General Discussion
Forum rules
Post a reply

I tried the other side, and now I have a sore arse

Mon Jan 09, 2006 9:33 am

The VTR is in for a service today, and last time I got a VT250 Spada as a loan bike. Had a great bit of fun on that, I did.

Today I showed up and he filled up the tank on the 250 for me... the EL250 cruiser that is! I rolled my eyes when I realised and thought "here we go"... jumped on and toddled off to work.

Things I've learned:

* that seating position really is as ridiculous as it looks
* I almost crashed in the carpark as I couldn't find the pegs
* I almost crashed the first time I came to a stop as the ground was 1½ feet closer than it should have been
* my lower back hurts
* the seat is soft but still somehow my arse and thighs are sore
* cruiser riders don't nod because they're embarassed about how they look and don't want to draw attention
* diplomatically, it's not as terrible as I'd think for around-town duties
* unless you want to go around a corner, roundabout or curve - in which case sparks fly
* it scrapes a little less if you get riiiiight off the seat
* people look at you funny when you're off the seat of a cruiser... in peak hour
* fairings really do make a difference
* 250's are dangerously slow

And that's just from the ride to work. If it's not raining I'll take it for a blat at lunch and post some more, then another strap on the way back to pick up the bike tonight.

Mon Jan 09, 2006 10:21 am

Bahahahaha. :D

Shame they didnt have a decent cbr 250 there fun you just wind them up and chuck them at corners and dont use the brakes at all if you can avoid it.

Wont work in trafic though.

Mon Jan 09, 2006 11:03 am

I had one as my first kawa, not TOO bad, it was good for learning the ropes on though.

However yeah, all good fun, just wait until you try using it for more than 100km, hittin reserve at 170km, gettin close to fumes at 210km.

I think i know why mine performed half decently on the acceleration though, down a few teeth on the back sprocket apparently....

[edit]
forgot to mention the 12 litre fuel tank too!!
[/edit]

Mon Jan 09, 2006 11:08 am

Up you mean... Down gives you more top end, less bottom..
Down on the front is the opposite.

Mon Jan 09, 2006 11:11 am

You're a regular Bike tart shifty, when ya gunna get a leg over a decent bike like a 9r or a "crim" ? Good read just the same mate.
Cheers Brett

Mon Jan 09, 2006 11:11 am

shit i did too, goes to show why you avoid posting at work.

oh and i was thinking of less top end, bigger sprocket, but ended up typing smaller sprocket, oops :roll:

Mon Jan 09, 2006 11:26 am

Sure mike, just admit it... your bike was the uber-slug :D

Brett - I had a sit on a lot of bikes over the weekend, including a ZX9R... it felt very comfortable but I'm finding more and more that the four cylinder thing doesn't turn me on. Perhaps I just need to spend some serious time on a hi-po 4cyl to be educated.

I chose the VTR as it's spectacular fun on weekends and for commuting too, while all the 4s I've ridden need to be worked comparitively hard before they do their thing. I'm thinking more and more that a boring road bike and a ball tearing track bike is the way to go so I'll likely be going for a 4cyl in that case... bang for buck I reckon a 9 is the go but I'd go the ZX10 or GSXR1000 if funds permitted.

By the way the ZZR1200 feels furging enourmous, waaay bigger than a Hayabusa.

Can't wait until TJ gets her Z1000... she doesn't know it yet but I'll enjoy having a ride of that :P

Mon Jan 09, 2006 6:03 pm

in your dreams :shock:


:P

Mon Jan 09, 2006 7:41 pm

Shifty wrote: bang for buck I reckon a 9 is the go but I'd go the ZX10 or GSXR1000 if funds permitted.

Can't wait until TJ gets her Z1000... she doesn't know it yet but I'll enjoy having a ride of that :P


As far as a litre bike goes it would be out of those 2 for me as well.

Hey Shifty you can forget about getting a ride of the z thou cause i won't be allowed near it so you got no chance mate. :wink:

Mon Jan 09, 2006 7:47 pm

what do you expect from a honda.

I got a kwaka vn 800 cruiser last week while getting new chain and sprockets.

it was comfy enough and a bit of fun scraping bits all over the place.
brakes were absolute rubbish but the biggest problem was the wind coming up from behind my legs and hitting me in the back of my head creating a weird buffeting once you hit 100 kmh. gee that sentence could certainly be misinterpreted
would certainly be much more comfortable 'cruising' on my zx6

gotta admit I felt pretty silly riding it, but it's fun to try out different bikes.
half the fun of the service is the lucky dip loan bike.

Mon Jan 09, 2006 11:05 pm

smek wrote:half the fun of the service is the lucky dip loan bike.

hahah thats pretty much it mate...nice analogy...
Post a reply