Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Hope your rides are always warm (as ours in our beautiful, although small, island almost always are ...) !!!
I am currently riding a Honda VLX 600, might go up a bit to a Kawasaki 750 (don't like the feeling of any other heavy cruiser ...) but was told that shaft type bikes are harder or not as safe to ride in curves ... which we have too many of. Is this right ???
Any input will be highly appreciated !!!

Welcome to the board. The shaft drive on modern bikes will have a very small effect on handling compared to the overall configuration of a bike. Cruisers in general aren't great in corners but they are good enough for the majority of people who ride them at a moderate pace. If you want to step-up your pace however and have a more sporting ride, the majority of standard style bikes use a lighter weight chain. If you are happy with the handling of your VLX, the Kawasaki 750 (vulcan, I presume), will be just more of the same only larger. Hope this helps
High_Side

Thank you so much !!! I have not test driven the Kaw (yes Vulcan), and although it is not too pretty, I flat footed it, and felt the weight and general appeal of it to be very much as my current (and first) bike.
Wish I was taller (and maybe a little younger) to go an a Sporty or Sport Touring type (like the Honda ST, Kaw Concours or Triumph ST) maybe in my next life time ...
Will be reading on this site with lots of appreciation !!!

Welcome! There's a lot of good people here, you should be able to find any moto-related info you could want.

Try the EX500 Ninja or an older Ninja600R. They are both fairly comfortable sport bikes with a lower seat height.....and if you are small enough to fit them, they'll look like a full size sport tourer underneath you

PR Flower Lady wrote:Hope your rides are always warm (as ours in our beautiful, although small, island almost always are ...) !!!
I am currently riding a Honda VLX 600, might go up a bit to a Kawasaki 750 (don't like the feeling of any other heavy cruiser ...) but was told that shaft type bikes are harder or not as safe to ride in curves ... which we have too many of. Is this right ???
Any input will be highly appreciated !!!

Don't worry about shaft drive bikes, make sure you test drive fully before you buy. Shaft drives are less maintenance than chain....just change the oil once a year.

Welcome aboard and can you show us some pictures of those curves from paradise.

I bought a shaft drive bike specifically for the lower maintenance. I don't know how much it rains where you are, but it rains quite frequently where I am, and I didn't want the chore of having to constantly clean mud and grit out of the drive train. Of course, I could choose to ride only when it's dry, but then I wouldn't get very much riding in.

blues2cruise wrote:I bought a shaft drive bike specifically for the lower maintenance. I don't know how much it rains where you are, but it rains quite frequently where I am, and I didn't want the chore of having to constantly clean mud and grit out of the drive train. Of course, I could choose to ride only when it's dry, but then I wouldn't get very much riding in.

Hey blues2cruise, I can't tell for sure but is that a Suzuki C50/90 in the pic?

Hola!

¿Hablas español?

Soy estudiante de la lengua, y estoy buscando siempre otras personas que puedan habla y creo que las mujeres hispañas tienen la mejor hermosura en todo del mundo. Tengo un VLX tambien, y me gusta mucho.

Nicolás.

(Ride safe!)

allawybiker wrote:
Hey blues2cruise, I can't tell for sure but is that a Suzuki C50/90 in the pic?

No, it's a Yamaha 650 V-Star Classic.
I guess it would be a good idea to put that in my signature area.