The Suzuki's more unsavory clutch really felt the heat from testers, though. With a far-out engagement point and abrupt action, it proved nearly impossible to finesse at low speeds. One said it was "amazing it hasn't been corrected all this time." Otherwise, shifting was positive all around, with the Harley getting nods from the sportier riders who preferred a single shift lever to the other's heel-toe shifters and footboards. All five shifted predictably, though the American bikes were stiffer in that regard. The Kawasaki's adjustable control levers scored points, and its neutral-finder feature made getting out of gear a no-brainer, but the Suzuki's and Victory's neutral proved difficult to locate when the bikes got warm. Unlike earlier Victorys, the Kingpin's shifting got pronounced clonks only in first gear.
Just because they don't pack the biggest cubes anymore doesn't mean these bikes aren't still expected to deliver serious grunt. The Kingpin lives up to its topdog moniker with the strongest engine and the lightest weight here. The 100ci Freedom engine makes smooth, strong power-from way down low-that comes on hard as the revs rise. you can feel the claimed 85 ponies giddyap, and anytime we lined up for roll-ons on the highway the 'Pin easily ran away from the others. At the dragstrip ours ate up the quartermile in 13.15 seconds at 101.18 mph. And you get from 0 to 60 with civility-fueling is excellent with no surges or flatness.
The Harley's fuel-injected engine also offers great power and throttle response that arrives evenly all the way through, no matter what the rider does with the throttle. Although it looks like the most aggressive bike, the Bob came in second during speed trials, perhaps because of gearing. It went through the quarter-mile in 13.98 seconds, going 95.4 mph at the end. It pulls harder at all speeds than the metrics but just can't keep up with the Victory.
If you think the Star's bulk, heavy flywheel and shaft drive would hinder it here, you'd be somewhat right. The Road Star's fueling is much improved over the previous version and it responds smoothly to input, but 752 pounds is a lot of tonnage. It finished with a solid midpack performance, posting a 14.24-second time in the quarter-mile just ahead of the other two Japanese bikes.
The Kawasaki has a strong motor underneath a somewhat heavy throttle and flywheel action. An oversquare 102 x 95mm bore and stroke means a mostly punchy response but, true to that configuration, a bit less grunt off the line. The evenhanded, broad spread of power is counterbalanced so vibes are snuffed, and the single-pin crank can be felt asserting its character-which one tester called the "best of the metrics." If you're willing to whack the throttle the reward's substantial-the Vulcan's impressive at high-speed roll-ons down the highway, but its 754-pound heft- the most here-makes for a relaxed quarter-mile time, getting it done in 14.34 seconds at 89.04 mph.
True to its appearance, the C90 is no hot rod, coming in last in all speed and roll-on contests-though all the metric bikes ran relatively close. It got through the quarter in 14.53 seconds, going 87.45 mph at the end. However, power is controllable, though it's slightly disturbed by some lash in the drivetrain.
Since all the bikes here have counterbalancers save the Star and the Harley, none get your teeth clacking until your speed hits well past the limit. That said, the Star felt miraculously smooth even without vibe-snuffing countermeasures and its solid-mounted engine. Suzuki was smoothest by a small margin, but all the metric bikes delivered a fairly vibe-free ride.