Long Ride Pain

[amboman]

Maybe all you need is a 20 - 30cm lift of the bars.  This small amojnt can often make a huge difference.  It would be more cost efficient as well.  Look into it before you do anything rash.  

[WEINERDOGBONE]

I can't really picture myself springing for $300.00 handlebars. I also rode the Victory yesterday. I felt like a trollop riding by my B12 as it sat in the lot.

I'll consider a $15,000 bike but not a $300.00 set of handlbars.

It makes sense right.

[Desolation Angel]

I can't really picture myself springing for $300.00 handlebars. I also rode the Victory yesterday. I felt like a trollop riding by my B12 as it sat in the lot.

I'll consider a $15,000 bike but not a $300.00 set of handlbars.

It makes sense right.

Go for the blacked out Victory 8Ball!  Bad lookin' and I think it's even the cheapest one.

[WEINERDOGBONE]

That is exactly the Victory I'd spring for. You have excellent taste!

[CWO4GUNNER]

[Desolation Angel]

That is exactly the Victory I'd spring for. You have excellent taste!

Why, thank you!  As do you!  

Hey, WDB, what was the ride like?  How's the bike rate as cruisers go?

[WEINERDOGBONE]

But if you really want a Harley just give it a couple more years as the  prices are coming down as baby boomers are falling out of the romance with the whole Harley thing.[ quote]

While I appreciate your comments, I don't want a Harley or I would buy one. I do like the looks of some of them but not much else.

If I went back to a bagger type of bike, I would go over to the FJR or buy another Gold Wing. I had a Gold Wing before and it was a pretty nice ride.

To answer D.A.

I was impressed with the Victory. I think I mentioned that my buddies all have Harleys. There is quite a difference between the brands. The Vegas that I rode had the 92ci engine and it had some serious torque. It also had a respectable top speed at which it arrived quickly. I have ridden all of the Harleys. We trade bikes around quite a bit.

The Victory has a seating position which is similar to the Duece but it has quite a bit more power. The vibration was very slight as well. The only thing I didn't like was the forward controls. I thought they were too far forward. The control position appeared to be adjustable for a couple of inches.

[CWO4GUNNER]

September issue of Cycle World review of the new Victory Jackpot as quote “ weeble wobble handling, clunky transmission , and martini making vibration”. The pluses were “lots of attention”.   But why was this not a surprising review. because its all about jewelry and that’s ok if someone needs that to feel whole but for the purist  its all about function, performance, and value. To me motorcycle art is cruising down a very lonely  highway on  my standard at 100, seeing two cluncky cruisers painfully closing at 65 ahead of me, then transitioning to my sport riding position and passing them elegantly at 130 watching them reel in my rearview as if struck by the epiphany that they are really not riding motorcycle at all but rather two wheel rhinestone ship anchors looking for the audience in the next biker rodeo.

[fritobandito]

Being an ex-cruiser rider myself I have something to say about riding comfort. I had a 1985 Honda Shadow VT1100. Excellent bike. Great low end torque and respectable acceleration as well as top end speed. Nothing compared to elbandito by the way. As far as comfort goes, I rode the Shadow from Dayton, OH to Joliet, Ill. (about 40-50 miles southwest of Chicago). After about an hour, my rear end started getting very uncomfortable. another hour later, it was brutal pain. After about three hours, numbness set in and I couldn't feel it anymore. Lower back pain is also an issue. I don't own a Bandit anymore, I have a 1995 kawasaki GPZ1100 which, with the LSL handlebar conversion kit I put on, is almost identical in riding position to the Bandit. Three weeks ago I met some buds over in Indiana and cruised around southern Indiana on all those fantastic twisty roads. We were in the saddle at least 10 hours on saturday. The only really bad pain I experienced was from a sharp stabbing pain on the right side of my spine in between my shoulder blades which is from a pre-existing condition I've been seeing my chiropractor for. The butt was a bit sore because of the seam from my tightie whities but that's about it. In summary, I'll take the Bandit's/GPZ's riding position over a cruiser for long hauling any day of the week. Not to mention handling characterisics and performance. (And that's all I have to say about that......Forest)

[WEINERDOGBONE]

September issue of Cycle World review of the new Victory Jackpot as quote “ weeble wobble handling, clunky transmission , and martini making vibration”. The pluses were “lots of attention”.

You have a couple of good points. I have experienced the pleasure of passing my cruiser buddies effortlessly. It is fun and the Bandit is a good bike.
 Secondly, the Jackpot handles like a clunker because it basically has a car tire on the rear. They are running a 250mm rear tire on that bike. The Jackpot is a bling bike.

The Vegas that I rode had a normal motorcycle tire on the rear. I believe it is a 180mm tire. The bike handled quite well. It is not a B12 though. Based on my own experience, the Victory had plenty of power and I buried the speedo quite quickly and w/o any hesitation. The vibration was not any more noticable than on the B12.

IMO the 8ball version of the Vegas is not a Jesse James style poser bike, while the Jackpot is made to appeal to that specific consumer.

[CWO4GUNNER]

[Desolation Angel]

I hear those wheelie pretty good!