Why are cruiser tanks so small?

[Grub]

Just thinking about how many times Nasty has to gas up compared to me makes me wonder ... why?

Here is a genre of bikes designed to get out on the highways and cruise long distances yet their basic design makes that impossible. Forget taking one down the West Coast without jerry cans (see Steam if you need some).

The only plausible explanation I can think of ....

... Cruisers are so uncomfortable to ride that the manufacturers make sure you don't spend too long in the saddle to find that out!

[KoroJ]

I guess because a 20 - 30 litre tank just wouldn't quite look right and with no fairing, it would be hard to disguise where ideally most of the fuel is kept, low on the bike.

Also, they're designed for hiway cruising where there are always lots of gas stations, not what we use them for, thrashing through out much loved back roads.

I loved riding my Intruder and completed the RNGC on it without much problem, (although I was carrying a 5litre insurance pack) It normally only got uncomfortable on the butt two-up, but unfortunately it didn't suit the riding I was doing with the wee tank and lack of baggage capacity, so I had to change.

[Mr. Peanut]

Cruisers are fun

Would say it's for aesthetic reasons more than anything.

[Big Dave]

... Cruisers are so uncomfortable to ride that the manufacturers make sure you don't spend too long in the saddle to find that out!

EASILY the most comfortable bikes available for taller people: (in no particuar order - they are all sublime)
XB12X
Caponord
Softail Custom
Fat Boy
M109R
C90T

4 out of the first 6 most comfortable bikes I can think of are cruisers.

The tank sizes are concessions to style.

[crashe]

What bike is she riding?
What size tank does the bike have?



I ride a cruiser - VIRAGO and I get around approx 200kms plus reserve out of my bike.

Sometimes I get 220kms other times 200km depending on whether I'm riding in the city or out in the country.

My bike has a 9.5 litre tank and is a 250cc VIRAGO

Oh and she is really comfy to sit on..... rode her in Dec last year from Auckland to Lower Hutt and she was real comfy.
I suffer with chronic lower back problems and my back didn't suffer at all.

[magicfairy]

Agree, don't know why they do it, but small tank sucks. My 800 only has 12 litre tank, town riding I go onto reserve at about 130k. Open road about 170k but I don't go further than 200k even on reserve. It is the one thing I would change.

[Jantar]

EASILY the most comfortable bikes available for taller people: (in no particuar order - they are all sublime)
XB12X
Caponord
Softail Custom
Fat Boy
M109R
C90T

4 out of the first 6 most comfortable bikes I can think of are cruisers.

The tank sizes are concessions to style.

Comfort is a matter of perspective. I am quite tall (over 180 cm) and I find that the cruiser style is comfortable for short distances at low speed. Any more than an hour or so and I notice that all my weight is concentrated on my bum, and I can't use my legs for support. The wind blast takes its toll as well and I can feel that my arms are actually taking quite a strain.

For me, the most comfortable modern bikes for long distances are bikes like the Suzuki VStrom (that's partially why I have one), Triumph Tiger, BMW 1200GS etc.

[Ixion]

ALL motorcycles have absurdly small tanks for their fuel consumption. They either need to get consumption of a 650 back to 80+ mpg or fit 40l + tanks. Either way, range needs to be at least 500km.

Half a century ago a I could get the Velo from Auckland to Wellington without a fuel stop. So where's the progress.

[Motu]

Yep,100mpg out of a Triumph twin was pretty common,used to get 95mpg out of my Norton 99 SS.

[Crisis management]

Cruiser styling obviously dictates the tank size but it seems a bit ludicrous, when we have the likes of the Buell with fuel in the frame, that this type of storage cannot be found on a cruiser.
Surely there is space to disguise a remote fuel tank somewhere, dummy oil tank maybe?
Personally I would want 300 to 350 Kms range from a fuel tank and I can't see why that isn't achievable.


(I hope all them apostrophe thingies are in the right place, the BDOTGNZA are getting anal lately...)

[SlashWylde]

Aggree that with cruisers, tank sizing is often dictated by aesthetic considerations.

Having said that, range is dictated by the tank size and the efficiency of the bike.

My 2005 Vulcan 800 has a 15 litre tank, and can do over 220km on the open road before hitting the reserve (5L left to go) which implies at least 330km from 15L.

[Big Dave]

I am quite tall (over 180 cm)

You need to visit a mall, mate. 205cm is 'quite tall' these days.

Last months KR - did 750km in a day on the C90T. Rated it 'probably the most comfortable bike I've ever ridden'.
The screen - like every screen I've used - caused some buffeting. Otherwise like sitting in a lounge chair all day.

Nor do I notice 'wind blast' at licence keeping speeds - the resistance of the wind and it rushing over as much exposed skin as the conditions and speed will allow is part of the very essence of why I ride. The long lost wind in your hair. Why I have now come to favour naked bikes - you can get that same buzz a lot slower on the road.

[Hitcher]

The ST1300 was good for 500+km per tank. At two litres less capacity, the FJR can't quite match that -- fumes at 480km.

[Toaster]

Mine is very comfortable to ride and has a good sized tank. Go M109R!

[sunhuntin]

What bike is she riding?
What size tank does the bike have?



I ride a cruiser - VIRAGO and I get around approx 200kms plus reserve out of my bike.

Sometimes I get 220kms other times 200km depending on whether I'm riding in the city or out in the country.

My bike has a 9.5 litre tank and is a 250cc VIRAGO

Oh and she is really comfy to sit on..... rode her in Dec last year from Auckland to Lower Hutt and she was real comfy.
I suffer with chronic lower back problems and my back didn't suffer at all.

crashe... i road from wangas to national park and back a few weeks ago. i think its about 120k one way [so, 120 there, and 120 back] i filled the day before. [cant remember how much she took] rode up, met a friend and we headed to ohakune for lunch. he gassed up. i looked at mine and said screw it. was still 90% full. we head back... i flick to reserve when she refuses to power out of a corner. im guessing a 20k reserve [havent run it dry yet, so not sure] we continue riding. i pull off when we are still quite a distance from town, figuring at worst, we could rig up a way to siphon from his tank.

we hit upukngaro [?] which is still about 5 k from town, with the nearest gas station another few k once we hit town. [i was hoping thered be a servo there, but there wasnt]

i dunno what happened, but somehow i managed about 240k on one tank of gas... and she only took about 8 liters when we did get to the servo.