cruisers-2

Now firstly, don’t get me wrong on this whole cruiser thing; I’m not bagging-out cruisers! A couple of my riding friends have cruisers and I’m happy to ride with them any time. And I admire their bikes! At one time I even thought my ideal bike would be a cruiser! But I do stand by my comments on the previous page that cruisers are, in most cases anyway, possessed of a contrast in design. Their easy-going, laid-back nature is, in many cases, spoilt by a rear suspension that is completely at odds with the rest of the bike.

In a recent guide to the different types of bikes available, Team Moto described cruisers in these words: “Cruisers are your Easy Rider fantasy. Laid-back style, lots of chrome, big heavy machinery with torquey engines. It's all about style and comfort”. And they do go a fair way to achieving this! They certainly have the “style”, and they have a lot of the "comfort" features as well; but they have a rear suspension that, in most cases, puts the pain in what from everything else is the pleasure! And I still maintain that the up-right riding position isn’t as good as it seems; from an ergonomics point of view.

But enough of me, let’s have a look at what other people say about them.

For a start, most road testers seem to take the harsh ride of the rear suspension as a given. Even the people who sell them accept this! For example, a road-test of the Speedmaster published in a newsletter from a Triumph dealer had this to say about the ride: “The only real minute comfort shortcoming is the rear suspension's limited ability to soak up sharp bumps, and potholes hit you pretty hard”. And in a recent group road-test of larger cruisers in Road Rider magazine, one of the testers had this to say when commenting on the Honda VTX1800: “A very comfortable ride as long as you don’t hit any bumps, although a hard suspension seems to be the norm for all these big cruisers”. (To be fair, the same article contained comments from other testers about some of the bikes being “comfortable”; so opinion is still divided). When reporting on ride qualities, road-testers often use words like, “By cruiser standards the suspension is…”. So, as I said, amongst road-testers a somewhat harsh ride from the rear suspension seems to be a given.

Okay, but let’s get to you, the readers. Now, I apologise for the length of this article, but I wanted to present a wide range of the comments I received.

I’ve mentioned some of the responses from readers of this web-site in the Feedback pages, but I’ll repeat one here; from the reader who first requested I do a test on the Speedmaster or America. He ended up buying an America (before I had published the test) and, while loving everything else about the bike, did experience the same problem that I did. He said, “I too have developed a sore back due to the harsh rear suspension. The riding position - feet and hands forward - feels great for a while, about an hour, then my lower back/tailbone/ hurts. It’s made worse by every jolt of a rough surface!”

However, a regular reader who owns a Suzuki C50 had this to say, “The Boulevard has the big tractor seat and floor boards and is primarily feet forward in the cruiser tradition. This combo of bum and feet plus the room to move allows for a bit of rider repositioning, to ease the numb bum syndrome on long rides”. He reckons, “It is a good bike for old farts and riders of all sizes”.

I decided that a good way to get some opinions on cruisers, and especially from older riders, was to open a discussion on the Ulysses Club web-site. So that’s what I did; and here the comments I received.

(NOTE: I've used standard font for these - not bold and italics as I usually do for quotes. Each sentence is from a different person. Where I've added my own note I have put that in italics). I’ll group them first in “Negative”, then “Neutral”, and finally “Positive” (well, I suppose it’s only fair we end on a positive note!).

NEGATIVE

“I agree, and add further that after 50,000kms on mine I was totally fed up with wallowy handling and poor fuel economy and a small tank leading to a hopeless range. On the other hand I know many people, including my wife, who are so enamoured by the looks/ appeal/ sound of a well turned out cruiser. I secretly enjoyed the admiring glances my old bike used to get. Whenever I see a cruiser, however and based on my 50,000kms experience, all I can see is a poor compromise, between looks, ergonomics, performance, range and handling”. (He now rides a Yamaha FZ6N).

“My BMW K100 is very comfortable and I can achieve 1200km days without any problems and go again the next day. I have had serious back problems since childhood and find anything more than 50km on my wife’s Virago very painful to say the least”.

“I also think that sports or sports tourer type bikes offer better ergonomic seating. I have only ever ridden one cruiser; it was fine for round the block, but a long ride was very uncomfy.”

“Just got off a VT750 C and onto a VTX 1800 C. Love 'em both but you're probably right. My tailbone gets as sore as a choirboy’s arse after a while. I'm in the process of justifying to the minister of war and finance the need for a John Moorehouse alteration to try and fix it”. (Trying to find a cure for the problem is something you’ll read more of below).

“I tend to agree a bit. Sport bike postures tend to let the backside rise and fall somewhere behind you and leave the back alone, whereas the cruiser style, with the more upright posture does place more weight on the vertebral column and transmit shocks straight up through the spine, compressing those intervertebral disks more so with every bump”. (That’s a good description of the problem! But note his next words…). “However, I think sport bikes do confine the legs a bit and the attraction of having more movement available for the knees and hips, particularly where there are footboards tends to be the big attraction for riders of cruisers and at least partially accounts for their popularity among older riders”. (Yes, different bikes do have different problems; I’ve certainly experienced that! And I don’t think full-on sports-bikes are good for us oldies either!).

“Once you move into the feet forward reclined riding position, your thighs, knees, calves and ankles, shoulders, arms and stomach have no role in supporting the body, but there's a lot of work to be done by the back muscles. For me though, it was the constant jarring that made me move away from cruisers. On a cruiser then, any shocks are transmitted from the buttocks straight up the spine and neck and with no potential bracing available from the knees thighs arms and shoulders”. (I think that explains it very well from an ergonomic, physiological point!).

NEUTRAL

“I had a Moto Guzzi California, two of them actually, for four years back in my forties and enjoyed the riding experience. The discomfort of some niggling lower back pain was over-looked as my Moto Guzzi was my choice of ride. After the Guzzi, I had 2 years on a Suzuki bandit 600 and my back pain disappeared. However, I entered a phase of hand numbness for a while due to the four cylinder vibes coming through the handle bars of the bandit. Now I'm on the VFR, (have been for three years now and almost 80,000km) I would have to say this is one comfortable bike to ride. My wrists did ache for a while, but strengthening exercises has eliminated that small problem. I now ride relatively pain free”. (Another case of different bikes giving different problems!).

“My opinion is it depends on how you want to ride. Through the years I've had the lot but tend to go back to a cruiser. There is good and bad in every bike, and everybody’s posture is different. I can honestly say I've never had a bike that I haven’t had to modify for my own riding comfort”. (Good advice; I’ve done things like changing the bars, re-doing the seat etc on some bikes to make them better suited for my preferences and comfort).

“I think it all adds up to what works for individual riders and how their joints are going, with the posture that individual bikes afford. It is very important for older riders to make a rational choice of motorcycle type based on this, especially if you expect to do many big days or long trips. Try lots of bikes before you outlay lots of cash for one that might not work. Most older riders with a long riding history have an idea of what works for them and usually it' s a matter of fine tuning things a bit. It's also worth considering changing the seat and bars; an inch here maybe in the seat and a couple more in the bars can make a significant difference to the riding position and comfort, and is often much more cost effective than changing bikes”. (Some good advice there on buying and / or modifying bikes!).

“I think a cruiser is a good choice for a commuter or hobby rider, as is a trail bike or motard. The sporties often don’t suit low speed stuff, with a less than perfect position for watching the cages all round you! I found the cruiser hard on my back, but backs are funny, and no two are the same! Ride what you prefer I say.”

“I ride a cruiser. I find shifting my feet around, backwards and forwards, helps. I have pegs not boards. Sometimes just hanging my feet over the pegs helps with the back”. (Yes, it’s important to move around a bit while you ride – on any bike).

“I've ridden all styles of bikes. In the end it came down to what I was most comfortable with, and that is the riding position on the Bonnie”. (Just like the bikes of old! Maybe those old bikes had something that newer ones have lost?).

“With the current popularity of cruisers, I'd suggest a lot of people would seem to disagree with your comments. I've never owned a cruiser, and the only cruiser I've ever ridden was a Triumph California, and it wasn't my cup of tea at all. But all bikes are good these days, so I guess it really comes down to buying whatever suits your personality and riding style. It would be a boring old world if we all wanted the same style of bike”. (Yes, indeed it would. Not sure I’d agree with “all” bikes being good though!).

POSITIVE

(This comment from a Harley owner). “There are cruisers and there are Jap crap. You get what you pay for!”

(Another reader responded by making a rather disparaging comment to the Harley owner. He rides a Kawasaki VN1500). “Give me my Kwaka over an over-rated Harley any day”.

(And from another Harley owner). “I have had many 1200km+ days on my cruisers. Being able to adapt the bike to the body rather than adapting the rider to the bike makes a big difference - not in HD’s defense, but there is so much available for the HD cruiser that it's really quite simple to mould the bike to suit yourself regardless of your size or shape and this makes for a very comfortable ride as there is very little to compromise”.

“I’ve ridden 56000 km in the last 18 months on my VN1600; I enjoy the cruiser so much I bought the VN2000 yesterday. I do 95km every day to work and back”.

“I ride a cruiser every day, 150 km to and from work and wouldn’t have it any other way. Those scrunched-up hunchback motorbikes screaming through traffic only make me feel better and a lot more comfortable. They can keep their whining lawn mowers, give me the rumble of a V-Twin any day”.(Owns a Yamaha XVS650).

“I like the cruiser; you sit there like a gentleman”.

(This one from a lady who owns a Suzuki VZ800). “With regards to the back issues - I ride a cruiser because it is easier on my back than the sports-bike style. I find if I am leaning over the handlebars - or even towards them slightly for any length of time - I get a very painful lower back. We used to have a Diversion 900, and I couldn't ride it for any great distance before I became a tad uncomfortable. With my cruiser-style bike I don't have that problem. The worst problem I get is a sore butt, and times like that I wish I could lean forward, but the good outweighs the bad - for me, anyway”. (Unusual, the Diversion is usually considered quite a comfortable mount. Just goes to show we are all different!).

So there it is! (And that was edited down!). Thanks to all the Ulyssians who took the trouble to respond.

One thing I think we can draw from all this is that some cruisers are definitely better than others! Differences in seats and seating-positions between various models is quite great and has a big effect on comfort. Some seats do provide a degree of back-support, which of course would help. And the general riding-position seems more naturally comfortable (or “less ergonomically wrong”) on some than on others. And suspensions differ too. For example, in the group-test of cruisers in Road Rider magazine I mentioned above, the Yamaha XV1900 was described as having a monoshock rear suspension that was “only marginally less compliant than the front”.

Perhaps the main thing to come from all this though, is that people are very different! Not only do people differ in what type of bike they prefer, but also on how their bodies react to the bikes they ride. And we should all be free to choose the type of bike that we want to ride. As a few people said, it would be a sad world if we all liked the same thing, wouldn’t it! Although I would make the point that this doesn’t mean that certain styles of bike don’t have certain inherent problems! And as one reader also said, if you’re buying a bike you do need to consider very carefully what you’re buying!

So, I do stand by my original comments, but I also think I need to test-ride some more cruisers!