I will forward a recommendation for the Honda Shadow, especially if you’re shopping used. They’ve been in production forever, are extremely reliable, and have that big American V-Twin style vibe while costing a lot less and being doggedly reliable. Finding a used Shadow is generally as easy as proceeding to your nearest tree and shaking it. If you can get your hands on one someone hasn’t already ruined by chopping bits off of it or trying to AdD mOrE pOwEr!!! any given example should last you forever. Each one seems to consist of about four moving parts, and there is plenty of aftermarket support for both repair parts and accessories if that’s your jam.

I would say that, though, what with owning one and all.

You can buy a new Shadow still, and newer ones are fuel injected now. If you want to shop new, the Kawasaki Vulcan S is also an interesting choice (an adjustable fit cruiser with a Ninja engine in it!), and the Honda Rebel is also a very good bike that comes in three engine displacements depending on your desired level of oomph. I have no idea what any of the above costs in Europe, but none of these are particularly premium bikes. I’m guessing you’re in Europe somewhere, what with your listed currency being Euros.

Don’t buy a Harley in Europe. And if you just can’t resist, certainly don’t buy one from the AMF years (1969 to 1981) because those tend to be dogshit on wheels.

Any newer bike is going to be fairly good. Personally I like the Indian Scout, but its up to you. I would browse around and sit on bikes. The most important thing is if it fits you, physically.

Indian Scout is great. Assuming there’s a dealership reasonably close to you. If not, just get a Harley.

I’d second checking out the Vulcan S. I have one and I absolutely love it, with the exception of the seat, but lots of people have replaced them with aftermarket Corbins or Cores and have had excellent results. I’ve had a Vulcan 750 and an sv650. I loved the cruiser ergonomics but didn’t like the sluggish feeling engine after the zippy sv650, which is why I tried the Vulcan s. Plus they’re generally available used for between 5k and 10k depending on location and seller. Plus they’re still a newish model so the market doesn’t seem to be flooded with poorly maintained, idiotically modded examples yet. But I’m sure that will change.

If you like older bikes, the Suzuki GS series are rocksteady, there’s a great forum community for them and you can usually get them for a few grand.

They make really nice Cafe racers with a little work, being UJMs (universal Japanese motorcycles) they are quite adaptable in terms of fit. My 425cc takes on 1800cc Harley dynas just fine, and I’ve ridden it up to San Francisco and back to LA a couple of times now.

But: they’re carbureted, and don’t offer more than lights, brakes, good steering and power.

suzuki hayabusa