Comfort Is Relative

What's the most common thing we hear from new customers who walk in the door for the first time at our shop, as far as what they're looking for in a new motorcycle?  You'd think it would be "I want something that handles great!", or "I want something that makes the crowd drool!", or even "I want something reliable."  But that's not it.  The most common thing we hear is "I'm looking for something comfortable."  Seriously?  You want an awesome Ducati engineering-marvel that's lightning fast, drop-dead gorgeous, as nimble as a cheetah, but what really matters is how comfortable it is?  Ok, fine, it's your money.  But what does "comfortable" mean?  We've found that it's extremely relative to your personal perpective on the subject.  If you're used to riding a Ducati 916, then anything that has 1.5" higher bars on it will feel like a Goldwing.  But if you're coming off of a VTX1800, then even a Monster can feel like a torture rack.  But the big problem with the concept is that people try to judge "comfort" by sitting on a bike in the showroom for 15 seconds and make an immediate assumption about what it will feel like after an hour in the saddle.  BIG MISTAKE!!  The Japanese companies have known for years that the "butt impression" sells bikes, and they've long sacrificed true long-range comfort for immediate comfort on the initial sit, knowing that's how a lot of people will select a bike.  But how comfortable is an upright cruiser after a 3-hour ride?  For many people, it's WAY less comfortable than a sportbike would be.  But how do you get someone who sits on a Monster and says "Oh my God, I can't ride something that is so leaned forward!", to understand that a slight forward lean at a dead stop with your feet on the ground, might be the most comfortable bike on earth at 50 mph.  There's only one way we know of, and that's a test ride!  Unfortunately, many people won't even get that far, the initial sit is their benchmark from years of indoctrination in the ways of the Japanese dealerships.  We're doing what we can to change that by having a full demo fleet available at all times, and get people out on bikes to see what they're really like to ride!  Help spread the word, UPRIGHT is not necessarily COMFORTABLE!