Which bike to get standard or cruiser for around town

[arless]

Hello everyone, I cannot decide on a motorcycle that would fit my needs for around town riding and cruising with the wife. We are both big heavy people so I know I will need at least a 1300cc bike. I'm at 250lbs my wife is at 275lbs so... you get the picture. Thanks guys a head of time. I have had a lot of motorcycles over the years, but I have not rode in a while.

[Johnj]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

[Wrider]

For what it's worth, chances are good you'll need to do suspension work on whatever bike you do end up getting. I know I'm needing to do some on mine just by myself. Most bikes have a weight limit right around 350-475 lbs.

[JackoftheGreen]

Wayne,

In the interest of providing you the best answer I possibly could, I've done some brief research and have the following to present for your consideration.

One of the largest touring motorcycles available today is the Victory CrossCountry Tour. It has the most luggage capacity of any touring motorcycle, more electronic bells and whistles than you can shake a stick at, and a 1700cc V-Twin motor. Published specs from Polaris list the CCT's dry weight as 845 lbs, and the advertised GVWR is listed as 1,360 pounds. That leaves 515 pounds for fuel, engine fluids, passengers and luggage.

The biggest, snortinest, ballsiest cruiser you can can buy is the Triumph Rocket III. It deploys a 3 cylinder, 2300cc motor and holds the land speed record for any mass-produced cruiser style motorcycle. It's advertised weight limit is 235kg, or 518lbs. That includes accesories, luggage and rider weight.

All this is not to say that many of us don't regularly exceed the advertised weight limits of our motorcycles. I know my wife and I together exceed the weight limit for both of our bikes (I wont say by how much), and we've rode 2Up several times without incident though we don't make a habit of it. I'm sure a few other people with admit their guilt in this department too as the thread progesses. As Wrider said, you may need to consider upgrading the suspension and tires of whatever bike you buy.

Personally, my recommendation is to teach her to ride and buy two bikes. You may even consider getting her an entry level CanAm Spyder, which are much more user friendly than your average motorcycle. And bonus, she could carry all the luggage!

Just my two cents.

[dr_bar]

I've got the answer parked in my garage... )

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[arless]

Thanks for the time you spent to post me your thoughts, And mentioning some super great bikes. We have decided to sit on all the bigger cruiser brands out their, then make up our minds. Since a bike that fits me will take into consideration more than anything, cause nothing is worse than shelling out a lot of large $$$ and not feel comfortable. My wife and I do not travel, we only cruise around town and hit the freeway only couple times a month. I got my eye on a "V Star 1300" with 80 ci. and around 80ish HP. But so.... We also have our thoughts on buying two V star 950's? I'll keep you all posted on what we decide, oh also the standard motorcycles we will check out also thanks! Arless

[Wrider]

Forgot to ask... Is this your first bike? If so then 2 smaller bikes are definitely the way to go. If not then Doc's Valkyrie is the way to go!

[arless]

I've owned a Honda 360, 450, Suzuki 750 triple two stroke water buffalo, and a Kawasaki triple 500cc two stroke. A Yamaha 650 twin, a Yamaha 350cc two stroke twin. I have not rode or owned anything in a while, I live in town, I do not travel So... a 950cc is all I need for around town riding, and back roads. The Yamaha 950 v star has 54 hp and about 50 ft. Lbs torque. I do not want to spend a whole lot of money on a bike. Around 12 large for two 950 V Star cruisers. We might go down to the bike store and check out the Yamaha cruisers today. I'm getting up in years I'm 58, my wife and I will also l@@k at the Yamaha new for 2011, FZ-8 standard, and the FZ-1 also. I'm a fan of Yamaha cycles, as you see. It's all about what fits my frame and most confotable. All the best arless

[BobK]

A big cruiser could be a handful if you're doing most of your riding around town. How about one of the big scooters?

[arless]

[quote="BobK"]A big cruiser could be a handful if you're doing most of your riding around town. How about one of the big scooters?[/quote We checked out the big scooters, they are way over priced. The V star 950 is air cooled, rather have water cooling, we also checked out a V Star 1300 but 700 lbs... it's not light. We both liked the Yamaha FZ1 sport standard, and have a new 2012 model on order. Should be hear in a day or so, they say. We test rode a FZ1 used and decided to buy a new FZ1. Has plenty of power, and a fully adjustable rear shock, my wife was totally happy with the pillion seat. Hopefully I will be on a new FZ1 tomorrow, it weighs 487 lbs wet and I got a good deal on it $8458.00 OTD. It list for over 10 large, I know how to restrain from running to fast till I get use to rideing again. Barley move the throttle, and it moves out at a surprising! rate of speed. Easy to blip to much wrist action, and end up flung off the bike. Their are plenty of back roads with little to no traffic to get myself ready for the city and freeway riding. I'll keep posting as I go along, and get some miles under my belt. All the best Arless