Total Motorcycle Community Forums

i keep reading people saying 'ill get bored with it if its not bigger than xxxxCC' or 'you shouldnt buy that bike if its not xxxxCC youll get bored too fast and have to trade up'.

does anyone have a sub 1000cc bike and gotten bored with it yet? for me as long as it has 2 wheels the engine i cant be 'bored' with it really. what is this illusion that you need xxxxCC to have fun on a bike?

what happens when you get the top end(CC wise) bike and you get bored with that as well theres no more room to go up? if someone can get bored on an 800cc and thinks they will have to trade it up with it in a few months, how long does it take to become bored with the 1000cc bike or 2000cc?

when did a 600cc sport bike become the bottom of the barrel anyways in terms of power. i see people acting like they are mopeds or something. a 1000cc sports bike is pretty much top of the line theres no thing higher to get on(without aftermarket help). why does the average rider need the top end of bikes just to 'have fun and not out grow'. the honda nsr250 looks like it would be a blast to ride even with its 'small' engine. the 250cc class races look pretty fun to me noone on those bikes seem to be having a dull time turning their laps.

with cruisers the bigger the engine the more massive the bike is. the Rune is pretty much a car! is that what it takes to have fun with a cruiser? i can relate to wanting more power on a sports bike, but where does the power on a cruiser mean more fun? does anyone cruise at 150 on an 1800cc cruiser? if your doing rides on sruface roads all that power is a wash and just adds unneeded weight to your bike anyways.

just not sure how "you need xxxxCC to have fun" on, if thats the case your setting yourself up for a never ended chase for more power each month you 'out grow' your current setup and never actual enjoy riding.

of course its all personal preference in what someone wants/needs. im just trying to figure out Why you need a certain size engine to enjoy riding on and how something smaller becomes boring for you?

two wheels + an engine is enough to make things a ton of fun. But there are different sizes for a reason. I believe the smaller ones eg honda rebel are there to be learned on. They aren't boring to ride, but zipping around the parking lot in the MSF would be boring on a 1000cc machine. It's the pure repetition of the course that makes it so boring. It has nothing to do with the bike.

Moving up to a bigger bike should be a question of what you want to do. If you're planning on doing longer trips then maybe one would be better served on a larger bike.

If you don't feel really comfortable sitting on whatever you bought to learn on, then an upgrade is in order.

If you're planning on racing at trackdays I can understand going for a supersport. But to many people (in my opinion) buy these bikes to tool around the city. You'll never use it to its full capabilities legallly, so what is the point? You won't even get close.

Every bike has a purpose it all depends what you want it for. To me a big expensive ride isn't meant to learn on.

bikes are just fun, no matter what. i could be happy with 20 ft. lbs.of tourqe if the damn thing could go 70.....


whatever.....

For me, my 492cc is good. I am not bored. What is killing me is that I would like some cleaner roads to really lean into. Too much sand, gravel, and asphalt that is breaking up and buckling to really lean a lot. I am too afraid of being in a great turn and hitting the mandatory gravel. I was in a hard left (blind) curve Friday, and as I came around there was a screen window in my lane. Darned near got me on that one.

EDITED: same trip put me on a gravel road, and a deer ran out in front of me. Exciting. But glad I can flick my bike when needed.

I would like a little more weight to smooth out the bumps, and a little more HP for highway hills, but it is more about comfort than being boring.

I had one sub 1000 bike and got bored of it in one aspect only. Cornering. The Nighthawk 750 just couldn't pull through the turns that well. The speed and everything was fine though.

I now own the SV1000, but it is nothing like a 1000cc supersport. Actually, I have almost the same horsepower as a 600cc supersport. I just love how my bike runs through the turns. And, it has the low end torque to really pull out of the turns. Gotta love the V-Twin.

DustyJacket wrote:For me, my 492cc is good. I am not bored. What is killing me is that I would like some cleaner roads to really lean into. Too much sand, gravel, and asphalt that is breaking up and buckling to really lean a lot. I am too afraid of being in a great turn and hitting the mandatory gravel. (I was in a hard left (blind) curve Friday, and as I came around there was a windows screen in my lane. Darned near got me on that one.

I woul like a little more weight to smooth out the bumps, and a little more HP for highway hills, but it is more about comfort than being boring.

you are in the best environment to develop the skills that keep you alive.anybody can ride where there are newly paved roads without all kinds of junk laying in the road just over the next hill.you get where you expect this on every road and these dangers dont take you by surprise when encountered.

9000white wrote:

DustyJacket wrote:What is killing me is that I would like some cleaner roads to really lean into. Too much sand, gravel, and asphalt that is breaking up and buckling to really lean a lot.

you are in the best environment to develop the skills that keep you alive.anybody can ride where there are newly paved roads without all kinds of junk laying in the road just over the next hill.you get where you expect this on every road and these dangers dont take you by surprise when encountered.

This is true. I encounter all sorts of odd road conditions (including sheep who like to lounge in the road beyond a blind hill - yikes!!). It will make you a better rider!

I voted for "any size" even though I ride a 1600. But I chose my bike more for its handling capabilities and its somewhat unique cruiser styling. If it had been a 1000 cc bike, I probably would have bought it anyway - as long as it could perform well. Having a larger bike (both in cc.s and weight) does give me more stability on the highway. For me, there are more factors involved with choosing a bike than just the "fun" factor - riding at all is a blast. But having a bike that is capable and tight makes it much more easy to have big fun.

Cheers,
Loonette

I can have fun on any size. I took my friends DT50 for a ride last week and had a blast.

I think it boils down to what type of riding you do. My 400 inline twin is fine for commuting and zipping around the suburbs, but I want to do some touring this summer, so I'm moving up to a 650 v-twin.

I found with cruiser style bikes that the displacement only had a bearing as far as the size relationship goes. The larger motors are in larger bikes so if you need a larger frame bike then you will need to buy the one with the appropriate displacement. Now It's not all that simple. Going to a different manufacturers bike can possibly get you into a better fitting machine in the same approximate displacement as one that is a poor fit.

I moved up from a 550 virago to a 750 Vulcan and the difference in size was amazing. Prior to buying the Vulcan I had not realized just how cramped the seating position was on the Virago. In addition, the 750 had great power, far more than I ever needed and we could double up on that bike and get 59 miles (imperial gallon) per gallon.

When I decided to get back into biking after a few years I looked for a 250. I just wanted something for the occasional run on the highway and mainly for around town. I ended up buying a 650 Yamaha because it was available and I had owned one previously and I knew the inadequacies etc. I also thought that the 250 rebel I was looking at was overpriced and likely to small for me for comfort.

I always wondered where the 600 cc break came in, Mainly because there are not that many bikes under 600 cc’s on the market compared with bikes over 600 I suspect.
As far as getting “bored” with a sub 600 cc bike, I doubt it. More than likely people with a sub 6 bike traveling with friends that have large displacement machines will move up, more because of peer pressure than because they don’t have enough power. It is after all, the American way.

Take for example a comparison between rifles. The venerable old 30-30 has killed more game in north America than any other single caliber of rifle however people today buying a hunting rifle will select a 300 win mag or a 7 mm mag or some huge cannon that they cannot nor ever will shoot nearly as accurately with as they might with the old 30-30. Why? Because they believe bigger is better. The same applies to autos etc etc. The large car was basically downplayed in the market for several years so we have replaced it with even larger vans and SUV’s. Why should we be any different when it comes to bikes?

Enjoyment doesn't depend as much on the bike and its qualities as the rider and his state of mind. A lot of bikes are bought for their "Poser Quotient" - happens every day, but that's a poor excuse for buying a bike, IMHO.
I have an 1100cc sport/standard which in second gear or higher is capable of getting me a free ride to the jailhouse. Do I have any more fun on it than I did on my old AT125, 35 years ago? Nope, but it's a totally different experience. There isn't much the two have in common - two wheels, a set of handlebars and a saddle - that's about it.
Case in point: based on common theory you'd think my next bike would have more displacement, be faster and more capable in every way. Guess again. I'll be buying a KLR650 next, I hope within the next month or so if I can get all my ducks in a row. On a good day they put out about 40 horsepower. They're about as handsome as a train wreck, but I can absolutely guarantee I won't be bored with it. It's gonna take me places I want to go, places I woldn't dare take my ZR.

Speed's fun. But it ain't everything.