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Ninja 300 vs Cruisers

27K views 45 replies 23 participants last post by  reggae5 
#1 ·
Well my buddy is looking for a bike and he is more into cruisers than sportbikes. I don't have the 300 yet but have previously owned a ninja 250, and cbr f4i. That being said I really have no experience with what cruisers are like. I'm curious as to how the 300 will "hang" with, say a shadow 750, or v star 650?

Will his cruiser leave me hanging at a light? Or will I have the edge because of the difference in weight of the bikes?

Obviously the 300 would destroy it in the twisties, but I'd like to know about the straight speed. Also note I know if I was looking for a rocket bike I could just get a SS, but I want the 300, and would just like some input as to what I can expect from this hypothetical situation. We're buds and could really care less about a drag race..
 
#2 ·
My little bro has the v-star 650 and I leave him behind in all aspects. He has been thinking of selling his to get the 300 after riding mine. lol he got the v-star to make others happy and leave him alone about being on a sport bike.
 
#3 ·
cruisers are old people and slow people and slow old people machines :p

my $.02 lol
 
#5 ·
It'll probably come down to the rider and how aggressive you are. most middleweight cruisers are turds, and the 300 is quickish but no rocket. Either can beat traffic off the line. I'd give the advantage to the 300 with a willingness to rev that sucker.
 
#6 ·
My bro and I are the same hight weight and I beat him in top end, off the line and mpg. He fills up when i still have 1/3 tank too. We are about the same on ride style and even tried trading bikes to make sure and the 300 was better.
 
#7 ·
I own a 300 and a 2011 Harley Iron 883. The Sporty destroys the 300 off the line just because of the amount of tourqe. But it also has a lot more done to it than the ninja. I just look at it like this, if youre more into muscle cars, get a cruiser. Sports cars, get a sport bike. The differences are pretty much the same. I'm torn between both worlds and thats why I have both haha
 
#8 ·
I owned nothing but street bikes and after a year of being bikeless, my plan was to o buy a Harley Nightster:

I researched it and picked out all the mods I wanted.. Then I showed the wife my plan.. She laughed non-stop and called me an old man. Gave me nothing but crap every time I brought it up.. So I bought the 300 haha..

Now she has been watching Sons of Anarchy and says it would of been cool if I bought a Harley rather than the 300 haha...
 
#10 ·
I owned nothing but street bikes and after a year of being bikeless, my plan was to o buy a Harley Nightster:

I researched it and picked out all the mods I wanted.. Then I showed the wife my plan.. She laughed non-stop and called me an old man. Gave me nothing but crap every time I brought it up.. So I bought the 300 haha..

Now she has been watching Sons of Anarchy and says it would of been cool if I bought a Harley rather than the 300 haha...

I need that smilie again.
 
#11 ·
If you're beating 600-700cc cruisers off the line, those riders simply don't know what they're doing. A V-Star 650 has nearly 20 ft-lb more torque than a 300. (i.e. about double).

Cruisers, in general, are MUCH "torquier" than sportbikes. They sacrifice top-end power for low-end grunt. Of course, once you get into "real" cruisers (900cc and above), they'll probably obliterate us in top speed, too.
 
#41 · (Edited)
oh man you talk like one of those muscle car guys...torque isn't everything.

my buddy has a V Star 650 and we switched our bikes and my Ninja 300 will walk away from V Star any day.

Look at V Star 650's specs..

649cc V-twin
40 hp @ 6,500 rpm
37.0 lbf·ft @ 3,000 rpm
air cooled
carbureted
5 speed transmission
shaft drive
dry weight: 230 kg (510 lb) XVS650 / 260 kg (570 lb) XVS650A
wet weight: 257 kg (567 lb) XVS650 / 287 kg (633 lb) XVS650A
 
#13 ·
I didnt want it for speed.. I litterly like to cruise around and generally ride, I am not a racer haha..

I am fairly certain my next bike WILL be a cruiser or possibly a dual sport, just to do something different..

The go fast doesnt excite me, its the ride in general :D
 
#19 ·
See I'm biased I used a cruiser in my msf course and hated it... Riding a sportbike is thus far proving to be everything I ever imagined it to be...

Sent from my LG-P999 using Motorcycle.com Free App
 
#20 ·
Honestly I have never ridden a cruiser, at my MSF I was on a POS dual sport, the thing was crashed so many times it was hard to ride haha..

So who know I may hop on a cuiser and not even like it.. I sat on a Honda Rebel when I could of got one CHEAP but it was just way to small..
 
#24 ·
My plan from the start was a cruiser. My MSF course was also on a cruiser. I had it planned out. Something happened....I believe it was a mid life crisis. Every where I looked it seemed to me that older people rode cruisers. Of course rationally I knew that young people ride cruisers too but the stereotype had me. Everytime I walked into a motorcycle shop I found myself staring at the sport bikes more often. They seemed more sexy to me. As time went on I found myself consumed with sport bikes and when I did go into a store I would spend all my time in the sport bike section. Even the cruiser gear did not look appealing to me. Cruiser helmets looked like they came out of WW2 era. Leather chaps and basic leather gear did not look as sexy as the street jackets. I spent all my time looking at full face helmets and how sexy they looked as well. Everything ooozed sex appeal from sport bikes and sport gear.

However I really love the look of naked bikes and my next bike will most likely be of that variant (street triple, ducati monster 796, etc).

The Ninja 300 just fit everything I wanted at the time. I'm so happy with it.
 
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