600cc Cruisers

[sunbear]

Lots of questions i know

But thats what the forum is for, right ?

Are the 600 cruisers any good ? What about the early 90's ones like the Honda Shadow ?

Obviously they arn't going to win any races, but whats the bhp output and top speeds ?

Cheers
____________________
Bikes had : BMW F650, suzuki tr50, gt125, SV400, GSXR600 SRAD. Honda CBR900RRP, CBR600FX, CBR1000F, VT600, Transalp 600, mtx125, nsr125r, CB500T, Yamaha fy50, tzr125, tdr125, XV535, Diversion 600, Fazer 600, TDM850 MK1 & MK2, Majesty 400, XV 1100. Cagiva mito evolution, Aprilia rs125, Piaggio x9 125. DNA 125 . Suzuki Bandit 600, GZ125 Marauder, RF600 , RF900RS2, Kawasaki ZZR400, ZX6R Ninja, ZZR600 . Ducati 750 Sport . Triumph Tiger 955i. CURRENT : 2004 Kawasaki Z750 and LOVIN IT !

[feef]

[sunbear]

[map]

Talking to a friend at the NEC bike show and he was impressed by the likes of the Hyosung Aquila. Seems a decent price new (under £5K OTR) and power, if you're interested is 70hp @ 9000rpm. Have to see a review of how they fair long term as regard build quality. Not the style of bike to take out through winter though.

Cruisers though aren't about top speed, the name cruiser is a bit of a clue here I think . Torque is important and how it puts the power onto the road. The ability to go around corners can't be underestimated too. That's apparently easier to do on newer Jap machinery. Like to hear how the Aquila handles. Talking to a HD V-Rod owner who admitted it's cornering was dodgy. Partly because the newer engines HD uses gets you to the corner a tad quicker.

HTH
____________________
...and the whirlwind is in the thorn trees, it's hard for thee to kick against the pricks...
Gibbs, what did Duckie look like when he was younger?

[yambabe]

Hmmm. My 400 Eliminator is a claimed 38bhp and so far has topped out at about 95 - Himself reckons it should be good for just over a ton but it is really uncomfortable at those kind of speeds because of the wind blast so I've not pushed it that far yet. Kawasaki did a 600 version too which is virtually the same bike with a bit more bhp and a slightly higher top speed.

Handling on mine is fine, but it's a bike you have to get used to and I find that I corner a lot smoother if I shift my bodyweight about too. You're not talking about sportsbike handling here btw! As has already been said a medium-sized cruiser can carry a fair bit of weight (especially the UK ones which tend to be a bit lardy imo) so have a good look at a number of different ones if this is an option you are likely to take when buying a bike.

I LOVE the Hyosung Aquila, but unfortunately it is no good if you are under about 5'4" in height cos the forwards are too far forward and you won't be able to reach the controls. I put in an official complaint to Hyosung at the NEC this weekend!

The Honda VT600 Shadow is supposed to be a very good bike too although I've never ridden one. We have a VT500 Shadow and that is good for about 115 on a flat straight road, it also has an overdrive gear option so it will bowl along quite happily at about 90 for a long time while using very little juice.

The Suzuki Savage is an interesting little bike, they are only 33bhp but have a fair bit of low-down power and they handle quite well because of the low weight too. Different in that it'a a 650cc single rather than the usual v-twin as well.

I suppose it really depends what you are looking for in a bike. If you want to tear about pretending that you are Rossi on a track, scraping through corners at every opportunity and racing anything and everything off from the lights then a cruiser probably isn't for you. If however you are happy to swap top-end speed for low-down power and want to see some of the scenery you are intending to whizz past then it may well be OK.

One other thing to remember about cruisers is that because the centre of gravity is so low they are quite stable for slow riding (although they may have the turning circle of a bus) and therefore are somewhat more difficult to drop from a standstill too.
____________________
Sod falling in love, I wanna fall in chocolate.

[sunbear]

Very helpful. Cheers for that
____________________
Bikes had : BMW F650, suzuki tr50, gt125, SV400, GSXR600 SRAD. Honda CBR900RRP, CBR600FX, CBR1000F, VT600, Transalp 600, mtx125, nsr125r, CB500T, Yamaha fy50, tzr125, tdr125, XV535, Diversion 600, Fazer 600, TDM850 MK1 & MK2, Majesty 400, XV 1100. Cagiva mito evolution, Aprilia rs125, Piaggio x9 125. DNA 125 . Suzuki Bandit 600, GZ125 Marauder, RF600 , RF900RS2, Kawasaki ZZR400, ZX6R Ninja, ZZR600 . Ducati 750 Sport . Triumph Tiger 955i. CURRENT : 2004 Kawasaki Z750 and LOVIN IT !

[Joe?]

mmm interesting topic


seeing as my next step will be a suzuki vl 800


My current bike - a honda vt 125 shadow is a dream. Last week I managed to overtake a 500+cc bike on an uphill climb as i reached 70mph, i find the wind is not too bad if you have a decent screen, easily taken off in summer if you wish that wind in your hair feel.

I presume a bigger shadow model will be better than the 04 plate 125 I have.

Hi to Itchy and trevorIV whom know the power of the lil' 125
____________________
Got my bike - Honda VT 125 SHadow - passed DAS (2nd time) - got my BabyBlue A suzi VL 800 mmmm - 2 yrs on a brand new c1800rt (suzuki torque monster)

[colin1]

slightly offtopic, but honda vtx is very nice, and harley soft tail big boy thing is a bit crap really

id sooner have a maxi scooter with feet forward riding position, but im one of those idiots who picks a bike on how it rides rather than how it looks.
____________________
colin1 is officially faster than god

[yambabe]

[sunbear]

Just seen a 1993 Honda Shadow advertised locally.

Any ideas of bhp, top speed, torque ?

I cant find any info on the web
____________________
Bikes had : BMW F650, suzuki tr50, gt125, SV400, GSXR600 SRAD. Honda CBR900RRP, CBR600FX, CBR1000F, VT600, Transalp 600, mtx125, nsr125r, CB500T, Yamaha fy50, tzr125, tdr125, XV535, Diversion 600, Fazer 600, TDM850 MK1 & MK2, Majesty 400, XV 1100. Cagiva mito evolution, Aprilia rs125, Piaggio x9 125. DNA 125 . Suzuki Bandit 600, GZ125 Marauder, RF600 , RF900RS2, Kawasaki ZZR400, ZX6R Ninja, ZZR600 . Ducati 750 Sport . Triumph Tiger 955i. CURRENT : 2004 Kawasaki Z750 and LOVIN IT !

[sunbear]

Oh, and its 600cc
____________________
Bikes had : BMW F650, suzuki tr50, gt125, SV400, GSXR600 SRAD. Honda CBR900RRP, CBR600FX, CBR1000F, VT600, Transalp 600, mtx125, nsr125r, CB500T, Yamaha fy50, tzr125, tdr125, XV535, Diversion 600, Fazer 600, TDM850 MK1 & MK2, Majesty 400, XV 1100. Cagiva mito evolution, Aprilia rs125, Piaggio x9 125. DNA 125 . Suzuki Bandit 600, GZ125 Marauder, RF600 , RF900RS2, Kawasaki ZZR400, ZX6R Ninja, ZZR600 . Ducati 750 Sport . Triumph Tiger 955i. CURRENT : 2004 Kawasaki Z750 and LOVIN IT !

[Joe?]

[Joe?]

[yambabe]

[Joe?]

[sunbear]

OK i have found out the Shadow is 40bhb. Sooooooooooo, what about the torque ?

My BMW F650 is 48bhp and kicks out 44lb of torque. Thats a single cylinder though.

Im confused
____________________
Bikes had : BMW F650, suzuki tr50, gt125, SV400, GSXR600 SRAD. Honda CBR900RRP, CBR600FX, CBR1000F, VT600, Transalp 600, mtx125, nsr125r, CB500T, Yamaha fy50, tzr125, tdr125, XV535, Diversion 600, Fazer 600, TDM850 MK1 & MK2, Majesty 400, XV 1100. Cagiva mito evolution, Aprilia rs125, Piaggio x9 125. DNA 125 . Suzuki Bandit 600, GZ125 Marauder, RF600 , RF900RS2, Kawasaki ZZR400, ZX6R Ninja, ZZR600 . Ducati 750 Sport . Triumph Tiger 955i. CURRENT : 2004 Kawasaki Z750 and LOVIN IT !

[Joe?]

after much searching on line i found that it is 36ftlb of forque


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_600

with the info you require


but if you went for the suzuki vl 800 - this has a whopping 51 ft lb of torque.

makes you think eh?
____________________
Got my bike - Honda VT 125 SHadow - passed DAS (2nd time) - got my BabyBlue A suzi VL 800 mmmm - 2 yrs on a brand new c1800rt (suzuki torque monster)

[sunbear]

Soooooooooo...........

Last question on this one.

Is 40bhp and 36lb torque enough to carry 2 up at motorway speeds?


____________________
Bikes had : BMW F650, suzuki tr50, gt125, SV400, GSXR600 SRAD. Honda CBR900RRP, CBR600FX, CBR1000F, VT600, Transalp 600, mtx125, nsr125r, CB500T, Yamaha fy50, tzr125, tdr125, XV535, Diversion 600, Fazer 600, TDM850 MK1 & MK2, Majesty 400, XV 1100. Cagiva mito evolution, Aprilia rs125, Piaggio x9 125. DNA 125 . Suzuki Bandit 600, GZ125 Marauder, RF600 , RF900RS2, Kawasaki ZZR400, ZX6R Ninja, ZZR600 . Ducati 750 Sport . Triumph Tiger 955i. CURRENT : 2004 Kawasaki Z750 and LOVIN IT !

[Joe?]

i would be thinking so - but not 100% on this.

never been on a motorway with a bike yet, let alone a pilllion
____________________
Got my bike - Honda VT 125 SHadow - passed DAS (2nd time) - got my BabyBlue A suzi VL 800 mmmm - 2 yrs on a brand new c1800rt (suzuki torque monster)

[stevo as b4]

The Kawasaki Eliminator 600 is a strange but interesting bike! It's what you might call a performance 600cc cruiser, seeing as it has an 85bhp de-tuned slighty ZZR600 engine in it! It's very different from most 600cc cruisers, with it's revvy power delivery and 12000rpm redline! A postman near me had one, and they do sound really nice too, in an interesting old in line4 Jap bike way, just like a sound track from Mad Max really!

Another bike you might want to look at could be the Kawasaki EN500. This is basically a GPZ500 motor in cruiser style bike, but i think it's 50bhp, and should go well like an ER5 does, which is certainely enough poke for a crusier type chassis.