2010 V STAR 950
MSRP: $8290
Caretaker: Cherney
Measurements: 5'7"/155 lbs./30" Inseam
Odometer: 2205
Miles This Cycle: 455
The V Star has turned into a huge case of hurry-up-and-wait, as everything I'd planned for the bike fell through for this cycle. Luckily, there was a silver lining in the whole mess-actually, a Silvertail.
The lads at Leo Vince contacted me at the last minute to inform me they were working on exhaust prototypes for the V Star, and would I be interested. Would I! The Silvertail BlackJack 2-into-1 system arrived promptly the following week, and an hour after unpacking each individually-wrapped piece, mechanic Chris Vandevoort at CycleTune PDX had them installed on the V Star. Man, was I pleasantly surprised: right at start-up, the pipes let out a nice deep tone without the obnoxious, higher-pitch bark of a straight pipe, (thanks to a dB killer inside). Leo Vince marketing materials say these pipes "aim expressly for elegance", and I can believe it, looking at the clean, stainless steel manifolds and body.
The solidly-built, Euro-compliant Blackjacks are a nice change from the stockers, yielding a rich burble at low rpm, which swells to a thicker chorus when throttle is applied.
What's even better is that the Silvertails come with an 02 sensor, so within 20 minutes of installation and a break-in cruise, the Star's ECU had adjusted to the pressure and the bike has been running nearly flawlessly ever since.
2010 TRIUMPH THUNDERBIRD
MSRP: $12,799
Caretaker: ZIMMERMAN
Measurements: 6'/190 lbs./33" Inseam
Odometer: 2768
Miles THIS CYCLE: 607
So far, the T-Bird has been a revelation. I'm pleased to say that not only has the Bird lived up to my expectations, it's exceeded them, and that's not something said lightly. The power, the handling and braking are at the top of their class, and all far better than I'd thought they'd be. Vibration is nil, and the paint and chrome-despite spending an inordinate amount of time in the rain-remain perfect. The one area where it's been slightly less than perfect is a recent ride on the highway.
See, we ordered a bunch of stuff to convert the bike from a power cruiser to a power tourer, and normally the stuff would have been installed before I made any trip. However, Ma Nature had other plans, which included tossing a few million tons of volcanic ash into the air. All that spew from some volcano in Iceland kept flights in Europe grounded. Unfortunately, one of those flights had a container full of T-Bird touring accessories headed directly for yours truly. Since they didn't arrive until this morning, I did the trip naked-that is, the bike naked, obviously.
I didn't realize how much I'd come to appreciate the amenities of a touring bike, particularly a windshield, floorboards and bags. Without them, the bike is still a hoot, so long as you're not riding it at 80 mph on a big slab of macadam. The stuff just arrived, so as soon as the keyboard cools off, I'm going to start unpacking and installing. I figure there's enough work to keep me busy for a day or two, so stay tuned as I convert what's become my favorite power cruiser into what I hope will be my favorite tourer.