[Badbob]

Originally Posted by one

My answers in blue.

Do you want to stay with a 250cc bike?
no, i was thinking larger for the performance, long ride ability with a passenger, weight.

Do you want to stay with the cruiser style bike?
yes

Do you ride long distances?
long? up to 125 miles + a day

Do you carry cargo as in camping equipment?
cargo is important. not so much getting to the location but more so on the ride home. storage is always nice, i found it difficult to run to a store and take something home without it being held on me personally or under the seat.

Are after market third party accessories important to you?
windshield, saddle bags more so then luggage to keep weight lower, i am in the NE so heated handle grips and seat is always a plus.

Is performance and handling important?
yes

Just so you know where I'm coming from. I like cruisers. I think they look great. Some of them are down right beautiful to look at. When I got back into riding the Honda Shadow was the bike I thought I wanted. When you get right down to it I'm not against any style motorcycle and would probably own one of each if I had the money and a place to keep them. I have some where close to 20,000 miles of riding experience mostly on smaller bikes. About 14000 miles this year. If I had to classify my experience I would put myself just barely in the novice class. My point here is that I'm not an expert.

What kind of bikes do I own? Two GZ250s and a Yamaha XS11 Special. The Yamaha is an 1100cc shaft drive bike.

I have been researching motorcycles for almost a year now trying to figure out what exactly it is I want. When I say research I don't mean 30 minutes a per week but more like an hour or two a day either reading books or internet forums and FAQs. Note that I do not consider myself an expert so take this for what it is. The opinion of someone who is trying to make a the same sort of decision as you but maybe a little further down the path. In case your wondering, I'm not planning to get rid the GZ250 any time soon. The Yamaha is subject to get replaced at any time.

This is my take so far:

Cruisers are pretty but they are not the best riding bikes. In general seating position is very bad for long distance riding. At about 30 to 50 miles you will find many cruiser riders looking for a place to take a break. If your seat isn't right for you its going to hurt. There are exception to this of course. Some people have iron butts. If you are going to ride a cruiser factor in a custom seat as part of the cost of the bike. If you find the stock seat works for you then spent the money on gear or chrome.

Due to their low ground clearance Cruisers do not corner well due to their limited lean angle. Peg dragging is a pretty regular occurrence on my GZ250. On a good surface with good tires you can lean a bike to the point that the shiny parts start dragging the ground and throwing up sparks. Lots of cruisers slide out in tight curves because they get in to the turn a little to fast and can't lean the bike over far enough to make the turn. The point is that if you want to do things like ride the Dragons Tail a cruiser might not be what you want.

Cruisers excel at looking good and going fast in a straight line.

The cruiser you choose will depend more on personal taste than any thing else and although their are some that I like I would be afraid to recommend one. However, if you have a Hyosung dealer nearby I do recommend that you look at them. Lots of bang for your buck.

If you want to ride 1000 miles on the highway, ride up a mountain on a dirt road or rocky trail, camp for a day or two, and ride back. You want a dual sport. In my opinion the KLR650 is king in this area. If you think you might be interested in this type of riding check out the following links. The Adventure Rider link is worth looking at just for the pictures and ride reports that are posted there. The second link goes to my collection of KLR605 links.

http://www.advrider.com/
http://tinyurl.com/yj7823

For riding long distances standard, sport touring, and dual sport bikes are much better than cruisers. This is mainly due to their seating positions. However, they also have better handling and performance than cruisers. Some of the sport touring bikes come equipped from the factory with hard bags and trunks.

My motorcycle touring links: http://tinyurl.com/ykh8us

Dual sport bike excel at carrying cargo. I've seen many photos of KLR650s loaded to the gills with all sorts of stuff. People ride these on trips of thousands of miles across just about any anything you can imagine. The sport touring bikes do pretty well in this department as well. Lots of cruiser gear is just for show. I've seen cruiser saddle bags that were only rated for 4lbs this would not not carry my lightest jacket. Before you purchase any bike make sure you can get the gear you want for it at a price that you are willing to pay. In some cases the gear could wind up costing more than the bike.

Be sure the bike you choose will handle all the powered accessories you want to add. Some have very little over head in the electrical power department and few of them are upgradeable to get more power. For example, adding a light bar to a GZ250 can easily draw so much current that your battery will not charge. If you are so inclined you can modify accessories or even fabricate things to work on your bike like brackets and such. If you are not capable of doing this or do not want to it is important that you know what is available before you drop a few thousand dollars on your bike. Search Google for forums on the model of bike your considering. In many cases you will find this very help full.

I think support groups are a must. I would not buy a bike that did not have one. More members is better.

I don't think dealers are much help since their goals are much different than yours. They want as much profit as they can get while you want the ideal bike for you at price you are willing to pay. A good internet forum with lots of members can save you lots of pain and money. Of course you must always keep in mind that opinions are like Alpha Hotels. Everybody has one.

If performance and handling are at the top of your list then cruisers are not. In the twistys a 250c Ninja will eat cruisers for lunch. In the same cc range there would not be a contest anywhere. Like everything else in life its a trade off. You trade performance and handling for looking cool. Everything is a compromise.

I know it sounds like I'm trying to talk you out of buying a cruiser. I assure you this is not the case. What I'm saying here is that you should do your research and make an informed choice. If all you look at is cruisers then thats all your going to see and you may miss something important to you. If the only tool you have is a hammer everything looks like a nail.

I have come to the conclusion that I need (want) three types bikes:

A commuter to ride to work. It must be inexpensive, easy to maintain, reliable, maneuverable in traffic, get great gas mileage, and be able to carry considerable cargo. I don't want to need a gallon of milk and have to ride home, get the truck and go back to the store. A GZ250 and most any 250cc bike would do this for me. I don't require speeds in excess of 45 mph where I live. If I did need highway speeds could get a Nija 250 and it would work fine. I ride to work most every day.

A bike that will carry lots of cargo and is at home in the dirt. Thats why I am very interested in a dual sport KLR650. I ride my GZ250 in the dirt now. I like to explore and don't like to back track when the pavement ends. Riding a GZ250 down a rutted dirt road can be a hair raising experience. A KLR650 will go down any road and make a great commuter.

A road bike. Something that I would I could hang some luggage on and haul myself and the wife on a 500 mile trip.

So here is my short list:

Kawasaki KLR650 - It does everything except make a good bike for riding two up on a long road trip. The wife wants and has her own bike so if she can ride a KLR then we only need two of these and we are all set. It also has excellent support via several internet forums and how to sites. KLR650 riders are quite creative. It comes from the factory with a real luggage rack.

Honda CB750 Nighthawk - This would be hard to beat for a road bike. Low maintenance, high reliability, excellent performance, and some major support groups. There is a yahoo group that has more than 5000 members. Lots of people are riding Nighthawks. On the down side the rage is a bit on the short side as some places I want to ride it can be 200 miles to the next gas stop. I'm also not to sure about the oil cooling system although this would not be a deal breaker for me. They don't make these any more but you might still be able to find a new one.

Kawasaki Ninja 250cc - These have a lot going for them including some great forums in the internet. It would make a great commuter bike or sport tourer. This little bike will zip through traffic and have no trouble keeping up with interstate traffic. Top speed is around 100 mph. Good gas mileage although some people do better with the 500cc Ninja. It might be difficult to buy a used one that has not been abused. New Ninja 250s are cheap at around $3000. Maintenance is fairly easy and since these have been around for years there should not be any problem getting parts or service. Much like the KLR riders some of the Ninja riders are very creative and willing to share their experiences.

Kawasaki Concourse - Great road bike and sport touring bike. It can be bought pretty much ready to hit the road. I haven't finished my research on this one yet but so far I like everything I see. If you took a Ninja and reconfigured for sport touring it might look a lot like this.

I also like the Suzuki VStrom but I think they are to new and I'm not sure I like the idea of having a bike that I can't bump start.

Stay away from air cooled engines with more than one cylinder. My Yamaha XS11 is air cooled and if you get stuck in traffic over heating is a real possibility. This bike will boil the gas in the tank if you don't keep it cool. The KLR650 is a single cylinder and its water cooled. On my short list the Honda Nighthawk is the only bike that is not water cooled. Water cooled engines tend to run better and last longer.

Watch the weight. Imagine trying to push a 800 lb motorcycle backward and up hill. Imaging riding a heavy bike in to a dead end on a narrow dirt road to a dead end and you have to turn this sucker around jockeying it back and forth on loose dirt. You say your not going to get ride in the dirt. You might need to do something similar in a parking lot. A lighter bike can be balance on its kick stand and spun around. Try doing this with a very heavy bike.

Make sure the carrying capacity of the bike is adequate to your needs. How much weight can you actually carry on the bike keeping in mind that every accessory you want to add subtracts from this. On some bikes two people with all there gear will exceed the limit.

You might want to have tubeless tires and alloy wheels. Alloy wheels are low maintenance and tubeless tires are easier to make roadside repairs. Some think tubeless tires are safer.

I keep seeing people tell you to sit on the bike at a dealer. My take is that it really has limited usefulness. If the bike doesn't have a center stand you can't sit on it in the riding position. If it has a center stand the bike will be tilted forward so your still not really in the riding position although much closer to it than you would be with you feet on the floor. The only way you really know if its comfortable to ride is when your two hundred miles down the road. I'm not saying don't do it. See it for what it is not what you wish it was.

With very few exceptions I do not think that buying a new bike is a good way to go. That said, you really need to know something about how buy used bikes before you get one thats out of warranty.

If you get another bike and don't like it keep in mind that most people will go through several be fore they settle into something they really like. I think this is partially why you see so many bikes with low millage for sale.

OK, I've about run out of steam. Do your research. Ride what you like and ride safe.