CYCLE NEWS CRUISER BUYERS GUIDE
In fact, you can even forget that it's back there. However, don't
think that you get that giant tire scot-free. There's still the fat-tire
tendency to get leveraged around on uneven pavement. It also
supplies plenty of contact patch to help the stout motor lay
down its claimed 127 hp.
Numbers are one thing, but the "butt dyno" is the only
one most people strap their machine to, and my butt can
attest to the M's arm-stretching power. It has loads of bot-
tom-end torque, but (after a slight flat spot in the middle)
feels like a race bike with its top-end rush as the throttle is
opened. That said, it's also very easy to control—docile, in
fact, unless you grab a handful and twist.
With a sweet-shifting tranny to match the smooth motor, I
have only one complaint about the 109's drivetrain: The shaft
drive sucks. Besides limiting what a custom builder can do with
the rear end, it also gets between a nice smooth cruise and a
herky-jerky lesson in throttle control. Couple a high-compres-
sion motor with shaft drive and quick (for a cruiser) throttle
response, and you have a recipe for low-speed jerkiness.
Suspension duties are handled by fat, 46mm inverted forks and
a linkage-equipped rear shock mounted horizontally under the
bike. Though the front end has only 10mm more wheel travel
On wide, sweeping corners
like this, or far tighter roads,
the M109 is equally at home.
