In the wide and diverse world of motorcycling, everyone starts off on something different. Some of us start out young on dirt bikes tearing it up in the suburbs and trails. Some of us wait until later in life to ride off into the sunset on a chromed-out Harley-Davidson. Then there are some of us who take the "wild and free" lifestyle in the prime years of our youth seriously on some of the fastest motorcycles on the market. Brands like Kawasaki, Honda, Suzuki, Ducati, and BMW produce some of the most popular sport bikes in the world, and they've provided millions of miles of excitement for past, present, and future generations.
Obviously with models like the Kawasaki Ninja, the Honda CBR, and the Suzuki GSX-R as the most popular sport bikes on the market today, many riders find themselves on these for years. But a common pattern that seems to resonate with a significant portion of sport bike riders is that hardly anyone rides these kinds of bikes long-term. While these kinds of bikes are very popular among riders in their early twenties to their late forties, very rarely does anyone choose to ride these bikes for the long term. A common pattern that seems to resonate with sport bike riders is that at some point, they arrive at a fork in the road where there are two choices. They Either hang up their helmet for good and either sell of their bike or pass it down to the next generation, or they transition over to a cruiser motorcycle and let the good times keep on rolling. More often than not, many will opt for B. So what could happen that might make a sport bike rider change their mind about changing over to the genre of motorcycles they took pride in rebelling against?
Cruisers Naturally Provide More Comfort Than Spoke Bikes
Sport bikes look and sound cool when they zoom past other drivers and pedestrians, but when your focus shifts from image and flashiness to comfort, that is when the transition over to the cruiser class begins. Generally speaking, cruisers provide more comfort than sport bikes due to their seating position and wider variety of models to choose from. The seating position on a sport bike usually has the rider's feet under their hips, having their back upright, chin and face forward, and putting minimal weight on the forearms and wrists. While this kind of physical position can be maintained on short, and possibly medium-length rides, many former sport bike riders confess to experiencing discomfort after an hour. The wrists and forearms will tense up, the back gets sore, and the only thing they are focused on is reaching their destination, so they can dismount off their bike and give themselves a nice, long stretch. If that's not enough to convince you, ride with a passenger on a sport bike all day and ask them how comfortable they were.
In contrast, cruisers have a much different seating position that end up making a world of difference. Depending on the model, cruiser motorcycles like the Harley-Davidson Night Rod, for example, will either have mid-mounted foot controls, or forward-mounted foot controls. By keeping the foot controls more in front of the rider instead of underneath, the leg muscles have more room to stretch, relax, and are less likely to build up tension over time. Less stress on the body means less stress on your riding experience.
Cruiser Motorcycles are Better Designed for Longer Rides Than Sport Bikes
If you and your friends were planning on embarking on a cross-country road trip on your motorcycles, and everyone owns a sport bike, one of the biggest takeaways from this adventure would be the amount of hindsight for how unprepared you were. Sport bikes typically have lighter and smaller frames, while many cruisers are built on medium-sized frames that weigh noticeably more. Then there are the touring frames that are significantly larger than both. What the frame on a cruiser or touring bike has over a sport bike's frame is that the heavier it is, the more weight it can handle. Being able to take on more weight means they are better-suited to take on passengers, luggage, and supplies. This means more room for larger saddlebags, thereby providing more storage. A greater weight distribution also means more comfort to the rider, reducing the amount of physical stress while riding for longer periods of time.
Cruiser Motorcycles Can Double As High-Performance Motorcycles
Many sport bike riders like to roll out at high speeds and are not fully ready to abandon this kind of throttle-cranking riding for the sake of a laid-back cruiser. The idea of abandoning that rush in favor of some slow and easy coasting sounds almost sacrilegious. Thankfully for them, there are many high-performance models that still allow aggressive and responsive riding, providing a better transition into the cruiser world without having to sacrifice old habits. Some of the most popular high-performance cruisers on the market that many former sport bike riders find themselves converting to include the Harley-Davidson Lowrider S, Yamaha VMAX, and the Indian Scout. They allow their owners to go out for a laid-back cruise on the back roads for a leisurely weekend ride. But then again, they also are capable of showcasing their high-performance engine, braking, handling, and suspension at a moment's notice. In other words, they are a perfect balance of athleticism and leisure that they can expect to hold onto for many miles, as well as many years.