Victory's SportCruiser had...
Victory's SportCruiser had a short production life.
VICTORY
V92SC SportCruiser
Victory has two models, the original V92 cruiser and the new V92SC. Both use the same engine, frame and some other major components such as the 5.0-gallon fuel tank. However, the SC has its own exhaust system and revised airbox to improve power, revised ergonomics, and more sporting suspension, brakes, wheels and tires. Slimmer fenders, a lower handlebar and footpegs instead of floorboards significantly change the bike's profile. With its massive 50mm fork stanchions, low-profile radial Dunlop tires on 17-inch wheels, dual four-piston-caliper front brakes, dirttrack-style 2-into-1 upswept exhaust and cut-down saddle, the SC has an aggressive purposefulness that few other cruisers can project.
Victory's early 92-series...
Victory's early 92-series bikes have this unique multi-function instrument in the headlight shell.
Though it's been blacked out, the air/oil-cooled 1507cc 50-degree engine shares the same internals as the original Victory cruiser. Single overhead cams drive four valves per cylinder through fiddle-free hydraulic lifters. From the airbox up under the tank, the electronic fuel injector delivers mixture to the cylinders, each through its own 44mm throat. In the crankcases, a counterbalancer offsets the shaking of the single-pin crankshaft. A torque compensator helps smooth out power delivery.
The chassis is the same single-shock design of the original Victory cruiser, though the SC uses a higher-grade Fox unit which provides a ride-height adjustment. The multi-function LCD window and miniature tachometer are still included in the face of the headlight-mounted speedometer. Overall, the personality of the SportCruiser impressed us even more than the original V92C, and we wanted it to represent that other American motorcycle builder in our big-twin confrontation.
Yamaha's Road Star was an...
Yamaha's Road Star was an entirely new design.
Last year's big twins comparo winner returns unchanged to face the challenges from the new twins on the block. Still the biggest of the big, Yamaha's 1602cc monster has lots of visual appeal with its oversized pushrod tubes and heavily finned air-cooled cylinders. A large triangular airbox on the right side feeds the cylinders through a single 40mm carb. Each cylinder has four valves and two spark plugs. A long rocker operated by a pushrod depresses each valve pair, and one of the pair has a screw adjuster in its tappet to adjust for wear. Hydraulic adjusters set the primary clearance automatically, and the intake and exhaust pushrods share a common tube.
In 2000, the Road Star was...
In 2000, the Road Star was the biggest twin.
The cylinders are lined with a ceramic composite material. No counterbalancer or crankpin juggling was used to quell vibration from the 48-degree single-crankpin twin -- though that doesn't seem to have created a problem with vibration, thanks to engine location and the damping effect of the massive 45-pound crank. A dry-sump lubrication system stores oil in a reservoir atop the transmission. The transmission has an extra shaft that emerges to propel the final-drive belt near the swingarm's pivot point, thereby minimizing belt-tension changes as the single-shock swingarm moves through its arc.
Riding on 16-inch wire-spoke wheels with dual discs up front and the sort of wide seat, tank, floorboards and fenders that are currently fashionable (and always comfortable), the Road Star squarely hit the cruiser buyers' perceived target, making it an immediate hit.
We also have a "First Ride" article about the Road Star 1600's replacement for 2004, the Road Star 1700.