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Are you a cruiser or a sport bike?
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Seeing double: the Sirens SV650s. We had a backup just in case!
It’s a question that is, perhaps, even more pressing than the popular “Mac or PC” question: are you a cruiser or a sport bike? Or, even, some third option?
The Motorcycle Examiners are all posing the “cruisers vs. sport bikes” question right now, and of course we’re all quick to voice our opinions as to which type of motorcycle is our favorite. Check out Patty Davis's editorial on why she's a Harley woman. It’s probably pretty obvious that I prefer sport bikes, but it wasn’t always that way.
My dad had a bike when I was a kid, and his dream was to someday own a Harley-Davidson. I followed suit, and dreamed of owning a cruiser when I grew up. I had a humble little street bike in high school—a Yamaha Maxim 400—and dated a Harley rider in college. It was a start, at least.
And then I got a job at Road Atlanta, and I fell in love with roadracing. In the course of one AMA Superbike weekend, my dreams of a Harley were replaced with a fascination of sport bikes.
Two years later, I wasn’t just standing on the sidelines admiring the bikes: I was racing. I got my hands on a beat-up Honda CBR600F3 and began competing in the WERA Sportsman Series. I raced, I crashed, I loved it. When I moved up to the WERA National Endurance Series, I transitioned to a Suzuki SV650
Ah, the joys of racing a twin! I should have started on something small like the SV, really, instead of jumping right into the “meat grinder” 600 class. I think my learning curve would have been steeper. At any rate, I raced for three years with the team Sirens. I finally retired from racing when I was running low on money and dealing with a torn rotator cuff that I constantly aggravated.
My sport bike adventure was nowhere near over, though. I moved into the custom sport bike scene, and have had the pleasure of working with the top sport bike builders in the United States and Europe. I’ve cruised Myrtle Beach on a Suzuki GSX-R600 with an extended swingarm and a 240 rear tire, and I’ve also thrown a brand-new Yamaha YZF-R6 down in Laguna Seca’s Corkscrew (not something you want to do at a press launch).
Oh, and my dad finally did get that Harley he’d always wanted. The reality wasn’t as fun as the dream, though, and for the past five years he’s been happily cruising around Florida on a Suzuki.
What kind of bike do you prefer? Leave a comment and let me know!
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