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Magnificent Seven
Giant Cruiser Comparo
What do you get when you take the creme de la creme of cruising out on the road? Well, alot of impressed riders to start with...
Impressive is hardly a big enough word. Quite apart from their appearance, these seven motorcycles have between them 15 cylinders with a total of 12.382 litres capacity. That’s an average — an average! — of 825.47cc per pot. More than a bottle of Jim Beam each. Indeed, a total of 16½ bottles. Combined dry weight is just a kilo under 2.23 tonnes for an average of 318kg. There’s no telling how much of that weight is chrome, but the percentage would be substantial. | | Here they are then, folks. The biggest of the big, the mightiest of the mighty, except for more or less specials like the Boss Hoss (covered in these pages recently). The Magnificent Seven indeed.
We organised seven riders and took the bikes away for a couple of days. Easily done — especially as we didn’t need to twist anybody’s arm behind their back to come along on this ride. Our “comparison” methodology of taking out a bunch of different riders on a bunch of different bikes seems to be really popular with you, the readers, so I guess we’ll keep doing it. Tell us when you want us to stop.
Special bikes called for a special destination, so we headed north from Sydney, up the Bucketts and Thunderbolts Ways and across through Port Stephens Cutting to Tamworth and the Powerhouse Motorcycle Museum (see box). After a night at the excellent hotel attached to the museum (some people reckon it’s the other way around, but they aren’t motorcyclists), and dinner in its equally excellent restaurant, we wended our reasonably weary way back to Sydney by way of the New England Highway and the Wollombi Road. We are very happy to recommend the same ride to you — it makes an excellent weekend run from Sydney. If you live elsewhere, it’s probably best treated as an alternative route between Brisbane and Sydney.
Gee, isn’t petrol expensive now, especially when you’re filling these machines! Anyway, here are the comments from the riders. You’ll see that each has his or her own voice, with some very different responses to some of the bikes. That makes them all the more interesting. I’ve edited out some of the inevitable repetition — and my own comments are all over the place.
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| | Harley-Davidson FLHRC Road King ClassicJohn initially thought that “having a six-speed gearbox on a Harley was going to be overkill, but after riding this new bike, I’ve come away with a different opinion. The introduction of the gearbox has made such a difference! The ratios are closer, giving the engine a sense of freedom. It pulls away in top gear at relatively low rpm and it’s also smoother than its predecessor and revs effortlessly throughout the entire range.
“Styling is still typically Harley. The bikes never seem to change much in their appearance but always look great. As for the suspension, that works well along with instruments, switch cases etc. The leather saddle bags are great for that short journey.”
Victor was pleasantly surprised by the bike as well. “I’ve never been a great fan of Harleys, but it really is impressive. It’s both stylish and comfortable. I could easily spend many hours in the saddle doing some long-distance touring. It just felt right. After a few hours on the road, I didn’t feel any discomfort at all. I can’t say this for some of the other bikes we rode.
“The only downside is it’s hard to read the instruments, which are on the tank. But, as you’re unlikely to be going especially fast, this isn’t really much of a concern. I loved the engine sound and I thought the ignition key system was a clever and useful feature. You can start the bike without the key as long as the key is in your pocket. This is handy when you’re stopping regularly as it means you don’t have to fumble around with keys.”
Rob liked ... “the retro-looking, large, square, polished crash-bars. I also noticed this was the only bike with the convex mirrors and the ‘everything looks further away than it appears’ warning. They were far superior to the others.
“Similarly to the Triumph, I found the hand position angled unnaturally outward.
“Of all the seven bikes, this and the Guzzi are the only two that were comfortable in traffic, at slow speed in urban cornering conditions.”
Elspeth reckoned it was “the best looking Harley I’ve ever clapped eyes on, but this bike was the only one I got a ‘numb bum’ from. The seat, although it’s nicely shaped with good back support, is in the shape of a man’s bottom and not a woman’s (‘What’s wrong with women’s bottoms? Not big enough!’ — Blackadder).
“I didn’t like the right indicator being with the right-hand controls, either, but that’s probably just a matter of getting used to it. Contrary to popular opinion, however, I found the handlebar position very comfortable. I did need to point my right foot out because my calf was competing with the protruding air cleaner assembly.”
Brendan had mixed feelings. “This is a terrific bike that was easy to ride and surprisingly manoeuvrable. It corners extremely well for the style and size of the bike. The quality of the chrome and paintwork is marginally superior to the Japanese bikes, although they are catching up. Unlike the Japanese bikes, the gauges are elevated on the tank and don’t require distraction from riding to look at. At first touch, the seat is quite firm but surprisingly comfortable over a long distance. This is a really nice Harley and I’d definitely like one in my garage.” I suspect most of us would agree.
Mike felt respect and he also had the ’bars figured out. “As soon as I sat on it, it instantly felt like the real deal. I’m not particularly a Harley buff but I’ve always been a fan of the Road King and this one, with its new slick changing six-speeder, is the best riding King I’ve tried so far.
“The other things I like about it are that the metal looks like, well, metal, and all the controls are in just the right place. As you pull away, the whole show feels nice and loose and relaxed in a way that the Yamaha, and the Vulcan especially, just don’t capture. The motor pulls strongly, the exhaust note matches the power and that potato-potato engine sound is comfortable and reassuring.
“One interesting thing is the handlebars. A couple of the riders complained that because they’re swept back almost parallel with the bike, they’re uncomfortable and make your wrists ache. I was a bit puzzled because I remembered that I liked the bars and found them particularly comfortable.
“Once I got on, I twigged. They’re pull-back-style bars. If you try to grip them like normal bars with your knuckles along the grip, you feel and look like a spastic chipmunk. On the other hand, if you treat them like the old-style, “Johnny Doughboy”, racer bars that they are (think early 20th century Douglas or Indian), they’re brilliant. You hold the grip like you would a torch, so instead of twisting the throttle with your wrist, you twist it by rotating your forearm.”
Honda VTX1800CThis bike really polarised reactions. Elspeth thought it was “a well-balanced bike with comfortable dragster-style seating. But while the flaming paint job might have been an aphrodisiac on two wheels in the 70s or for people who still like naked dragons spraypainted across their utes, it’s all a bit aesthetically dated even in these retro-loving days.
“The bike was surprisingly heavy to lift off its sidestand for a comparatively light-ish cruiser. I had problems getting out of neutral into first gear a few times and scraped a peg going around the first round-about, which made me think it was all a little too low. A very comfortable ride as long as you don’t hit any bumps, although a hard suspension seems to be pretty much the norm for all these big cruisers.”
Brendan was on side. “This is a great bike. Whether hugging curves or cruising down the freeway, it sticks to the road, is very smooth and has impressive acceleration without the excesses of the Suzuki. The seating is perfect for me with the footpegs, seat and handgrips distributing the weight ideally. The front brake seemed a little soft and there was an enormous amount of heat coming up onto my right thigh, which could be real issue for riders in summer. The flame paint job sets the bike off and the simple, centrally placed speedometer is complemented by the tank-mounted gauges. Well done, Honda.”
Mike had mixed opinions, like Elspeth. “Orange flames on the fuel tank, for goodness sake! They must be to someone’s taste — but not mine. When Willy G Davidson designed the first ‘factory custom’, the 1971 FX Super Glide, he could never have imagined that 35 years later the people who nearly put him out of business would be putting flaming tanks on their homage motorcycles.
“The bike’s quite pleasant to ride. It’s smooth and feels powerful. The ride is fairly firm but nice and compliant and the mirrors are crystal clear at all speeds. The seat is comfortable and there’s no detectable vibration. It’s altogether very civilised. But there are a couple things that spoil the show. The footpegs scrape as soon as you think about going around a corner. And the power band is oddly narrow. It seems high-geared and tends to bog a bit low down, but when you wind the throttle on, before you know it you’re bouncing off the rev limiter. Also, the fuel cap is stupidly fiddly.”
Victor just liked it. “It’s an enjoyable, relaxing and easy bike to ride. The instrumentation is quite basic, but at least you can easily see the speedo as you ride, which is not the case for most of the other bikes that have the speedo on the tank. These days, I often seem to be looking at my speedo to avoid speeding fines, so being able to see it without having to look down is handy.
“The Honda reminded me of the Suzuki; the difference is the Honda is slightly more sedate and relaxing. It’s not as loud, the engine is more relaxed and the design is more classic and less futuristic.”
Rob had this bike going up to Nowendoc and enjoyed it on the winding road. “The steering was responsive. I shifted my weight a bit on the corners and felt very much in control. The bike ran very smoothly. The gearbox was light and tight. This was one of the few bikes with pegs rather than footboards. They were quite a way forward and therefore your heels were the lowest point. I scraped my heels on corners a couple of times. The idiot lights were practically invisible.”
John thought the styling is getting a bit old. “It needs to be redesigned. The instruments are too low on the tank; you have to take your eyes off the road, which could get you into trouble. The seating is comfortable and the suspension is good; it still has plenty of power for overtaking and having the shaft drive has its advantages.”
Kawasaki Vulcan VN2000 Classic LTBrendan enjoyed the effect the bike had. “It elicited a lot of approving looks and even a couple of cheers from workmen on the side of the road. The lines are very classic and extremely big. This is a very difficult bike to manoeuvre and it would take practice before I’d be confident about turning in tight spaces and even more so on gravel.
“It has an enormous amount of torque and power to spare. I wouldn’t mind trying the bike without the screen; as it is, it feels a bit like driving a semi-trailer. But once it is up and running on the road, it’s as solid as a rock. In fact, I hit some sort of culvert in the road, which almost winded me when the back wheel went into it, but the bike did not deviate one millimetre from its line. There’s plenty of chrome, it’s very comfortable but if you were buying one, you would need a smaller, second bike to nick around town on!”
Elspeth found it a little deceptive. “This is a big, heavy bike with very light steering, which for me felt uncomfortable as I’d rather have a true sense of all 300+ kilograms that I’m manoeuvring. The bike has a great big screen but not quite big enough for my 5’11” self and, instead of shielding me, I was buffeted in a most uncomfortable manner that made my head knock about in my helmet and my brain knock about in my head. There also seemed to be an excess of wind on my legs.
“Gear changes felt a bit clunky, but the seat was comfortable with some back support. However, I did find the stock pipes came out too far and got in the way of my well-developed right calf and I couldn’t find a comfortably position for my foot.”
Mike was not impressed. “When the Japanese first cloned Harleys, they didn’t quite know where their appeal lay, so they copied everything. The long-stroke V-twin, forward pegs, wide bars and the CHiPs-style riding position were de rigueur, of course, and rightly so, but they also copied the ker-chunk gearchange, howling transmission whine and neck-snapping drive lash. Harley-Davidson has since moved on and fixed all these things, so why on earth does the Kawasaki Vulcan still have them?
“The transmission screams louder than a bandsaw slicing through a hard-frozen side of pork. Once it gets rolling it doesn’t feel too bad, though, and its steering is lighter and more responsive than the Honda’s or the Yamaha’s. It didn’t feel anything like as grunty as its two-litre capacity promises.
“The Vulcan also tries to copy the Harley’s stirring throttle-on exhaust boom but fails at this, too. Sure, it’s loud enough, but somehow they made it so flat and dull that it’s about as exciting as listening to your grandad break wind.
“And the brakes, while they eventually work well enough, don’t actually seem all that interested. When you grab them, they’re initially reluctant to do anything at all and need a good prod before they agree to get on with the job.”
Victor was trying hard to be polite. “This bike is big and feels big. The engine is powerful, but lacking in responsiveness compared to some of the other cruisers. Unlike most of the other bikes, I didn’t feel it had any unique strength or characteristic that made it distinctive and set it apart. On the positive side, it is smooth and relaxing to ride. The footboards make it comfortable to ride compared to cruisers with forward pegs. I think it would be good for slow, relaxed touring.”
Rob found it heavy as well. “I know this has always been my weakness with heavy bikes, but this is not the bike to be doing u-turns with or playing follow-the-leader-in-search-of-a-servo on roundabouts. At slow speeds, it (or I) seriously under-steers.
“The windscreen also caused a lot of wind buffeting and wind noise in its wake. Curiously, perhaps because of its weight, this bike did not seem to me to be as powerful as it must actually be.”
According to John, “This bike is meant for the open road. The instruments are fair, switches are all fairly standard and the handlebars don’t pull back as much as they used to, giving the wrists a better angle. Comfort is good and the big motor delivers plenty of power to drive the beast.
“Having the belt drive is a great idea because it takes out some of the lash when changing with the very clunky Kawasaki gearbox. The full windscreen was a bit of overkill on hot days and I would prefer to have a smaller one or none at all.”
Moto Guzzi California ClassicJohn was in a philosophical mood. “As with previous models, what can one say about Guzzis? The bigger motor has definitely made it a better bike to ride. The brakes are still great. Handling is good, ground clearance excellent and well-placed instruments are easy to read. As for comfort, well, that seems to be the last thing on Guzzi’s list. Having the shaft drive is great, but having the running boards so close to the gear change is still a problem for me, and that alone turns me off the bike. Otherwise it’s great.”
Victor has picked up on the essential attraction of the Cali family as well, although he has the same complaint as John. “This is a very basic bike, perhaps a bit too basic for my liking. But if you like things simple and traditional, and if you’re not swept away by the latest designs and technological advances, you’ll probably like this bike.
“It was also the only one of the test bikes that had reasonable ground clearance and cornered well. Even though it’s a cruiser, it’s light and easy to handle, although it’s probably better for the vertically challenged. I’m about 6ft tall and felt slightly cramped and uncomfortable after a while. If you’re shorter you should be fine.
“There are other problems. The footbrake is hard to use. The bike stand is hard to use. Worst of all, though, I found changing gears difficult and irritating. So much so that it detracted from the bike’s positive features. Surely it’s only a matter of time before Guzzi puts some time and effort into improving these features.”
Rob found the Cali “smoother than I expected and therefore with functional rear view mirrors. The engine capacity is much more to my liking than the big bikes. Given our speed limits, it can do all that they can do on the expressway but is more versatile in town and on back roads. It’s also a lot lighter.
“It must have one of the biking world’s longest and furthest reaching sidestands. This gives the loving owner a lot of confidence, but it makes it very difficult for short-legged riders to reach when wanting to head off.”
Brendan reckoned that “climbing onto this reminded me of getting onto the umpire’s stand to judge a tennis match. In contrast to the other bikes, to suddenly be sitting bolt upright with your feet firmly on running boards and knees up was a strange sensation. However, once I’d grown accustomed to it, it was a remarkably manoeuvrable bike. Getting used to the position of the gear lever and the rear brake pedal takes a bit of time, though.
“Despite the sitting position, there was surprisingly little wind resistance and the bike behaved very well in the cross wind. With a few modifications to the position of foot rests and pedals, this would be a relatively easy bike to ride, with a great sound from the mufflers!”
Mike, in contrast, was dismissive at best. “In this company, the ageing Guzzi Cali is small, slow and rattly. The seat height is so close to ankle height that it makes the riding position frog-like at best. The whole thing can be summed up, and dismissed, in two words: tiddly and fiddly.
“It handles sweetly, though, so it may be a good choice for the discerning few who are severely altitude challenged.” No, tell us what you really think, Mike...
Elspeth was more impressed, partly no doubt because she has smaller feet. “The seat and handlebars were initially very comfortable, but there seemed to be an excess of vibration and little protection from the wind over about 90km/h, and because you’re leaning just a little further forward than on most cruisers, the riding position did become uncomfortable.
“I found the foot boards luxurious and the heel-toe shift lever heaven. A few times, the bike stayed in neutral when I hadn’t given it enough toe, even though the neutral indicator light had gone off. From an aesthetic point of view, the California Classic is a tastefully understated — in true Moto Guzzi style — cruiser that’s perfect for turning up at a cafe for a quick espresso and biscotti, then leaving them wanting more.”
Suzuki Boulevard M109R“This is a fun bike with brute power and a great seating position for cruising,” reckoned Brendan. “Acceleration is phenomenal, but if you overdo it, you can lose traction. The tachometer across the top of the handlebars along with the headlights doubles as a kind of fairing, which is a nice touch. This is a bike that would be ideal for somebody who finds image particularly important — who wants to go for something that looks a bit racier than the Triumph Rocket. I really enjoyed riding it. And it has a menacing exhaust rumble.”
John liked it, too. “I found this to be a lovely, stylish boulevard cruiser. Not that you can’t do long distance on it, but it’s the type of bike you like to show off. It has plenty of power and pulls away easily from low down. The gearbox is quite smooth, as are the brakes — with plenty of feel. The suspension is good and the instruments are well situated, especially the tacho, though not the speedo, which should be lifted at the front to make it easier to read. Having the shaft drive, I thought, was a great idea and will make a big difference to the costs over chain and sprockets.
“The only other annoying thing I found about the bike is the induction noise when powering on. Otherwise it’s a great cruiser.”
“Whoa!” wrote Mike. “The M109R is one brutal mother (I’m sure that’s what the M stands for in M109R — the 109 is good ol’ yankee cubic inches of engine capacity).
“The reason I love this bike is that, while it’s a cruiser (and that’s ‘cruise’ as in missile), it is not a Harley clone. It’s a pure Japan-meets-Los Angeles-and-Miami statement of pose and power. It’s the spiritual successor to the once-mighty V-Max (even if the V-Max was a Yamaha and a four). Mounting this bike is like straddling a Brahman bull. Hold the horns, put your feet on its shoulders, take a deep breath and bloody hang on.
“It’s got the biggest rear tyre in the business and that’s its best angle — it looks great from the rear. From the front, it looks a bit like it got its head caught in a bucket, but never mind because the view from the seat is brilliant. All you see is the top of the tank-mounted speedo, a strip-style digital tacho mounted high on the bars that looks like Robocop’s visor, and the road.
“I want one — and that’s just to go up to the shops and back.”
Victor was a bit ambivalent. “I used to think Harleys were loud. This bike roars. If you like loud pipes, you’ll love the Suzuki. For me, however, it was just too loud. Perhaps I’m growing old, but I kept wishing I was wearing earplugs.
“The engine is very responsive — perhaps too responsive, at least for my liking. Twist the throttle a fraction and it just takes off. It has styling to match. The design is bold, aggressive and futuristic. It catches your attention. The sharply styled rear-end looks hot. It’s very much an urban cruiser. The low-down handlebars, feet-forward controls and hard suspension make the ride a little uncomfortable.It’s eye-catching and loud, but it’s not a bike I’d like for long-distance touring.”
Rob rode the Suzuki out of Sydney, so his experience was part traffic and part expressway. “I found the bike too powerful, or at least too torquey at low speeds in low gears for use in the city. The slightest twitch of the throttle wrist had profound effects, especially when trying to turn at lights or doing a u-turn.
“The speedo and general dashboard are on the tank, which usually means being invisible to wearers of full-face helmets. Pleasantly, however, on this bike they were visible without having to point your head down.
“Both the seat and the riding posture were very comfortable. (An hour-and-a-half on the expressway with no squirming.) My lasting impression is: deceptively powerful. But why does a single-seat bike have pillion pegs? [You can fit a pillion seat — The Bear.]
Elspeth thought the M109R was “the most aggressive of the bikes — a little too aggressive for my liking, like a horse that knows you’re not up to it and gallops off home before you’ve even had a chance to steady yourself in the saddle. Understated styling, but needs a warning on the box that you’ll be using bad language on takeoff.”
Triumph Rocket III Classic
Mike was totally smitten, until he thought about it a little. “The Rocket III is an extraordinary motorcycle. The easy, awesome power, the beautifully planted ride, the smooth application of all the controls, they all just blow you away. You find yourself thinking, ‘How can I justify owning one of these?’
“But then, when you stand back a bit and reflect on it, you can’t get away from the fact that it is a massive machine. It’s like having a cultured rhinoceros for a pet. You can have an intelligent conversation with it, but you know that if it gets just a little bit excited it will crush all the furniture to matchwood.
“And I’m not convinced by the styling. The tank looks like it was modelled on Mae West’s upper torso (if you’re too young for that reference, think Dolly Parton in a corset) and the twin headlight suggests to me that it’s really two motorcycles bonded together. It certainly feels like it.”
“It has a comfortable riding position and it has to have excellent brakes because of its awesome power,” John wrote. “It may be too much for some but, hey, it’s great fun to ride. The gearbox is smooth and easy to change — no horrible clunking when going into gear and easy to find neutral. The instruments are still a bit small, but they have been lifted for easier viewing.”
“Triumph by name and triumph by nature — I’d trade ‘em all plus the gal down the road for this one,” wrote Elspeth. “If you could just reach into my back pockets for a loose £13K, keep the change. It wasn’t just that the sheepskin seat cover was being trialled on the Rocket; it had everything going for it — beautifully balanced, beautifully dressed, great to ride (even on the gravel).
“Yes, please! Footboards, comfortable riding position, classic styling and an unpretentious amount of potential power offered to the rider with the understated grace of ‘old money’.” Think she liked it.
Brendan made a very unusual comparison: “In my youth, I had a Kawasaki 500 Triple two-stroke that tested the strength of the connection between your arms and torso. The Triumph Rocket under acceleration reminds me very much of that.
“For such a large and powerful bike it is surprisingly manoeuvrable, with exhilarating performance and fantastic cornering capabilities. The brakes pull it up just as quickly as the engine can make it go. The gauges are simple and well placed, with typical Triumph finesse. How Rocket owners manage to keep their motorbike licence is a mystery to me.”
Rob’s recollection of his last ride on a Rocket was “a very uncomfortable riding position — arms too wide, feet too high and too wide. This time, however, the arms were wide but not uncomfortably so and feet seemed much more parallel [different seat, Rob — The Bear]. There was still a parachute effect with the wind (much like the Yamaha), which would be tiring on long rides.
“Of course, the most attractive feature of this bike is its inexhaustible power. In my timid experiment: from 100km/h to 100mph, starting in top gear, took about six or seven seconds. The forward thrust of the machine underneath you while accelerating, particularly while seated in such an upright position, is much more fun than merely going fast.
“Of all the variations in styling seen on these seven bikes, nothing beats the simple look of the classic twin speedo and tacho on this bike. Nothing flash, just clear, easy to read, both the same size and style and, yes, in line of sight.”
Victor just thought the bike was “awesome. I love this bike. I’ve ridden it before and loved it. I still love it. Of all the bikes, it was the most fun to ride. Totally unique and more power than you could ever dream of. It’s in a class of its own. Fast, powerful ... really powerful.
“Acceleration and overtaking ability are exceptional. Fortunately, the brakes are equally powerful. Even though it’s huge, it handles beautifully. I found it easy to throw around and manoeuvre, despite its massive bulk. Changing gears is just so easy and smooth. You’ve got to ride this bike to believe how good it actually is.
“Try as I might, I just couldn’t find anything to dislike or criticise about this bike.”
Yamaha XV1900 Roadliner
“This bike is great,” commented John. “It has plenty of power with a great gearbox to match, not forgetting the belt drive, which makes for a smooth ride.
“Yamaha has spent a lot of time working on the styling, especially the rear end. It just looks great. The seating position is comfortable and the bike handles well. The instruments are definitely too low, though; you have to take your eyes off the road to see what speed you’re doing or to check whether you’ve left your indicators on — which happened to a few of us on the ride.”
Brendan was back in memory land. “In the late 60s, my schoolmate’s father bought a 1963 Chev BelAir, the huge American car with the big fins. This bike reminds me a bit of the Chevy. It’s even a two-tone, just like the car, with big coned rear-indicator lights and chromed teardrop indicators at the front.
“While it’s a big bike, I found it surprisingly easy to ride. Getting along at 110km/h and just over 2000rpm, it effortlessly eats up the road. For a big cruiser, the ground clearance is excellent and tight cornering at a reasonable speed was effortless, bordering on enjoyable. Braking is brilliant and, while I’m not big on footboards on a bike, these are very well placed and comfortable in the city and out on the open road.
“The speedometer set into the tank reminds me of the Elvis Presley clock, with speed readings stylishly retro-printed. Although I didn’t think so before riding it, this is certainly a bike I would consider buying. The only drawback I found was this bike definitely does not like the cross winds.”
“Cruisers are, in many ways, for looking at as much as for riding,” Elspeth noted, “so there’s no shame in saying that, aesthetically, the Yamaha Roadliner is the pinnacle of design perfection with every tiny part of its art-deco styling fashioned to match. Even the chrome push-rod covers taper.
“The seating position was great and the slight back support made a lot of difference. It was great to ride and handled well for a long, wide bike.”
“It’s the styling of this bike that provides the lasting impression,” agreed Rob. “Although not to my taste, I liked the fact that the look was expressed throughout the bike, not just at the obvious styling points but also on parts usually left untouched: the counter-shaft cover, the belt guards (above and below), the trailing ends of the swing arms and so on.
“The wide handlebar and the seating posture meant I was ‘caught in the wind’ — a type of parachute effect — which was quite tiring. I would not have liked to bear this feature on expressway conditions. On the other hand, the wide bars probably gave me the ease of handling I needed on the windy road. It mastered both the gravel road and tight corners with ease.
It occurred to Mike that “Yamaha has combined custom with retro and pillaged the whole of the 1920s. Clearly inspired by New York’s Chrysler Building, this bike has more art-deco trim than the Titanic. When you look at the tank-mounted instrument panel, you half expect to see an old-style petrol pump handle attached to the side. This bike would not look out of place in your lounge parked next to the lamp with the tiffany shade held up by a naked nymph. [Now, now...]
“The styling is so extreme that you are either going to love it or hate it. Once you get on it, though, it rides very nicely. The power feels meatier than the Honda’s but it also feels busier at the same speed — although at a 100km/h the tacho reads only 2500rpm. It’s not as smooth as the Honda. You can feel a fair amount of vibration and the mirrors blur quite badly at speed.
“I like the running boards because you can move around a bit more to stay comfortable, and the whole bike seems to ride lower and longer. This is not surprising given the wheelbase is a whopping 1715mm — it gave some of the B-doubles we passed a run for their money.”
“If you’re after a big cruiser that’s classy, stylish and elegant, this is it,” wrote Victor. “This was one of the stand-out bikes to me. I really enjoyed riding it; there is something special about it — and not just because of its size. A lot of effort has gone into the design. The unique retro look is stylish and elegant. Can you have an art-deco motorbike? I thought the attention to detail was evident in even the smallest of features.
“The footboards are large and comfortable. The heel shift is the best I have used. It’s designed so you can easily slip your heel over it. It’s only a matter of time before other companies start copying this design.”
And, to conclude
All right! If you don’t find any meaningful comments in that lot, try my personal summary:
The Yamaha looks fantastic (if you like that sort of thing), goes well and is comfortable.
Triumph’s Rocket is just that, a rocket on wheels that still manages to be easy to ride and comfortable, too.
The Suzuki combines startling modern styling with seemingly bottomless grunt.
Moto Guzzi’s California is well behind the times in many ways, but was by far the best-handling bike of this collection — especially in corners.
The Kawasaki is very big and very strong and not necessarily for the faint-hearted.
Ah yes, the Honda. Which side will I take? I’ll go for the positive: I like the sleek looks and the great gearbox, and even the oh-so-lairy flames.
Finally the Harley. It deserves respect, not only for representing the brand that got all this cruiser stuff going, but also because it is a fine bike in its own right. The new engine and gearbox are terrific.
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| | Motorcycle Shipping and Tour Operator
Let motorcycle enthusiasts with over 50 years combined experience take care of your tour or bike shipping. Friendly & professional operators.
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| | Blackmax
Motorwear
presents a range of Motorwear proudly made in Australia us ing the only the finest materials. Designed by bikers for bikers.
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