TU250 highway commuter? or stick with 650 cruiser choices?

[zapblam]

Was just going to find a econo cruiser, Vstar 650 or Vulcan 500 for 40mi highway droning daily commuting. I just want a bike again after few years without.

Sat on both and feel ok. Know they would be fine for my purpose.

Mistake, Sat on a TU250. LOVE the bike. Awesome look. Surprising very comfy ergos and size. Me 6ft. Add a shield and basic topbox or bags. Perfect bike. (fyi possibly bias from owning gn125 for many years)

I would buy one BUT BUT BUT 40mi highway 70mph daily. Would it realistically be practical for this.

Should I stick with the now blah econo cruisers?

[BRUMBEAR]

250 on a highway can be less than amazing nothing to do with the bike IMO more the rest of the trucks and cars SUV mainly displacing tons of air and buzzkillin the ride.

[Wrider]

What kind of highway speeds? A TU250 or a 650 cruiser will have trouble on Interstates, but should be ok in 55 zones.

[zapblam]

TU250 forum squashed the idea lol. Back to 08KLR or econo cruisers. I dont care how I look, just NO sportbike look for me, KLR fairing is sportlook enough lol. Guess I like chrome things.

40mi 60-70-mph single lane straight level paved
or 40mi gravel straight level farm road hence the klr (wife hates tall klr as she hopes to learn some day)

just want to get out of the car, the old GN125 was awesome when I lived inside the city.

Thanks, got 2 hard winter months left to ponder choices. Maybe a nighthawk thats better value than 1983/$2000 will pop up in spring.

[JackoftheGreen]

You say you're 6' tall -- unless you're a pretty lanky 6', I'd have doubts about a 250 pulling 70mph for 40 miles five days a week. Like Wrider said, you'd also be fodder for all the buffetting and slipstreaming on the freeway. To tell you the truth, sounds downright white-knuckle terrifying to me.

I'm sure my fellow TMW-ers knew this was coming, but if you want a less ho-hum 650cc cruiser, I'm going to recommend this gem:



That's a 2010 Hyosung GV650 Aquila. I don't know what things are like where you are, but in my neck of the woods private sellers are letting these go for between $2,800US and $3,500US depending on accessories and mileage. Add that to the pile while you're doing your comparisons.

[BRUMBEAR]

I love the Hyosung naked brand new it's like $5K

[Wrider]

But looking at the fit, finish, and quality of parts, there's a reason it's only 5K. E.G. it's basically a copy of the SV650. The SV650 was disparaged for having pretty crappy suspension. It was high-end compared to the suspension found on the GT650R.

[MmeMagpie]

I ride a 750 on my 25 mile trip to work so, given the coices, the 650 is the way I'd go. 250 is going to lack the power at the high end to get out of its own way. You certainly won't be passing anyone on it. And stick with a twin or more. I've seen single cylinder 650's and I can't imagine the vibration is something you're going to want on that trip.

[Wrider]

Eh the vibrations on a 650 single aren't actually all that bad (having ridden KLR650, DR650, and XR650).

[zapblam]

lol my choices keep going full circle back to the KLR. Wife probably wont ride anyway even though she says she wants to learn.

Oh ya, wind protect is a must. 08KLR kinda gets that from my test ride. Gets cold except for July and Aug here. Hence the many huge memphis cruiser shields on every bike I see on the highway. Even on a GS500e I see very often.

I keep looking at cruisers mostly because thats all I see droning the same highways and know lots of riders who use the cruisers for work and their other for play. I hate the weight of the larger cc cruisers though.