Vulcan 900 Custom SE vs. M50

[pastorgumby]

Originally Posted by NoRegrets78

I've been dreaming of riding for at least 18 years...ever since I rode my uncles honda elite scooter when I was 12. It took me till I was 30 to finally get the courage to do this for real, now that I'm so close I can taste it its making me so crazy. I just want to RIDE.

That is a CALLING... from the Almighty, Himself! I felt the same exact thing; May will be my anniversary of riding. I love it and can't wait for good weather.

[NoRegrets78]

Originally Posted by pastorgumby

That is a CALLING... from the Almighty, Himself! I felt the same exact thing; May will be my anniversary of riding. I love it and can't wait for good weather.

Yea, this weather sucks! I love to ski, so I don't mind the snow...but I just want it to get nice already!

[97ram360&06s40]

the 900 has more power and will smoke the m 50. the m is a nice bike. i have rode both and i perfer the 900. the 9 has better resale,less plastic and is indestructiable, which is good to new riders.

[jwromick]

Originally Posted by ricketycricket

My vote - get both

Or do like my wife and I did. I got the M50, she got the Vulcan.

[pegjay]

Originally Posted by 97ram360&06s40

the 900 has more power and will smoke the m 50. the m is a nice bike. i have rode both and i perfer the 900. the 9 has better resale,less plastic and is indestructiable, which is good to new riders.

The M50 is pretty tough also. I have dropped mine a couple times and except for 1 broken peg and some scratches the bike runs great. And I am a new rider, started last June.

[NoRegrets78]

I don't know what happened, but I got to sit on a M50 and V900 Custom side by side at the dealer today...they NEVER carry M50's...their other location does. It was a sign.

I sat on them both, felt them both back and forth for about 30 minutes. After all that time I kept going back to the Vulcan...it was just the better fit for me ya know? So I bought her

http://www.motorcycle-journal.com/fo...-new-baby.html

[Hacker]

You chose..........wisely, Grasshopper

[NoRegrets78]

Originally Posted by Hacker

You chose..........wisely, Grasshopper

Thank you sir. Live long and prosper lol.

[omegajim]

the vstar950 is also out there too.

[NoRegrets78]

Originally Posted by omegajim

the vstar950 is also out there too.

Sat on the 950...felt the legs were a bit cramped...but then again I'm 6' so someone a tad shorter might be right at home.

[TBPlayer]

I've rode all three of these now, the 900 custom, M50 and V Star 950.

The 950 felt great, but was just so rattly relative to the other two. I had great lound "clunks" when shifting, and just felt alot of vibration.

The M50 was the first bike I was seriously considering. It felt the most refined - everything about it silky smooth. Very nice, but the one thing that sticks in my memory is the riding postion was a bit uncomfortable. I felt like I was pushing forward and down on the handlebars. It gave me a sense of feeling off-balance.

The Vulcan 900 was about as refined feeling as the M50. The riding position felt much more natural to me. The sound and rumble coming from it were heavenly. It handled beautifully, and had lots of power available. The throttle seemed to have deeper torque on hand than the other two.

If I had to choose today, it'd bee the Kaw, and there's a really good chance that is what I'll end up getting.

[omegajim]

The 950 felt great, but was just so rattly relative to the other two. I had great lound "clunks" when shifting, and just felt alot of vibration.

yep, it's a yamaha cruiser; my old xs shifts clunky, but I wrote that off to age and "they made things that way" at the time.

[NoRegrets78]

Go with the 900! I took my first ride yesterday. Did some parking lot drills with a friend who has a license (Still waiting for my endorsement to come in the mail). We hit the streets after about an hour for a short romp. Heavenly!

[Danthedawgfan]

Well you will hear nothing bad about the 900 Custom here. A good friend bought a Special Edition a few weeks back, and I took it for a few mile spin. It shifted smoother than my M50, and the rear brakes were better, otherwise they are very similar in handling and power. It's a great bike, The things that make me stick with the M50 are mostly styling. I don't care for the positioning of the ignition, and the front wheel is a bit too thin for my liking, but those are two very small cons.

[TBPlayer]

This thread came up on google for me just now...

I ended up getting the Vulcan 900 Custom SE, and have absolutely no regrets. It suits me the best out of many bikes that I tried.. including two test rides on two separate M50's.

I really wanted to like the M50, but the handlebar reach had me leaning so forward that it felt like I was sitting atop the bike instead of on it. Everything else about it, I loved.

I read alot of posts about riser extenders and changing out handlebars.. but I took one look at that speedo, the way it is set up, and decided it was gonna just be a can-o-worms.

But then the VN900, while still a reach, feels more natural out of the box.

[old new biker]

I bought my my 06 M in spring of 07. I looked at the 07 Vulcan 900 Custom and Classic and the 07 V Star 1100 custom. I ended up with the Suzuki because all the reviews and forums seemed to indicate much more owner satisfaction with them over their Vulcan and V Star counterparts. Of the C50 and M50, I chose the M because of its muscle bike look, alloy wheels rather than spokes, and slightly more power to weight ratio over the C50.

All that said, if the current 900 existed then, and for a comparable price, I might have had to go with it instead.

The only real complaint that I have about my M is that the seat is not the most comfortable, and could be a bit larger, as I do tend to feel as if I am sitting on the tip of the tank. The new 900 looks to have just a bit larger cockpit.