Portfolio Paper #2

Josh Reel
Comparison/Contrast


The two main types of motorcycles that people buy to ride are cruisers and sport. There are a few similarities between these two types of motorcycles and there are even more differences. Now a sport bike is like a Kawasaki Ninja also known as a “crotch rocket,” style of motorcycle. A cruiser is better known as the Harley-Davidson style of motorcycle. The perception is to most people that a motorcycle is a motorcycle when in reality these two styles are different in many ways.
A sport motorcycle is built more for speed rather than comfort especially when it comes to riding long distance. On a sport style you are pretty much stuck in a forward-leaning position which tends to hurt the back. According to Popular Mechanics, “Light and powerful, these bikes have a race-bred chassis and triple disc brakes (two front, one rear). The forward-leaning riding position is not comfortable for long-distance riding.” (internet). This style is also very hard to find for a shorter person to ride. Now I’m sure most of you have seen people on sport bikes and maybe noticed that they can not put their entire foot on the ground, usually they are on their tip toes, which is very unstable because you can easily drop the bike or possibly cause an accident. Another problem with sport bikes is that they have too much power. A sport bike has a great deal of power off the line (or start). A lot of people cause themselves to have an accident because they will give the bike too much gas and it will start to do a wheelie. Then the person would not know what to do and panic causing themselves to have an accident and possibly hurting someone else in the process. A sport bike is also not very practical for going long distance because you can’t carry very much on them especially when you have a passenger on it who will also not be comfortable on a long ride.
A cruiser motorcycle is built more for comfort rather than speed although more and more you can find a cruiser that can go quite fast. According to The Complete Motorcycle Book by Jim Bennett, “a cruiser is designed for a comfortable full-day ride. Features of a basic cruiser include massive displacement, enough power to scorch young punks, relatively easy to ride, relatively easy to maintain, comfort enough for a long days ride, a mellow, satisfying exhaust note, and room for two”(18).A cruiser is built more comfortable so that it is much easier to ride long distance. On a cruiser you are sitting in a more leaned back or relaxed position almost like sitting in a chair. This style of bike is made in such a way that almost anyone of any height can ride it comfortably. Now I’m sure some of you have noticed that someone riding on a cruiser has both feet flat on the ground which helps to keep the bike more stable and easier to control. Now this style of bike doesn’t have as much power off the start which makes it safer in the way that you can’t do a wheelie very easily which makes it easier to control. A cruiser is also much more practical for going long distance because you can carry more things on it at the same time you have a passenger on it who will also be comfortable. According to The Complete Motorcycle Book by Jim Bennett, “a cruiser is designed for a comfortable full-day ride. Features of a basic cruiser include massive displacement, enough power to scorch young punks, relatively easy to ride, relatively easy to maintain, comfort enough for a long days ride, a mellow, satisfying exhaust note, and room for two”(18).
In summary I hope that this essay has helped you to see the many differences between a sport and a cruiser style motorcycle. The sport style is built much more for speed rather than for comfort. The cruiser style is better built for comfort and long distance riding. Now in knowing everything I have just described you will know that in riding a cruiser you may have a better all around motorcycle unless of course you want to race then you should go with the sport.