Hey Lemmy!
I bought a new 2015 street 750 and I have ridden it all these years. Recently I have been thinking that I want to switch it up and get something else. I mostly use my street 750 to commute to university, but now work; with an occasional day trip to visit family on the other side of Texas. I am thinking of getting a Yamaha MT-03. I know it is an entry level bike but it seems to have good reviews. It has a passenger seat for dates and a sixth gear for the occasional road trip. Since I am mostly commuting I don’t see why 300cc will be too small, so I should save some money with it. I mostly want to ask if there is a reason I should consider the 600cc version or something I also really like the XSR700 but feel it might be hard to find around me.
Any other advice?
You’re used to the torque of a V-twin 750. A 300 will feel quite lumbering comparitively.
Also, having a passenger on that 300 isn’t the most fun, your Harley would handle a pillion better (though not much better in stock form), since the seating position isn’t so high. Neither bike in stock form is really meant for a passenger, but the combination of far less low rpm torque, the high center of mass from the seating position, and the higher rake angle of the Yamaha will make controlling it a lot harder (I know, I’ve had both types of bikes, my sport-tour has more power and a lower center of mass than this Yamaha, and the rake angle alone makes having a passenger challenging, this with 40 years of riding behind me).
But, the Harley would be more comfortable for a passenger with little more than a new saddle (a more pronounced king/queen) and a small back brace - Harley even sells one, about 8" tall (so kind of unobtrusive).
The back brace will give a pillion a bit of security, an improved saddle will make it less cramped by lifting them away from the foot pegs.
(I’m not even a Harley rider, never owned one, don’t like them, but I’ve ridden them and understand why new riders and people who ride two-up go for them, the torque and low center of mass are ideal for both groups).
That us a good paragraph to consider. How bad do you think the 300 will be on a 8 hour trip on the highway? On the HD I average 45-55mph once i factor in the breaks I take for my legs and getting sunscreen on, despite being 70+mph (and the 750 is very comfortable doing that). I don’t go on trips often enough for it to be critical, and most highway trips will be 2hrs tops.
Maybe OK, really depends on the footpeg placement and handlebars.
If your knees are really bent, or the bars pull you forward, it gets uncomfortable fast. Which is why I added risers to my clip-ons to get a more comfortable position (less weight on my arms), which also reduces tingling/numbness due to vibration and pressure on the nerve in your wrist.
Edit: 300 on the highway will be tiring. I had a bike that size once, and it’s just small, engine has to Rev for power, so you get higher frequency vibration through the bars that you just don’t get with a lower-rpm Harley V-twin.