Maximum Twin-Cylinder Motorcycles: Honda VTX 1800N vs. Kawasaki Vulcan 2000 vs. Yamaha Road Star 1700

"They sure are growin' 'em big in Japan," said one onlooker. He wasn't talking about gymnasts. The top-of-the-line V-twin cruisers pack outrageously large guns these days, with the latest and most intriguing, of course, being Kawasaki's gigantic two-liter Vulcan. "I guess that's America for you," he went on, evidently aware that these monsters were fashioned very specifically to suit consumer taste in this country and no other. "Everything's about excess."

"Excess." The word begs to be pondered. If we're talking a little extra sugar on the beignet, a little more spice to the chili pot, more is definitely better. But, of course, there's a point where more becomes overkill, and frankly, the direction of these new bikes opens up that concept for debate. "Fun" is another word we are always intrigued by, and these new mega cruisers are undeniably amusing. We dare anyone to twist the throttle on any bike in this trio and not come away with a wicked smile. So the idea of combining excess and fun sounded like a logical theme for testing and comparing these machines. That's how we ended up in Texas. Big bikes, big intentions, big state, Big Bend National Park—you see the thread.

The parameters of the test were simple: Street-styled cruisers with a V-twin engine displacement of at least 1700cc. (It is a brave new world indeed when 1500cc V-twin bikes can be thought of as middleweights. Expect a Motorcycle Cruiser test of the 1500/1600cc cruisers to follow shortly.) All three of the big, big twins to make the cut were, coincidentally, new or much-improved bikes for 2004. The players were Yamaha's overhauled Road Star 1700, with its pushrod twin the only engine here that's air-cooled and carbureted. Honda's eye-catching, Rune-influenced VTX 1800N (Neo-Retro) brings an 1800cc, liquid-cooled, fuel-injected design and a single overhead camshaft design, while Kawasaki's ultimate gunslinger, the V2K—which invokes serious piston envy at a whopping 2000cc—is another pushrod, but unlike the Yamaha, it's liquid-cooled and injected. Oh yeah, we invited the Harley Custom Vehicle Operations' (CVO) Screamin' Eagle Ultra Glide, with the factory's first fully endorsed 1700cc air-cooled Twin Cam, along for kicks. But since that bike is a full-boat touring machine—not to mention virtually unobtainable at nearly $30K, and with only 3200 units being produced—it really didn't fit a slot that matched our other pegs. (You can read the Ultra's very own testette, by clicking here.)

Like the Harley, the Yamaha and Kawasaki use belt drive to deliver power to the rear wheel. We believe that shaft drive, as found on the Honda, is becoming antiquated technology on cruisers, and reviving the simplicity of a belt design is a certainty for the future. Not only does the belt smooth out annoying lash—still present in even the most refined shaft systems—it also opens the door for styling opportunities, and is nearly as clean, efficient and maintenance-free as the once-favored shaft system.

Aside from these mechanical variations, the machines share similar characteristics—all are huge, torque-end intended and enormously fun to play with. The Yamaha is the deal here at $10,999. The Kawasaki is $13,399 and the Honda is $13,499 to start, but adding factory-installed options to the VTX can raise the price substantially.

Any cruiser this big should be able to double as a tourer, so we asked each manufacturer to deliver its machine with factory-distributed bolt-on saddlebags and windshields already installed. The Honda and Kawasaki both came with rigid-mount leather bags, while Yamaha opted to show off its new model-specific, color-matched hard-bag line. The windshields were a varied lot—from the Honda's stylishly small fly screen to the Kawasaki's big, ill-fitting prototype (V2K accessories were still in development in December '03, when this test occurred). We were going for big miles in midwinter, so such comforts were compulsory, but all the accessories were deemed moot to the core comparison.

And so we left California looking for the ultimate big, Big Twin. Our destination was Big Bend National Park in the far southwestern quadrant of Texas, where the Rio Grande makes an abrupt turn in its nation-dividing course (hence the name Big Bend). We tested the bikes in all potential capacities: on lazy straights, sweeping, scenic highways, intense roller-coaster-type twisters, in the city, in towns and, of course, on viciously long freeway stints, including one 800-mile day.

Life is a Highway

Escaping Los Angeles invariably requires a combination of urban warfare on surface streets and lane-splitting on a spider web of beleaguered freeways. Doesn't matter what day of the week, or time of the day. As you'd expect, the Road Star, being the smallest of the biggest, was the most desirable ride during inner-city assaults. The VTX was completely manageable as well, though not as nimble or narrow as the Yamaha. The Kawasaki becomes a real barge in thick city traffic, feeling every ounce of its 800-plus pounds. And the efficiency of lane-splitting is quashed by that gigantic wheelbarrow-style handlebar. While you might not be lucky enough to lane-split in your state, a cruiser this wide could well be a liability getting in and out of your garage.

We would switch bikes at every gas stop, so the unfortunate who piloted the Vulcan out of city limits would hand it over just when it started to make sense—when its size turned more asset than atrocity. On the flip side, once the freeway opened up the Yamaha lost quite a bit of its charm, and compared to its roadmates it felt diminutive in both power and size. However, the ergonomic layout and stock seat of the Road Star held the favor of three out of four riders for the duration of the trip, while the particularly long-legged fourth felt cramped. The next favorite for droning comfort was the Honda, with its flat, turnback handlebar relating well to the large floorboard positioning. Two riders would have preferred the seat pocket to be farther back. The Kawasaki, though large enough to stretch out on, didn't earn high marks for ergonomic comfort. All disliked the deep pullback bar, the bar-to-floorboard relation and the stock seat. The Yamaha had the only seat we wouldn't change immediately.

Of course, the additional variables of rider comfort are suspension and vibration issues. We had no complaints about the Honda and Kawasaki in the latter department, with the VTX being the smoothest—in fact, glass-smooth at freeway speeds. The Yamaha inspired a few gripes about vibration at high rpm, but it's miraculously smooth considering the engine isn't counterbalanced. All of these cruisers have some type of shortcoming in the suspension department, and we remain miffed that bikes in this price range do not have the attention to suspension quality they deserve. The Kawasaki offered the least-favored ride on anything but flawless pavement because of an annoying lack of rebound damping in the rear, despite rear shock adjustability. Lighter riders suffered more from the teeth-clacking jolts than the heavier among us. In good conditions, the Kawasaki was controlled, yet compliant enough to be comfortable. While certainly plush enough on the highway and superior in cornering, the Honda earned bad marks for a lack of fork damping. We came to describe it as "busy" up front. The Yamaha has the least-controlled suspension, but the front and rear are at least well matched. The Road Star offered the plushest, most neutral ride on the freeway.

It took us two long, cold days of droning Interstate 10 to get into Texas. During one stint at night, the temperature dropped below 30 degrees before we could make it to our hotel. (Waaaa.) We were riding fools (or foolish to be riding in such conditions), living each day from gas stop to gas stop, cramming peanut logs into our face-shield ports and drinking from straws so we wouldn't lose too much warmth by removing our helmets. Distance between those merciful gas stops ranged from 100-140 miles, depending on the high-desert winds and the lead rider's bladder. Amazingly, the bikes all averaged mpg in the mid-33s. The Kawasaki's 5.5-gallon capacity had a slight advantage over the Yamaha and Honda's 5.3-gallon tanks. These bikes might get as good as 38 mpg with mundane usage. Normally, we would deem the lack of range an inconvenience for touring, but in the cold, wearing conditions of the to-and-from portion of our ride we were happy for the string of breaks.