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Written by Billy Bartels
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Wednesday, 28 July 2010 06:57 |
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This is a weird time for cruisers. The two hot commodities right now are baggers and mid-displacement bikes, and we've been doing lots of bagger tests lately, but it's not like we can do it every issue. So we went casting about in the middle class.
To narrow it down, we went looking for bikes we haven't tested in awhile and came up with Kawasaki's Vulcan 900 Custom. To go with that, we went looking for other skinnies...skinny front tire bikes, that is. We were hoping to get Suzuki's revamped Boulevard M50 as "the new kid," but Suzuki's 2010 bikes never materialized on this side of the Pacific. A scheduling conflict also prevented us from snagging Triumph's 865cc Speedmaster (though we included info on it at the end of this article for reference). After that, we realized that the Vulcan Custom was in a class of one, unless you drop down in dollars and displacement to Honda's Spirit. So, we di d what any drunk frat pledge would do at 2A.M...we lowered our standards. Chubby was okay, just so long as we didn't stray into obese "Classic" territory.
Our other two contestants are Star's V Star 950 and Harley-Davidson's Sportster 883 Low. The last time we saw her, the Sporty was getting hammered in our "Baby Bagger Comparison" (April '09), so we were hoping this time (with the lack of 200+ pound riders and luggage) she'd fare better. The winner of that test was none other than the V Star 950 Touring, but here, it appears in street guise. Star calls the 950 a New Classic with low-profile tires and slightly abbreviated fenders, and it splits the difference between a true classic and a muscle cruiser like the Sportster or the absent M50.
Despite not swinging the same sort of lead as a true "Classic", the 950 is still the heaviest in this test, although onwly by a pound or two. She is definitely more chunky than fat, with sleek lines and a low, stretched look. Like other, less-svelte classics, the V Star 950 has floorboards (complete with heel-toe shifter) and wide beach bars. The Star also brings a very finished look, with a painted headlight shell that matches the sheet metal (yes, it's actual metal), and contrasting black/polished wheels. There are a few warts though, with clutter near the foot controls and a kickstand mount that looks like an afterthought.
Long a mainstay of the cruiser landscape, the "custom" style bike is now a rarity in the midsize arena, even while new models (Raider, Wide Glide) come out in larger displacements. So the Vulcan 900 is well-positioned to score anyone who lusts for this style of bike at the middleweight level. The most anorexic of these skinny bikes (sporting a super-narrow 80/90-21 tire up front), the Vulcan sports a stylish chrome front wheel to show it off. The shape it cuts isn't as unique or well-finished as the Star's (or the Sportster's), but it plays the role well with a radiator tucked in between beefy frame rails and a simple drag bar controlling the sparse front end. Out back it swings a big 180-section rear tire under an arched fender that seems to float a little high... but at least it's got suspension travel.
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Written by Mirage
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Thursday, 22 July 2010 06:26 |
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LEXINGTON, Ohio (July 18, 2010) - The tables were turned today as Tommy Hayden ended up two spots better than yesterday in taking his third career National Guard SuperBike victory ahead of main championship rival Josh Hayes during the last day of competition in the Honda Super Cycle Weekend Presented by Dunlop Tire at the 2.4-mile Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Hayden, riding his Rockstar Makita Suzuki, bounced back from a third place finish in yesterday's SuperBike race and took a calculated victory in the second race of the weekend. Hayden paid tribute to his Yoshimura team, "I told them what I wanted the bike to do and they gave it to me."
Yesterday's winner, Josh Hayes paid tribute to Tommy, "My Team Graves Yamaha team gave me a winning bike, I just got beat." Hayes did hold onto the points lead that he gained yesterday but Hayden trimmed it down from ten points to just four, 285-281.
Foremost Insurance Ducati rider Larry Pegram thrilled his local fans by taking the lead into the first corner and leading lap one. Tommy Hayden had other ideas though, and he passed Pegram on lap two and proceeded to lead the next six laps. By this time, Hayes had passed Pegram and was shadowing Hayden's every move and for a while it looked like Hayes was going to repeat his win from yesterday when Josh took the lead and led laps eight and nine. Hayden re-passed Hayes and controlled the race from lap ten on all the way to the flag. Hayes never let up though and the margin of victory was only 0.194 of a second at the end of the 21 lap race.
Pegram was able to take what he felt was a satisfying third place finish ahead of yesterday's second-place finisher Ben Bostrom on his Pat Clark Motorsports Yamaha. As with the first two, Bostrom kept the pressure on Pegram all day but just couldn't find a way by the Columbus, Ohio rider.
After another strong start to the race, Jake Zemke with his National Guard Jordan Suzuki found himself battling with teammate Canadian Brett McCormick on the #23 Jordan Suzuki. These two ran nose-to-tail for the last part of the race and McCormick continued his nice progression in the sport by passing Zemke on the last lap.
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Written by motorcycledaily
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Thursday, 22 July 2010 06:20 |
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Reading my stuff on MD over the last couple of years, you may wonder why we’re not called “Chicken Little.com.” That’s because most of the news from the motorcycle industry has been so universally bad. But a ray of hope came from Suzuki Motors yesterday when the company announced a limited return to the USA market after shipping next to nothing to dealers for the 2010 model year.
As of right now, the only models Suzuki announced for 2011 are the 2011 V-Strom 650 ABS, 2011 DR650SE, 2011 DR-Z400S, 2011 Hayabusa, 2011 Boulevard S40, 2011 RM-Z250, 2011 RM-Z450, 2011 TU250 and the 2011 Boulevard M109R and Boulevard M109R Limited. The R85 motocrosser will also be available, as well as a number of quad models.
These models doubtless give a snapshot of Suzuki’s best-selling models; everything in this list was available in 2009 (and 2008, for that matter), although the RM-Z250 and RM-Z450 motocrossers are updated. But the release states this is the “first big wave” of new models, implying that there is more to come; good news for roadracers and sportbike enthusiasts craving a new GSX-R.
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