The other half

[Phy]

Alright, so I know most of you are sportbikers, given the amount of CBRs and R1s I see in this forum. What do y'all think of Bikes That Aren't Sportbikes? Like, cruisers and dualsports and shit.

Discussion, not bashing please, I don't care if some guy on a Harley woke up your cat and it clawed your head one night.

Personally, I ultimately don't care what people ride, as long as they ride it well. I'd like to try me out a V-Max one day, if I can ever save enough money to afford a bike in the first place.

[SOAB]

if i was to get a cruiser, it would be the VTX. that thing is BAD ASS!!!

a KTM Duke is really temtping as a city/stunt bike too.

[BlueGoblin]

I have a Ducati sportbike, but put on most of my riding season's miles on a Triumph Tiger. For those who aren't familiar with it, it is a 900cc triple cylinder 'Adventure Tourer'. It would be a stretch to call it a dual-sport like a Honda XL650 or a KLR series as it is too big and heavy to take many full off-road trails with. It can quite happily explore fire roads, old logging roads and light offroad trails as long as its unladen.

I take it camping up in the foothills and other places where most people don't go. It rides great even with the saddlebags and tankbag full and a tent and sleeping bag strapped to the passenger seat. With a large capacity tank I can go up to 400 km without stopping, and do a lot of out of the way exploring without fear of becoming a pedestrian.

I love riding and can find fun on almost any machine. I really like the Harley Davidson Road King for what it is - a La-Z-Boy recliner that can take you long distances. I like vintage bikes - especially vintage sports bikes like the Norton Commando and the BSA Goldstar. I dream about getting a Vincent Black Shadow or Brough Superior SS100 if I ever win the lottery. I had my scariest two-wheeled moment on a Honda PC50 moped of all things - both brake cables snapped at its 23 MPH top speed...

Riding is Good. Its good for the soul, when done with the right frame of mind. Despite the high school-esque cliques that have so strongly formed in motorcycling -squids vs sportbikes vs metric cruisers vs harleys vs scooters vs dual sports vs dirt bikes vs rat bikes- The important thing about riding is getting out there and doing it the best way possible - and that has very little to do with the machine you ride. Just let it move you the way that you want to be moved and don't let stereotypes get in the way.

Oh, and take a riding course and wear proper gear. :)

[Charon]

BMW 1150 Adventure, some day.... best dual sport/touring bike IMO.

http://www.bikez.com/bike/20422/index.jpg