every crack in the pavement (100/90r16), and 3) looking for more power when accelerating/shifting gears...i'm female, 5'4" and 105 lbs...i posted one thread about 500 cc sportbikes (Ninja 500 and GS500) and got some good feedback so went to sit on them...too tall :( i'm used to flat footing my cruiser and not sure if i like the whole tip toe thing when coming to a stop...
i'm on a kawasaki vulcan forum and asked about upgrading to a vulcan 800...guys there told me that because of engine design (mine is a parallel twin and the 800 is a v-twin) and higher rpm range on my bike, that the 800 wouldn't really be an "upgrade" if i was comparing performance only (apparently the horsepower difference is only 7 and the 800 weighs over 100 lbs more)...
now here's my question...i really love the look of the naked sportbikes (love the er-6n, versys, v-strom, bmw f800r) but they are all too tall for me...i know they can be lowered but want to know a) how much it generally costs to lower a bike and b) what effect it has on the bike's handling overall (i know it changes the centre of gravity but that's it)...
thanks in advance to everyone's input...
ivana