Of Sportbikes and Cruisers

[OTB]

Went out Saturday on a Virago Sevenfiddy for a couple hundred miles:

Nice bike, shaft drive, on first impression decent ergos; nothing extreme.
Nice fit and finish. Lotsa low-end power, nice sound, smooth shifting (this one has about 10k on the clock).

Sportbikes usually have motors that love to be revved and with many you can be just cruising along and look down and be stunned to find yourself waaayyy over the speedlimit. Not so, Ms. Virago (Dictionary defines virago as a " A woman regarded as noisy, scolding, or domineering "...synonyms are fishwife, fury, harpy, shrew...hmmmmm). The harder you rev it, the less it likes it. This bike is the quintessential cruiser, happiest just burbling around town or short hops down the freeway.

I know many folks luuuvv their cruisers, but I am not one of the fan club. I've had Harleys old and new, a Yamaha (now Star) a Honda Shadow, and a older Suzuki "L" model. It may have something to do with my 6'2" height, but I found anything more than 45-60 minutes in the saddle to be arduous; the sculpted or stepped saddles lock me into ONE position and one position only, coupled with the slightly forward footpegs that are neither straight out in front nor directly underneath, they have my thigh muscles aching in short order. Because of the odd seating position, most of the rider's torso weight bears directly down on the seat and because the way the seat is sculpted pressure points soon develop, about which the rider can do nothing. The thought of having to ride these things across country makes my butt hurt just in contemplation.

The Yamaha is overall a nicely finished and thought out bike, but not my cuppa. Now I remember why I prefer sportbikes and standards...flexible ergos, widely usable motors, and the ability to fly down squiggly roads. I took this bike through some of the roads around Baltimore county and Carroll county horse country; it's been a while since I've washed out a bikes front end; after a couple of scarier moments I dialed it waaayyy back and just putted. And that's the problem with a cruiser; you can dial it way back on a sportbike; but you really can't dial it very far up on a cruiser.

JMHO

[smileyman]

When testing a cruiser you must keep in mind its intended purpose. The only way to judge its potential would have been in double file parade formation not to exceed 45 mph and would have to include a smoking break every 25 miles and the test run should have been bookended with high caloric red meat and fried sumthing meals.

[OTB]

The only way to judge its potential would have been in double file parade formation not to exceed 45 mph and would have to include a smoking break every 25 miles and the test run should have been bookended with high caloric red meat and fried sumthing meals.


:lmao:

[wildchild]

When testing a cruiser you must keep in mind its intended purpose. The only way to judge its potential would have been in double file parade formation not to exceed 45 mph and would have to include a smoking break every 25 miles and the test run should have been bookended with high caloric red meat and fried sumthing meals.

hey back to your sit-in you vegan!!

LOL I like red meat and fried something or other to. :lol

[derf]

Riding this sunday by any chance? I'm looking to finally get out and see the area now that my bike is down here

[OTB]

Riding this sunday by any chance? I'm looking to finally get out and see the area now that my bike is down here

Yes, pm me later

[marko138]

Yes, pm me later
Damn. Wish I was around.

[OTB]

Damn. Wish I was around.
Where are you????


That's what we want to know...Marko WHERE ARE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[marko138]

Where are you????


That's what we want to know...Marko WHERE ARE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, to be specific, right now I'm at work. Inside the Pennsylvania State Capitol building at 3rd and State Streets, Harrisburg PA.

[No Worries]

When the Virago came out, Yamaha also made a sport/tourer with the 900 V-twin. It sold big in Europe, but not here. All I remember is that instead of shaft-drive, it had an enclosed chain. I still wonder how you would check the slack on an enclosed chain?

[smileyman]

listen for the rattle?

[Cutty72]

listen for the rattle?

Or look through the inspection hole. That's how it was done on all my old 3 wheelers.

[OTB]

In the bad old days before oring type chains were used, many smaller bikes used enclosed chains. There was an aftermarket company in the seventies that offered an enclosure conversion for a lot of mid and larger bikes. It was fully enclosed and sealed and ran oil in a reservoir; chain life of 30-40k could be expected with 6-8K between adjustments, but it was complicated to put on and very heavy....and it looked "geeky"...so it didn't sell....

[caveman]

Well, firstly, the type of bike says it all: CRUISERS. Meant for cruising down the highway and just chillaxin on while riding where ever.
Secondly, the fact that you normally ride sportys says that your body is in shape to ride sportys. I borrowed my co-workers GSXR1k and had a blast. However, while riding I found that I was getting cramps and charly horses in my muscles from not being used to riding in this crouched over position.
Thirdly the Virago 750, while bigger than the 535 that I had was not as powerful in the low end, imho. My 535 used to sound like a raped ape and would propel my ass all over Texas with no worries. Perhaps you should try something with a few more ponies. I liked the GSXR and it was comfortable but I seemed to be......a little to inclined to use all the power that it had to offer. I think I had it for like 6 wks and drove it to work every day and every day hit a minimum of 120 on my 14.5 mile run to work. Fastest time, even with stoplights, was like 7 minutes. Normally takes me like 15 minutes by car. Blew past a cop who obviously just let me go for the sheer PIA it would have been to catch me.

Cruisers have a purpose: not to go 120mph

[OTB]

I don't think horsepower was the issue....ergos and lack of ground clearance and handling were the issues. I'm quite happy flogging an Aprilia rs50 if it'll scoot through the turns.