Yamaha's Venture has it going...
Yamaha's Venture has it going with its soft-edged retro styling.
You begin to understand these bikes only when you take them touring -- really touring, not some around-the-block, circuit-of-the-Starbucks shindig. And we did. We loaded them up and headed south to the southernmost tip of Baja California. Mexico. The details of the ride itself are recounted in our "Baja by Bike" story.
Prior to departure, we packed -- and packed well. You've heard our complaints about the Yamaha's luggage before: For such a big bike, there's not a great deal of capacity, plus the latches and stays are known to be fragile. (We proved this, as Emasculator Elvidge managed to jam the Venture's tail trunk stay in the auto-lavanderia's parking lot in Loreto.) Although outwardly similar, the Harley's luggage is actually a bit superior; we particularly like the side-hinged trunk. Both the Harley's and Yamaha's crates will hold two full-face helmets.
BMW has been building bikes with luggage for years, and the CL's kit is pretty good. We're not in love with the side-firing saddlebags -- without liners it's common to have your stuff spill when you pop the lid -- and the top box, whose shape was impolitely compared to certain food-keeping appliances, will not hold two helmets.
Once on the road, the bikes' personalities emerged quickly, particularly with regard to weather protection and ergonomics -- and success in these areas is something we consider essential.
BMW's windshield is as annoying...
BMW's windshield is as annoying as it is odd.
Harley has been making touring rigs a long time and it shows. The Electra Glide fit everyone. One of us wished for a bit more room between the saddle and handgrips, but it was more a passing thought than an ongoing desire.
Yamaha gave the Venture a similar riding position, just in 115-percent scale. There's more room from the cushy seat to the broad floorboards, and the tiller-like bar is comparatively low and far away from you. Taller riders will appreciate this setup, although one of our testers complained of backache after only a few miles in the Venture's saddle.
And then there's the BMW. It is, to use a simple declarative, weird. The bar ends are high and improbably flat, like some strange beach-cruiser bicycle's, and the diminutive floorboards are high and far back. You can blame the Boxer engine if you must, but there's just not much room in this configuration to provide proper, foot-forward ergonomics. Only our cruiser-newbie tester found any semblance of comfort on the BMW, claiming the more upright body position was preferable to the slouch.
Simple, straightfoward and...
Simple, straightfoward and not too tall, the Haley's windshield was out favorite.
Cruisers typically place you in a position that puts a lot of weight on the saddle, and touring cruisers, by definition, tend to do this for long stretches of time. Again, the BMW received scorn for its comparatively rock-hard seat -- "soft touch" covering and electric heating notwithstanding -- and odd ergonomic layout. The other two are pretty much a wash; both the Harley and the Yamaha have deep, softly appointed seats with sufficiently firm underpinnings so that you're never resting right on the seat pan. Good form here.
How you sit on a cruising-tourer is only slightly more important than the wind and weather protection afforded. Once again, the BMW cuts its own trail. That Electra Glide-like fairing is massive, and seems even more so from the saddle -- dare we suggest the Harley actually feels compact by comparison? It's not the best at deflecting the wind, though; you get a good shot of air right at the upper shin where there's a gap between the lower edge of the demitasse lowers and the cylinder heads. As a result, the bottom half of the BMW rider's space feels awfully drafty, a benefit only in sweltering heat.
The Star has the most aesthetically...
The Star has the most aesthetically appealing fairing and the most disastrously tall windshield.
Allow us an entire paragraph on the demerits of BMW's unique windscreen design. First understand that we received the taller of the two options, and that none of us is exactly ready to play in the NBA. That said, we all hated the V-slit screen. Imagine riding on a twisty road. You look straight through the notch most of the time, but you must peer through the upraised "bat ears" to see through the corner. Lean the bike over and the wing disappears from view -- thank goodness. But if the next corner is going the other way, you must look back through the opposing raised section until you lean the bike well into that turn. And on it goes, with the pointy parts of the screen forever poking into and out of your view. Annoying is way too tame a description. Try again, BMW. Soon.
Once more, the Harley and the Yamaha are nearly tied, with the Ultra providing a shorter stock screen that most of us can see above without too much trouble and that provides very good wind protection with minimal buffeting. Moreover, the Harley's lowers are larger and closer to the rider, so his shins and feet are better protected. And there's the added bonus that you can remove these lowers without too much trouble, making the Harley the best for hot weather. (With the lowers in place, prepare to be boiled like a lobster when you're in traffic.)
Overall, the Yamaha is close, with slightly less protection from the main fairing and more from the unpardonably tall windscreen. (Recall that our Alaska trip in 2000 gave us cause to chop the screen en route, and although a similar fate was averted in Baja, there was much talk...) As such, the Venture offers a slightly quieter ride at the expense of a big push of wind on your back and the necessity of always looking through the shield. Yamaha does offer a lower shield as a $161.95 option.
If you're keeping score, for this category it's Harley ahead by a nose and the BMW a lonely third.