Hmm.
at first, when i was a teenager, it was all about money, so weather the bike was a sportbike, or a cruiser, it didnt matter, it just had to be affordable. What that meant was basically a UJM, and so I ended up with a 78-ish Honda CX-500.
I then went on to ride other cheap UJM's with the standard seating postion (GS550, CB's, Nighthawk 650). It wasnt until I started taking my Cb650sc nighthawk on longer trips that i felt I wanted to actually be leaning forward a bit. I found myself trying to lay on the bars, in a really awkward position. So, I sold the nighthawk and found myself a 86 Yamaha Fj1200. When i first rode it, it hurt my wrists, and im sure its not even as aggresive as newer sport bikes. I probably just needed to build up muscles and get used to it. I did to a degree, but It still made m sore after 250 miles or so and I wanted to be able to do more.
So I ended up raising the bars and moving them closer to me by about two inches. That really helped. Then I started wearing a back brace, and then i could ride up to 700 miles a day virtually pain free, while still having a slightly sporty feel and being able to tuck in when i want to.
For me, riding is mostly about function, and being able to be on the bike for a while, and using it as a tool to get around and see things. I dont really care what genre it falls into as long as it meets my needs.
So the basically, the sport/standard seating position is what i've found works best for my needs. Comfort, yet still being able to lean into a turn.
The KEY for being able to sit on the bike for hours on end is to be able to ADJUST your postion, which you can not do if you're completely bent over, or if you're leaning all the way back into a cruiser position.
You need to have several foot, hands, and back positions to be able to alternate.
So that gets me to my newest bike, a Bandit 1200s. Pretty similiar seating position to the FJ. Forward a bit,but not so much i have to lay down, and no so far back that my back takes all of the brunt when i hit a bump.
Perfect.
For me anyway
