Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

The Vulcan offers the hardcore cruiser look but with performance to match. It might not produce as much power as the original Vulcan motor that it is derived from, but it still gets around pretty good and sounds a lot better. It rides smoothly and is fully capable of getting you to and from 'your favorite cruising spot comfortably. new or heavily redesigned motorcycles. Still, we wanted to include the biggest cruiser motQrcycies from the major manufacturers, and until 1997 models are released, this is what Suzuki's got. Universally applauded was the oil/air-cooled 1360cc V-twin. The big, twin-carb powerplant pulls hard in the upper reaches of the rev range and still chugs out all the low-end torque you need for nice, slow profiling down the boulevard. Unfortunately, there are a number of reasons you may not want to chug slowly down the boulevard. While it is true that many people made arguments that the Valkyrie was ugly in a "good" way, no such arguments were made for the Intruder. People were hard on the aesthetic aspect of the bike, particularly in the provided blue/white scheme (laid on in a pattern disturbingly reminiscent of the Honda's). Lambasted, too, was the bike's handling characteristics. At low speeds, the narrow bars and kicked out 36 degrees of rake made accurate steering of the bike a chore. It was a combination of high effort and a tendency to fall to the inside of your chosen arc that conspired to steal your cool. Also, as we cruised Las Vegas Boulevard in the nighttime desert heat, the Suzuki suffered from clutch fade. A few minutes of cooling and we were under way again. It was the only instance of this that we faced. The seating position, while different from the other bikes on the ride, was comfortable and indeed a bit of a relief due to the narrowness of the bars. No iron grip necessary here. Generous back support was provided to both the pilot and passenger, and the Intruder was well-liked in this regard as a result. The main complaint of the second rider was that the machine didn't feel as "sturdy" as some of the other bikes. This comment leads naturally to the other handling difficulty that the Suzuki rider faces: high-speed instability. Nothing dangerous, mind you, but certainly unsettling. On smooth pavement, the Intruder rides quite normally at freeway speeds, but as soon as the surface deteriorates, so does the handling. The machine suffers an intense propensity for following the irregularities of the road and shimmies over Botts dots during lane changes. Not a sturdy feel at all. Braking was adequate and rated only a little behind the other middle-of-thepack stopper, the Vulcan. The principal complaint was a mushy lever for the single disc at the front. Indeed, when one rider misjudged the length of an offrarnp and was forced to grab a handful, this two-fingered braker soon found his two outboard digits trapped against the bar. A healthy pounce on the rear pedal saved the situation, but did nothing to cull favor. The result of all this was that at the last group gas stop, there was but one machine sitting forlorn and unadorned with rider or luggage. Picked last for th.e team again. All the rumors point to a new bigbore cruiser coming from Suzuki for 1997 - until then... M y street riding experience was pretty limited before I started working here at Cycle News some four months ago, consisting mostly of occasional jaunts down the freeway to get to my favorite dual sport trails. In those four months, however, I've had the opportunity to ride quite a variety of different bikes in the revolving Cycle News arsenal and I am actually quite surprised that I've come to like cruisers. I just didn't think they were for me. My opinion soon changed, though, as I began to ride them back and forth to work, around town, and through the desert to "Sin City." They're usually quite comfortable, have enough power to keep you out of the roadkill category, and look pretty cool - often inspiring honks from passing cars, and the occasional guy in the truck who hangs his entire body out the window to give you an enthusiastic thumbs-up. Scary cool. . The Suzuki Intruder 1400 was my least favorite bike of the group. The fork is way too raked-out and made the bike feel like it had a flat tire at lower speeds, and the handlebars were ridiculously narrow and pulled back. It was relatively comfortable across the desert and even though it probably had the second-best motor behind the Valkyrie, it's styling is entirely too dated and had me wondering when Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda and Jack icholson were going to ride by. I was just waiting for the guy in the truck next to me to trade in his thumb for a shotgun. Scary cool might hit too close to home here. The Triumph came in just above the Intruder 1400 for me, and this is based on the fact that the bike just doesn't quite fit into this "Heavyweight" category of cruisers. The 900cc triple produced plenty of power and the bike bandIed well, but it probably felt that way because the other bikes weighed 80 much more in comparison - often by hundreds of pounds. I like the classic styling of the bike - hey, it's still a Triumph - and it reminded me of a dirt-tracker with funky handlebars. The fact that the bike comes from the factory as a single-seater is a bummer. Where are you gonna put the chicks you pick up? Choosing favorites from here becomes pretty hard to do, and I could be happy riding any of the remaining four. The Harley-Davidson Fat Boy is a classic motorcycle produced by the company that practically owns the cruiser market. It is the bike for cruising the Strip or any piece of city roadway. It has the classic look, sound, and shake that is the model for the other manufacturers to emulate. It handles fine around town and at slow speeds, but the lack of power and the excessive """"",,",,,,,,"AD There is a heritage here that the Triumph cannot escape: Its frame and engine were designed to be reasonably light and actually perform like a normal motorcycle. Therein lies the difficulty in comparing this Adventurer to the other machines here. In the end, we included the Adventurer because, like these others who.se origins lay in far-off lands, it was styled with an eye for nostalgia, . American style. ' Being so aimed, it gets what most of the other bik~s included here get: high bars (not so wide as the others), a torquey engine, lots of chrome and a full line of accessories for the personalization of your ride. But, because it is a Triumph it gets a number of other things too. A tachometer, for one. The engine revs to an astronomical (for this crowd) 8750 rpm. Already renown for its strong torque, the 885cc, twin-cam triple gets retuned a bit to drop the meat of the power to even lower revs. It isn't the kind of allconquering power delivered by the 1520cc Valkyrie, but combined with the relatively low weight, there is plenty to make the Adventurer jump. As the lightest member of our group, and the one with the most aggressive rake and trail figures, it also makes for the most fun flicking through the bends. After riding all· these sleds it is easy to get caught out by the nimble Triumph everything else turns on a lazy pace by comparison. On the highway, it displayed civil manners, but was as bad as any when it came to having to hang on in the wind. Those high bars should be ditched in favor of the lower ones found on the Thunderbird. That would help the situation immensely, though it would do vibration make it a handful on the freeway and on long rides. With some aftermarket goodies we know the power can be improved, but nothing can be done for the way it numbs you on long treks. The Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 came in just above the Fat Boy for me, and is based on the fact that the bike is more comfortable over the long haul. The Vulcan 1500 has some good classic styling and the motor is pretty good as well. It didn't really have too much of a hit, but it just seemed to keep pulling and pulling, as fast as you wanted to go. The seat was really soft and great for around town for both driver and passenger, but needs to be just a little harder for the longer rides. Overall, it's probably the best deal of the bunch at $10,500, combining economy with performance and looks. That leaves me with the Yamaha Royal Star and the Honda Valkyrie, which are both excellent motorcycles that possess their own definitive strengths. The Royal Star had the best looks of the group for me. It looks absolutely stunning, and got the most response from onlookers wherever I went. Our Royal Star had an optional windshield which came in handy blazing across the desert, and an optional Corbin seat which looked good but was a little harder than I prefer. The motor is just fine, though I would prefer a few more ponies, and when you combine it with the bike's good looks you realize that Yamaha has come up with a really good, all-around cruiser. Even though I real1y like the Royal Star as an overall package, I kept finding myself gravitating bad; toward the Honda Valkyrie any chance I got. The motor is simply awesome - no other words can adequately describe the power and smoothness of tile molOr. My wife, who went aIoag on the ride with me, explained to . . why the Valkyrie comes stock with a backrest. If it didn't, you could literally throw the passenger right off of the thing with a twist of the wrist. I also got a kick out of racing a few sportbikes from streetlight to streetIight and smoking them. They couldn't believe it, and often started looking down at their motors to see what was wrong. It was, by far the most comfortable bike to ride across the desert, for passenger and driver alike, with its smooth linear power. The bike Is really big but handles pretty well for its size, and one of our editors, Keith Bush, tagged it the "Diner" upon first glance. If that's the case than it's the fastest and most entertaining diner in the countJy.

• Cover