Cruiser Guy

[canyonwlf7]

Hi all, I am interested in the Daytona 675, I come mostly from a Cruiser background, but am looking to do a little more spirited riding. Here is a brief history, grew up riding trail bikes, kawasaki 100, (14-17 years old). Then bought a 1978 Yamaha DT-175 and commuted on it when I was 22, then got out of bikes until 2002 when I bought a Suzuki DRZ-400S, loved riding it so much on the street, way more fun than the dirt I thought, even thought about turning it into a Motard. In 2004 I sold it and bought a Triumph Speedmaster (865cc cruiser). Since 2002 I have put on approx. 5-10k miles a year on a bike.

Since 2004 I have bought and sold and ridden the following bikes:

2005 Yamaha Warrior
2007 Yamaha Warrior
2007 Triumph Speedmaster
2008 Suzuki M109R
2008 Kawasaki Versys
2008 Yamaha Raider (113")
2008 Harley FatBob


Only own two bikes now, the Fatbob and the 07 Triumph.

I am turning 49, but am in good physical shape, I have never owned a sportbike, but I think if i put Heli bars on it I'll be alright. I consider myself a fair rider, not a newbie and not an expert. Is riding a sportbike a whole new way of riding than a cruiser or a standard?

I'm not interested in the track, althought have never done it. Not interested in doing stunts either, just want a pure sportbike to learn that there's more to biking than cruisers and standards.
Any thoughts or advice?

[Will]

It sounds like you are about to get hooked! I'm 49 as well, and have gotten the sportbike bug very badly over the past eight or so years. I sometimes ride cruisers, and there's an adjustment. It's not too tough an adjustment. The time you have spent on dirt bikes will ease the transition.

If you like it, it's certainly a great bike. Compared to a cruiser, it's like catching lightening in a very small bottle. Sportbikes are a whole lot more hard edged than dirt bikes, but you'll adjust quickly or hate it. Either way, you'll be plenty capable of controlling it as long as you don't whack open the throttle suddenly or grab a huge fistfull of brakes without proper finesse.

Also, don't sell the track short. You would be surprised at how compelling a trackday becomes when you have a bike which can outrun just about anything except photons. I never thought I would go to the track until I did. Now I'm completely hoooked.

[TripleThreat]

I'm, 43 and like Will, I'm completely hooked on riding the track. In fact, I'm so hooked on riding the track that I bought another 675 to turn into a dedicated track bike and am seriously considering selling my 1st 675 to buy a KTM 690R Enduro or a Aprilia RXV 550 or a Husqvarna TE 610.

Riding the sport bike will be quite a bit different in terms of how you sit on the bike to avoid wrist pain. You will have to grip the tank with your legs and use your core muscles to support your weight so you aren't leaning on the bars with your upper body weight. Once you train yourself to do that, you will be fine on the sport bike.

I'm considering selling the street bike because riding on the street has lost its fun for me after riding at the track and a sport bike is not comfortable to ride around in traffic on. I'm also wanting to take a trip up to Alaska for about 4 weeks and a sport bike is definitely not the tool for that job...

Good luck with your decision, but don't rule out the race track...

Jeff

[Ogre]

You might want to consider the Street Triple 675 instead of the Daytona.

It has more relaxed ergo's and is set up for street riding.

[Brooksie]

Nice bike! Coming from a straight up riding position, the first thing you'll realize is how easy it is to ride in a sporting position. The Heli Bars work nice and really help around town. They also work pretty good when riding hard as well as they come back and out a bit to let you get off the seat and push the bars easier. Using the rear brake more than engine braking around town helps save wrist as well. Unless you plan on track riding, getting off the seat and dragging knees around on public roads is not the best way to ride, so don't worry too much about all the knee down stuff. Keep up with the core excercises and leg work. The bike turns so easy that you only need to do about one butt cheek, inside peg weight and head over the mirror/lever to get most any street situation. It is a potential life saver to know how to get the knee down in some situations. Read up on some technique. You be suprised how much you know from hustling those cruisers around. Get the Daytona and have fun. No other bike like it. I'm 52 and riding bikes is a great incentive to staying in the best shape mentally and physically.

[jasonworthing]

The Daytona 675 is just about the most ergonomically commited sportbike out there, perhaps just a hair below the Ducati superbikes.

It's a phenominal bike, very light, very agile, best engine and powerband on a middleweight bike so extremely street friendly powerwise. Not a bike you get for distance or comfort or stop and go commute but of course all things are relative, but touring and comfort are simply not it's forte! I dont mean to suggest that it is uncomfortable. (You had the versys and that seems perfect for those other duties, great bike)

Ergos', expect to spend time breaking your body into the bike. Heli bars are nice but be aware they are quite solid bars so tend to transmit vibes and put the hands to sleep after a bit. They do offer the physical comfort (position wise) that the stockers dont tho. I had the heli-bars for a while then went back to stock. IMO the stock position "fits" the dynamics of the bike best in the end, but I had to get my body adjusted to dealing with my ergonomic difficulties early on before going back. (hope that kinda makes sense).

balls of feet on pegs, "sack" at the back of the tank, wrists low, body low. It's a weight-forward biased bike, so I feel like I'm almost hovering over the front wheel when things are right.

Get tank pads to assist you in using your thighs to grip the tank. (tecspecs or stomp grips are common)

As you likely know, it's narrow and has a tallish seat height, it's evident to me when compared to almost any other streetbike I've ridden. No fear of grinding pegs on this bike, if you do it's 'cos you are likely lowsliding.

Fortunately as with all things Triumphs, get thee to a dealer and take a test ride to see if it's the right hammer for the nail.

[canyonwlf7]

Thanks for all the advice! I appreciate it................
As far as the thighs gripping the tank, is this required constantly, doesn't sound like fun, do you simply grip or must you squeeze the thighs, I know I'm used to a cruiser, but don't want to have to squeeze the tank with my legs the whole time I'm riding. Am I off base here, prolly am, don't know anything about sport bikes!

[Brooksie]

Get a copy of "Sport Riding Techniques" by Nick Ienatsch. No, the 675 does not require that you grip with knees like you're riding a Triumph Death Rocket. Engage your legs more will take pressure off you upper body so you can relax and use you arms better. Using you legs is like riding with power steering. Combined with counter steering (which you already do) and the easy cornering nature of the bike, you'll be surprised how easy it will be. You won't be sitting in one place long enough to get sore unless you're on the highway. That's why you stop for gas when you ride the slab with one of these. While there is NOTHING like a triple, you may want to try a bargain priced used Jap 600 before you shell out 9k+ just to be sure you dig it.

[jasonworthing]

Originally Posted by canyonwlf7

Thanks for all the advice! I appreciate it................
As far as the thighs gripping the tank, is this required constantly, doesn't sound like fun, do you simply grip or must you squeeze the thighs, I know I'm used to a cruiser, but don't want to have to squeeze the tank with my legs the whole time I'm riding. Am I off base here, prolly am, don't know anything about sport bikes!

squeezing tank with legs is not required constantly. With mine when brand new, that tank was like polished marble when I wear my jeans (presuming you are wearing jeans). No matter how I tried, when braking my weight shifted forward and put all the force on my wrists which were recruited for the task of holding my body back from sliding forward. This is not good because you do not want to have a kung-fu grip on the bars at all really, and it really limits your ability to quickly react if you need to dive in another direction. In short it compromises the full measure of control you should have on the bike. Being able to use your thighs to grip the tank to control the forward motion of your body weight when stopping allows you to maintain a normal looser grip on the bars which makes all the difference when either going along for the ride or being in control.

In time you may develop that "poke your knee out, and twist your torso" technique expert and well seasoned sportbike riders use wen aggressively braking and setting up for turning. But much like other things (blipping the throttle, clutchless upshifts, trail braking, etc) there are some tasks related to riding that are acquired with seat time. In the meanwhile tank grips are a godsend! Believe me!! Only use em, when you need to but they are a surface that will provide you the friction to grip that the new slick and shiny tank does not have.

Unlike cruisers, you find with sportbikes and especially lightweight sportbikes that a physical commitment is required for you to optimally operate the bike. In short it NEEDS you to do things with your body to turn and stop the bike otherwise it kind of wants to keep going straight. The physics of gyroscopics are in effect here, that why to turn sharp you lean her over, stick your knee our, get low, point your chin to where you want to go and look thru the turn to where you want to be, not on where you are. Thats why sportbike riding is such fun and can wear you out. When riding fast or aggressively it is quite physical and if you get lazy the bike wont do what you want/need and down ya go!

Again, get a test ride, the dealers demo likely will not have tank pads. Go to a parking lot and experiment with emergency braking...see how you have to put a great deal of force on the bars when aggressively braking and think while doing it what has happened to the level of control you have on the bike while doing it. Compare it to some of the other bikes you have ridden and how perhaps you felt you were sitting IN as opposed to ON the bike. The Daytona feels like you are perched ON it (a reflection on its higher center of gravity compared to a cruiser for example), rather than IN it, thus it's agility and feel when you move your body about when atop the bike. It turns so quickly it's almost telepathic.

good luck