Hi, Newbie to the site here, only found it by chance but glad I did.
Newish older biker and been riding an old BMW F650 since I passed my test. A cruiser is what I want and I’m also tempted to try commuting from Woking in Surrey into the City as I should be able to get a parking slot in my building for a bike and I’m hatting the trains more and more. The BMW has been ok as a first bike but not the style I want in future and also a bit old for me to feel comfortable regularly try commuting what U guess will be 30-35 miles each way.
I’ve kind of narrowed it down to the HD Fat Bob which I’ve test rode and liked a lot. Or a Yamaha XVS950 which I like the look of and is about half the price of the HD. Only problem with the XVS is I can’t find one to ride. I’ve sat on one and seems ok and reviews on them seem very good, in fact finding it hard to find anything negative on them online which is unusual. Anyone on here got thoughts on them and would I be mad trying to commute on a cruiser like this into central London?
My first thought was you might be barmy for commuting on a cruiser. But it all depends on how congested your route is, what is seen as a reasonable commute time for you and how you ride. Some people do it, there’s a guy in my car park who commutes on a cruiser sometimes.
It depends on what you want from a bike.
In some people’s eyes the Fat Bob will be a legit bike and the Yamaha never will be.
Harley’s have the heritage- either that is important to you or it isn’t.
I see a couple of guys commuting on cruisers- they seem fine until you need to filter.
Have you looked at the Triumph middleweight cruisers (America and Speedmaster)?
Yep, the way I thought I’d go is A3 from near Guildford pretty much all the way to Vauxhall I think, then along the south of the river and cross at Southwark Bridge. Would have to see what the traffic is like and vary as needed.
Anyone else do that route or some of it to say what its like?
I have to put my hand up and say I like Harley’s and not ashamed of it. I know its a bit like marmite but I like that too
Theory on the Yamaha is its a bit lighter bit calmer and maybe a better bike to get a few more years experience on before going the whole HOG so to speak. That said I’ve test ridden the Fat Bob twice now and didn’t find it too big or too heavy and actually quite easy to ride, so maybe I just go straight to what I ultimately want.
As for the filtering, then I have mixed feelings on that. Maybe its just experience but I see some guys doing it and I think not sure I would have gone for that gap. I also spend periods in the US and want to hire bikes out there and you’re not allowed to do it there so don’t want to get too used to it.
I did look at the Triumph and it appealed to buy British but I think it was a chain and I don’t want the hassle of chains and oil so want a belt or shaft.
Hi Seajay, first off since you have got a good idea of what you would like, I would definitely go and try the Yamaha before making your final decision. (Just go to the Yamaha website and book a test ride).
Commuting would be no problem on either. A3 into London I find is a perfect ride for either bike.
The yamaha is a great bike, and they have produced a custom parts catalogue that is quite impressive should you wish to customise.
The Harley is a Harley, and no matter how much copying is done they will never match up, however that is not to say the yamaha is a bad choice.
I couldn’t go straight to Harley because of the insurance, so rode a Honda VT750S (Honda’s version of a Sportster almost) before changing. (Had the Yamaha been available at the time I would have got the Yamaha!)
Nothing wrong with either the Yamaha or Honda, however, it depends where you heart is. If it is Harley then you know the answer.
My advise is to go and give the Yamaha a go first then report back…
For me a bike has to pass the ‘traffic light test’- how will you feel when a guy on a Harley pulls up along side you at a traffic light and you are riding the Yamaha?
Some people will be fine, some people will feel like they bought the wrong bike.
The main issue for me would be commuting on a cruiser in the winter.
You will either be spending a lot of time cleaning and polishing the bike or dealing with corrosion.
The Yamaha might win some points in that direction as I think some of the ‘chrome’ is actually coated plastic.
I see some sort of cruiser in my future, once I have a proper garage (Fat Bob is on my list too, as is the Breakout) but not as a daily rider and definitely not through a UK winter.
Very good point, not sure if it would bother me but maybe it would if my ultimate goal is a HD, So +1 for the Harley I guess on that basis.
Yes, there is a lot of plastic ‘chrome’ bits on the Yamaha which is one of the only negatives I’ve found people complain about online about it. This as you say I see as an advantage if I commute over winter and given that my garage is unusable and needs to be rebuilt so any bike will have to live outside under a cover overnight. So +1 for the Yamaha on that basis.
I like the Breakout as well and I test rode one of those with a stage 1 done when I tried the Fat Bob. Great fun, beast of a bike, but really only a second bike in my view and something you use on free days and weekends and that you ride for the sake of it rather than for a purpose. I could see myself having one of those one day if I could garage it and as a 2nd toy.
Someone said to me this morning if I’m serious about making the jump to commuting on a bike then they think I’d be better off getting the cruiser I want for fun and getting a Burgman or Xmax or some other scooter type bike with the bigger engines for commuting. The bigger engine being better for the dual carriageway half of the journey and the weather protection being better for the whole journey. They even think the seating position on these big scooter sis almost cruiser legs forward style so shouldn’t be a big switch from weekday to weekend riding??? Thoughts?
Nothing wrong with this. Probably what I would do as for me the rides on my bikes are for fun and not commuting (though the Nightster would be fine). You have to work out what kind of biker you are. A couple of my mates use their Harleys for daily commuting no problem, but that’s their only bike and passion. Are you going to do every day regardless of the weather? Do you view your daily ride different to your weekend rides? One guy I met at a market research said he hated biking and only did it because it was a cheaper form of transport!! If you are new to commuting, it definitely is worth taking time to work out what is going to work out in the long run.
By the way, are you referring to the Midnight Star XVS950 or the new XV950?
I apologise as I was thinking of the XV9550 which I like a lot, even though it is a blatant copy it looks a blast…
One for commuting, that is light weight, does good mpg,
reliable enough to do the miles, cheap to service, robust
enough to take a few knocks, manouverable enough to
cope with London traffic, has enough torque so you think,
“eat my dust”, as you pull away from the traffic lights and
Harley riders and M3s
e.g. SV650
And another bike for posing fun at the weekends
e.g a Harley (or in my case an R6)
