The Kawasaki Drifter 1500...
The Kawasaki Drifter 1500 brings the roominess and elegance of classic American motorcycles.
As the Road Turns
Obviously, suspension plays an important role in cornering behavior too. On twisty roads, however, firm suspension is often an asset if it keeps the bike from pitching during power changes, braking or other inputs from the rider or road. The top-rated bikes on mountain roads were the Super Glide and the SportCruiser. The Harley has an edge in cornering clearance (the most in this group) and quick steering response when entering corners. The Victory, though slow and slightly heavy feeling in lower speed corners, feels steady in fast bends, and the Dyna, though not unsettled, can't quite match it. The Victory offers less lean angle than the FXD.
The Excelsior also proved very handy when the road meandered. But it was good news/bad news. The good news was that it steered quickly and held its line well when leaned over -- until something dragged. The bad news was that, unlike most of this group, the American X dragged solid pieces almost as soon as the floorboards dragged, and it wasn't leaned over all that far when that happened. The boards didn't fold up as far or as easily as on other bikes. If you didn't take the hint and kept leaning, it began to lever the wheels off the pavement, giving a few riders more excitement than they wanted. Excelsior-Henderson plans to fit a longer fork to this model when it goes into production, so this should change. The firm estimates that the American X will have another 38-inch ground clearance, which is substantial. Note that the leading-link Super X has an edge here, not only because the fork is a bit longer, but also because it does not pitch forward during braking. (However, the Super X also doesn't tolerate riders who ignore that first sound of contact.) Riders who had one of these moments tended to rate the E-H lower than those who had learned by watching their experiences.
Victory's 92SC SportCruiser...
Victory's 92SC SportCruiser was an attempt to combine winding-road excdllence with cruiser style.
Though their chubby style doesn't pump up your expectations, Kawasaki's Classics, the Fat Boy and the Road Star rose to the challenge of the "Bodfish Breakdown." You can immediately feel the differences in the two Kawasaki frames on a winding road. The original Classic may be dipped deeply into a corner with comparatively little effort and held there. It took more handlebar pressure to lean the Classic FI over until its floorboards were throwing sparks. However, in fast bends the FI felt steadier than the classic Classic, which sometimes responded to such ungentlemanly conduct with a non-threatening but noticeable wallow. But the FI was not as steady as the Fat Boy or the Road Star, both of which turn with modest effort and hold their lines well. Once again, the Y2K Fat Boy is a major improvement on the '99 model with much steadier tracking through faster corners. Though the Road Star had less clearance than everything but the E-H, it is remarkably comfortable when leaned over with a floorboard making an awful racket. Riders who had never ridden a Road Star before exclaimed about its handling, impressed that so much noise was coming from underneath a bike that felt so settled. We continue to await aftermarket magnesium or other high-spark replacements for the Yamaha's floorboard inserts, which contact the road. We think there is an overlooked opportunity for spectacle here.
A few riders liked the way the Intruder 1400 turned into and tracked through corners, but most felt the suspension was too wimpy, especially since it has more jacking effect from its shaft drive than the other shafties. The majority said that the 1400 felt generally awkward and overworked when being pushed hard. It also drags solid components shortly after it first touches down. A few liked the Drifter, but most said it needed too much effort to bend into a turn and it felt unsettled when leaned over. The bike also drags relatively early. The same criticisms were leveled at the Intruder 1500, but more emphatically. With its considerable mass and wide tires, the LC takes a forceful push on the bar to get it leaned over and keep it there, and it feels a bit unsteady until you straighten it up again.
Mountain road adventures also put a premium on strong brakes. The Victory is the clear winner here. Its brakes live up the "sport" part of its designation, providing powerful stops with two fingers on the front lever. Though none of these bikes run out of cornering traction before they run out of cornering clearance, good tires can provide traction to make the most of strong brakes. The Victory delivers here too, with Dunlop radials that are much grippier than any other tires in the group. As a result, the Victory can stop harder than any of the others. The Excelsior has the second strongest front brake and the least powerful rear brake. This is not necessarily a bad thing, since over-braking the rear wheel and the resultant lock-up can cause it to skid out of line -- a common reason for loss of control in panic stops. A few riders complained about the poor feel or power of the Drifter brakes, but the rest received generally solid marks, with an occasional dissenter. The changes to the Fat Boy are impressive in this area too.
Suzuki's Intruder 1400 is...
Suzuki's Intruder 1400 is the oldest and most uniquely styled motorcycle in this group.
Newton's 17th Law of Cruising states "What slows down must speed up." Of course, some of these bikes speed up better than others. Three bikes stand out for their all-around muscle. We were surprised that, after the smoke had cleared at the dragstrip, the Fat Boy turned out to the bad boy, and the only bike that edged into the 13-second bracket, with a 13.97-second, 91.90-mph run. Though last year's FXDX ran even quicker than that, this year the lighter FXD couldn't do better than 14.03 seconds at the same 91.90 mph terminal speed as the Fatty. Third place, with the best terminal speed (often regarded as the true measure of horsepower) was the V92SC at 14.11 seconds and 92.30 mph. It also ran quicker last time (April 2000) we tested the very same bike, so the headwind all the bikes were bucking this day apparently slowed them down. The slowest bikes were the Excelsior at 15.08 seconds, and the carbureted Kawasaki at 15.03 seconds. These two bikes also brought up the rear in contests of top-gear acceleration, which we also noted out on the highway before measuring it at the strip. That top-gear-acceleration category continues to be the property of the Suzuki 1400 Intruder, thanks largely to its gearing advantage, with the Victory pulling ahead of the Harleys for second best.
How a bike delivers its power is as important as how much power it makes. Only the Drifter received multiple comments about lumpy carburetion, specifically its somewhat abrupt throttle response. The Classic FI, Harleys and Victory got overall praise for their throttle response and power characteristics, and the Yamaha was cited for its excellent in-town power delivery. This was another area where the Fat Boy has improved tremendously, having gone from poorest engine performance last year to among the very best.