Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

towers of the World Trade Center. In o t her wo rds, by bopping the rockers ope n v ia pu sh rod s a n d placing t h e eng ine's hydraulic lifters and twin cams in th e basement next to th e crankshaft, Yama ha w as able to lower th e ro o f to the poi n t that the valve covers stand at a m ere 21 .2 in ch es h igh, as opposed to 21.9 inches for the Eve- po wered Ha rleyDavi d so n Fatboy. Lower is always better. Jus t behind the motor is a five-speed tranny with rather tallish ratios, spaced in suc h a m anner as to enco u rage the rid er to make u se of the Road Sta r's sho rt-s hifting torque capability. Of co u rse, a new engine req ui red a ne w chassis in which to house it, a nd the Road Star fea tures a d ouble crad le fram e wit h a sing le bac kbone that splits . in two jus t before th e trailing edge of th e rea r cylinder. For added charac te r, the eng ine is rigidl y mounted in the cha ssis, w hich is sus pe n de d by a burly-loo kin g pair of telescop ic forks u p fro nt and a rear-suspension system tha t reminds on e of a, umm... a Softail. And j.f that doesn't do it , then the belt-drive arrangement that transmits the p o wer to th e Road Star's .16·inch, spo ked rea r wh eel certainly will remind a bit of a ha w g . Bu tbe fo re yo u ca ll Yama ha copycats, you'd better acknowledge th eir smar ts. The presence of the be lt a nd th e ease of customization that comes with it - is practically a guarantee th at th e Road Star will become one of the most personalized Japanese cruisers ever. We say it's a welcome addition. But to truly appreciate the effort that Yamaha put into the Road Stat, you ha ve to ride one. And that' s just what we did for two days, as Yamaha invited both the US. and foreign press to partake of some of the beautiful scenery that can be found in and around Bodega Bay (beware of The Birds ...) and in the adjacent wine country of the Napa Valley. First impressions ar e im portant, and they were pos itive, as the Yamaha eas ily rumbled to life thanks in pa rt to the . a lto-d ecom pression system th at wo rks in tandem with th e s tarter to re lieve cylind er pr essure until the pistons have gotten the chan ce to get m o ving . Th e Star's single 40mm Mikuni with throttleposition sen sor en sured clean ca rbu re tion rig h t from th e ge t-go, which w as impr essive. Also imp ressive wa s the d istinct lack 01 noise ou t of wha t from all outward a ppearan ces was a classically insp ired e ngine des ign . Unfortunately, t here a ren't a lot of heavy-duty vibes belching out of the muffler either, which is a bit oj a sham e, because the Road Star's Vtw in in to na tio n sou nds good - it just needs to be amplified . ot to worry: At the very same intro we sa w two customized Road Stars with aftermarket rubes -bolted on them, a sure sign that the aftermarket is willing to embrace the Road Sta r with opeJ;! arms. Once under way, it was impossible to resist the urge to drop the ham mer, and doin g so revealed a ra ther ir rita ting trait , as the Road Star's rev limiter stifles the eng ine's su rge about 500 rpm too soon, and that's a bi tch . Gra nted, th e Road Star powerpla nt was d esigned to be a sho rt-sh ifter and no t a screamer, but it' s no t asking too mu ch for at least a little overrev (if no t horsepower) - even on a cruiser - particularly be tween first and seco nd gea r, w hen yo u wa n t to mak e just a littl e more noise anyway. . But maybe that can be easily personal)zed a lo ng with the res t of the b ik e, beca use if you can ge t past th at little glitch, the Road Star is a pretty rig hteous ride. Clutching and shifting are excellent, with the shifting actually offering a so lid > (Above) Yamaha broke its own traditi on of building shaft-driven cru isers by engineering a bell drive to de liver the power to the Road Star 's rear wheel. Rear-suspension layout mimics the Harley Fat Boy look, if not the feel. (Below) Ju st beh ind the enormous chr ome headlight bezel, the handleba rs lend a very cruiseresque, wide, flat feel to the Road Star's comfo rtab le cockpit. Perched atop the 5.3-gallon fuel ta nk, the speedometer offers a traditional look with modem conveniences such as a dual tripmeter. (Below) Ifyou want to step up the sty ling and comfort just a bit, Yamaha offers the new Road Star Silverado, which features a windshield, a set-back handlebar bend , leather saddlebags and a passenger backrest, complete with chrome studs, for 511,999. (Above) The heart of the beast: The Road Sta r houses a mammoth air-cooled, pushrod, four-valve V-twin that disp laces 98 cub ic inches (1600cc) and pumps out a claimed 99 ft.-Ibs. of torque at the cra nkshaft. Pea k torque occurs below 2300 rpm. feel "c ru iser" feel without giving th e im press io n th at the tranny is crushing rocks. And ye t the bo x isn 't road racer precise either, which is good . . Once up to speed, you can settle into the wide sadd le and get a handle for the layout, and that's when you' ll probably rea lize that everything pretty much feels ' "in place." The relationship between the pegs, seat and bars is spot-on for jau nts to the grocery store, or N ew Mexico. The rid er sits in a nice, uprigh t position , and the floorboard p lace me n t isn't too far forward . All the controls are easy to reach as well, an d th e tank-m o u n ted speedometer is eas y to rea d . A b it of vibratio n can be felt th rough the bars as the mo tor hums along at speeds above the ideal 65 mph an d 2400 rpm, but it's hard ly a discomfort. One area w here th e bike could be made at least a little bit more co m fo rtabl e is in th e sus pensio n, which, while balanced, is a bit on the taut sid e initially when at speed, although we have to sa y th at it certainly sucks up bi g potholes with no problem whatsoever. A . more p lush feeli ng - like that o f the Royal Star, for exampl e' - w ould b e appreciated . The Road Star handles it s p ounds pretty well in the twisties, increasin g rider confidence when kept at a reasonable velocity. Start throwing it into th e comers , however, and you'll quickly be scraping the floorboards. Just the same, the Road Star is a very neutral handler, eq ually s table in a straight line a nd in the turns. One welcome difference in the bike's hand ling traits can be fou nd in the way the bike steers. Although the Road Sta r turns easily, the bike's fra me geometry is such that it feels well -planted all the time . There is no loose, squiggly feeling when you shake the bars from sid e to side whil e in a stra ight line. Braking is about as good as it gets in cru iserdom . The Roa d Star's pair of 298mm ro tors and twin-piston calipers up fro nt and single 320mm disc about back provide all of the whoa power that you will ever need ....rithout- feelin g overly powerful. Modulation is excellent. As for the st yling? Well, let's just sa y th at the Road Star gets an A for effort. The bike's features - its big air fins, ma ssive pushrod tubes, rounded ai r cleaner, the beautifully flowing lines of th e fuel tank and fenders - exude a classic look that is accented by modem touches such as the design of the rear belt sp roc ke t. Am ong the available color schemes are a beautiful red /cream combo and also a navy / ivo ry that reall y accent the Road St ar' s vintage looks. Still, one of the bike's strongest attractions is that it provides a blank canvas and is willing to ac commodate a ny rider who wants to turn it into something that he /she can ca ll his / her own. Ca lling a Ro ad Star y o u r own is something that Yamaha is anxious for you to do - if th e bi ke' s price po int is any indication. The Road Sta r is set to go fo r $10,499 (th e win ds hie ld- a nd leather-sad dlebag-eq u ipped Silverado retails for $11,999). Like we said ea rlier, first impression s are important, and at the end of the day our impress ion of th e Roa d Star wa s very positive. We think tha t Yama ha is going to sell a boa load of these th ings, t and w hy shou ld n' t they? This is d efinitely the kind 'of bike that the cruisin g cu stomer wanted . D A new Star is born. 1999Yamaha Road Star Specnications Engine .. ...Air-cooled, 48-d"l,'n't', twincam/pushrod V-twin w / four valves per cylinder. Bore x stroke Displacement Compression ratio Carburetion Ignition Transmission (1) 95 x 113mm 16OOcc 8.3:1 -IOmm Mikuni BSR Digital TCl Wide ratio 5-speed Final drive Belt Frame . .. Double cradle, single backbone, solid engine mount Rake/trail .32°1142mm Wheelbase 66.3 in. Seat height 27.9 in. Suspe nsion Front Rear Brakes Front .Telescopic fork; 5.51 in. travel .Swinga rm link; 4.33 in. travel A ~ ~ co 0\ 0\ Dual 298mm rotors w I twin-piston calipers .Single 320mm w I single-piston caliper ...... 0\ 56-spoke, 16x 3.0-in. rim wi 130/ 90-16 Dunlop 0404 Rear _ spoke, 16x 3.5-in. rim 'i6' wi l50/So-l6Dunlop 0404 Fuel capacity .5.3 gal. Claimed dry weight 677 lbs , Suggested retail price .510,499 ,.n Rear. Wheels/tires .Front l-< a; a a; a; u c 15

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