YouTube Sportbike Fan Explains Why Cruisers Are Better

By Cameron Vanderhorst - September 6, 2019

YouTuber Yammie Noob, famous for liking his bikes fast, light, and imported, throws the cruiser crowd a bone.

Sometimes, it seems like the motorcycle community at large is split into two groups: Harley-Davidson riders, and everyone else. It’s nice to see some support for the cruiser community come in from “the other side.” We’re all brothers and sisters on two wheels, so whether you ride a Harley, and Indian, a metric cruiser, or something else, this one’s for you.

YouTuber Yammie Noob has been featured here on H-D Forums before. He’s a die-hard sport bike guy, but he loves an appreciates all kinds of motorcycles. In his words, “I have got nothing but mad respect for my cruiser brothers, and to be honest, there are some things that cruisers just do better.”

In this video, he explains why cruisers are better than sport bikes. More specifically, he points out five advantages cruisers have over other types of motorcycles.

First off, cruisers are, as he says, “just so damn comfortable.” We can’t argue with that. They’re designed from the ground up to be comfy bikes, and they’re just great for eating up miles and taking long trips. Yammie Noob points out that there is a whole industry built around cruiser accessories, such as windshields, saddlebags, backrests, and even cupholders.

Yammie Noob also points out that cruisers are just easier to ride, especially for new motorcyclists. The ultra-low seat height makes getting on and off the bike easier, and also makes flat-footing it at stoplights way easier for shorter riders. This also results in a lower center of gravity, which helps to make the bike easier to handle. Similarly, the throttle and brakes on most cruiser bikes tend to be much more forgiving than those found on sport bikes.

Yammie Noob’s third point is less quantifiable, but no less valid. Cruisers just garner a different type of respect than other bikes. He sums it up well by saying that “Riding a cruiser is like having a passport to the cruiser culture.” He goes on to add that “It’s like when you join the basketball team, and suddenly you have a different set of friends and people talk to you differently than when you were in marching band.” That about sums it up.

Advantage number four? Torque! Sport bikes are designed for weight savings and high-RPM performance. These aren’t concerns for most cruiser manufacturers or riders. Instead, cruisers have large-displacement engines with tons of torque for blasting out of corners and rumbling from stoplight to stoplight.

The last point on Yammie Noob’s list is maintenance. While aerodynamics and light weight are of major concern to sport bike engineers, that’s not the case with cruisers. That means no fairings to remove and more room to access components, making maintenance a breeze.

We’re big fans of working on our own bikes here at H-D Forums, and Yammie Noob agrees. In fact, he takes even more of a hardline stance than we do, concluding his point by saying that “Every rider should know how to change their own tires, oil, and batteries. Knowing how to perform basic maintenance on you bike just makes you a better person.”

So there you have it: the five best things about owning a cruiser, from the perspective of a sport bike fan. What is your favorite thing about your Harley-Davidson? Let us know in our forums!

Photos: Harley-Davidson