I haven’t stopped thinking about the next bike for a moment over the last 17 months that I’ve been riding.
A big guy like you looks good on a heavy cruiser. I’m not a cruiser person, but I like the looks of the Harley Nightsters a lot – trim and understated.
The knee pain – I get that after a couple hours of riding, to the point of not being able to straight my leg for a few seconds. Only my right knee’s like this; my left knee is totally pain free through out a typical weekend ride lasting 4-8 hours. This happens even when riding the DRZ, which has a bolt upright position, and plenty of leg room. The only way to deal with it is to straighten my right leg periodically while riding. I suppose a foot-forward riding position would not give me knee problem, but I’ve heard some people say the cruiser riding position is hard on the back. Not being able to weigh the foot pegs means you can’t dance with the bike for high performance cornering.