36 First Ride: Yamaha YZF-R1
Flyin’ by wire at Laguna Seca
Raceway.
-by Don Canet
40 Electronic Racer
Yamaha’s American Superbike effort.
51 Sledge Hammer
Victory’s torque about town.
52 Looking for Lindbergh
Flying low and slow by Ural sidecar.
-by Peter Egan
59 The Russians are Coming
And they are not tipping over.
62 Bike in the Box II
V Bike joins T-Rex and the Dodo.
-by Paul Dean
66 Trial by DMV
Registration frustration.
76 Long-Term Wrap-Up
MV Agusta Brutale.
42 Boulevard Bravado
Harley-Davidson Night Rod Special vs.
Suzuki M109R vs. Victory Hammer S.
-by Blake Conner
68 Urban Beat
Yamaha Morphous vs. Vespa 250 GTS.
-by Matthew Miles
80 NJK Ghost Jacket
Cool cowhide.
80 JC Whitney Travel Trunk
Milk-crate alternative.
84 Higher Power
Backstage at the MotoGP tests in Spain.
-by Kevin Cameron
COLUMNS
12 UPFRONT
Bike of the Year.
-by David Edwards
14 LEANINGS
Flying on the ground.
-by Peter Egan
16 TDC
Mixing it.
-by Kevin Cameron
18 Hotshots
24 New Ideas
28 Roundup >
98 Service
106 Showcase/ {
118 Slipstream
POWER-CRUISERS DO NOT SUFFER FROM SELF-ESTEEM ISSUES.
Not only are they brash on the boulevard but they can scat
through the esses with relative ease, and stoplight-to-stop-
light, these bikes can embarrass more than a few unsuspecting sportbikes.
Our players: Harley’s latest incarnation of the VRSC family, the Night
Rod Special; Suzuki’s outsized superhero M109R, new last year; and
Victory’s made-over Hammer S, a butchier version of the base bike.
Engine sizes are all ox er the map. varying between 1130
and 1783cc, as are prices, ranging from SI2,599 for the
’Zook to SI6,495 for the Harley and then up to a pricey
SI9,749 for the Victory. But performance numbers match
up quite nicely. Zero to 60-mph sprints all fall within three-
tenths, while blasts up the quarter-mile are in the same
ballpark-within three-quarters-of-a-second of each other.
For many, cruising is all about loping along at a gentle
pace, looking at the scenery and hoping that the “scenery”
is looking back at you. But these bikes want to blast on past
and raise a little hell along the way. Sure, they look like
cruisers, they sound like cruisers and, before the clutch is
let out at least, they feel like cruisers. But there’s a lot more
attitude and performance here than with the ordinary fat-fen-
dered floor-boarder.
Of course, the engines are all V-Twins, but talk about
different approaches and distinct characteristics! The Night
Rod s 60-degree. 1130cc, four-valve-per-cylinder Revolution
engine delivers its power to the ground in a completely
contrasting manner to the other two. It doesn’t hit right off
idle like the Suzuki but nonetheless has a nice linear power
deliver}' that builds all the way up to its 9000-rpm redline.
The “N-Rod” was beat by the Suzuki in the quarter-mile, but
only by a hair. Same goes for the sprint to 60 mph, where the
H-D was only a tick behind. It bested the Suzuki’s top speed
by 1 mph with 131 registered on our radar gun. The Harley
runs exceptionally smoothly, its engine character more
akin to a sportbike Twin. The five-speed transmission is
slick-shifting, clutch action is nice and the EFI is absolutely
dead-on in delivery. The engine purrs right away when fired
up, unlike the reluctant Victory that needs fast idle to come
to life. Wear tall boots, though, because the Harley’s rear...
And much more!
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