What's up with the general population of cruiser riders?

[heyjoe]

I ride a cruiser. I like to cruise. It is what I like about my bike. I am in no hurry and I will get there in my own time. It has the grunt to go fast when I want it to. I try to be considerate on the road around other bikers on sport bikes. I know they are a different type of bike and likely to have a rider who rides different to me and thats ok. I will try to be considerate to them whenever I can. I expect the same in return. I think this is fair. We all share the road and have a right to be there.

[Big Dave]

Both the m109 and the V-rod are good to go through at 30kph over the maximum advisory speeds posted on corners.

The national speed limit is 100kph and is being blanket enforced.

To me Cruisers make far greater sense in 2008 than a sportsbike.

Riding them to the limits is just as much fun - because it is the limit - than never maxing out more than 2nd gear on a sportsbike for the now constant threat (Around Auckland at least) of having it confiscated if you do use its full potential.

OAB has a valid reason for a light powerful machine. Track day enthusiasts likewise.

Otherwise I feel a bit sorry for the waste.

[T.W.R]

I ride a cruiser. I like to cruise. It is what I like about my bike. I am in no hurry and I will get there in my own time. It has the grunt to go fast when I want it to. I try to be considerate on the road around other bikers on sport bikes. I know they are a different type of bike and likely to have a rider who rides different to me and thats ok. I will try to be considerate to them whenever I can. I expect the same in return. I think this is fair. We all share the road and have a right to be there.

Yeah mate thats what a cruiser is meant to be, a relax ride soaking up the scenary and enjoying things. I just can't understand these blokes who push a cruiser into the realms of being something it wasn't designed to be, it just takes away the relaxed nature of the cruiser set.

Both the m109 and the V-rod are good to go through at 30kph over the maximum advisory speeds posted on corners.

The national speed limit is 100kph and is being blanket enforced.

To me Cruisers make far greater sense in 2008 than a sportsbike.

Riding them to the limits is just as much fun - because it is the limit - than never maxing out more than 2nd gear on a sportsbike for the now constant threat (Around Auckland at least) of having it confiscated if you do use its full potential.

OAB has a valid reason for a light powerful machine. Track day enthusiasts likewise.

Otherwise I feel a bit sorry for the waste.

As any bike though the mentality of the rider sets what the bike does and pushing as cruiser into the realms of standard roadbikes or sportsbikes takes away the meaning of what a cruiser is meant to be. the guys that I mentioned were just taking things beyond the safety threshold and into sheer stupidity.
Your right that modern sportsbikes are beyond what our roads allow and that is fair enough to because the bikes themselves are beyond most riders capabilities.
OAB sets the mark for conquering the odds, he has my respect as I live very close to the world that he lives in.

[Big Dave]

Are you sure though? - lurching a big cruiser sideways in a pall of sparks isn't necessarily a loss of control. well - only temporary anyway.

It sounds worse than anything else.

[Headbanger]

Yeah mate thats what a cruiser is meant to be, a relax ride soaking up the scenary and enjoying things. I just can't understand these blokes who push a cruiser into the realms of being something it wasn't designed to be, it just takes away the relaxed nature of the cruiser set.

meh, A cruiser is meant to be ridden however the rider chooses*, There is no pre-defined manner* that has to be adjured to.


*as long as your not fucking with other road users.

[madbikeboy]

[QUOTE=Big Dave;1404832]Both the m109 and the V-rod are good to go through at 30kph over the maximum advisory speeds posted on corners.


30 kph over the posted sign? Wow. I think I'm trading in the Gixer.

We're all riders, and I respect differences between us. I'm happy that there are people who ride 'em. I think it takes a special someone to enjoy riding something slow and bouncy, with no ground clearance, poor brakes...

I'll say for a while, I'm sure there's going to be a few after me throwing stones at cruisers...

[Ixion]

Both the m109 and the V-rod are good to go through at 30kph over the maximum advisory speeds posted on corners.

The national speed limit is 100kph and is being blanket enforced.

To me Cruisers make far greater sense in 2008 than a sportsbike.

Riding them to the limits is just as much fun - because it is the limit - than never maxing out more than 2nd gear on a sportsbike for the now constant threat (Around Auckland at least) of having it confiscated if you do use its full potential.

OAB has a valid reason for a light powerful machine. Track day enthusiasts likewise.

Otherwise I feel a bit sorry for the waste.

So, why not, instead, a smaller engined bike that still has the handling capability of a sprotsbike (and maybe more) ?

Moreover, large crusiers are not slow in a straight line. Quite fast enough to break speed limits.

In the USA with its huge distances and long straight roads, the crusier model makes (some) sense. In NZ, with no large distance and no long straight roads it does not. Our riding landscape is predominated by narrow winding badly surfaced roads. The very sort of road where at crusier is at its worst.

And where a light good handling bike with a torquey moderately tuned engine around the 350 - 500 cc mark excels.

We used to have lots - SRX600, GB500, Meridan twins. We still have some - motards, Hinkley twins.

But there's a mindset that says that only wimps ride small engined bikes.

I think the crusier thing is a posing thing not a riding thing. There are better options, as far as pure riding goes, if the large sprotsbike is ruled out as unusable (which, by and large it is)

[Headbanger]

10 ton of bullshit.

Its about what suits the rider, Not the road.

[Nagash]

Completely agree with HeadBanger,

I wouldn't want to ride a cruiser to show off (My looks do that already ) and I don't ride for optimal performance, my skillls aren't even close to those big ol' sporty bikes. Just the type of performance is what I enjoy, the cruisers own personal heavily restricted abilities makes riding.. different.

And that's what I like, though I'm not looking for cruisers over 1000cc anyway, 800's my limit!

[heyjoe]

So, why not, instead, a smaller engined bike that still has the handling capability of a sprotsbike (and maybe more) ?

Moreover, large crusiers are not slow in a straight line. Quite fast enough to break speed limits.

In the USA with its huge distances and long straight roads, the crusier model makes (some) sense. In NZ, with no large distance and no long straight roads it does not. Our riding landscape is predominated by narrow winding badly surfaced roads. The very sort of road where at crusier is at its worst.

And where a light good handling bike with a torquey moderately tuned engine around the 350 - 500 cc mark excels.

We used to have lots - SRX600, GB500, Meridan twins. We still have some - motards, Hinkley twins.

But there's a mindset that says that only wimps ride small engined bikes.

I think the crusier thing is a posing thing not a riding thing. There are better options, as far as pure riding goes, if the large sprotsbike is ruled out as unusable (which, by and large it is)

I don't have a personal problem with your comments except I am unsure what you mean by 'poser' and 'pure riding' terms. Perhaps you may like to define what you mean. If you mean that all cruisers riders are posers then I suggest you will find that there is at least an equal number of poser people who ride sportsbikes. But really the term is more of an insult to the riders and not the bikes isn't it? As far as 'pure riding' is concerned, I did not realise there was a difference. So are you suggesting there are people out there (particularly cruiser riders) that are not 'pure riding'?

[Ixion]

Hm. My bad. 'twas not meant to be perjorative.

I was addressing the proposition that , because of strict speed policing etc, the crusier type was inherently more suitable than others to NZ conditions.

Which I don't agree with . But I wasn't aiming to bag crusiers or their riders.

What I was trying to put across was that people that prefer crusiers do so , not because they have found them to be particularly suited to NZ roads (as was argued) , but because the like the crusier 'thing'. Appearance, 'message', 'statement' (help me with this). They rider crusiers because they like the 'image', the 'message' that a crusier sends, not because the crusier riding dynamics have an inherent advantage on our roads .

I guess the attenuated Ozzie would say that crusier riders ride crusiers becuase crusiers are 'cool'. But if considered purely in terms of riding dynamics , given our roads, they are less 'suitable' than a lightweight semi-sports bike (I don't think the full blown sprotsbike is very suitable for our roads either)

[Big Dave]

The difference between you and me is that you take the motorcycle and design optimum solutions around it.

I design me and add a motorcycle.

[Finn]

I design me and add a motorcycle.

Fine, but please don't come around my house naked.

[Headbanger]

well. after near 2 decades of riding NZ roads, Mostly on HD but also on a smattering of Jap bikes, I can say I have never yet ridden a road and thought whatever bike I happened to be on was unsuitable.

Hell, If its black, uphill, downhill, straight, twisty, hilly, a freakin goat track that's tighter then a nuns cheese factory I'll ride the bastard, and love doin it.

If its got wheels and handlebars then its suitable....Its not like there is some fucker timing ya. And there is a shit load of fun to be had whether your kicked back, handful of torque, taking in some scenery or prefer to have your arse in the air and doing dive bombing runs through through corners.

[hobdar]

I think each to his own, we are all part of one larger happy {at times} biker family.........

Personally i have just been looking for a new bike and tried a range of cruisiers, sports, naked, dual sport...........Each of them had bits i liked, loved, and hated and in between. I settled on something that was right for me, and what i do and had some space for me to grow my skills on....

I don't often ride with groups {i am wary of other bikes more than cars for some reason} but when i do, i ride to my level, and keep out of the way of people who want to go faster than me..............and try really hard not to let my ego take control of the throttle....

That way every one gets home nice and safely and we don't have another thread regarding _enter name here of biker here_ who is no longer able to ride {ever} and whose fault it was or was not.......and some family having to bury some poor slob.