How to ride a cruiser???????

[jeantarrou]

Got a good hour of seat time today, mostly suburban cruising, stop and go, bit of highway. Becoming more comfortable with the riding position, coming to a stop and then driving off is still a little awkward. Biggest takeaway is that mental piece, trying to remember that I'm not on a sport bike, ie. no more attacking corners, stopping power is pretty weak, turning is slow, etc... So far it's kinda nice, a little boring, but I'm expecting to enjoy going for cruises with my wife? Might have to start looking for a cheap trackbike to scratch that itch...

[ZX-12R]

My CSB:

Back in the 2005ish timeframe while I was living in Ipswich, MA, a friend of mine bought a VTX 1800. I had just returned from a long ride was hanging out with a bunch of other people in front of the Lord Square Dunkin Donuts when he pulled in and insisted I take it for a spin. I obliged! I ran it up the street and leaned it way over while flying by everyone to try and look cool. Next thing I know, I'm scraping every low hanging piece of metal on the right side of his brand new bike. I immediately brought it back and was apologizing profusely. He thought it was the coolest thing ever and had no idea it could lean over that far. The bike was willing to lean much farther but there were too many farkles in the way. I was lucky he thought it was awesome! Apparently there were sparks flying everywhere.

[Stoneman]

My situation was a bit different as I was bikeless for a few years before I got my Street Glide. The thing that helped me most was riding in traffic situations with a decent amount of stop & go. I made it a point to put myself in situations on that thing that I was originally VERY uncomfortable with, kinda forcing myself to face those times right here & now.

I went from sportbikes to nothing for a few years, then completely overwhelmed myself with the Street Glide. Miles, miles, miles and more miles. Again, purposely putting myself in situations I knew I was uncomfortable with but knew I'd have to face them and get efficient. I was also "that guy" - the guy in the parking lot doing tight circles & figure eights and shit.

Funny & true story: the last handful of bikes I had, I had set-up for GP shift. I find after all those years that if I THINK about shifting, I actually resort to GP. But if I just REACT and don't think about it, I'm good. I do the same sometimes when hitting the ignition button and even with the directionals sometimes. Don't think, just DO.

[jeantarrou]

Funny & true story: the last handful of bikes I had, I had set-up for GP shift. I find after all those years that if I THINK about shifting, I actually resort to GP. But if I just REACT and don't think about it, I'm good. I do the same sometimes when hitting the ignition button and even with the directionals sometimes. Don't think, just DO.

Ironic because this is the first standard shift bike I've had in probably 20 years and I actually HAVE to think about it our else I was doing things backwards. I thought I caught a few false neutrals because I "reacted" quickly and clicked up to downshift, got none of the engine braking I was expecting and had to grab a handful of brake...

And all the cliches appear to be ringing true, practice, practice, practice and the comfort level will come.

[Stoneman]

Ironic because this is the first standard shift bike I've had in probably 20 years and I actually HAVE to think about it our else I was doing things backwards. I thought I caught a few false neutrals because I "reacted" quickly and clicked up to downshift, got none of the engine braking I was expecting and had to grab a handful of brake...

And all the cliches appear to be ringing true, practice, practice, practice and the comfort level will come.

It's true, man. The very first time I took the Street Glide out, the only thing going through my head was, "WHAT THE FUCK WAS I THINKING???". I got used to it using my methods above, and now the thing is just as much as extension of me as any of my sportbikes were.

The shifting thing only gets me now & then, and it's usually downshifting. If I just do it naturally, no problemo. If for some reason I start to think about it, wrong lever!

[OneCheekRider]

My CSB:

Back in the 2005ish timeframe while I was living in Ipswich, MA, a friend of mine bought a VTX 1800. I had just returned from a long ride was hanging out with a bunch of other people in front of the Lord Square Dunkin Donuts when he pulled in and insisted I take it for a spin. I obliged! I ran it up the street and leaned it way over while flying by everyone to try and look cool. Next thing I know, I'm scraping every low hanging piece of metal on the right side of his brand new bike. I immediately brought it back and was apologizing profusely. He thought it was the coolest thing ever and had no idea it could lean over that far. The bike was willing to lean much farther but there were too many farkles in the way. I was lucky he thought it was awesome! Apparently there were sparks flying everywhere.

When I did the MSF course as a teenager to get my endorsement I had been using their XT250 dual sport as I had been familiar riding dirt bikes. Since I had some prior riding experience, I was at the top of the class and when it came time to take the riding test they reminded everyone that they could use any bike in the fleet, not just the one they had been training on. This resulted in my entire class wanting to take the riding test on the XT. I didn't want to wait in line for the XT and proudly boasted "I can pass the test on anything". Ended up on a Rebel and proceeded to scrape the entire right side of the bike/exhaust on the very first turning test. The instructor said "I've never seen so many sparks without crashing, minus 2 points".

I'm still upset about those points

[golden chicken]

I bought my wife an LS650 Savage to learn on and ended up riding it more than she did, but I preferred to ride my SV650. My experience echoes so many previous posts. It takes some concentration to pick up my feet and reach forwards for the pegs than back. It is easy to overestimate the available lean angle--I actually scraped peg pretty hard with her on the back!

I really hated the slouched, rounded back position I was forced to sit in.

One of the things that amazes me about riders who seem instantly comfortable on any bike is how they seem to know exactly how far they can lean, whether that's 60 degrees or 40 degrees.

[jeantarrou]

Around 500+ miles of seat-time on this thing and I'm getting more comfortable, most of it has been 2 up with my wife, she absolutely LOVES it. Me, I'm still meh about the bike, just doesn't get me all hot and bothered, that's how we're supposed to feel about our bikes right? Starting to save my pennies to grab a cheap track bike and keep the R3.

Anyway, on a positive note, riding a bike enormous enough to trigger traffic light sensors is AMAZING!!!

[OneCheekRider]

My VTX will turn 20yo next year and has just 5,536 miles on it (just changed the oil this past weekend). My other bikes have up to 11x the mileage and for the most part are significantly younger. For me, the cruiser fits a very niche part of my riding.

To be clear, I inherited it from my late father so I can justify holding onto it despite the limited use. Its value to me likely also limits its use.

Anyway, on a positive note, riding a bike enormous enough to trigger traffic light sensors is AMAZING!!!

I just run the lights. If I know they wont turn, I don't even wait.

[PinHead]

Well, they don't call em cruisers for nothing. It's a slower more comfortable way to get yourself in the wind. Also, I got caught up in one of the crazy rain storms over the weekend and hardly got wet. If I didn't need to stop at so many streetlights I would have been less wet, lol.

[Garandman]

I knew it was going to be different, but boy, feels so strange.

No weight to the front terrifies me in turns. Just feels disconnected.

[xrocket21]

My VTX will turn 20yo next year and has just 5,536 miles on it (just changed the oil this past weekend). My other bikes have up to 11x the mileage and for the most part are significantly younger. For me, the cruiser fits a very niche part of my riding.

To be clear, I inherited it from my late father so I can justify holding onto it despite the limited use. Its value to me likely also limits its use.



I just run the lights. If I know they wont turn, I don't even wait.

Kinda makes me wish I inherited my dads electra glide. When riding with my wife to get lunch or something, it would probably be more fun than on the RC8R, shes a good sport about it though.