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why do sportbike guys want sumo's?

49K views 148 replies 98 participants last post by  chef babu 
#1 ·
After I took a spill on the motocross track that pretty much ended motocross for me, I decided to get a supermoto as it looked fun and seemed similar to MX. I've never owned a sportbike, and never had a desire to own for that matter, but I notice a lot of sportbike guys ask me about my sumo. I was at the gas station and some guy on a sportbike was telling me how he wanted to get one. Then when I left the gas station the gate guard at my girlfriends neighborhood was asking me about my sumo as well. He told me one of his friends got one and hasn't ridden his sportbike in months. Essentially 2 guys that ride sportbikes within 5 minutes showed a lot of interest in supermoto.

I really don't know what to say other than it's fun, as I've never owned a sportbike, and have only ridden one a few times. So what's the deal? Do sportbikes just get boring after awhile?

(I've never owned a sportbike or wanted one mainly because most of the guys I see riding them are complete douche bags that really have no clue how to ride it, I know this is not the case with all, but it seems like a lot of them are this way)
 
#33 ·
Supermoto = BMX bike with motor. :D

I started in the dirt as a kid, first road bike was a YZF600 because I was positive I would be bored with anything less then 600cc on the road. Then I got the Husky. On the first group ride with my sport bike buddies, I was screwing around riding over curbs, popping little wheelies playing with little stoppies, and jumping anything I could line up. On the first twisty section I got so far ahead I thought someone bit it, so I turned around a raced back down the road. I passed them around the 1/2 way point, and they were moving at a good clip. Had to turn around and catch back up. I was having a great time. That sealed the deal for them. Wasn't long before they sold of their sport bikes and went sumo.
 
#34 ·
I rode dirt bikes for most of my childhood. Bought an 03' R6 for my first bike at 16, couldn't stand it. I hated sitting on the tank hunched over. Avoiding every little pothole in the road cause it seemed like all the weight is over the front tire and you would bounce like hell.

Bought a xr650r as a dual sport and really fell in love with supermoto( promptly sold the r6), nothing like sticking your leg out front as far as possible and diving into a corner sideways... under total control. I still felt like the XR was a bit heavy and sluggish even after spending a ton of cash on engine upgrades(high comp piston, stage 2 cam... all the goodies) Sold it and picked up a cr500af. I'm 100% content with the 500, it does everything I ask it to and more, I couldn't imagine buying another crotch rocket.
 
#40 ·
Got it :thumbup:
 
#39 ·
I'm the same way, but still a dreamer... Grew up on dirt bikes, always loved the raw power and light weight of them. When I was old enough to ride on the street, there was no such thing as supermoto, at least not factory ones. The cool kids got sport bikes. I wasn't cool, so I got an SV650...:D And I still have it and still love it, but I am longing for a sumo. My SV has 37k on the clock, and is 9 years old now, and I still love riding it. But I find myself longing for the nimble light weight toss around feeling I get when I ride dirtbikes, and the ability to hit potholes and speed bumps and curbs and all that.
 
#41 ·
I truly love my motard, but I have to say, I've been having some serious sport bike / sport tourer longing for a while now. Is that normal, or am I the only one?
 
#42 ·
I had the same longing, so I got a windshield, padded bike shorts, better seat, and heated grips for my dizzer and take touring trips on it :D People think I am nuts for riding a dirt bike 1200 miles in a weekend but whatever its a supermoto :lol:

I came from a trail riding/MX background, sold the dirtbike when I went to college cause I wasnt riding and at the time couldnt afford a street bike. This past year I had some cash and started searching for bikes. The sport bike scene was just too expensive and not as fun on urban riding which is the majority of what I do. So I got a SM and havnt looked back :thumbup:
 
#47 ·
I've done some LONG days on the tard, close to 400 miles being the longest. The Renazco seat, tail bag / rack combo, and other little things make it more than capable of that. But, not in the same way a bike that's not buzzing it's ass off at 70mph is capable. Yeti, an SV or RC51 is something I've always liked the idea of. A Honda VFR 800 would be right up there also. A Duc would be nice, but I'm not sure about the maintenance costs involved with owning one.
 
#56 ·
I still like the simple answer.... "Because they are EFFIN AWESOME!!!" :lol:

I switched because I liked tight technical roads not the big sweepers & my 1K wasn't a very good bike for what I wanted to ride. It's funny now because the roads taht were fun on the 1K now suck on the sumo.
I took baby steps though I first got on a mini moto & was like "wow this little bike really has improved my riding ability. I bet if I got a full size sumo I could continually get better rather than just on the mini track days..."

& thus began the addiction... in one day delivered the 1K to a guy in Atlanta then drove right past the house to give the cash to a guy for the DRZ! :bannana:

& self preservation also played a part in there too. ;) 160hp-->about 40hp & still hauling the mail in the twisties! :bike:
 
#59 ·
Super light weight.
Easily tossable.
Controllable and reasonable power that won't put your life at risk when you want to charge up through the gears.
On my ride home from work I hit a stretch that is almost always empty and never patrolled. I would charge hard through the 2 and 3 gear shifts and would be pushing 120+mph in NO time. And that was becoming routine.
Now I can pin it through the gears and be doing a livable speed when I reach top gear.
And I have a blast at 20-40mph......
You can live through an accident at those speeds.:hmmm:
 
#61 ·
I've owned just about every sportsbike ever made i think, from Ducatis, to R1s, Blades to Kwaks etc...
Eventually sportsbike riders get older... more sensible... want a bit more than dragging knees and 180mph.

For me it coincided with a change of home, i now live in back roads and dirty gravel strewn lanes. That enforced me to swap to a Superduke, then a 950SMR, then an XT660 then a Tuono then an XT660 then back to a Superduke THEN.. onto the Husky 510. (all in 3 years).

Part of the reason is, i don't need >100mph, partly i don't WANT >100mph and partly i just love the look of SM's.
 
#62 ·
Maybe this has been said but I didn't want to read all the posts. Guys who enjoy having fun and doing fun thing on a bike like supermoto's. It doesn't matter if they have a harley a sport bike, a scooter or any thing else. The **** that buy bike to try and hang out in a group and want to sit around in parking lots they don't want supermoto's and the only thing they like is what is trendy.
 
#70 ·
The **** that buy bike to try and hang out in a group and want to sit around in parking lots they don't want supermoto's and the only thing they like is what is trendy.
That's why I stopped doing larger than a handful of people (mostly my close friends I hang out with regularly any way) group rides, got sick of stopping every 30 minutes or not even freaking leaving for an hour b/c everyone wants to stand around looking cool next to their bike instead of ride it.

Juicehall-I see you are in Utah, if you haven't already, you should hit up Trackstar for parts/labor needs, Kelly and Greg are badasses and Kelly is fast as hell on his SuMo'd Pitster Pro. Great dudes over there.
 
#63 ·
I've been riding a ducati monster since 04,and i still love riding it,two years ago i bought a sumo,now the monster sits in the garage covered and hardly been ridden,i'm not giving up the duc but i have to say the most fun i got on two wheels was with my sumo.It is so much easier to ride,it makes you so confident it's scary.
 
#64 · (Edited)
I rode a GS500 for about 2 years, it was a great bike. It just wasn't the speed demon I thought I wanted. So I sold it, and bought a Triumph Speed Triple (see my username?). I LOVED that bike. It was fast as hell. I would ride 120mph+ on the regular. I couldn't get enough.

After a few months of riding it, I had the unfortunate opportunity to low-side it, thanks to a deer. Luckily, I was only going about 35-40mph when that happened, and I didn't actually make contact with the deer.

Took me about 2 weeks to get her up and running again, but when I did, it just wasn't the same. Speed just didn't have the same effect on me as it did before. I wanted something different. So I sold it, kept some extra cash, and bought my DRZsm. I've said it 1000x, but it's the most fun I've had on 2 wheels. It does everything. I commute on it, take it in the woods on occasion, ride it up/down steps, dirt/gravel roads, and anything else you can think of.

I've already ordered a bunch of parts for the DRZ for this spring, and I can't wait to get back out on it.
 
#65 ·
like a lot of you i rode sport bikes, since 1986 i wont bore you with a list, the culture has changed,it used to be a bunch of us meeting on sunday to ride fast for a few hours, now its bike night so a bunch of tossers with used track tires can talk about chicken strips, stunting and running from cops, craping on about hp and dyno results. the sumo crowd are a fun bunch of guys who would rather ride the back roads than hang out at star bucks and talk shit about each other. everyone who buys a motor cycle does it for the same reason,its more fun on two wheels than four, sport bikes are great on a race track designed for them, not really on the street compared to a motard, most motard riders i know have years of riding under their belt,so all wear gear and ride without somthing to prove, only about 10% of sport bike riders wear any gear other than a helmet,oh and my new 690 smc is great.
 
#66 ·
basically to sum it up supermotos r awesome fun but for loads of miles on the motorway its kinda hell when i 1st got my sxv i rode it from bristol to london and i spent most of the time behind lorries to keep the wind out of my face plus it rains alot here in england so that tactic kept me dry in a perfect world id have a car for long journeys and supermoto for around town ;) but as for track days sportsbike is the way to go just before winter for my last tackday went to brands hatch near london and there were 2 sumos there and my rsv chewed em up and spat them back out =P but then again its all down to the rider but i wouldnt consider myself a good rider by any standards
 
#68 ·
I agree with most everything said but here's my take on it.
Riding is like a drug. The more your system gets used to the drug the more you need better drugs to get your fix. When you first start riding sportbikes are great. A simple trip to walmart can give you a high. But as your riding progresses and you hit up some track days before you know it you are riding like Rossi and thats the only way to get your fix....on a sportbike. You cant ride on the street like you do on the track safely/legally so you begin looking for new ways to get your fix. Then you find SuMo and your sportbike starts collecting dust as you realize its only good for track days. You can get your kicks everyday just riding to work on your SuMo and everyday are finding new routes/obstacles/tricks to broaden your horizon.

Atleast thats how it was for me. Riding my CBR1k now feels like riding a missile in a closet.

+1 on the SM croud. They are the coolest people and have the best forum cause everyone talks without fighting/bitching/moaning.
 
#72 ·
I agree with what most say on here too. Sumo is good for the street, sportbike for the track. After regularly hitting triple digit speeds everytime I rode I figured its only a matter of time before Im thrown in jail or dead. So I got a 250X and probably have more fun on the street on it than the 675.
 
#73 ·
For me personally... I had never rode anything but sportbikes in over 15 years. I've held a class B license, done plenty of track days and of course I've terrorized the streets of many states and countries. It does take more skill the ride a sportbike on the limit. I still have my '00 TLR because I just can't part with it. I bought the SM because it better suits my riding needs now. I needed something to commute on but also wanted something that handled and wasn't gay like a scooter. Something I could still fill the "ride the beans of it" need with. SMs do that for me and the price is right and the speeds are more suited for the street. I can still get my thrills and keep it under a hundred... Can't be done on the TLR. When I ride it like a ride my SM I easily warp into loose license go to jail territory.
 
#76 · (Edited)
Not all of us are gay who ride scooters, i had a variety of bikes, my first was a 180 smoker scooter, then i got a ccm supermoto as my first bike, then a v strom, ktm 950sm and now i have a really fast tricked up maxi scooter with 3k spent on it and i can honestly say it out handled my ktm 950 and its embarrassed many a bike on the twistys, its fun doin it on a tard but even more fun on a scooter, the sportbikers hate it!:lol:

P.s i had this too, 143cc ksr which is also trick!

my first motard -

my last one -




 
#74 ·
I like the fact that they a much easier to work on, but I still love my sportbikes. Sumo is just an different way ride. Why is this such an issue with everyone? I've been on this forum for about two months now and this is the second time this subject has come up?

One thing I can say that turns me away from sportbikes though is the Stretched out Bling BS sportbike seen here. Everyone that I meet is in it for "bling" or puts a huge tire and wheel on the back of the bike rendering it's quick and nimbleness useless. I can't stand it. If that's you, please don't be offended, I just don't get. Why do that to a sport bike? Isn't that what cruisers and choppers are for?

If it's not that, it's the whole load ass Harley guys with straight pipes thing. Just want to thank all you for all the recent attention to motorcycle exhaust now. California's new exhaust law ring a bell? Nice job guys. I hope you feel "safe" so everyone can see you.


Sorry for the rant guys. I think is because I'm stuck inside because of winter and I'm slowly losing my mind. I just spent an entire day yesterday working on my crf450r sumo project in my freezing garage. So yeah, another sportbike to sumo convert :D
 
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