First Ride: 2010 Star Stratoliner Deluxe

But then I spy the next leg of our route, Highway 79, shimmying up the other side of the San Jacinto ridge, and I think NAH. I'm lagging behind the rest of the group and 'Communication Breakdown' suits my mood just fine. So I wick it up, upshift into 5th, and begin the chase.

The gang's all here for the official debut and first ride on Star's newest touring machine, the 2010 Stratoliner Deluxe. Why a big cruising tourer, you might be asking, and more to the point, why NOW?

The crux of it (according to Star data) is that, in spite of the gloomy economy and shabby state of the motorcycle industry, apparently cruiser sales are suffering the least. Additional numbers from the Motorcycle Industry Council state that cruisers represent the largest share of total new motorcycle sales in the past five years. Within that group, the single largest spurt of growth has been with the bagger segment, so it's not surprising that Star is taking the plunge into what it calls the "Casual Full Dress Touring" category with the 2010 Stratoliner Deluxe.

Based on the Roadliner platform, the Deluxe's saddlebags and fairing are also available as separate bolt-on accessories (see the April issue, Between the Lines, "Star Deluxe Doppelganger"). From the big 1854cc V-twin to the aluminum frame and swingarm, the engine specs and the chassis dimensions of the Roadliner, Stratoliner S and 2010 Deluxe are virtually the same.

With all that, the Stratoliner Deluxe is definitely striking in appearance. It's big yet sleek, and sexy yet masculine. Now, where's my Old Spice?

Our two days with the bike was plenty of time to cozy up to the Deluxe's fairing and saddlebags, both of which were fleshed out by GK Design International (a firm that's done several other projects with Star). 250 miles of riding took us along the Southern California coast, up into the mountains of Northern San Diego County and eventually over into the Coachella Valley. But first we had to endure the freeway blitz out of the urban center.

In the Wind
Along I-5, the Stratoliner Deluxe settled into a nice freeway hum, pulling 75mph at 3300 rpm in top gear. It's not like the bike buzzes at that speed, but a sixth speed would have been okay too. The big Stratoliner chugged through it unruffled, its big bat wing cutting a gap through the wind.

Weaving up into the mountains on Highway 76, the Deluxe served up plenty of ground clearance for the tighter-radius turns, and with 1854cc of displacement-the largest air-cooled standard engine in this class-moving along 800-plus pounds of metal was a simple proposition thanks to a light throttle and excellent fueling from the EFI's 12-hole fuel injectors.

Inside that mill is technology sourced from Yamaha's sportbike division: things like ceramic-composite plated cylinders and forged pistons cooled by oil jets. Four pushrod-activated valves and dual spark plugs in each cylinder head keep the pistons churning within the 100mm bore. The Stratoliner Deluxe sports a relatively high 9.5:1 compression ratio for a bagger, but the engine is one of the smoothest in the class thanks to dual counterbalancers.

When I pushed up the rpm, the 113 cubic inch pushrod V-twin responded with an immediate surge down low, then a healthy midrange whomp and a horsepower kick at the top end. In any gear, the Stratoliner's torque came on at will, and the motor pulled eagerly, if not hurriedly-gotta remember that stroke is over four-and-a-half inches. According to Star, the engine on all three trims is identical, though the gearing may have been tweaked on the Strat. Either way, you're still sure to encroach into license-threatening territory long before the tach ever reaches redline (5700 rpm)in top gear. A beefy 2-into-1 exhaust system spits out a satisfyingly, bass-y note.

Midway through our route, narrow mountain roads intervened to give the Strat Deluxe a chance to prove itself in tight quarters. The bike's center of gravity is low, so control and directional changes were made easily; the motor's huge flywheel kept things moving along unfettered and the well-calibrated suspension-on the plush side-ate up pavement irregularities with reasonable consistency. Making U-turns for photos on the big beast was fairly drama-free.

I shouldn't have been surprised the bike rides so well, given our positive experience with the Roadliner and Stratoliner S models in the past. That same smooth, accessible powerband is still available in all gears, and the suspension-even with the additional weight of the fairing-handles the job gracefully. We were also impressed that the fairing didn't negatively affect the 'Liner's neutral steering either. The Deluxe's four-pot calipers provided good initial bite (though with more lever travel than we'd like) on the dual front discs, and progressive action came with good feel, as we expected it would.