More Moto News - Middleweight Cruiser Shootout

Are you looking for a laid-back ride which is easy on your wallet, not too garish, and will take you anywhere the road leads? Well, this is a review for you. Here we have four middleweight cruisers which will do about anything their larger siblings can do, but for less. The (all are 2010 models) Harley-Davidson Sportster 883, Star V-Star 950, Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Custom and Honda Shadow Phantom. Which one is best for you? Take the link and figure it out!

http://tinyurl.com/yj3jko7

First Ride - 2010 Star Stratoliner Deluxe

The 2010 Star Stratoliner Deluxe is part of the flagship line of Star motorcycles produced by Yamaha. The Stratoliner Deluxe is meant for eating miles and riding all day and into the night...where you will have to use the rather bright headlight to find a place to sleep. The bike is a bit behind the times in terms of ABS and advanced ECUs, but it has everything you need for a very long trip - including an iPod jack to pump music out of the five inch speakers mounted on the fairing. Give this bike a look, especially if you are in the H-D crowd, because this may just be the flagship of the entire cruiser class! (and it has much more power than the brand from Milwaukee...)

http://tinyurl.com/yb48ohc

Tuesday Afternoon Moto News - Bill Werner and a Comparo

Legendary flat track tuner Bill Werner has turned his talents on a Kawasaki Ninja 650 and turned it into a competitive in the AMA Grand National Twins class. And, to add to it all, Werner managed to hire former Harley-Davidson Wrecking Crew member Bryan Smith to tackle this challenge. The idea is to make it affordable again to race in the series. As it is, Harley-Davidson motorcycles, who dominate the series, are incredibly expensive to run for a full season and many amateurs simply cannot afford to keep up the maintenance on the race machine.

http://tinyurl.com/ycjm2dy

Now I will direct your attention to a shootout between sub-US$8K cruisers. They put the H-D 883 Iron, Moto Guzzi V7 Classic, Yamaha / Star V-Star 950, and the Triumph Bonneville through the paces to see which one of them is the best at what they do and the best value. See which one wins...I'll give you a hint, it's not the American one.

http://tinyurl.com/yb9ypbc

Nick Anglada Builds Baseball-Themed Custom for Charity

Nick Anglada and Ken Griffey, Jr. actually worked together on the project and it will be auctioned off to support the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. The work which went into changing the Yamaha / Star cruiser is amazing - the vaporised titanium coating alone sets it apart, and is sure to have cost some serious money. Have a look - not my taste, but it will certainly be loved by someone, especially the children who it helps.

http://tinyurl.com/yc9c7dc

Interesting Comparison Review of 2010 Victory Cross Country

This is actually a neat way of reviewing a motorcycle - review it and compare it to a standing master in the class. In this case, that master is the awesome Yamaha Star Stratoliner S. The new Victory is actually a nice piece of technology, incorporating a new chassis design taken directly from the Victory Vision and altered to produce a more conventional looking motorcycle. The Cross Country is a good mount for eating miles anywhere you want to go.

http://tinyurl.com/ya7jtxx

The Cycle World International Motorcycle Show Line-up

So, this is actually only a list of the major manufacturers, and it does not include the custom shops, speed shops, accessories vendors, apparel vendors...etc. But, you will notice that BMW and Victory are only at select venues - and there are many names missing from this year's list. Have a look...hopefully you will be attending the Long Beach edition.

http://tinyurl.com/ye2qs7k

First Ride: 2010 Yamaha / Star VMAX

The beast is in it second year now and it still amazes everyone who rides it. The Yamaha/Star VMAX puts out almost 200 hp and 122 lb/ft from its 1679c.c. V-four engine, and its looks indicate its purpose - aggression! The author did not expect much when he was assigned the ride, but he found out very quickly how incredibly powerful and just how much restraint must be used when riding it - it's like an Earth-bound rocket ship.

http://tinyurl.com/yjhyxly

One Week Left to Oreder a Yamaha/Star VMAX

If you do not have your order in for the 2010 (Yamaha) Star VMAX in its new Candy Red color before the end of this month, you will have to look forward to a 2011 model. Yamaha will stop taking orders on Monday, 30 November 2009. The machine is mean and so well-built that you will not regret this purchase - especially if you really like power and SPEED!

http://tinyurl.com/ylewyl2

Yamaha USA Staff Raises Money for Feed the Children

They raised over US$5000 and collected some 400 boxes of food, juice, chips and personal items for the well-known charity Feed the Children. President of Yamaha USA, Masato Adachi, presented the check in front of the Star Motorcycles Touring and Riding Association while a truck with the boxes of foodstuff was escorted by police. Over 400 families benefited from their good work! Now, that is something to be proud of!

http://tinyurl.com/yk984hy

First Look: 2010 Yamaha/Star Roadliner S

1854c.c. - that is the size of the V-twin on this motorcycle. If you want power and cruising, the Roadliner S may just be the bike for you. It is made like a solid piece of rock - that's solid - and just enough roll to take your breath away. This is one of my favorites in this class, and if you look and listen closely, it might be one of yours too. This machine is only really outclassed by the super-customs (read: very high-dollar motorcycles) or Star's own VMAX. It is the flagship of the line, made to take you anywhere fast and smooth.

http://tinyurl.com/yc3ygwb

First Look: 2010 Yamaha V-Star 1300 Tourer

This, again, comes from the PR people at Yamaha. It is a first look at the new 2010 V-Star 1300 Tourer from Yamaha's cruiser company Star. The Tourer is an uprated model from the standard V-Star 1300 and comes standard with locking saddlebags, a windshield and a passenger backrest. The handlebar is even swept back a bit to offer a much more comfortable cruising position to the rider. Have a look and see an excellent cross-country mount.

http://tinyurl.com/ygrx5rw

Update on Jay Leno's VMAX Charity Auction

Leno's bike, a 2009 Yamaha/Star VMAX Custom, went for US$120,000 at the Barrett-Jackson classic auto auction in Las Vegas. That is a huge sum of money which will go to a Brooklyn, New York, charity "Bailey's Café", which is an arts charity benefiting at-risk youth. Barret-Jackson even waived the buyer's and seller's fees for the VMAX. That's some very positive news for all of us to be happy about...

http://tinyurl.com/ygz2njp

Jay Leno Donates His Yamaha / Star VMAX for Bailey's Café

Jay Leno will make an appearance in Las Vegas at the Barrett-Jackson collector car auction on 10 October 2009. He will be there to sell his customized (for the sale) Star VMAX. All proceeds will go to Bailey's Café, an arts-based education program in New York. Wow, I will try to find a photo, but I am sure you can also watch it on TV in HD - check your local listings (USA).

http://tinyurl.com/ydkj5sa

I am not sure if this is how the 'Leno' VMAX looks now, but the paint is custom as it is only available in black now - the 2010 will start arriving in December and it is red.

2010 Yamaha / Star Raider S Specifications

The Star Raider S has been making the rounds in magazine comparison articles for the last few months and it has garnered some praise in those as well. Some say it is 'over-styled', but they usually have nothing but good news about the engine...here is a list of specs for your amusement.

http://tinyurl.com/mglulh

Yamaha / Star to Make VMAX Available to Indian Market!

This is just absolutely huge for India - where the motorcycle industry is doing very well now. For Yamaha's Star brand to la inch this bike now is a very good statement about the Indian economy presently. The VMAX will instantly become the most powerful open market two-wheeled vehicle. Very cool!

http://tinyurl.com/qvlb9l

Harley V-Rod Muscle versus Yamaha VMAX

Now, those of you who know me know that I am not much of a follower of fads - I don't golf, I don't smoke (tobacco) cigars, there is no SUV in my parking space and I do not own a Harley-Davidson (though, I own a MV Agusta, which is now owned by H-D). However, even some sportbike nuts I know like the V-Rod; why, I cannot say. The VMAX, however, is something of a work of passion. Star (Yamaha) should finish what they started, though, and remove the top-speed limitation on this machine...plus, someone just has to do something about that exhaust setup!

On to the article...this is found on the Faster and Faster blog since the original is in German:

http://tinyurl.com/md8rta