Out of the comfort zone

[esullivan]

I had to drop off my bike this morning to get the clutch cable replaced (on warranty) and they gave me a loaner, a Honda VT750S (Shadow). It's a baby cruiser, even less powerful than my normal bike (which is hard to do), but I have never ridden anything with high bars and feet forward before. It took a while to get used to it, but I could see the appeal of one of these on Route 66. London commute? Not so much.

It made me want to try other styles of bike. I've never been on a sports bike with clip-ons, for example, or a tourer with lots of fairing. Has anyone else tried something that they wouldn't normally be caught dead on and were surprised?
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Current: '14 VFR800X Test passed 31/10/12.
Previous: '12 NC700S, '11 CBF 125, '04 SH 125.

[Piercee100]

About once a year I jump on the wife's scooter and although its not my thing, I do quite enjoy it. Tiny wheels and terrible ground clearance make me change my mind back again. Still, its fairly rapid in town and being cheeky on something so small makes me smile!
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Rides: Honda H100a (Retired), VT500e (Sold), Kawasaki ZX400 (sold), Kawasaki GT550 (Sold), Suzuki Inazuma (Daily), Honda CD185t (Broken), LML Star 2t (Last run edition).

[bezzabsa]

ridden all styles..including a vespa (sorry) but still find the biggest grin comes from something like a cz or c50..silly bikes that do their job with no frills..the latest all singing all dancing bike is usually too fragile or expensive to use all the time..whereas the cz and c50 thrive on living outside, and would both still start after sitting for months...

[chickenstrip]

I've been riding the same model of bike for a number of years now, for various reasons. I do love it, but I would dearly love to try something different from time to time, just to keep the variety in there and keep up with what's going on with newer bikes, as I used to do when younger and a bit more flush with cash.
I really do think that it makes the whole biking thing much more interesting if you can. And yes, I'd even try a Harley or two (but not at my expense ).

[Rogerborg]

I like to keep at least two bikes on the go just for variety. I haven't tried a modern 600 supersports yet, but I'm fairly sure that I wouldn't enjoy the riding position.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[arry]

I did a bit of experimenting when I bought the Sprint - went muscle bikes to a Shiver 750 to a Speed Triple to sports tourers

I'd love to have a speed but it's just not practical enough for me

[Lord Percy]

My first bike was a GN 125, which I think has a fairly classic upright everyday riding position.

When it was written off, the insurance people gave me a Yamaha something-or-other. Can't remember the model name but it was far more 'sporty' in design, the riding position was way higher, and because it was so light I felt like any amount of lean would have the wheels slipping out from under me.

Then I moved onto my current bike which is a CMX250, it's kind of mini cruiserish, but not as heavy. The seat is uber low so balance is easy. It has a larger turning circle but nothing major. In London it's absolutely fine for most filtering, possibly because it has very small bars fitted.

[deadwolf]

After moving back to Malaysia I ran about on my dad's Honda underbone for a while. Basically a moped with gears. It's light and fairly nimble, but I can't help but find the shifting weird. Instead of the one-down-four-up method these sort of bikes use Honda Cub-style shifters, one pedal in front of and one behind the left footpeg. You tap the front one to shift up and tap the rear one to downshift. Needless to say my left heel got a bit of an unseasonal workout.

Looks like this:
https://imganuncios.mitula.net/honda_dream_ex5_99286274243550604.jpg

I'm guessing they do this because it's a sturdier design? The shift pedals are a lot chunkier compared to the slender things most bikes have.

Also gotten into the habit of gripping the basket with my knees in lieu of a tank. Hope I don't bend it out of shape

Still keen to try a cruiser-style bike, will see what the future holds
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Motorsapien Art

[qarka]

Got my licence back in April this year and got a CB-1, no surprises there as the riding position is pretty similar to the Bros I was riding before. Then found a bargain ZX7-R and snapped it up, took about a week to get used to how heavy the thing was, and how cramped it was (despite being twice the size of the CB-1).

Anyway I had a few problems crop up with the Ninja so took it off the road and went back to the CB-1. Now that was really a shock to the system. Felt like a pushbike crossed with an armchair. Also it seemed like it had half the power it had before. All perspective I guess.
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Previous - Sinnis Apache - Honda Bros 400 - Yamaha SR500 - Honda Transalp - Kawasaki ZX-7R - Honda CB-1 - Honda 929 Fireblade - Honda NTV650 [b]Current[\b] Honda CB500

[G]

[deadwolf]

[G]

Oh and; Riding a big cruiser, I was surprised because it was actually a good chunk WORSE than my already low expectations!

[barrkel]

I rode a 250cc MP3 rental in California. Was expecting to get the 400cc model, so that was an initial disappointment.

The acceleration, already fairly anemic being a 250cc, was even further blunted by 260kg odd weight of the MP3. Way way heavier than my SH300. I estimate it to accelerate much like a 125, and about the same top speed.

However, it was quite fun to ride on some of the twistier roads in the Santa Cruz mountains. They're too twisty to get high speeds on, and the benefits of two wheels up front start to become more apparent. They basically understeer when losing traction. You can brake fairly heavily even when leaned over to the point of scraping the centre stand.

Also, not as bad for filtering as you might think. The two front wheels are about as wide apart as the typical handlebars, so if you can fit your handlebars through the gap, you can probably fit an MP3. Things like traffic islands would be the main gotcha.

On the topic of clip-ons: moving from the ER6 to the VFR was interesting here. The VFR has a mildly sporty position, but it's still much further bent over than the ER6. Gave me quite bad shoulder / neck aches until I adjusted. The seat, I did not adjust to; it's dreadful, kills my legs after 4+ hours in the saddle, just as bad on the 20th day of a tour as the first. Riding my GF's ER6 was then quite weird. It felt like a YBR, bolt upright, high and wide handlebars, light and agile. On the other hand, the ER6f at speeds over 80mph is unpleasant, whereas cruising on the VFR at 100+ feels like nothing.
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Bikes: S1000R, SH350; Exes: Vity 125, PS125, YBR125, ER6f, VFR800, Brutale 920, CB600F, SH300x4
Best road ever ridden: www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2MhNxUEYtQ

[stevo as b4]

I hope when I get to try out a Yamaha V-max that I'm not sorely disappointed, but then again they are moddable for better handling and braking etc, that there must be plenty of potential in them?

If I hate them, I've no idea what I'd try next?

[G]

Litre bike/hyper bike and modify to suit your riding position requirements?

On the bad shoulder/neck aches - I found a heavy helmet did this for me on sports bikes, but a 1.3kg helmet or so is fine (took me ages to work out that this was the problem.)

[stevo as b4]

I've always mentioned the ZZR1400 engine, airbox and exhaust removed and re-tuned to suit, but It would need to be a far more laid back bike than a litre sports chassis or long lay on the tank hyper bike etc.

Hard tail chop maybe?

I actually wouldn't mind a big fat square tank retro style like a Z1000 or GSX1100 or XS1100, but if you throw modern suspension, brakes and performance parts/engine swaps at them it's seen as destroying a classic, and not really in keeping with the style.

A bit like why a lot of people don't like LC350's with RGV suspension and wheel swaps etc.

[chickenstrip]

[stinkwheel]

Not ridden anything with a really big engine yet. Like one of the big 13,00-1,400cc muscle bike type things.

The big Harley I rode doesn't count. If you can't get over 100bhp out of 1,380cc you can go to the back of the class.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Copycat73]

[arry]

[stinkwheel]

[arry]

[chickenstrip]

[recman]

[Vincent]