Thoughts on cruisers??

I bought an '89 Goldwing new in '89...the first year they came out with the 1520cc opposed 6 cyl...all the bells and whistles..onboard air compressor (for the adjust on-the-fly air-ride shocks), electric reverse..intercom sound system and all..and technically?..is the only "cruiser" i've ever owned..here's a pic of me on it with the mother-inlaw on the back going down I-95 using the electronic factory cruise control while playing air guitar to ted nugent in the cassette deck! LOL!

gwnohand.jpg


and it was by far the closest thing to "Not Riding" that i've ever experienced...add two more wheels, a roof and A/C and ya gotta honda accord. LOL!....and $10,000 and 6 months later?..after the gadgets and gizmos novelty of it all wore off?..i missed the bike i traded in on it..and '86 Nighthawk SS...(sorry for the old double scan of my niece riding our 9 month old rotty that wound up becoming a 168lb walking coffee table. LOL!)

Nighthawk.jpg


but anymore?..if my mission is to go places, sight see, eat up some serious miles and travel in comfort?..

i gotta crew cab Titan LE that's just as exciting to drive as the GW was to ride..with a far better sound system, i can bring virtually anything i want with me..no need to pack a tent..and weather ain't an issue. :laugh:

and that's my thoughts on "cruisers"..i've only made the mistake of ever owning (1). :laugh:

Thanks for asking and L8R, Bill. :cool:
 
sixpack577 said:
Again, the B-King!
One of the most underated bikes out there.
In the U.S for only one year(2008), and stock exhaust that likely killed it's marketability.
Otherwise, the Busa engine, and with some ecu tweaks the same performance and hp/tq numbers.
More leg room, upright seating position, no lean the bars.
Anyone who finds the Busa uncomfortable for cruising or anything other than agressive riding, should definately ride a B-King!
I loved my gen2 Busa, until it became too uncomfortable for me to ride anymore. I have no regrets on trading it for a B-King, only that I didn't do it sooner.
Mine's the one parked next to the Kawasaki:laugh:
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i wish suzuki still made the bking i would like to have one..i thought it would have done better here ..
 
squale147 said:
i wish suzuki still made the bking i would like to have one..i thought it would have done better here ..
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Yeah, funny how it lasted 5 years with a big following throughout Europe and Australia.
Maybe they have a higher percentage of riders than posers than we do.:laugh:
 
mysticblu999 said:
Whats broke? Maybe I can help you fix it, then take it for a test ride. ;)
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Oil leak at base of cylinders, engine has to come out.
I can fix it, it'll just take me a while to get to it.
Should be fixed in time for warm weather(I ride all year), assuming I find nothing major wrong when I take the engine apart:beerchug:
 
sixpack577 said:
Yeah, funny how it lasted 5 years with a big following throughout Europe and Australia.
Maybe they have a higher percentage of riders than posers than we do.:laugh:
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well not certain about australia but even though the euros have the autobahn?...most of their roadways are not suited to as sustained high speed as we have stateside here..matter fact?..much of it is closer to cobblestone goat trails! LOL! So while torquey nakeds may be prefered there?..the B-King is basically a dialed down naked busa...sans the apparently prefered sustained high speed wind protection the busa offers...and where stateside here i could imagine the prefered selection rate being something like 10:1 Busa/Bking?..i could also imagine those numbers being reversed in many areas of europe where they'd rather have a B-King with a crash cage than a speed demon shod in expensive plastic. LOL!
 
JINKSTER said:
well not certain about australia but even though the euros have the autobahn?...most of their roadways are not suited to as sustained high speed as we have stateside here..matter fact?..much of it is closer to cobblestone goat trails! LOL! So while torquey nakeds may be prefered there?..the B-King is basically a dialed down naked busa...sans the apparently prefered sustained high speed wind protection the busa offers...and where stateside here i could imagine the prefered selection rate being something like 10:1 Busa/Bking?..i could also imagine those numbers being reversed in many areas of europe where they'd rather have a B-King with a crash cage than a speed demon shod in expensive plastic. LOL!
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Europe and Australia both had the B-King available until 2011 or 2012, which ever year Suzuki stopped making it.
I can agree with your reasons too.
It is strange however how other naked sportbike/streetfighter style bikes have survived several years in the states while the B-King did not.
My money is still on the stock exhaust styling, but we'll never know.
A great bike none the less.:beerchug:
 
sixpack577 said:
Europe and Australia both had the B-King available until 2011 or 2012, which ever year Suzuki stopped making it.
I can agree with your reasons too.
It is strange however how other naked sportbike/streetfighter style bikes have survived several years in the states while the B-King did not.
My money is still on the stock exhaust styling, but we'll never know.
A great bike none the less.:beerchug:
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yep...interesting isn't it?..but the way i figure?..suzi had so many hot sellers an the M109 maybe they just didn't feel the need to pit the B-King against the likes of aprilla, duc and bmw for US destined big bore nakeds..conversly?..maybe duc's aprilla and beamers in europe are as cookie cutter ho-hum as HD's are here and the jap B-King's sold like they were "the foriegn exotic" in europe..then ya go to japan?..and they all want harleys!..go figure..the small mind of man...if it came from far far away?..it must be exotically better somehow. :laugh:
 
IDK but for me when I see the B-king something about it just doesnt appeal to me. Cant deny the performance aspect but maybe its the headlight or the tail assembly? Just when I look at it compared to other naked style bikes such as the Vmax it just doesnt flow the same way asthetically. I could see why it does well in Europe they are more keen on the naked streetfighter style of bike over there and its probably one of the more affordable bikes when you compare HP to dollar ratio. With that said I know its just not the bike for me. Suzuki has a promotion going on right now 0% APR for 5years on all models so if I did pass on getting a NightRod I would more than likely just grab up a Gen2 and equip it more for 2up riding
 
KRZMSL said:
Hi... I hadn't thought about it yet. I believe it was last year they brought it back and I opted out only because there were sooo many destinations I knew I couldn't finish and get to all of them! It was more realistic when they did it the first year in 2009. There were around 60+ stops if I remember right. I finished the entire ride and it felt great after having been away from riding so long....other than finding out I needed a more comfortable ride for the longer destiniations. I did register for the 2010 ride but only got to a few places and then life got busy. So I guess we'll see what they have in mind for 2013. Are you going to register for it? and did you do last years ride?
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Yes I did it solo last year. And, it only had 60 stops (approx. 3200 miles) and no Wise, Va (far southwest Va.) Chincoteague, Va. (eastern shore) or (Kilmarnock, Va (Northern Neck) so it was much less time consuming then the 82 stops 2010. And, yes I'm definately going to do it this year. If for no other reason it gives me a reason to tell my wife I "gotta" ride to the other end of the state.

Give it some thought - I think they're going to try and kick it off in April in conjucntion with the Blueridge Bikefest in Roanoke, Va.
 
5k for a turbo and you will put out around 170 hp but just remember its only a 1250 cc v-twin engine thats why I sold mine and bought a HAYABUSA and I love it
 
Was at a Suzuki dealership and sat on a silver M90, felt pretty decent and it was like 6k less than a nightrod. I knew about the M109 but anybody rode or know much about the M90?
 
#1busa said:
Was at a Suzuki dealership and sat on a silver M90, felt pretty decent and it was like 6k less than a nightrod. I knew about the M109 but anybody rode or know much about the M90?
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I believe Mr. Bots owned one
 
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