Once upon a time, nearly every motorcycle manufacturer in the land carried middleweight bikes at the core of its lineup. When the class was created back in 1985 with Yamaha's Virago 1100, anything in that range was thought to be plenty powerful-and in many segments of the motorcycle market literbikes are still widely considered to be the big guns. It's the cruiser market that's changed. With many machines now displacing well over 1500cc, a not-as-glamorous "middleweight" tag on a cruiser usually signifies around 1 liter of displacement-still nothing to sneeze at.
Whatever you call it, this in-between class has seen a revolving door of players for more than two decades. But Honda opted not to bring back its popular and long-running Shadow 1100 models for 2008, and BMW abandoned its R1200 cruisers altogether in 2006. We applauded Harley's earthshaking 1130cc V-Rod in our last Tweener Twins test (2002), but apparently buyers didn't share the love. Sluggish sales led the Motor Company to bore out the Revolution mill to 1250 cc, debuting it in the Night Rod Special in 2007. For 2008 all three V-Rod variants displace 1250cc. And Moto Guzzi still puts out 1100cc cruisers, but its sole entry for 2008 is the touring-oriented California Vintage.
The V Star's shaft is low-maintenance, but it comes with drivetrain jacking, too. Hey, Star, how about an axle cover?
In This Corner
In 2002 we could choose from 16 bikes in the 1100-1200cc class. We ended up picking seven contenders from six engine families in our comparison that year. For 2008, however, the choices have shriveled down to two manufacturers, each with one basic engine family (for a total of seven models). The two OEMs remaining in play are Harley-Davidson and Star Motorcycles.
For an update on the state of semi-big twins, we gathered samples from each. Harley launched its Evolution-based Sportster 1100 in 1986, bumping it to 1200cc in 1988 and then rubber-mounting it in 2004. The big news in 2007 was the addition of fuel injection to the entire line. For 2008 the Motor Company's 1200s include the Sportster 1200 Custom, the 1200 Low, the 1200 Roadster and a new model, the 1200 Nightster, all armed with EFI and packing 1199cc of displacement.
We had ridden both the Custom and the Nightster last year and were underwhelmed by their stingy suspension and cramped ergos-both hit the right styling notes but dropped the ball on comfort. The more neutral Roadster model's functionality got our attention instead.
The Harley makes more torque and power at all rpm, but the V Star's nearly flat torque curve is more consistent.
Back in 1999 Yamaha (now Star) phased out its powerful Viragos in favor of the updated V Star 1100 series, which used the same basic engine layout in a new chassis with updated styling. But there hasn't been much movement in the Star camp since-the newest addition to the 1100 line, the Silverado, was introduced back in 2002. Star builds three versions of the 1100 for 2008, all sharing the same 1063cc engine and basic chassis: a skinny-tired, chopperesque version called the Custom, the shield-and-bags Silverado and the retro-styled Classic. We selected the last as the designated hitter for the company's 1100s.
Come Out Swinging
Both our middleweight combatants sport the requisite air-cooled V-twin powerplants (75 degrees for the V Star and 45 degrees for the Harley), and both are fairly refined, considering their disparate origins. Aside from these similarities they couldn't be more different machines. The taller, slimmer Sportster adopts a standard, sit-straight-up riding position with a narrower bar, midmounted pegs and a semi-bench-type saddle. It also uses belt drive and a traditional dual-shock setup out back. The V Star goes for flat-out, traditional cruiser comfort-a relaxed riding position with a wide pullback bar, floorboards with a heel-toe shifter and a broad, dished two-piece saddle. It sports a shaft drive and a pivoting subframe design with a hidden single shock that keeps the lines consistent with the rest of the bike.