Though it doesn't pack the...
Though it doesn't pack the most displacement, Suzuki's Intruder 1500 is physically the biggest bike here.
Picking one of these machines requires an assessment of not only what looks good and fits your budget, but also of your riding plans. None of our riders really enjoyed the Suzuki Intruders. The 1400's dated style and awkward, uncomfortable ergonomics put us off. But if you are attracted to its quick acceleration on the road and impressive detailing, and can get comfortable with its ride and look, then the 1400, at approximately half the price of a Fat Boy, is quite a bargain.
The Intruder 1500 LC was also at the bottom of our riders' ratings, thanks to its ponderous feel and handling, unexceptional appearance, snappy clutch engagement, lack of customizing potential and generally unimpressive performance. However, many of our objections would be moot for a tall rider who planned to use it primarily for long hauls on straight roads.
Though a cut above the Intruders in our hearts, the Harley Dyna Super Glide didn't impress many riders except on twisty roads, where it excelled. The FXD's plain looks and uninspired ergonomics kept it off the tops of our riders' rankings. However, it has vast customizing potential, is fun to ride on twisty roads and can be had -- assuming you can find a dealer who isn't tacking on a hefty buyer's surcharge -- for less than other Harley big twins.
Our passenger rated the Kawasaki ultra-retro Drifter as her favorite, and it makes a good long-hauler for the rider too. Nonetheless, we were not enthusiastic about its throttle response and not too many in our group were smitten with its style.
It is impressive that the Excelsior-Henderson American X -- from a rookie manufacturer with some rough prototype components -- could earn a rating in the midst of this pack of veteran cruiser makers. We suspect that it will only improve if, and when, Excelsior gets it into production. Distinctive style, a generally well-sorted chassis, strong front brakes, quality components and finish and an absence of the detail annoyances that can stain a new bike put it squarely in midpack.
Kawasaki's original Vulcan 1500 Classic, the bike that took top honors in our first big twins comparison back in February 1997 remains in the top half this year, thanks to the same qualities that endeared it to us then. It's comfortable and confident whether trolling in town, touring on a super-slab or tearing up a mountain road. It slips from the top because there are newer bikes that can deliver those qualities with better power, improved fuel mileage and slightly better chassis performance. It remains a bike we are always pleased to find in our garage.
The new Victory V92SC SportCruiser edged out the Classic by offering something unique that appealed to many riders. Though it wasn't as handy in traffic as most of the other bikes and its saddle was not comfortable enough for enjoyable long hauls, those factors become unimportant when you ride the bike because it usually seemed to point itself to the nearest twisty road. The Victory's original style and strong engine also gave it points.
The top three were pretty close. Last year's favorite, the Yamaha Road Star, remains popular thanks to the same all-around excellence that put it on top in '99. Comfortable, fun to ride, good-looking and receptive to whatever activity you have in mind (except perhaps, racing) it has few faults.
However the same can be said of Kawasaki's new Vulcan 1500 Classic FI, which riders rated just slightly higher, in second place overall.
Winning by a fender tip is the Harley-Davidson Fat Boy, which came from a solid last in 1999 to top this year's rankings. Harley's reinvented Fat Boy is better in every way than the Evo-powered version: better braking, confident in corners, faster, more comfortable, smoother, and almost certainly more reliable. And it retains the style that made it America's favorite motorcycle. Now the FLSTF combines that style with a substance to make it as pleasurable for the rider as the beholder.
The carbureted Vulcan Cla...
The carbureted Vulcan Classic.
KAWASAKI
Vulcan 1500 Classic
Vulcan 1500 Classic FI
Vulcan 1500 Drifter
Kawasaki joined the big-twin game in the 1980s with the original twin-carb Vulcan 1500. That bike carried the flag for 10 years until 1996 when, perhaps anticipating Motorcycle Cruiser would need a crowd-stopper for the cover of its premiere issue [Spring 1996], Kawasaki introduced its Vulcan 1500 Classic. The Classic was the first import to offer the sort of style and substance that Americans wanted from a big twin. Instead of the obviously liquid-cooled engine of the twin-carb 1500A, the Classic had heavily finned cylinders and its radiator tucked out of sight between the front frame tubes.
It breathed through a single carb and was tuned for lots of thrust right off idle. It retained the single-crankpin design with its traditional sound (and continued to quell vibration with a counterbalancing system). However, the cadence of the exhaust was now backed up with traditional American lines -- a big headlight, covered, fat-legged fork tubes, a fat fuel tank and seat, floorboards, a staggered dual exhaust and wide fenders curving deeply around wire-spoke 16-inch wheels. The bike retained features such as the clean, quiet, low-maintenance shaft drive. Though some pundits thought the Classic was a blatant attempt to copy Harley-Davidson, instead it was the company's response to research that said customers wanted a cruiser that looked, sounded and felt the way the Classic does. This bike promptly became the best-selling metric cruiser, a title that it continued to hold the last time we checked.
Kawasaki's ultra-retro Drifter...
Kawasaki's ultra-retro Drifter 1500.
Kawasaki soon began producing derivative models, such as the Nomad tourer, which came with a new version of the twin-shock frame, beefed up to support the weight of a touring load and with revised steering geometry. Next was the Drifter. It brought an even more nostalgic look with the full fenders that harkened back to the Indians of the 1940s and other pre-war touches. Blacked-out trim and a minimum amount of chrome and polish easily distinguish the Drifter from the Classic -- even though they use some of the same components, including the 4.2-gallon fuel tank. The Drifter also introduced fuel injection, a feature that was updated and incorporated into the Nomad FI late last year.
The most recent of the Classic derivatives is the Classic FI, which assembles the best pieces from the rest of the line. It has the strengthened frame of the Nomad and the air-assisted shock from that bike, its own version of a fuel-injection system and the other power enhancements that come with it, such as nastier overhead camshafts and more compression for the four-valve combustion chambers. It also brings new gear that is so far unique, including a 5.0-gallon fuel tank topped by a revised instrument cluster with an LCD odometer/tripmeter/clock readout. With the arrival of the Classic FI, the original Vulcan 1500 -- the twin-carb 1500A -- was retired, its sales having diminished to a point where it was no longer worth building.
Kawasaki's new FI version...
Kawasaki's new FI version joins the original Vulcan 1500 Classic.
Because there are substantial differences between Kawasaki's three basic cruisers, we ended up including them all here. Though the Classics may appear the same, they have substantially different engines, ergonomics and frames.
SUZUKI
Intruder 1400
Intruder 1500 LC
Suzuki's Intruder 1400 was...
Suzuki's Intruder 1400 was introduced in 1987.
The oldest bike here, and perhaps in all of cruising, is Suzuki's Intruder 1400. When Suzuki introduced the 1400 in 1987, it was something of a revelation. It had the tidiest detailing ever seen on a production bike, with wiring and clutter -- even the spark plugs -- tucked neatly out of sight. Its styling took Japanese customs to a new level of Americanization, and its 1360cc air/oil-cooled V-twin was, at least briefly, the biggest we had ever experienced. The styling had come from Suzuki's American facility and, though it may seem dated now, it was cutting-edge back then.
With its pullback bars, undersized 3.4-gallon tank, narrow frame, and banana-like seat with a backrest, the 1400 was a deft replication of the kinds of customs Americans had been building, even though it arrived as tastes were shifting away from that look. Though Suzuki initially offered variations with flat handlebars and cast wheels, the pullback bars and wire wheels were what Americans wanted and the other models were discontinued.
The engine offered the style of a 45-degree V, but snuffed vibration by using two crankpins, staggered so that the forces created by the pistons' strokes canceled most vibration. The drawback to this was that the characteristic cadence of a single-pin 45-degree V-twin was lost. Each cylinder inhaled through its own 36mm Mikuni carb and a pair of intake valves and expelled burnt gases through a single exhaust valve. A single overhead cam operated the valves. Originally coupled to a four-speed transmission, the 1400 was upgraded to a five-speed in 1997. A drive shaft delivers power to the rear wheel.
The Intruder 1500 engine is...
The Intruder 1500 engine is based on...
The Intruder 1500 LC was introduced in 1998 and presents a stark contrast to the look of the 1400. Instead of the 1400's thin style, the hulking 1500 is the ultimate in fat. Its fork is covered and chubby -- not long and lean. The tank area (which is actually a dummy -- the real tank is under the seat) is huge, and the seat is wide and roomy. The front tire is a tubeless 16-incher on a cast wheel instead of the 1400's skinny 19-inch tube-type. Fenders are broad and deep. A chrome filler panel backs up the oversized headlight. The bigger bike gets floorboards instead of footpegs, and its instruments reside atop the tank. The entire package is wider, longer (with three inches more wheelbase) and more portly -- to the tune of 117 additional pounds with fuel -- than the 1400. The engine is the same basic air/oil-cooled 45-degree staggered-crankpin design, bored and stroked to displace 102cc more than the 1400 and re-skinned to create a massive look that matches the rest of the bike. The intake plumbing has been rearranged so that both carbs nestle inside the V (instead of each behind its cylinder as on the 1400), and they breathe through a huge airbox that occupies much of the volume inside the dummy fuel tank. (The faux airbox on the right side of the engine houses other components.)
Both of Suzuki's big twins combine main-street American styling themes with the company's own touch to create individual personalities and real alternatives to the rest of the big-twin class.
 ...the strikingly different...  ...the strikingly different 1400. | | |