First Cruiser | GTAMotorcycle.com

First Cruiser

J_F

Guest
after 30+ years riding sport or ST bikes
on a whim, bought an old Japanese cruiser, Vulcan 800 Classic

was owned prior, for 15 years, by a CRA lawyer
dude had it stored every winter
and all maintenance done, at the dealer

in the spring he brought it home to the garage
and rode it 3-4 times per summer
a little over 1,000 km per season
total of 21,000 km for an '03 is little use

bike is mint, passed safety with nothing required
maintenance is completely up to date with files provided

so first impressions:
  • only instrumentation is a speedo and 3 idiot lights, this will take some getting used to
  • expected the suspension to be crude, in fact I'm not sure there is actually a rear shock
  • 110 kmh is the happy spot, kinda nice as the last bike wanted to be always >140
  • ergos are fabulous, foot forward is great, bar angle is perfect, stock seat is pretty good
  • fuel consumption is surprisingly good for an old, heavy 550lb, carbureted bike
  • haven't seen the insurance savings yet, but for the type of bike and dropping collision I'm sure it's gonna be cheap
  • all the chrome is going to be some extra work, it's in such shiny new-like condition, I'll have to keep that up
  • it is really refreshing to not be in a hurry, or feel that I should be pushing the bike harder
  • crazy dude from Gatineau that bought the FJ09 can deal with that now

so for $2,500, I'm really happy to have this old cruiser for the summer
don't think it'll be a long term bike, but it's cheap enough to keep if I want something else

the downside: afraid I know what's gonna be next, more chrome, more torque, more America

http://[img]https://i.imgur.com/FOHh9zX.jpg[/img]
 
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Joe Bass likes this

Sent from my purple G4 using Tapatalk
 
That looks awesome, great lil breakdown too. I wish I enjoyed chrome, it would make older cruisers so much more appealing.

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From the picture looks fantastic . Nothing like a vintage cruiser .
 
I went the Cruiser route in late 30's to early 40's. All gone back to good power, good suspension and not sitting on my tailbone rides.
 
after 30+ years riding sport or ST bikes
on a whim, bought an old Japanese cruiser, Vulcan 800 Classic

was owned prior, for 15 years, by a CRA lawyer
dude had it stored every winter
and all maintenance done, at the dealer

in the spring he brought it home to the garage
and rode it 3-4 times per summer
a little over 1,000 km per season
total of 21,000 km for an '03 is little use

bike is mint, passed safety with nothing required
maintenance is completely up to date with files provided

so first impressions:
  • only instrumentation is a speedo and 3 idiot lights, this will take some getting used to
  • expected the suspension to be crude, in fact I'm not sure there is actually a rear shock
  • 110 kmh is the happy spot, kinda nice as the last bike wanted to be always >140
  • ergos are fabulous, foot forward is great, bar angle is perfect, stock seat is pretty good
  • fuel consumption is surprisingly good for an old, heavy 550lb, carbureted bike
  • haven't seen the insurance savings yet, but for the type of bike and dropping collision I'm sure it's gonna be cheap
  • all the chrome is going to be some extra work, it's in such shiny new-like condition, I'll have to keep that up
  • it is really refreshing to not be in a hurry, or feel that I should be pushing the bike harder
  • crazy dude from Gatineau that bought the FJ09 can deal with that now

so for $2,500, I'm really happy to have this old cruiser for the summer
don't think it'll be a long term bike, but it's cheap enough to keep if I want something else

the downside: afraid I know what's gonna be next, more chrome, more torque, more America

http://[img]https://i.imgur.com/FOHh9zX.jpg[/img]

You can use the trip meter as a rough fuel gauge lol
 

Nice ride
Maybe some tassels are in your near future now.


Sent from the moon!
 
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Congrats on the purchase JavaFan! I would like very much to have a cruiser as a second bike, I saw a Vulcan S on the road the other day and it looked really good. Plus no chrome to polish! Enjoy the new ride.
 
You need to get gloves with no fingertips :)
I rode a Shadow 750 for a lot of years and loved it. I almost went to a VTX1300 / 1800 / Valkarye but fell in love with the ST1300.
There's really something about the 'relaxed' feeling when riding a cruiser. I felt I never had anything to prove when cruising around at <100km / speeds as the sweet spot for that bike was right around 100.
Keeping that chrome polished can be addictive or it can be gas and go. Whatever flaps your tassels man. Congrats.
 
Beauty. I have a soft spot for spokes and classic bike lines.

I've ridden that bike, if I recall she has a chain or belt. The one I rode was quite happy at 130 and didn't complain till 150.

If you're coming from a standard or sport bike, you need to learn about the scrape angle. Spend $5bucks on some long peg feelers -- they are worth it.
 
Beauty. I have a soft spot for spokes and classic bike lines.

I've ridden that bike, if I recall she has a chain or belt. The one I rode was quite happy at 130 and didn't complain till 150.

If you're coming from a standard or sport bike, you need to learn about the scrape angle. Spend $5bucks on some long peg feelers -- they are worth it.

you know MM, after the ST sold I was thinking about contacting you about your Yamaha V twin
not sure if you sold it yet, but this one came to my attention and I grabbed it up quick

agree, the spoked wheels I really like, and these things are customizable
backyard bobbers make some really nice kits for them, but it's so original
it'd be a shame to chop it up

biggest negative is it's chain drive
while considering a cruiser, was looking forward to a belt

having so much much fun taking in the scenery, slowly
not much chance of dragging anything
 
Nah, abundant chrome is actually easier.

Just wash as usual with a bucket/sponge, rinse, then get the leaf blower out. Blows most of the water off. Maybe 30 sec more with a microfibre cloth.

you know, that's exactly what I did the other day
smuggly thinking I was the first guy to use his blower to dry the bike

I keep a stable of cotton detail rags cycling through the man laundry
always have one dampened with WD40 to shine and keep rust at bay

was never really a concern with a Jap sport bike
you can neglect cleaning for months of end
and they still clean up well

anyway, the WD40 cloth shined stuff up real well after the blowie
and if I gotta do this a bit more frequently, so be it
 
As long as it's still fun that's all that matters. I sold my bagger last month when someone offered me close to what I paid for it 30,000km ago. As much as I loved it I was missing some of the sportiness so I picked up a Multistrada.
 

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