New Two Wheel Ride

[bigbill]

After beating back my prostate cancer for now, only time will tell I'm thinking about a new ride in the springtime. I'm torn between a cruiser or a rocket. My last motorcycle was a '99 1200cc Suzuki Bandit.

The bandits engine is a reworked Suzuki GSXR 1100 engine that's detuned. I retuned it as close to the GSXR 1100 power as close as I could get. The new bandit is 1250cc with fuel injection.My old bandit was one awesome ride. She had plenty of speed that could hang with any rocket yet enough bottom end torque to lift the front wheel at anytime. The bike was so smooth even at 150+mph it felt like the bike wasn't running. I found out that I love speed. I parted with the bike because of speed.

 

Now I'm torn between a new 1250cc Suzuki Bandit or a new Indian cruiser? Do I want smoothness and speed over an old school designed cruiser? I'm giving up smoothness for the big vee twin vibration. Going slow or keeping up with the rockets?

 

The speed thing started with me with my dirtbike days. Going threw the woods down the straights at 100mph on a 79 husqvarna 390cr  was a rush. I found the '86 husqvarna 400 liquid WRX to be just as fast at 120mph threw the woods. My new '99 husqvarna 610te dual-sport was still a rush to ride. Then came the bandit.

 

Maybe at 63yo it's time to slow down. I don't feel ready to putt yet.  Bill

 

The new single rear shock dirtbikes of today suffer from frame and swing arm flex. The older husqvarna dirtbikes with the twin Olin gas shocks never had the flex problem. It makes me wonder who will be the one who goes back to the twin rear shock setup first. Then it will be a new discovery but the older engineers got it right without a CAD system. Now they use the stress option on the CAD system and built it all close to the edge of failure to save weight but give up safety and handling.

I repaired many cracked frames on the newer bikes but I never repaired an older husqvarna frame. Funny the Swedish Olin gas shocks were looked down upon years ago when the single shock came out. Now there state of the art now. Go figure. If you weren't on a husqvarna bike in the old days you weren't going to win. Right out of the crate it was race ready with all the top of the line quality goodies.

[retiredbosn]

I've always favored cruisers, can't see how a rocket can compare. I used to ride allot, never cramped up, went as fast as I wanted. Then again I'm not a speed junkie, lol. Can tell u that a full wind screen acts like a sail around 115.

[SPEEDBEAD.]

Get the cruiser.

 

One of my favorite pasttimes is cruising through town setting off car alarms.

[bigbill]

I do like the new Indian. But I always wanted to restore an old harley. But the bandit is a touring bike we sit sprite on. I need to test drive a cruiser first. I'm worried about the vibration.

[retiredbosn]

Most mount their V twin in a way that there is little to no vibration. Definitely not like the old knuckle heads, pretty smooth actually. I had a Goldwing once (didn't have it long, about exciting as riding a couch), no vibration and that was a flat six cylinder motor.

[SPEEDBEAD.]

With the rubber mounts, the motors shake like hell but you don't feel a thing.

 

I've got a 2001 Lowrider and it's a blast to ride. Wifey isn't a big fan of the pillion seat though.