A few items drew criticism. The cover over the final drive pulley was termed "tacky," "weird," "out of place," or just plain "kinda ugly." The front of the engine is a bit cluttered by dual horns (though their attention-getting volume does make them welcome), rear-brake master cylinder, and spin-on oil filter. Some of the engine's external plumbing begs for stainless steel replacements.
Doubtlessly there will be aftermarket remedies for many of these complaints. At the bike's introduction, Yamaha showed heavily customized bikes. It says it has 160 accessory items already available, including chrome, saddles, saddlebags and windshields. We also saw cast wheels, headlights, pipes and other pieces from aftermarket vendors. Most of these accessories should be available now. The bike hit dealers in December, with the Silverado version a few weeks behind. Customizing should be easy; the bike was built with modification in mind. You won't encounter hidden roadblocks to changes every time you take off a cover or remove a component. The design is exceptionally straightforward.
Making an all-new engine is...
Making an all-new engine is a very expensive undertaking, so it's surprising that the Road Star is priced so reasonably. Presumably, Yamaha expects to get a lot of mileage out of the design.
We found a raft of well-thought-out details. Placing the dipstick/oil-filler under the locking saddle might foil someone bent on sabotage. (The editor was once called to testify in a case where a neighbor had apparently put grass clippings in a motorcycle's oil filler.) The fork, ignition and saddle unlock not only with the same key, but the same lock. Located conveniently in front of the tank-top speedometer, the ignition lock is positioned to operate as a fork lock, and also operates the seat lock via a cable. Lugs on the bottom of the triple clamp allow use of a padlock for additional security.
The technology Yamaha used for the instruments makes the entire gauge and light-cluster less than a half-inch-deep, reducing the amount of fuel space needed to accommodate it. The needles for both analog instruments, the speedometer, and fuel gauge operate by step motors; they calibrate themselves when the ignition is turned on by swinging to full-scale readings before returning to zero and the current fuel level. The LCD display in the speedo face has a two-line display. The top line is a clock, and you can toggle between the odometer and two tripmeters on the second line. Mounted in a pretty chrome setting and nicely backlit with large markings, the instruments' only drawback is their position, which is well below your line of sight.
Pushrods, hydraulic adjusters,...
Pushrods, hydraulic adjusters, and rockers operate four valves per cylinder. One valve in each pair has a manual adjuster to adjust for any variance in wear.
Priced at $10,499 for the base model and $11,999 for the Silverado model, the Road Star's price suggests it is a second-tier machine compared with the Royal Star. We don't know about long-term reliability yet (we are working on it), and the Road Star only has a one-year warranty (rather than the Royal Star's five years, plus roadside assistance), but in all other standards of measurement the Road Star is The Star among Yamaha's cruiser line. More than that, the Road Star raises the bar for everyone, and not just in displacement.
For our first impressions of the 2004 Yamaha Road Star 1700, see the report on our first ride.
The Road Star was also included in our 2002 Big Twin Comparison.
ABOUT THAT ENGINE...
After sitting through many presentations for new models, you get a feel for what a difficult conceptual leap the classic American cruiser engine must be for Japanese engineers. For those raised on innovation, technical excellence, reducing mass and improving performance, wrapping your thoughts around the comparatively low-tech or even retro-tech requirements of an ideal cruiser motor must be demanding. And that makes Yamaha's new 1600cc V-twin that much more remarkable because -- unless it reveals some reliability flaw -- it is, in our opinion, the standard against which all other big V-twins will be measured.
The air-cooled cylinder have...
The air-cooled cylinder have ceramic liners.
The 1602cc engine is more than just the biggest OE engine on the market. It is straightforward like an American design, but it also enjoys traditional Japanese engineering and attention to detail. The prominent finning is genuine and necessary, since the engine really is air-cooled. There are no extra covers to accentuate the size of part of the engine. The big triangular airbox really is an airbox, and the entire airbox is there. About the only unconventional piece is the dipstick tube, which projects up from the sump above the transmission's output shaft. The side panels hide it. To reach it, simply pop off the saddle.
It's been a long time since a new Japanese engine came with pushrods. How did Yamaha arrive at such a low-tech system of valve actuation? Styling, we were told. Those fat chrome pushrod-housing tubes highlight the 48-degree V-angle. Both pushrods for each cylinder live inside the single tube. They rest on hydraulic adjusters. At its top, each pushrod operates a rocker on the end of a shaft. The other end of the shaft has two integral rockers to depress the two intake or exhaust valves for that cylinder. One of each pair of rockers has a threaded adjuster. That permits adjustment for any difference in manufacturing tolerances or wear. An automatic decompression system lifts one exhaust valve to make things easy on the starter motor. The combustion chamber has a pentroof configuration with two spark plugs. The single 40mm carb has a throttle-position sensor and accelerator pump.
There's technology, but little...
There's technology, but little fakery, in the Road Star mill.
One of the attractions of pushrods is that they keep the engine short from top to bottom. Indeed, Yamaha claims that despite its ultralong 113mm stroke, the 1602cc engine, at 21.1 inches tall, is the shortest big twin available. One sign of its Asian roots is the 97.76-cubic-inch displacement, which stops just 37cc shy of 100 cubic inches. An extra 2mm added to the 95mm bore would have given Yamaha's copywriters one more thing to brag about, but the displacement target was seen in metric terms rather than American. Since the cylinders feature low-friction, high-heat-transfer, ceramic-composite liners over an aluminum base, overboring won't be easy. Some will see the 48-degree V-angle as an effort to mimic Harley. But this engine is much smoother than any 45-degree Harley twin, so you can't argue with the design decisions. In fact, the most amazing thing about this engine is how smooth the bike is without counterbalancers or rubber engine mounts. No doubt the tremendous mass of the crankshaft (a hefty 45 pounds) helps smooth it out, and the engine is a long way from the handlebar.
Yamaha feels confident enough with the deep head fins and ceramic-lined cylinder that the bike has no oil cooler cluttering up the engine bay. The spin-on filter at the front of the engine is a bit obtrusive, but it's also easy to reach.
Although the engine is short from top to bottom, it's extra long front to rear, partly due to the fact that the transmission has an additional shaft behind the two standard transmission shafts. Power leaves the left end of the crankshaft through a geared primary and wet clutch. It exits the five-speed transmission on the right side, where a silent chain and another reduction carries it back to that third shaft which runs across to the drive pulley for the belt final-drive. This final shaft not only puts the belt on the left side, it also moves its drive pulley rearward near the swingarm pivot. As a result, there is little change in belt tension as the swingarm pivots up and down.
Termed a semi-dry sump design, the lubrication system carries the majority of its oil in the crankcase, but there is an additional sump occupying the case above the final output shaft. This is where oil is added and its level is checked.
Yamaha has demonstrated its vision of what a high-end cruiser can be with the quality and finish of the Royal Star. With its new V-twin it combines that vision with an engine that epitomizes what many people feel a cruising motor should be -- in style and performance.
Art Friedman