Bank Branch Manager ("BBM") looking for a ride

A friend of mine, BBM by day and now with a burning desire to turn vigilante biker by night, is on the lookout for a pre-loved bike to satisfy the biker soul in him. He is looking at a budget of circa-RM20k and obviously, my advice to him was to look for a bike that would be suitable enough for a beginner, yet has the potential and power when he gets more trained and skilled in his pursuit to satisfy his growing biker soul.

A sports bike is nice when you're in your teens and twenties; but as age catches up with the best of us, it inevitably becomes a chore to go riding due to the racing position, which puts lots of strain on the lower back and wrists. I know, because in my younger days, I used to ride the ZX2R. These days, if you asked me to take that as my daily ride, I would have rolled up my eyes. Well, yeah, I am getting old.

Kawasaki ZX2R makes a good beginner's bike. Plus point if you're young and not aching every other place :)

An easy-rider, as the name obviously denotes, has an easier riding position. Also known as the cruiser, it does make riding more relaxing for the average rider in us, although there would be some whom would modify their easy-riders with "monkey bars"- not exactly a sight to behold although it makes a fine job of putting the deodorant in the cold storage. Famous easy riders would be like Harley Davidson bikes- who would NOT know how a classic Harley Davidson looks like, right? Of course, you have the Japanese easy-riders too, that some bike shops have swore were more reliable and easier on the pockets. My previous easy-rider rides included the Kawasaki Vulcan in various guises.

Kawasaki Vulcan 250, aka Kawasaki Eliminator 250, makes a fine easy-rider given its lower power and torque figures. Great for town-riding but if you are joining a convoy of bigger cubic capacity bikes, you may want to ride with the last marshall... at the end of the convoy.

Kawasaki Vulcan 800 is a natural upgrade for a rider whom wanted to move on from the Vulcan 250/500. This is an easy-rider that finds cruising on the highway a natural way of its life.  

Another bike that also has an easy-riding position, albeit with a different lifestyle presentation, are the touring bikes. Famous tourers of the past are like the Kawasaki ZZR, which was well-received in Malaysia right from its ZZR250 to the ZZR1100 guises.

Kawasaki ZZR tourers are dependable and still a common sight on our Malaysian roads.

More updated tourers these days can be divided into 2 camps- naked or faired. Naked touring bikes make a good proposition for town-riding, having enough torque to speed off from standstill at traffic lights and power to hit the highways come weekends. Faired touring bikes, as the name denotes, have sports fairings that makes them look more like sports bikes. But sports bikes they are not, as can be seen from their riding position. On a sports bike, the rider is crouched down, placing pressure on his wrist and back.

Riding position on a sport bike.

On a sports tourer, the rider enjoys a more natural and upright riding position (which also means that he's not going to be able to speed as easily as a sportsbiker), and the fairing makes it easier for his bike to deflect the strong wind while travelling on the highway. So the 2 camps have similar bikes with different intents- one more for town-riding with its agility and narrower body, while the other more for highway-riding with its stability and aerodynamic body.

Riding position on a sports touring bike.

A very popular tourer bike in Malaysia is the Kawasaki ER6 and Versys. Obviously, I am more into highway-riding as I chose the ER6-F, which gives me more freedom on the highway. But around traffic-prone areas, the wider and heavier body, and pannier boxes makes it slightly more-tiresome to maneuver around the cars.

Kawasaki ER6-N is amongst the post popular naked tourer for town-riding now.

Kawasaki ER6-F is the above's sports alter-ego that makes highway-riding a pleasurable experience.

Kawasaki Z1000 is a step-up from the ER6-F, and makes highway-riding even more fun and pleasurable.

In the next article, we are going to scout some local adverts for bikes circa our BBM's RM20k budget, to give him a bit of assistance in looking for his new love. Keep your eyes peeled on this space, folks!