u/j_skrilla

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Fort Lauderdale, Florida. 2025 Kawasaki Eliminator.

Would be great to find some gay bros to ride with.

Last week I took a ride from my base in Fort Lauderdale all the way out to the western part of lake Okeechobee (Palmdale). This is my first time on the bike going longer distances than say 40 - 50 miles in a single ride. Apologies I'm advance for the long winded review

I love this bike for its ability to be an amazing around town, all around cruiser and it will do what it's asked on longer rides, albeit you will need the stamina to overcome the weight challenge, particularly on windier days. The ride started out enjoyable, 595 to 75. Motoring along with traffic flow and enjoying the sun to my back and a light breeze. I figured this would be a fun ride to test out this fantastic around town cruiser across a longer distance outside of the roads I knew. Once I got off the interstate onto 27 to ride into the sugar canes, the ride changed dramatically. Cruising across the flat sugar fields of Florida, the benefits of the 350lb frame became a liability more than an asset as I was jostling around the road with tractor trailers flying by at 70 mph and the wind at my back. I was able to maintain my lane, but I felt like I had to get used to the weight of the bike being almost "kite" like in the 10mph breeze with gusts of passing tractor trailers pushing me and challenging my control. I rode on watching a few StreetGlides and heavier bikes cruise past me with ease. I realized in this environment the benefits that I loved about my Eliminator (mostly it's weight) became a liability out here in the open road.

Once I got to the more wooded areas of the sugar plains, the bike performed as it should. Stable, attached to the road and a pleasure off the line. I was enjoying the ride as the wind blew me forward, it was effortless and fun. But on the return home, I could feel that I was now riding into the wind and I could feel that I was battling my way through even the most stable parts of my ride between Moore Haven and clewiston. I stopped at Roland Martin tiki bar to get some grub, stretch my legs and my back in anticipation for what I could tell was going to be a much more challenging ride home than it was on the way out. Leaving Clewiston, the ride to South Bay was nice, windy and enjoyable on a lovely spring day in florida. Then came the part of the journey I had been dreading. A 50 mile stretch from South Bay to the 27/75 interchange, into the wind, flat terrain with a 10mph breeze blowing. This part of the ride was the longest 45 min stretch. It took everything in me not to pull over to rest, constantly fighting the bike into the wind. The constant whine of the engine and consistently shifting gears between 5th and 6th felt droning and taxing; but this was part of the task at hand, ultimately we overcame. I smiled once I got onto the connector to the interstate knowing that I was heading back into a more urban environment that the bike was more comfortable with. I rode onto 595 and ultimately swung up onto US1 to take a little cruise up A1A along Fort Lauderdale Beach.

As much as I was cursing and frustrated with the bike out in the Everglades, when we returned to Fort Lauderdale, all of those frustrations dripped away. Everything that I loved about this bike had shown itself to me once more. The peppiness off the line, the shorter seat position, the eagerness to please in 3rd and 4th gear - The willingness to rev and ask for more on the top line 6k rpms will always give me a smile.

I got off my bike around mid beach in FTL and realized that the Eliminator is exactly the bike I needed. Its not a bulky touring bike, it wasn't designed to go the long over road distances without a little challenge thrown at the rider. Sure, you can do it. But watching bikes double and triple the weight zoom past you on the highway will make you feel defeated, you'll achieve the ride -but not without a tale of perseverance. With that said, the Eliminator does do what it was designed to do impeccably, especially in urban South Florida. It provides daily and casual riders with the feeling of freedom in a light weight and value based package. It allows new and experienced riders the ability to get out on the road and twist the throttle and go without getting into too much trouble, the ability to make the choice to ride without feeling like it's a production.

Would I make that long ride again? Probably not - I would likely only do it with a group of other riders or the perfect weather conditions that would eliminate fighting with the wind conditions. That being said, I'll take my Eliminator in all of the other ways that count. On great weather days to work 5 miles away? Absolutely. Gorgeous weekend afternoons around town or along the beach highway? Every chance I get. A quick jaunt around the streets in the evening instead of mindlessly sitting in front of the TV? You better believe it.