Topic: How likely are you to throw your weight around on a smaller bike???

[Hope]

How likely are you to throw your weight around on a bike that is smaller than you normally drive???

This question presumes that you regularly drive a bike that is comparable to your size, weight, height, and traveling distance.  I ask the question because sometimes I fancy driving a smaller bike around town, but I think that when I am on my 550 (which I believe to be a good size bike & fit for me) I have more respect for the asphalt and am more cautious....

However, when I hop on any of my friend's 250 Rebel or Nighthawks (or even Jasper, which is a 550F), I feel like I have a little more control and feel a little less cautious and less inhibited because I know I can throw my weight around on a smaller bike. 

I had a Kaw 440LTD that I felt the same about, and ended up laying it down right in my own driveway. DOH!  The only time I ever laid a motorcycle down!  I got rid of it for that reason - maybe smaller isn't the way to go if I feel like I can bully the bike & I don't properly respect the bike.

I have been secretly admiring loonymoon's 350 and have been knocking the idea around about looking for a 350 to piddle with, and eventually knock around town with....  but I don't want to get that attitude with it...  You know?  Or do you know? 

Now, back to the question at hand - and I will appreciate answers from people who own different size bikes - How likely are you to throw your weight around on a smaller bike?

Any theories as to why the F & K have a different feel...  I really handle Jasper (76 550F) like a smaller bike than I do Cassandra (75 550K)...  Maybe it's just that Cassandra is my dad's old bike and I have more respect for her than to throw my weight around like that.... anyway, I'm open to your theories....

Just curious...

[nickjtc]

In my experience with 'smaller' bikes I've found that satisfying riding is not so much a case of throwing your weight around, but more making best use of your riding skills to 'make progress'. My missis used to have a VTR250 which was a highly under rated machine here in Canada. When I compare it to my old CB250G%....well, there is no comparison.

Anyhoo, riding it was a great exercise in forward planning. It was quite fast (would cruise at 120kph with plenty in reserve), but with relatively low horsepower it took a while to build momentum. So I found myself making sure that I read the road as far ahead as possible when a bend or bends were coming up so that I could choose the most efficient line and proceed through them with minimal reduction in speed. Personally I think that riding a smaller capacity machine is a good practice tool. After all, anyone can ride fast when they've got 60+ horsepower underneath them; it takes a little more concentration to manage 30 horsepower.

Case in point. My commute to rider training used to take two hours from home on my VFR. I could make the same trip within 5-10 minutes on the VTR.

[Raul CB750K1]

For commuting and round-town riding I enjoy my middle-size bikes more than my CB750. But on the open road, nothing beats the roar of those four pipes and the strong pull under -almost- any circumstance.

[kghost]

I agree with nick and raul.

I will "weigh" in on this one. All 230 lbs 

As you may know I have a 350, a 400, and several 750's

I have owned sportbikes.

I have found which is perhaps opposite than you describe that absolute power corrupts absolutely.

If I had a 100 hp motorcycle I would exploit and attempt to use all 100 of those ponies.

If I had a 200 hp motorcycle I would use or attempt to use all of them.

Eventually I would kill myself. Its an eventuality.I have not a lick of common sense.

So I ride the 350 around town. I find its size and power perfectly adequate around town.

I can't really horse it too much as it doesn't have that kind of cabability. I like nick learn to ride ahead and plan.

As for the attitude:

Men ride for the risks, women ride in spite of the risks. Then theres Harley riders who ride because they think it makes them cool 

Sexist you say? I don't believe so...I just think women have both more sense and self preservation instinct.  Men don't have the sense god gave a turnip sometimes.

Hope, I think you'd absolutely love a 350.

I think you should get one.

Remember the smaller the bike the slower your generally going...so that's a plus as far as wrecking one goes.

Also don't discount the feeling of more control over a smaller bike. Rather than horsing it around there may be times that smaller may in fact help avoid a situation or regain control over a problem.

[DarkRider]

It is because of the fact that the smaller bikes will allow a rider to develop their skills further is why i bought my 550 and my S2. They are not as powerful as my Interceptors however the Interceptors are over 500 lb sport bikes that take a bit of muscle to make them go where you want them to go. I wouldnt mind picking up a 350 or 400 F at one point for a quick lil in town bike. But then again im a larger rider so that may not be feasible for me.

[nickjtc]

I wish that more people would realise that you don't have to have a 1000+ cc v-twin cruiser to have fun on two wheels. The other benefits to 'smaller' capacity ownership:

*  cheaper insurance
*  less gas/petrol consumption
*  as many, if not more, 'smiles' per mile
*  easier to move the beast around the garage/shop
*  as much attention from the public as you would get on a bigger bike, especially if said person has a riding background from the '60s and '70s
*  easier to learn on and wrestle around the parking lot
*  and lets face it, small bikes are just so gosh darned cuddly (ooops, did I say that with my outside voice?)

Hence my interest in organising and putting on Motogiro BC.

[Demon67]

Hope, after many years I've found that I can scare my self just as badly at 30 mph as I can at 130 mph and if you do drop a smaller bike you have a better chance of kicking it off you or crawling out from underneath or picking it out of the ditch or for that matter dodging cars (providing it has a decent amount power).
Bill.

[loonymoon]

Thanks for admiring my bike hope 

I have to admit that I've no experience of bigger bikes so can't help you much with the original question. My dad rode my 350 once on a ride out with bigger (and not to mention newer) bikes when his Triumph Sprint ST (900cc) wouldn't start. His friends were surprised, as was my mum who'd gone on ahead while he closed the garage, but the 350 coped admirably with what was about a 200 mile round trip, keeping up with the bigger bikes no problem. The other riders aren't that fast I'll admit but did make progress. I think dad secretly liked riding the 350 as in comparison it was light and nippy and the 350 does handle very well!

I'm really looking forward to getting out for a blast on mine. Though it'll take me a while to get used to it again.

[mystic_1]

I've had a lot of fun zipping around on some of the smaller Honda twins, but have never had the opportunity to take a spin on any of the smaller Fours.  I do find that I drive more aggressively on the smaller bikes, but that probably has to do also with the fact that my 750 is a chopper so driving a smaller bike with stock geometry is a completely different driving experience.  I can safely and easily perform maneuvers on a smaller bike that would be quite a chore on the chopper.  I'm also not as shy about pegging the throttle on the smaller bikes, being less worries about pulling accidental wheelies, although I've ridden some 400T's that packed quite a wallop.

So my answer to your question is yes, I do tend to throw my weight around much more on the smaller bikes.  I know that my driving envelope, if you will, is bigger on those bikes, so I tend to push things a bit further.

mystic_1

[fixahonda]

I can say I definitely do throw my weight around more on a smaller bike simply because I can in relative safety.
With my old Ninja 250 or my current 350F I can ride the crap out of them, make all of the good high RPM engine noises while winding through the gears and bang through corners with much vigor all at same and (mostly) legal speeds.
When I had the 600F4i and the 600RR you could do none of those things without putting on some serious speed. Even keeping to a sane pace on winding roads was hard. Therefore, I tended to ride using much less of the bikes capacity simply because it wasn't doable on the street. 

[754]

A few thoughts,

Riders in N.America, THINK they need a big bike.

In Europe & Asia there are tons of mid-size bikes.

After riding a moped for about a year, I finally figured out the 15 hp would get you around town just fine!

You get to RIDE a small bike in town, That is, actually run through some gears and rev it up a bit. On a sportbike if you run it through 2 gears you are breaking the law (except in Germany).. so you get to ride around town , not really using your bikes potential. They are not made to go slow, nor are they at lot of fun going slow.

Its very easy though to get overconfident on a small bike (after owning bigger ones), no shortage of tales of experienced riders dumping little ones due to fooling around.( I can show the scars )

Small bikes are cheaper to own & insure, and really make more sense for around town..

[lazyguy400F]

+1 with what they all said....with a smaller bike, you're a bigger part of the equation, and have to be more engaged to make it all work. And you can feel like ricky racer without even breaking 50 mph on the right road. Tons of fun!

[kslrr]

Neat discussion.  I too love racing around on my 350F but have not done so for about 16 years since I have been working (or not working) on it for that time.  I am so itching to get it to a point that I can ride it!!  Right now my ride is an '04 883 Custom Sportster.  It is fun too!  I like the low end torque which means I don't have to down shift so often.  And even though it is at least 150lbs heavier than my wife's CB650, it is quite limber.  What I like is having the variety.

[Hope]

Cool.  I like the feedback I'm getting...  I might start looking at some smaller SOHC4s.  It's sad that I had a 350 four in my shop that I parted out 5 years ago (could never get the paperwork).  Old bikes like that are not common in this area.  Anyhow, the feedback has sparked my interest in getting a smaller bike.....

[mlinder]

I'm considering gettign rid of my 350f, hope. Let me know if you're interested.
I do like riding it, but have so many other things to fix and ride etc, that it's been sitting for 6 or 7 months.

[kirkn]

Out of the 50+ bikes I've owned over the years, only half a dozen were large displacement:  1100 GoldWing; Yamaha XS1100, Suzuki GS850G, Suzuki GS750E, Honda CB750K8, Honda CB900C.

I owned and enjoyed every one of them, but eventually sold them all for the exact same reason:  just too massive.  I've found I enjoy the lighter, more compact feel of small twins & singles and the occasional 550 four.  Owned a CB550F, a CB550K, a Yamaha Seca 550 and a Kawi GPz550.

My favorites include the KZ400 which I put 10K on in a year, the Honda Ascot 500 thumper I'm on now, and my ancient SL100.

BTW - I'm 5-10, 225 lbs.

I'm all in favor of the smaller bikes!

Kirk

[Hope]

I'm considering gettign rid of my 350f, hope. Let me know if you're interested.
I do like riding it, but have so many other things to fix and ride etc, that it's been sitting for 6 or 7 months.

where are you located?

[BobbyR]

I had a KZ440 and it was a step up from my 250cc Ducati. The Duc felt like a bicycle and the 440 felt better to me. After a while the KZ felt like a bicycle after I bought my 750K. I feel more secure on the 750 since it more stable on rough roads and has the power I need to maneuver through traffic.

[Ichiban 4]

With myself..

The issue of "throwing the bike around" doesn't seem as important as the power and/or starting torque of the bike.  with the old Harley's and Indians that I rode, they were "pigs" in all senses.. heavy, slow and difficult to maneuver.

When I started riding the Brit bikes..especially my Square Four..they had gobs more power and speed than the old Harley's, et al.   But I had to be much more careful on the throttle and gears than the former.

Then when "evolving" to the Honda's..before the SOHC 4's were out..the smaller twins were easier to "throw around" because of better power to weight ratios.  But always seemed a little wimpy to me.  Exception was my 450 DOHC twin..which after broken-in..rode more like a Triumph or Beezer 650.

The 750 reminded me some of my old Ariel mainly because of better power to weight ratio.  But the Ariel could eat you up with it's torque..if not careful.

Finally the 500/550 4's came out about the time I was graduating from college..which seemed then..and still does..perfect fit for my particular preferences and riding abilities.

Ichi

[74cb750]

Well, I got rid of the larger 1100cc + bikes a few years back when I finally realized the roads in the northeast usa aren't really made for these large machines.

Have gone through 8 cb750's, and 4 cb550's since. Seriously thinking of selling the last 2 cb750s as I almost never go on long rides anymore....

The smaller bikes are easier to handle, but definitely are not as stabile on the highways at 70mph. I find the cb550 being moved by wind much more than the 750 and larger bikes. I wouldn't ride my S2 Kawasaki from here to Boston though, that's for sure, unless I could find backroads all the way.

peace,
michel

[Ichiban 4]

Well, I got rid of the larger 1100cc + bikes a few years back when I finally realized the roads in the northeast USA aren't really made for these large machines.

Have gone through 8 CB750's, and 4 CB550's since. Seriously thinking of selling the last 2 CB750s as I almost never go on long rides anymore....

The smaller bikes are easier to handle, but definitely are not as stable on the highways at 70mph. I find the CB550 being moved by wind much more than the 750 and larger bikes. I wouldn't ride my S2 Kawasaki from here to Boston though, that's for sure, unless I could find backroads all the way.

peace,
Michel

I agree with you Michel about the 550's being much more susceptible to wind @ speed.  [have been trying to tell this to all the SOHC 4 guys I rode with in 75 mph wind gusts last fall.  They were on either 750's, 1000 Gold Wings..or larger/heavier bikes.  But rib me about how slow I was riding].

Under calmer conditions..especially around town..the 550 is still about the best sized bike I feel for those conditions..that's why I still like mine.   The smoothness and power band of any 4 cylinder bike though..is something I wouldn't trade for any 2 cylinder bike.

 It's been like that (and reason I always came back to 4's) since the late 50's when I had my Square Four.  But as I mentioned..the large cc bikes can eat you up if not careful on the throttle and gears I feel.  I literally spun the back wheel off the pavement with my Square Four one time!  Could do wheelies with 2-up from a dead stop in second gear!  Not recommending..just commenting.

Later,  Ichi / Al

[nickjtc]

My wife's into it..but she's 14 years younger than me..and only rides 2-up with me.

Remember, you are only as old as the woman you feel.......

[tramp]

i too have thought about buying a smaller bike, around 350
i had a 350 four when they first came out and loved it