Twin Cam meets the Mini Apes....
Twin Cam meets the Mini Apes. "Whatchoo lookin' at?" The Street Bob brings original gangsta style to the masses with all the comforts of home. Cruise Drive never felt so weird.
As a result, all the heavy-middleweights gathered here flaunt a somewhat antisocial side, perhaps even having been called bad-asses at some point in their lives. Naturally, certain qualities come with that territory. Key among them is tire-chunking power and snarling style. Reasonably balanced road manners are a nice bonus, but they often aren't part of the package. And these dark horses don't often share the cosmetic spotlight with their bling-ier brethren.
For our admittedly loose comparison, we hauled out the Kingpin 8-Ball, a stripped, blackened solo mount which cedes the muscle banner to its stablemate the Hammer, but still packs plenty of punch with the 100-inch Freedom engine. Next out of the pen was Suzuki's rippling, 125 hp M109R-the epitome of the musclebike credo-which, through no fault of ours, simply didn't make it into our muscle test a few issues back. This time out, Suzuki sent us the Limited Edition version. Then there was the one that started the latest power craze-Star's original hot-rod, the Warrior. Outfitted in suitably sinister Midnight trim, the former AMA Champ is still potent after all these years, but perhaps because of its styling, is still considered something of an outsider by the traditional cruiser crowd. As for the Street Bob, there's no question this Harley was made to provoke love-or-hate reactions. With mini apehanger bars, a solo seat and pseudo-primer paint job, it oozes back-alley attitude. Bring it on, we said.
Traditional, mainstream cruisers they're not, but these factory bad boys address that part of your id that absolutely loves a wicked grin. We knew we were going to have some serious fun, but we came up against a few surprises, too.
Our M109R came in pure white...
Our M109R came in pure white with a jaunty nautical stripe. Attitude? Well, at least it brought plenty of ponies to the table.
As the lightest bike by far,...
As the lightest bike by far, the Warrior had a big advantage in the turns. Its ergonomics were suspect for shorter riders, but the Star's good points far outweighed its bad ones.
The 8-Ball swaddles its Stingray...
The 8-Ball swaddles its Stingray wheels, forks, engine and other bits in a shiny black coat. The dark demeanor works: everyone voted the 8-Ball as best-looking bike here.