Cruiser beginner bikes?

[Roli001]

For what my experience is worth:

Biking experience: Played around with dirt bikes when I was a kid. Currently proud holder of an M1 drivers licence awaiting 14 more days to present my M2 exit test results from RTI.

Bike: VStar 1100 classic baught in US circa $3000 less than in good old Canada.

Experience with bike: Scared the crap out of me the first 2-3 days. Feels kind of small now that I've got a bit used to it... That's probably an overstatement but I find it hard to imagine riding a smaller bike and then changing it after a few months or a year.

[YamaMana]

I don't get this opinion at all. How would a beginner who gets blown around on a 250 fair any better on an 1100 ...

Well i guess we all have our opinions.

Behemoth bikes? I don't think that an 800 meets that criteria. Also riding the vstar 650 vs 1100 is not that much different. As previously mentioned, the main complaint owners have of the 650 is power. My first bike coming back after a 20 year absence was the 1100. Really stable on the highway. It's a momentum sort of thing (400 vs 600 lbs). Heavier on the highway = good, heavier in the parking lot = bad.

Secondly, i would not recommend a start on say a 250 virago. At 6' i can attest that your buddy would not fit.

Anyway my 2 cents and hopefully more clarification of my earlier opinion.

[Baggsy]

Well i guess we all have our opinions.

Behemoth bikes? I don't think that an 800 meets that criteria. Also riding the vstar 650 vs 1100 is not that much different. As previously mentioned, the main complaint owners have of the 650 is power. My first bike coming back after a 20 year absence was the 1100. Really stable on the highway. It's a momentum sort of thing (400 vs 600 lbs). Heavier on the highway = good, heavier in the parking lot = bad.

Secondly, i would not recommend a start on say a 250 virago. At 6' i can attest that your buddy would not fit.

Anyway my 2 cents and hopefully more clarification of my earlier opinion.

It definitely is a matter of opinion. I've had a 250, 1100, 1000 and now a 650. I was trending towards an 1800 Wing, but when I sat down and analyzed where and how I ride, I realized that I didn't need to ride a bike with a bigger engine than the sports car I had. At 6' 2" I found that I started to swing my leg out when turning the handlebars on the Virago. Humber swapped the bars for longer ones on some of their bikes, I had an opportunity to ride one last year and it was a blast, and I did fit. I found that tires make a big difference in highway "stability". I swapped between sport touring and Goldwing tires on my Concours and found a vast difference in straight line stability, at the expense of being able to fall into a turn more quickly. Anyway, we are supposed to be talking beginner bikes I believe. My 1100 is not a beginner bike, my 1000 is not a beginner bike and my 650 would not be the best beginner bike. Unless you are doing a major highway, which a beginner should not, you don't need that many cc's. At some point if I can afford it I will get a 250, just because they are so much fun to ride.

[canuckerjay]

After 10 years of being off of bikes, went back with a Vstar 1100 - no issues with it at all. No weight issues, no power issues; except that after a few months in, wanted more power. Still want more power. Just haven't figured out if I want to ditch it yet.