If I had a choice between Kawasaki's 800 Drifter
and its 1500 Drifter for my next ride across
the country, I'd immediately ask for the 1500.
Not because of its size or prestige (which
somehow becomes insignificant 400 miles
into a 500-mile day),but because of its saddle.
The 1500 Drifter possesses one of the best
stock seats of any motorcycle. If the seats were
swapped, however, I'd opt for the 800. Of course
part of the reason the 1500 has a more accom-
midating saddle is that it has more room bet-
ween its axles. If I had to spend my own money,
maybe an aftermarket seat would bring the 800
up to the comfort level of the 1500. The money
saved could pay for that ride across the country.
But for around town, I'd pick the 800, which
comes off the mark more smartly than the big-
ger bike and, in this particular case, actually
has nicer styling. It is also much handier in tight
traffic and easier to push around when you are
trying to squeeze into a tight parking place. If,
however, the assignment involved winding roads,
I might forsake both bikes for the company's
500cc Vulcan ( if I couldn't have a Magna.)
If people who worry a less-than-maximum
bike will be too small are surprised by my
answer, so are the people who fear a big twin
will be too much bike. "Sure you can handle a
1500," I have told many doubtful riders short of
stature or inseam. Plenty of big bikes have sur-
prisingly low saddles. If you can solidly plant the
balls of your feet on the ground on both sides,
it's not too big. Just make shure your boots have
high-traction soles. The extra bulk of a big bike
will be apparent only at speeds below three mph.
The rest of the time it's about balance. You may
want to change the handlebar position or bend a
bit to make the reach to the grips less formidable
but that's easy enough to adjust on most bikes.
You'll notice a big bike's additional heft most
when trying to lift it off the sidestand when parked
on a grade that drops off to the left.
Of course, these conversations about "it's not
too much bike" usually conclude with me con-
fusing the person even more when I tell him that
he won't give up much in terms of function if he
goes with the smaller bike. The issue is usually
how much a person wants the prestige of a big
bike.
But that is true in most cases. The functional
advantage of a cruiser with an engine that dis-
places in excess of 80 cubic inches relative to
something with half to three-quarters of that dis-
placement is usually much smaller than the price
difference. The perceived disparity in stature
tends to be much larger. If big is beautiful to you,
then a 1500 or 1600 may be more manageable
than you have been led to believe. On the other
hand, if you think a 650, 800, or 1100 looks, feels
and prices out perfectly, but worry you will some-
day soon wake up and find out that it's inade -
quate, don't fret. Big-bike lust is a transmittable
mental disorder - not an actual physical condition
- and you may never be infected.
- Art Friedman
SIZE MATTERS
Will you grow out of it or is it
too much bike?
I HAD SPENT MOST OF THE DAY RIDING OUR
Vulcan 800 Drifter test bike whe I received an
e-mail from a reader asking if the 800 he was
contemplating buying was "big enough." The
reader is five-foot-eight and weighs 155 pounds
and was worried a bigger bike would be too
much to handle. He had been warned that he
would "grow right out " of an 800 if thats what he
ended up buying.
If I could somehow collect a small stipend every
time I answered this question, I could afford to
buy these test bikes instead of borrow them. I
could also spend more time riding them rather
than writing about them. I suspect that some of
these questions are motivated by a desire to point
to my reply and say, " See Honey , I really do need
that 1500. The new roof will have to wait."
If thats your angle, you are asking the wrong
guy. Thirty years ago, I rode a 175cc, two-stroke
single 10,000 miles through Mexico and never felt
badly underpowered. When I returned home, I
bought a 350 twin ( also a two-stroke ), rode it
across the country, spending much of the ride
marveling at it's power. More recently , I went from
California to New England and back on a 750 twin.
I have also cruised to the sunrise side of the
country on several larger bikes. I can't say that I
enjoyed the ride on them more than I did on the
350 , nor did I enjoy it less. Bikes of different sizes
aren't necessarily better or worse, but they are
usually different. In the case of cruisers, bigger
isn't necessarly faster.
Consider the big twins tested this issue. Honda's
750 Magna would squirt away from all of them. The
quicker of the 1100 twins we tested in our last
issue would also hang with the faster big twins
and run away from the slower ones. Even Kawa-
saki's Vulcan 500 vertical twin will keep up; it just
takes an extra ratio in the gear box and a lot of
revolutions. I wouldn't worry about relative reliability
either.
So why buy a big twin? Well, the big bikes
generally have classier details and a better finish
quality. You get features such as fuel injection and
greater sophistication in components like suspen-
sion with many larger cruisers. For me, the most
important functional consideration is the additional
roominess that comes from a longer wheelbase.
When we hear from riders who say their six-foot-
plus frames feel compressed on most bikes, we
ask them if they have tried Suzuki's levithan 1500.
If that's too small, we're talking custom.
Of course, much of a big twin's appeal is emotional.
People seem to think that manhood and bike size
are interconnected - a illusion which big-bike own-
ers are quick to foster. There's also something
seductive about all that grunt when you ease out
the clutch at 33 1/3 rpm. Owning a big bike gets
you a more potent beat hammering from the ex-
haust. And we puff with pride when somebody's
eyes widen and he exclaims, "That's as big as the
engine in my car!" Just steer the subject away from
horsepower, because we are paying the big-bike
premium for prestige - not performance. A lot of
people go for a big bike simply to keep up with the
Joneses.