[Roadie]

I think it's all about money...take Yamaha's Road Star for example..in the late 90's early 2000's when the Harley dealers were charging 6 to 10,000 dollars more than the MSRP, Yamaha offered a very nice looking 1600cc push rod V twin cruiser that hit all the bases..all steel, no plastic, belt drive, hugh aftermarket support...the largest production engine made at the time with 95ftlbs of torque....all for 10k dollars when the Harleys were 10k dollars more money and offering nothing over the Yamaha Road Star for that extra 10k except the Harley name...the Yamaha Road Star sold very well...then in the late 2000's the prices were going up fast and the Harleys price gouging was coming to a end...by 2012/13 the Yamaha was getting very close to what you could buy a Harley for...and if you can buy a Harley for nearly the same price most Americans are going to buy the Harley no matter how good the Japanese cruiser is...that is what happened to Yamaha's 2018 Venture...it didn't matter that in every road test the Yamaha came out on top over the Harley and Indian...you could buy a Harley or Indian for nearly the same money...in America most want American motorcycles when it comes to cruisers

The Japanese cruiser only works in America if it is much cheaper and offers more....it just got to the point that the Japanese can't offer the value they once did for a much lower price.


Here's my 1999 Yamaha Road Star..25 years old now and nothing has went wrong with it..just maintenance...95 ftlbs of torque at the rear wheel and the mirrors are clear at 80mph...60 mph feels like the engine is idling..it's been a fun bike to ride in warmer weather. Yamaha made this bike for 15 years.

 

[Roadie]

I bought a 1981 Yamaha 750 Seca..it was the first 750 that broke into the 11's according to the magazine's..beautiful red paint and fancy electronics for 1981...it was a nice bike, but all my buddies had 1000's and the little 750 proved to be too slow..
I only kept that bike for about 2 months and sold it...I then bought a slightly used 1980 Suzuki GS1100...it had the worst seat I ever rode on, but that Suzuki sure was fast in 1981.

 

[Roadie]

I have to say that the trend to the "all blacked out" bikes is depressing. We've been wanting a new Harley for the past few years, but they're ugly mugly. AND they look cheap. OK, not the baggers - they look nice. But the old Dyna and Softail cruiser series just look cheap. And did I mention ugly ?

And what ever happened to nice paint (with flake) and chrome ???

View attachment 452802

Yamaha definitely made the best metric cruiser...Yamaha just hit all the bases...the big bore Yamaha's were all steel and no plastic, a very nice looking and smooth air cooled push rod single pin V twin engine which sounds so much better than a dual pin V twin engine, belt drive, easy customization with lots of aftermarket support...so sad that Yamaha abandoned the big bore cruiser market.

 

[Roadie]

Wow. . . there’s a trip down memory lane!

1980 Suzuki GS1100 was an aspirational superbike for me. (Unobtainable, as we were recently married and just blessed with boy/girl twins.). For the few who don’t know, the 1980 Suzuki GS1100 was one of the fastest bikes of the era - 100 hp, 560 lbs wet.

Today, meh. Lol. My ‘23 BMW with its “archaic engine design” boxer flat-twin engine has 136 hp, 548 lbs wet. “You’ve come a long way, baby!”, as they say. Time and technology relentlessly marches on.

But, whooo, boy, would owning a GS1100 like that today be so cool.

Tim

Not only a engine,but one of the best suspensions in 1980...remember the 85 mph speedometer,rectangular headlights.

The early 80's were an exciting time for motorcycles...the hp race was on and the bikes from the big four got better every year...but 1984 was a pivotal year with Kawasaki's 900 Ninja and Yamaha's FJ1100...both of those models in 1984 suddenly made the bikes from Honda and Suzuki feel like they were 10 years old..of coarse Honda and Suzuki quickly had to catch up but boy was the 80's an exciting time for motorcycles.