1) im 6'3" around 210 lbs and the power on the bike is good for city driving. but on highway rides doing around 70 mph you will start to feel more vibrations and thats where most of the power stops. it could do 90 but it will just be high revs. i wish there was a 6th gear. i ride both the vn9 and a yamaha r1.

2) handling has always been fine to me. the only other cruiser ive had was a yamaha vstar 650. not sure you can adjust the bikes height. but im sure there are aftermarket parts.

3. i think you can only go up like like 1 or 2 sizes without changing anything on the bike. meaning if its a 80/90 tire then you can go to like a 80/100. but not sure tho. i have a classic

4) all the mods will never get the bike feeling like 1600 bike or anything. its still going to be a 900 but will be smoother throughout the power band. opening up the air intake means more air meaning the engine should run a little better. if you are going to do one of those just do all three. you will get the best out of it then.

 

I don't think you'd have a problem with the 900. I'm 6'2" and 220 and have no issues with power. And while it may not respond to the throttle like the Meanstreak, I think it's just fine. And the bike feels very solid at freeway speeds. I say that as I own a 900 Classic, and not the Custom, so the Custom may feel different. The Classic has a smaller, fatter front tire. Both handle well, and I haven't heard of anyone complaining about the handling of their 900 Custom. But if you are feeling unsure of the Custom, you might want to consider the Classic.

Otherwise, the 9'er should be great for you. But before you choose, try to get a ride on each one, as well as the Meanie, for comparison. I'd say that if what you intend to do mostly is commuting to work, the Meanie might not be too bad, but I believe it has a pretty long reach to the bars and could be uncomfortable on a long ride unless you add a set of handlebar risers to relieve that "clamshell" riding position.

 

Read between the lines I just got off my cyber butt and hooked up my computer ...

Hi Guys,

I'm sure you have answered this one a million times before, but I am trying to decide between a used 900 and a Mean Streak. The more practical side of me wants to get the 900. It is less expensive, better mpg, a little lighter, better on insurance (I would assume) and there seem to be more of them on the market to choose from.

A little bit about me: My first bike was an 04 GS500f, and I got rid of it about 3 years ago. I plan to do mainly commuting in the city with the bike and Sunday county runs, but I also want to do the occasional weekend highway rides. Im 6'1" and around 280.

Here is what is holding me back

1) Power. I know the 900 isn't a Vrod, and I don't expect it to perform like one. But on my gs500, I wasn't comfortable with it on the freeway. I really felt it reach it's limit at around 70-75 with my big self on it. I want to know that if I need to, I can crack open the throttle atfreeway speeds and accelerate out of a bad situation. The problem is, after not riding for a few years, I can't see myself being comfortable enough to take the bike on the highway on a test ride to find out.

[II had a gs500f , the hp is around the same .. 50hp, the weight and torque of the 900 is far greater giving stability to the ride][/I]

2) Handling. I am leaning toward the 900 custom because it looks like it would corner better than the classic. Coming from riding standard bikes, I think it's really weird that customers accept that cruisers will scrape at really modest lean angles. But it doesn't bother them, so maybe it won't bother me either. Is there any way to increase ground clearance? I wouldn't mind raising the seat height a little bit.

I have both the classic and a custom ... see my home page, the narrow front wheel does not do much to the handling, it does track tar snakes a little more. maybe a little quicker in turning,, both stock seats are crap. The custom has a more streched out riding position but on the classic I can move my feet all over the floorboards if needed. The custom is mildly lighter than the classic and the bars give a different riding position

3) I don't like the front tire on the Custom. Can I put a fatter one on there without having to change the forks?

You can go one size up but the clearance is limited. You can move the fender up stightly. I run a 200 70 15 on the rear, its fatter, corrects the speedo and drops the rpms somewhat and makes it a far nicer ride overall.


4) Finally, how many people do the intake/power commander/pipes to their 900's? Is there a big difference in power? Good bang for the buck?

My classic runs a k@n with the stock cleaner ... my custom runs a hypercharger and a cobra power pro .. both have stock pipes. A properly tuned nine with the big three .. air,pipes, processor ... will take you from around 43 hp at the rear wheel to the high 50's low 60's.
Yes .. that much.

... I have never ridden a meanstreak but I have done two 5500 mile trips on my classic with no issues. Good luck on what ever you decide

BTW ... the custom runs tubeless tires, the classic runs tubed tires.

Thanks in advance for any input. I'm rally looking forward to joining team green.

 

I had a mean streak. It was a great bike. Handled very well, reliable, good power. I totaled it and went to a classic which feels a little clumsy by comparison.

 

I know folks complain about the power on the 900 but I don't think it's a lack of power, I think it's revvs. If you've ridden sport/sport touring bikes, you probably won't even be phased. Two up with all my crap on the bike we've got well over 350 pounds piled on and I don't have a lick of problem doing 70, or continuing to pull 70 up a steep grade staying in 5th gear, or, staying in 5th gear and opening the throttle and passing someone quickly making it to 80-85. At about 85 (I RARELY go that fast anyway) she starts to lose some, so if you're the type that likes to cruise at 90 maybe you need the mean streek, but if you're a 65-75mph cruiser guy like me, you won't have any problems.

It does rev fairly high at 65-70, but it's only high if you're used to a slow lobbing big twin barely breaking a sweat at 75. (And if that's what you prefer go for it, but you won't get it out of the 900). But, like I said, if you're used to a high revving inline-4 or something like that, the 900 will feel just fine. As for me, doesn't bother me a bit, I just sit back and enjoy the ride. Not saying I wouldn't LIKE a big throaty v-twin lobbing along at 1500 RPM's or something, but, my 900 running at 3k~4k+ on the highway really doesn't bother me.

But here's my advice for you. A) Don't worry about MPG's. You'll be getting good mileage. I worried about the same thing when I was getting my bike. Now I could care less. It's all about the SMILES per gallon, and depending on who you are, you might need a bigger bike to do that. I'm not one of those people, I'm perfectly happy on my 900, but don't lie to yourself, if you want a bigger/meaner bike, GO for it brotha! Same goes for cost. If you can afford it, get what you want, you'll be happy you did. (WHICHEVER that is. I personally would prefer a 900 over a mean streak, others it'd be the mean streak hands down)

Finally, fuel injection. Correct me if I'm wrong but the mean streak has carbs right? Well, the 900 is fuel injected, and let me tell ya, getting on for a ride with friends after you've stopped to eat or something and everyone is messing with chokes and waiting for their bikes to warm up, and all you have to do is push a button and your sitting there idling perfectly at 900 and smiling? Oh yeah.. that's awesome. LOL

 

Thanks for all the input. I think I'm going to go with the meanstreak. It has more juice than I need, but I won't grow out of it and I won't have to mod the heck out of it to get it. Plus, I like the twin brakes up front and the handling is supposed to be very good.

The other thing is that the 900's are so well respected that they seem to be holding their value really well. The mean streaks are usually less than a grand more expensive.