Better love them for their looks. None of these four bikes' leather bags offers all the practical advantages of a hard saddlebag. They can't fend off heavy rain or dust, so you need to put the contents in plastic bags if rain is in the forecast. Only a few can be locked, so you don't want to leave anything valuable inside. They also require special care products to keep them in prime condition. But they redeem themselves with their classic American style.
Two different styles of saddlebags adorn these four motorcycles. The Yamaha Tour Classic and Harley Convertible use bags with flap-type closures. The Road King and Silverado have box-style tops.
On the Yamaha Royal Star Tour Classic, a simple leather flap folds over the top of the saddlebag and secures closed with a pair of leather straps and chrome buckles. The studded flap on each saddlebag lifts to reveal the opening of the bag, which is positioned by two vertical zippers. Even after you open both of the vertical zippers in the face of the saddlebag beneath the flap, the opening of the bag remains smaller than the space inside the saddlebag. This means that even though the interior of the tapered bag may be big enough to hold an object that you want to carry, you might not be able to squeeze it into the saddlebag through the opening. The leather, stitching and polisged hardware are all good-looking stuff.
The Convertible's bags add a couple of features to the same flap-covered style of bag. Lifting the flap reveals Cordura material used for the bulk of the bag's construction, and a zippered opening running lengthwise across the top of the bag. Loops on the bag's outer surface and the underside of the flap allow you to lock the flap down. This feature provides only minimal security because the bags may be detached without tools by simply releasing a large thumbscrew and carrying them away using the handles on top. The previous two Convertibles we have ridden have lost their left saddlebags while moving. But this one didn't self-convert, either because we paid more attention to the potential problem or because we didn't ride it through New York City, where the other two bailed out. This detachable feature permits you to take the bags off quickly when you desire sleeker lines or want to drag your gear into a motel without emptying your luggage. Due largely to their Cordura content, these bags were judged the least stylish of this foursome. They don't carry as much as their exterior size suggests, either.
The Silverado uses simple box-style bags. The top of each bag hinges at its inside edge, and three overlapping edges enclose the top of the slightly tapered bag on three sides. Each bag's studded top closes with two standard buckle straps. Although not as tall as the Convertible or Tour Classic bags, the Silverado bags are deeper and easier to pack. The quality is excellent.
The Road King Classic sets the standard for leather bags, however. Its box-style bags are bigger than the others. Each one mounts with two quick-release fasteners accessed from the inside. Although the fasteners may be obstructed when the bag is full, you can remove an empty bag in a few seconds. Although the tops appear to be secured by standard metal buckles, quick-release plastic buckles hidden behind the straps allow them to be opened or secured much quicker than with the conventional buckles. Just squeeze to release, or plug it in to fasten the strap again. The King Classic bags have no studs, just a cast badge for decoration. The quality and detail impressed us.
How much bag capacity you need depends on your plans for the bike. If it's just going to be used for commuting and occasional solo weekend outings, any of the four bags will probably suffice. If you plan two-up trips for more than a single night, the capacity of the Road King becomes pretty attractive.
Although none of these black-baggers has a counterbalancer, vibration was not an issue for any of our riders. It was only mentioned in conjunction with the Tour Classic, but even that seemed smoother than previous Royal Stars we have tested. The rubber-mounted engines on the Harleys make them the smoothest of our foursome.
Unpleasant forces, if any, generally came from the suspension. The Silverado had the most comfortable ride, whether the bumps were big or small, sharp or rounded. The two Classics -- Road King and Tour -- were about even, with the Royal Star's suspension slightly tauter but better damped than the H-D's. Because its rear suspension bottoms out more frequently than the others and because its ride was the harshest on sharp-edged bumps, the Convertible was our last choice on a rough road.
Many of the back roads we traveled meandered through mountains. On the winding roads, the Yamahas were limited by cornering clearance while the Harleys came up slightly short in the suspension department.
Both of the Yamahas steer slowly and both drag their floorboards loudly at relatively modest lean angles. Both have some lean angle left when the dragging begins, but few riders are likely to press beyond that point. With its compliant, well-controlled suspenders, the Silverado was the best in bumpy corners.
Comparatively nimble handling and good cornering clearances make the Harleys more fun if you like to go around corners briskly. They turn with less pressure at the handlebar, and the Road King is particularly responsive. Although it has the most cornering clearance, the Convertible feels a bit vague in corners. It also gets knocked off-line by bumps more than the other bikes, though the Road King isn't stellar in this regard either. In fast, sweeping corners the Road King weaves slightly, making some riders uneasy.
All four bikes resist gusty crosswinds well and hold steady tracks through ruts and grooves. Despite their windshields, they show no sign of aerodynamic wiggle at high speeds, and they are stable during panic-force braking.
We were interested to see how the new four-piston-caliper brakes on the Road King would perform. They didn't make a good first impression when we picked up the almost-new machine. They squeaked loudly and weren't as powerful as we had anticipated. But after our first romp through the mountains, which included an extended downhill run with plenty of hard braking into corners, the noise ceased and performance improved significantly. In other words, they need some hard use to break-in properly. The new Harley brakes delivered power, fade-resistance and control comparable to the very good brakes on the Yamahas and even better feel. The only place where the Yamahas could consistently outbrake the Road King was on a bumpy surface where their suspension gave an advantage. The Convertible, though competent, requires a stronger pull to get equal braking power and therefore lacks the feel and control of the others.
None of the four bikes gave us a whit of mechanical trouble or required any adjustments. We didn't even need to add oil. As far as detail features go, we like the clock included in the Silverado's LCD odometer and the second tripmeter. The tach of the Convertible was appreciated, as was its location, with the speedometer in front of the handlebar where it was easy to observe without looking away from the road. We wish the Yamahas' speedometers were farther forward on their tanks for this reason. We also like the fuel gauges present on all but the Tour Classic. The spotlights of the two Classics increase conspicuity and help to light up corners at night. During long stints on open roads, the friction throttle locks of the Harleys were appreciated.
The tubeless tires that come with the cast wheels on the Convertible and Tour Classic make us feel more secure than the tube-type tires on the other two. None of the mirrors impressed us. The long sidestand of the Convertible -- which requires you to lean the bike awkwardly to the right to extend it -- begs for trouble. Some owners will certainly tip their bikes over while deploying this aggravation. We also find it aggravating that Harley-Davidson sells bikes for a premium price without a tool kit, especially when -- as with these two -- there is a place to put it.