This trophy, created by Aeromach, was awarded to Honda for the 2003 Cruiser of the Year, the Valkyrie Rune.
On Thursday June 3, we posted a poll to let site visitors vote for Cruiser of the Year. Found on the the MotorcycleCruiser.com home page (about halfway down on the left), the poll, sponsored by Roadhouse Brand, offers nine candidates from among the new-for-2004 cruiser models. Response was, as expected, quite heavy, and the lead in the poll has shifted a few times as the number of votes approaches 900. We urge visitors who haven't voted to do so.
Early balloting favored the Harley Sportsters, Honda VTX1800N, and the Triumph Rocket III, then the Harley and Triumph candidates began to pull away. Yamaha's Road Star 1700 saw a surge in the afternoon, perhaps from a group of fans, but never quite reached a level of contention. By Friday morning the Rocket III had begun to show a strong lead, but then a surge of votes came in for the Kingpin (this was such an obvious block of votes that we suspect that a group of Victory enthusiasts voted all at once), opening up a substantial lead. As this is written on Friday evening, the Triumph, enjoying a surge of its own, has regained the lead, but the Harley has fallen back.
One interesting aspect of this poll is that the Vulcan 2000, which we speculated would be a favorite, is trailing every other candidate and even the "None of the above" response. Kawasaki's 1600 Mean Streak (also sold as the Suzuki Marauder 1600) has pulled many more votes.
You can see the results by casting your own vote or by clicking here.
Motorcycle Cruiser's staff gets to ride the Triumph Rocket III starting on June 9, and we will make select the editor's choice for Cruiser of the Year, to be announced in the October issue, after that.
For more breaking motorcycle news, visit the home page of www.MotorcycleCruiser.com.