New Bike

[garyt27]

Hi everyone, I am going to buy a new bike between now and June 1st, I have narrowed it down to Suzuki S40, Honda Shadow vlx (600cc) and the Ksaki Vulcan 500. All cruisers. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Air cooled as opposed to liquid cooled, highway noise etc. I will be using it to commute to the Bay bridge 62miles one way. These are In my price range. I am a tall guy, so comfort is an issue.

 

[aps45819]

Suzuki V Strom 650
Lot more legroom the the one's you mentioned and GIVI makes luggage for it
Here's my 1000 cc. the look the same, just one has a smaller engine.

Any reason you're only looking at cruisers?

 

[Lugnut]

Gary, how tall are ya? The S40 may be a bit on teh small side for you if you're over 6'.

Also, I'd recommend a watercooled bike if your commute will include any sort of stop and go traffic.

 

[itsbob]

I'd say all your choices seem kind of small for someone that considers himself tall. Go to the dealers and take them our for a test ride see which one fits best.

Commuter bike I'd suggest something with a fairing, you never know when you are going to leave for work on a beautiful day and come home in a thunderstrom.

Agree with APS if you want to stay in the smaller cc's, the wee-strom will probably be the most comfortable for someone that is tall.

 

[Lugnut]

Commuter bike I'd suggest something with a fairing, you never know when you are going to leave for work on a beautiful day and come home in a thunderstrom.

I ride a bike without a fairing to speak of and it's a pain in the butt getting caught out in the rain.

Also, the 500cc bikes don't have as much torque as the 600+cc bikes. It's nice to have a bit more "oomph" for passing, merging, etc... Plus the 600cc bikes get almost as good mileage as the 500's. I can squeak 67MPG out of my Yam600 if I baby it and typically get 50+MPG with my usual driving habits.

 

[aps45819]

Hi everyone, I am going to buy a new bike between now and June 1st, I have narrowed it down to Suzuki S40, Honda Shadow vlx (600cc) and the Ksaki Vulcan 500.

Forget the Suzuki S40 (formally know as the Savage) single cylinder, low power, buzzy on the highway. The Kawi is a parralel twin, might have a little more power, but unless it has a counter balancer, your hands, feet and butt will be numb after 62 miles. Dougster has a VLX, he would be a good person to ask about the bike.

 

[garyt27]

Gary, how tall are ya? The S40 may be a bit on teh small side for you if you're over 6'.

Also, I'd recommend a watercooled bike if your commute will include any sort of stop and go traffic.

Wow, that was some quick replys, I am 6'2" 220lbs, I was also looking at the Yamaha Vstar twin 650. Well I heard that cruisers were more comfortable than sport bikes and I don't want to do alot of leaning. I want to ride easy. Yeah I guess watercooled is better.

 

[itsbob]

Wow, that was some quick replys, I am 6'2" 220lbs, I was also looking at the Yamaha Vstar twin 650. Well I heard that cruisers were more comfortable than sport bikes and I don't want to do alot of leaning. I want to ride easy. Yeah I guess watercooled is better.

At 6'2" I'd say you are looking at the small side. Cruiser, Sport Bike, Standard, don't go by what other people tell you is comfortable. Go sit on them, take them for rides, you may be surprised what you find to be comfortable. I ride what might be considered a sport bike (sport tourer) and am VERY comfortable and have done more then 800 miles in a single day. Others might take my bike out for a spin around the block and say it's the most uncomfortable bike they've been on.

It's all personal preference.

 

[Roughidle]

Itsbob's scoot even comes with built in hot plates for warmin' yer dinner. They call it the "boxed" lunch.

 

[itsbob]

Itsbob's scoot even comes with built in hot plates for warmin' yer dinner. They call it the "boxed" lunch.

They did have a "broiler" on Alton Browns "Eating Asphalt" last summer. Put in your food, strap it to the Catalytic Converter, and your next stop you have a hot meal!!

I don't remember the make of bike they strapped it to, I think Alton had already been knocked off his ride with a broken shoulder.

 

[Roughidle]

Checked out the website...what a great way to cruise.
Think I'ld like to try a roadside Diner quest on the scoot someday.

 

[_MightyMouse_]

Hi everyone, I am going to buy a new bike between now and June 1st, I have narrowed it down to Suzuki S40, Honda Shadow vlx (600cc) and the Ksaki Vulcan 500. All cruisers. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Air cooled as opposed to liquid cooled, highway noise etc. I will be using it to commute to the Bay bridge 62miles one way. These are In my price range. I am a tall guy, so comfort is an issue.

Are there any other bikes besides a Harley? Umm, my Vrod is 1130cc and I get around 40 miles to a gallon.

 

[itsbob]

Checked out the website...what a great way to cruise.
Think I'ld like to try a roadside Diner quest on the scoot someday.

I recorded the shows so i can copy down the Lat Longs.. go visit some of the places (minus the brain sandwich) he stopped at. What a cool way to cross the country.

i read another article about a bunch (4 or 5) bikers doing Rte 66 across the country. That looked like a lot of fun too.

 

[itsbob]

Are there any other bikes besides a Harley? Umm, my Vrod is 1130cc and I get around 40 miles to a gallon.

I would think there is a little $$ difference betwenn the Suzuki he was talking about and the V-ROD.

 

[aps45819]

Are there any other bikes besides a Harley?

Yes, but they're not overweight, underpowered, over priced and don't include a cult like following based on marketing hype.

Colman Powersports in Falls Church is having their annual used bike auction this weekend.

 

[itsbob]

Check out the COleman Link.. they have a 2003 Honda MAGNA that maybe perfect for what you are looking for.. I think it's 750cc. $4800

 

[Roughidle]

I recorded the shows so i can copy down the Lat Longs.. go visit some of the places (minus the brain sandwich) he stopped at. What a cool way to cross the country.

i read another article about a bunch (4 or 5) bikers doing Rte 66 across the country. That looked like a lot of fun too.

Yeah, my brother and I are planning a Route 66 ride using the Veterans Memorial Hwy to get down from Nebraska to OK City. Still in planning/dreamin stages as I have another year in the Navy pen before being released on good behavior.

 

[aps45819]

I heard that cruisers were more comfortable than sport bikes and I don't want to do a lot of leaning. I want to ride easy. Yeah I guess water cooled is better.

I've found my V Strom (listed as a standard) to be a good compromise between the lean back riding position of a cruiser and the knees in you arm pit position of a sport bike.
You don't have to lean any type of bike more than another. Sport bikes have the ability to lean more than cruisers because of the foot peg placement (and suspension, tires etc).

Do you currently have a MC endorsement on your license? If not sign up for the class at CSM before you buy.

 

[Roughidle]

Guess you just need to decide what styling appeals to you most and go from there. Everyone's building good bikes these days. The trick is to not under power yourself and out grow the bike in a week.

 

[Lugnut]

Wow, that was some quick replys, I am 6'2" 220lbs, I was also looking at the Yamaha Vstar twin 650. Well I heard that cruisers were more comfortable than sport bikes and I don't want to do alot of leaning. I want to ride easy. Yeah I guess watercooled is better.

Avoiding excessive lean is easy on any bike, just don't ride fast into turns.

Comfort is definitely relative. You'll want to sit on (preferably RIDE) as many bikes as possible before you buy. If at all posible ride teh bike at various speeds and for a little bit of time. You'd be surprised how a "comfortable" bike can turn into an irritating one when you discover a buzz at cruising RPM's, vibration in the bars above some arbitrary speed, getting your knees baked by wierd engine venting, etc...