Switching from Sports to cruiser. Need suggestions

[Gnu]

VMax, gen 2 or gen 1.

[YamaMana]

I owned a Vulcan 900 custom for a month last summer, nice bike. I know the owner and she's still quite happy with it. I was just going through a bad-back summer and the seating position resulted in a little too much absorption into the spine. Other than that, nice engine, good fit and finish. As an alternative and there are many out there, the Suzuki C50 is nice bike as well.

[boooya]

M50 is a great muscle cruiser. They could be had cheap and they are by far the best handling cruiser out there IMO. I've done 4 day trips with the wife with no issues or lack of power even 2up and loaded.

[nakkers]

For HD and 2 up, steer clear of Sportster, V-Rod and even the Dyna line. Check out the Softtails or the touring models. Heritage has classic lines and with a good 2 up seat will fit the bill nicely. Finding them under 10k would be a challenge to be sure.

For most other cruisers and riding mostly 2 up, it's best to look for larger displacement. 1000 cc's plus. Look for someone that has already got a good 2 up seat like a Mustang or similar. Your girlfriend will appreciate it. Just keep your eyes open and take your GF with you and when check out the bike.

Cheers and good luck.

[Cruzinkawi]

I would not even consider a cruiser going from a sport bike. You should consider a sport touring bike. They are as follows, Honda ST1300, Yamaha FJR 1300, BMW R1200RT, BMW K1300GT and Kawasaki Concours14. The sport touring motorcycles has some of the ability of the sport bike with the comfort of the touring package. If you plan to ride 2 up, your passenger will enjoy their ride. Before you decide to go out and purchase your cruiser, go out on some demo rides.

[revrandy]

Cruzinkawi you forgot Suzuki V-Strom's. They come in both a 1000 and 650 cc size. Very popular in the sport touring category and much less than many of the other bikes you posted.

[Cruzinkawi]

Cruzinkawi you forgot Suzuki V-Strom's. They come in both a 1000 and 650 cc size. Very popular in the sport touring category and much less than many of the other bikes you posted.

I agree the Suzuki V-Strom's are fantastic bikes, but they are chain drive. If Suzuki would have had shaft drive I would have bought one. The shaft drive sport touring bikes are next to maintanence free.

[Jag_V4Ape]

Ducati Diavel bro. Nothing more, nothing less.. You'll have one hell of a cruiser..

[Aminal]

I think you need to look at the used market, a well maintained bike with a warranty might be the way to go especially as a second bike. Try www.nothernmotorsports.com just to have a look at what's available and get a price range.
Larger bikes 1500's handle well over 15 kph, they are heavy and take some getting use to pushing them around and for $10,000 you should be able to find something suitable. The bike shows are coming up and a great place to sit on models, look at everything including sport tourers! I find you'll know when you sit on the right one.

[V-Tom]

I agree the Suzuki V-Strom's are fantastic bikes, but they are chain drive. If Suzuki would have had shaft drive I would have bought one. The shaft drive sport touring bikes are next to maintanence free.

The V-Strom is a great bike, and very mainenance free.

I have put about 143,000 km on my 2006 Suzuki V-Strom DL650 since I bought it July 26, 2006. I have about 47,000 km on it so far this year. My current chain has over 71,000 km on it. I have done ONE minor adjustment in that time, and that was a few weeks ago after a crash so I don't know if the adjustment was the result of wear or of the crash. Maintenance has amounted to 10 seconds of squirting lube on the chain when I fill the gas tank or after riding in the rain. There has been no other maintenance of this chain at all.

..Tom

[shanekingsley]

I agree with Tom. Having owned chain and shaft drive, maintenance on a chain bike is really not that hard or time consuming... My last chain lasted me about 50,000km and I only changed it out because my sprockets were worn and I decided to change everything as a set.

That Ducati is a nice bike, but doesn't look comfortable for the OP's needs. The bike show is a great idea for sitting on lots of different bikes and it's just over a month away... I had a Virago 1100 for a while as a cruiser and it was a comfortable ride for the passenger with lots of power and decent handling. Thats said, the Vulcan's sem nice and so do the Shadow's, V-Star's and the Suzuki cruisers... Lot's of important 2up comfort factors have a lot to do with the aftermarket things like seats, backrests, saddlebags, suspension, brakes etc...

Last of all, and although not a cruiser, I'd also +1 on the V-Strom as 2up touring bike - It's fantastic even as a 650cc getting 400km/tank and there is huge aftermarket support...

[CanadianBiker]

I agree the Suzuki V-Strom's are fantastic bikes, but they are chain drive. If Suzuki would have had shaft drive I would have bought one. The shaft drive sport touring bikes are next to maintanence free.

Chain drive is not that maintainance intesive. Lube it once in awhile, adjust as neccessary, maybe a total of an hour or two a year on chain-related tasks. Belt drive requires even less, just inspection.

[CanadianBiker]

Softails are not the greatest cruisers... suspension not compliant enough.

I dunno about that. I'm about 190lbs, my wife is 115, and the bike is just fine, plenty of suspension, no hard bottoming out, no handling issues.

[RicoChet]

I would recommend the m50 or the m90 because they are cruisers and still have a lot of sport aspects to them. You can get either for a great price and both will outperform regular classic cruisers for the same price.

[chidizzle]

I would recommend the m50 or the m90 because they are cruisers and still have a lot of sport aspects to them. You can get either for a great price and both will outperform regular classic cruisers for the same price.

Ricochet for MAYOR!!!

[Gummiente]

I dunno about that. I'm about 190lbs, my wife is 115, and the bike is just fine, plenty of suspension, no hard bottoming out, no handling issues.

The wife likes her Softail Deluxe and has ridden with me on several long trips (Cabot Trail, Adirondacs, etc) with few issues, other than an uncomfortable seat. But then last year she piloted my Road Glide, towing our cargo trailer, while I drove my Ural over to the annual CURD rally... ever since then, I've had to hide the keys to my Harley. She could not believe how comfy it was!

But with regards to the OP's post, I agree with the recommendation to test ride as many different models and types as possible before making a decision. And in each case, make sure the girlfriend has a chance to sit on it with you - if she doesn't find it comfy and to her liking, there's no point in buying it.

Or, as also suggested, you could convince her to get her own bike and then buy whatever you want for yourself. It's a whole new level of riding enjoyment when your sweetie is in the wind with you on her own bike.

[getfunky]

Well i've kept my mind open to sport-touring after reading the last few posts. When is the bike show? Probably be a good time to check all the above mentioned ones.

[RoadSailor]

It's also useful to determine if you want to go 2up for 2 hours, or 2up all day long. There is a big difference.
If you are doing any serious distance travelling, you should be looking at Sport-touring and Touring bikes.
Those little rear fender passenger seats on some cruisers won't cut it for an all-day ride - or for a two-week vacation tour.
If you are going to travel far, also consider luggage and gear capacity.

[getfunky]

I do have a new interest in sport-touring after going to the motorcycle show yesterday. I've sat on literally all the bikes that was off interest to me or mentioned above and narrowed it down to these:

Supersport - Honda cbr600rr
Sport Touring - Kawasaki 650r / Yamaha Fz6r
Crusiers - Suzuki m50 / Kawasaki Vulcan 900 / Honda VT1300 / Yamaha VStar 950

I'm going to do insurance check on all these and eliminate those that I find too exp. I do seem to lean towards the sport touring. I love how comfortable it felt and still looked sporty. GF didn't mind the sport touring at all.

[AlienTech]

My favorite cruiser was a 2002 Yamaha Warrior before that I had a vstar 1100 with many mods and it was a good bike as well. I liked the Warrior for the power and decent handling for a big bike. You can pick up low mile used Warriors under $10k