'94 Yamaha Virago 535
It's like adding another cylinder the same size to the Suzuki. It's a V-twin, and it had plenty of acceleration. I test drove it and it had great acceleration compared to the 250, and that sold me on it. It had a shaft drive, too, which was nice for maintenance. It weighed 100 lbs more than the Suzuki, but still was easy to handle even in the parking lot. I could carry a passenger and still move at highway speeds. It was older, and there were some cosmetic defects, but it was still a nice looking bike. It barely ever needed any choke to start. The ergonomics weren't as good as the Suzuki, and I always felt a little cramped on it, and I had to adjust the foot pedals way low to get them comfortable. The wind wasn't blocked at all, either, though I eventually bought a windscreen for it. If I was a little smaller I might have stayed with this bike longer.
It was easy to twist and turn this bike on any road at almost any speed. I felt like a sport bike rider on it, and it was pretty narrow, hard to lean it over enough to scrape the pegs. I put 9000 miles on this bike before moving on, and at 50-55 mpg, they were cheap miles.
Things I liked: pretty good in turns for a 500cc cruiser bike. Great at swerving - I got in and out of more trouble with this bike than any of my others.
Think I didn't: only 120 miles before having to hit reserve. Rear brake locked too easily. Your legs get really hot so close to the engine. Gets blown around on the highway. Blew a rectifier at 15,000 miles. No easy way to mount large saddlebags without relocating the rear turn signals.
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