THE MEAT OF IT
Next on our list of important features to look for in a new motorcycle purchase is the engine and drivetrain. These elements have a very visceral effect on us and are not as easy to tailor as ergonomics. In making our assessments we not only looked for the ultimate in gut-clenching power, we also judged the powerband for balance, starting and warm-up convenience and throttle response. For drivetrain evaluation, we single out clutch reaction and ease of use, efficiency of shifting, overall transmission behavior and any standout gearing characteristics.
But first things first. If you're looking at a big twin for your next cruiser you obviously have a taste for thrust. It's a particularly exciting class this year because so many of the engines are offering enhanced output. All of them offer dramatic low-end grunt, save the 1400, which is designed and geared to deliver more oomph on top. The pumped-up and refined Road Star motor found in the Warrior shines when it comes to sheer strength, and with its 76.3 hp toting only 658 pounds, it bested all the other bikes in the quarter-mile by pulling a 12.71 at 103 mph. The Warrior has a smooth drivetrain to match its intense motor. The VTX's 1800cc powerplant won out for emotional appeal and does offer the highest actual horsepower and torque readings at 94.6 and 105.1 lbs/ft, but unfortunately, it weighs in like an elephant at 796 pounds. We also suffered through some sticking-shifter problems on this bike, which eventually left us stranded in second gear. The problem turned out to be a kink in the shift linkage. The bike had to be hauled back to Honda, where it immediately went to R&D for investigation. All that torquey power isn't much fun on the side of the road.
Harley's Deuce, which uses the counterbalanced Twin Cam 88 engine, was a favorite in the performance department as well. We had the fuel-injected version (it's also available carbureted), and it ran smoothly and pulled like a champ. Both Harleys lost some points for transmissions that don't engage as cleanly as their Japanese competitors and clutch levers that require an aggressive tug. The Victory motor is very comparable to the Twin Cam in output, but it's still a bit unrefined in character when ridden back-to-back with the counter- balanced Harley and most of the metrics. We do applaud Polaris for smoothing and finally quieting the bike's transmission though, and overall, the motor and drivetrain did rank much higher than in our last go-round. The Mean Streak is incredibly smooth and offers a placating amount of power, if not the commanding pull we'd expect from a bike aggressively marketed as a muscle twin. The Vulcan Classic FI is not far off the mark here. It uses an identical motor sans more aggressive cams enhanced injection and the lower gearing of the Mean Streak to deliver streetable grunt. The Drifter runs hotter cams, but carries more weight than the Classic. All three Kawasakis offer a flawlessly smooth drivetrain, and their Automatic Neutral Finder (which allows the box to shift only from first to neutral at stops) made them sweethearts for our many Chinese Fire Drill-style swaps. Both Harleys and the Victory required a fair amount of plunking around for the green light.
We've always wanted to like the Road Star motor more than we do. It's such a sweet-looking design, and that 1600 number just makes us expect some real power. It tools around fine and dishes out some nice flywheel effect but feels pretty darn anemic on top. Suzuki's 1400 remains a sprightly contender in the performance challenge thanks to an unencumbered chassis and aggressive gearing. This more dated shaft-drive design does produce some noticeable jacking though, and we all thought that it was just a bit too retro. After the conclusion of our test (which continued for six weeks after the group ride) the 1400 had badly glazed its clutch plates. The Harley FXDX Twin Cam pulls well, but its unbalanced nature made it a little too raw for even those hard-core H-D enthusiasts among us. It's also one of the only bikes that was a bitch to warm up on those ultra-cold mornings. Last and least, the Intruder 1500 motor and drivetrain continue to leave us cold. It's a heavy bike and really needs a little more oomph and a little less vibration coming from under the saddle. And while Suzuki has managed to improve the abrupt-release engagement problem in its clutch, there remains too much play before actuation and the engagement is still too sudden.
As for margins imposed by gearing and rev limiters, there were only a few complaints. Several people complained that the Intruder LC is overgeared. Almost everyone kept bumping against the VTX's limiter, and several riders had the same complaint of the Road Star's imposed ceiling.
THE COLD FACTS
About midway through our second balls-in day, all the testers had ridden the whole range of bikes long enough to start forming comparative opinions. We'd arrived at a little gas station in Lone Pine, California, where we stood around the deli counter trying to get our frozen hands to shovel some homemade potato chowder toward our blue lips.
We'd asked our guest testers to think about dozens of details, but that the bottom line should include two key things: Which of these bikes would you take home, and would it be the same bike if you had to buy it? The potato-chowder conversations were interesting. In all of our previous Big-Twin tests these questions had been pretty easy to answer. Now there was the "Which bike would I take home for what kind of riding?" component. "Am I going to ride it on weekends in the canyons? Tour on it? Commute? Or show it off at Bike Night?" Of course our answer was, "It has to do whatever is most important for you." But a door had been opened and we needed to explore it. The advent of performance twins seems to have put one too many hooks on the hat rack, and now these big cruisers have intentions that are so widespread, it had become questionable whether they could be collectively compared using the same formula.
On one side of the gas pump you have the classic cruisers--bikes that are built for show and as platforms for customizing more than power wars and canyon blitzing. Within that class you have ultra-retro styles like the VTX and Drifter as a sub-class, which really only appeals to a select group of enthusiasts. You also have some classics that are more easily turned into touring bikes. On the other side of the pump you've got these new performance machines, with a more hard-core intent. As we thawed out among the bewildered customers at that heaven-sent chowder-bearing service station, it was becoming more apparent that there could logically be more than one winner in this Big-Twin event.
HANDLE THIS
After a particularly curvaceous descent out of the mountains, we decided to park the bikes at the base so we could try them back to back, up and down the twisty stretch. Everyone was particularly interested to ride the new muscle twins in the tight stuff. We love that the manufacturers are chasing the performance trend and finally granting cruisers some of the qualities they should've had all along--like lighter chassis, good brakes, decent suspension and more useable power. So hurray and all that, but the fact is, we've still got a long way to go.
The Warrior is the bike everyone was waiting for to put a little sport in the big-twin cruiser arena (remember the V-Rod doesn't fit in this displacement category). After all, the new Yamaha is wearing a bunch of cutting-edge sportbike parts, including an inverted fork and swingarm lifted from the company's successful R1. We wanted it to go around corners like a wet kid on a waterslide--smooth and fast. The Warrior handles better than typical cruisers, true. But it's a bit quirky in corners, mostly as a result of the wide radial tires and a lack of damping in the rear. Initial steering is quick (some that like the feel of standard cruisers thought it was too quick), and the bike isn't one that you can just set in a line and forget. It requires management all the way through, especially if the corner is anything but smooth or you're carrying a lot of speed. In addition, it's hard to feel sublime when there are sparks careening off your footpegs.
Ground clearance is an area the manufacturers need to pay way more attention to, especially with cruisers intended for fast cornering. There is absolutely no reason why these bikes have to drag so much so soon. Harley-Davidson--the quintessential big-twin builder--figured it out long ago, and its bikes still offer better clearance than 95 percent of metric cruisers out there.
No one was as impressed with the Warrior as they wanted to be. It was the Mean Streak that wowed the crowd instead with its more stable mannerisms and quick-but-predictable steering response. (Our larger riders found the Meanie a bit undersprung in the rear despite air adjustment.) The Harley Deuce was another favorite. It's easy to ride fast--nimble and confidence-inspiring in corners although heavier to prompt than the performance twins with their high-tech forks. The FXDX, which each and every one of us detested in the straights, was also easy to pitch into a corner and tracked a line well. (Again, one of the fundamental reasons why people find the Harleys so nice to ride in corners is the superior ground clearance they offer.) The Victory V92C placed well in the cornering wars, winning high scores for smoothness and stability. That stiff suspension that bothered everyone on the highway is right at home in fast corners as long as they aren't too bumpy. The Victory steers sweetly after a bit of a push and tracks a corner like a hound dog on the scent.
Kawasaki's Vulcan Classic--our does-everything-well-entry--didn't receive overt praise in the handling department, but no one had serious gripes either. It's predictable and pleasant in low-speed corners, although both the front and rear suspension is soft, which causes some wallowing in fast stuff and exaggerates the bike's lack of ground clearance. The Drifter's cushy suspension, although nice on the open road, didn't receive good marks for cornering. One tester likened it to "riding a trampoline."
Suzuki's 1400 was pretty darn fun to ride fast. It's well sprung and small, making it easy to flick around. In low-speed situations, however, the Suzuki's tall, skinny chopper-style front wheel is pretty twitchy, and in anything loose--like gravel--it's all over the place. Just ask Paul Posey, who was skirting a frozen puddle on a gravel road when the 1400's front end started dancing around. It took him right over a two-foot dirt berm and into a field of boulders. (Good thing the bike's light, so we could lift it back on the road.) The Road Star is smooth and we like it for its low-speed maneuverability. But its soft suspension and unacceptable lack of ground clearance made it a dud for fast riding. The VTX Retro is an absolute barge compared to the whole lot of big twins, a result of its length and absurd tonnage. As one rider said, "If I wanted a truck I'd buy one." The VTX was even last to the Intruder LC, which up until now had always been the object of our obese-bike jokes. The standard VTX does much better than the Retro version in corners, although both are too long and heavy to be called good handlers.