Hello and thanks for reading.
I’m an aggressive rider by nature. While I’m not one of those adrenaline junkies with a total disregard for the law and a death wish, I tend to accelerate hard and love nothing more than leaning bikes over in the turns (always within the limits of my abilities and margin for error).
For this, I have a 2011 Kawasaki Versys 650. It’s no track weapon, but if you’re not familiar, its eager engine and confident handling would surprise you.
My fiancé often rides with me as well, for which I’m very grateful. It’s great that we can share motorcycling together — we have headsets and chat through our rides, etc. Problem is, while she’s a capable rider, she prefers to take it easy. We also live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which is crammed full of scenic farmland crisscrossed by 95% straight roads in less-than-smooth condition.
So, for my fiancé and this geography, I think I need a second bike, a cruiser. The goal is a bike that would adjust my attitude from Mr. Hyde to Dr. Jekyll, urging me to sit back and just enjoy the ride. So, here’s my wish list:
- Comfortable when on rotten roads and highway cruising. Our weekend rides are often 3-4 hours round trip.
- Upright or relaxed riding position for 6’, 190 lbs. guy.
- Big enough fuel tank so I’m not filling up every 100 miles.
- Powerful, torquey yet mellow engine. I’d like something that can glide effortlessly at 80 mph (highways speed limits here are 70-75 mph) and pass trucks while at the same time loping along leisurely with none of that sport bike urgency.
- Not too heavy. Big cruisers weigh more, I get it. But I’m hoping for more like 600 lbs. than 800 lbs.
- No full front fairing. I'd rather have a windshield (ideally, easily removable).
- Optional: Some amount of “character” would be wonderful, but not essential.
- Optional: Good looks are also not essential, though I prefer blacked-out power cruisers to the “acres of chrome” Heritage Softail Classic look everyone seems to copy from H-D.
- Used $5,000 or less. Don’t mind something from 10-15 years ago, provided it’s in sound shape.
Since I live in Milwaukee, it’s hard not to want a Harley, if only because cruisers from other brands might be viewed as “traitors” here. At the very least it’d be nice to have American (Victory, Indian) or even British (Triumph) or Italian (Moto Guzzi) vs. Japanese. But I don’t think that’s likely on my budget, and that’s okay (the Japanese make great bikes — all I've ever owned, in fact — even though they're not the quinessential cruiser country of origin...and, in fact, some are actually manufactured here in the U.S.).
If you’ve ridden a bunch of cruisers or feel particularly strongly about yours, I’d love some guidance. There’s a ton of used cruisers at the local shops, and many can be had for a song. Even the big baggers, if you’re not talking about Harleys. I believe there’s got to be an option that fits my needs.
Thanks,
ELB
