Cruisers Hit the Highway
CRUISERS HIT THE HIGHWAY
ROUNDUP
CRUISER SALES ARE booming, and there’s no sign of the trend slowing down. Thus, it’s no surprise that the Japanese manufacturers continue to channel much of their energy into developing new products for this burgeoning market segment.
But there’s only so much you can do with cruisers, right? Wrong. Having already redefined the class with their multi-cylinder bruiser cruisers, Honda and Yamaha are taking these machines
a step farther with full-dress models that mate boulevard styling with functional touring accessories.
This is nothing new, really; Harley has been selling dressers for decades. But there’s more to this development than the
OEMs’ desire to expand into an untapped market segment. Explains Honda’s Gary Christopher, “In talking with our customers, we discovered that a lot of cruiser buyers weren’t
riding their bikes very far
because, frankly, they weren’t that comfortable.”
Honda’s reaction: Build cruisers that you could ride far, and in the process elevate not only the motorcycles, but also their owners, to the next plateau. “It’s our sincere hope that these casual buyers may someday become real motorcycle enthusiasts,” Christopher adds.
So goes the impetus behind two newfor-’97 Honda models: the Valkyrie Tourer and the Shadow ACE Tourer.
We’ve known for a while that the Valkyrie would be coming with a windshield and hard saddlebags, but Honda’s other new touring cruiser came as a complete surprise. The Shadow American Classic Edition Tourer takes a Shadow ACE, substitutes the staggeredcrankpin, 70-horsepower, five-
speed engine from the revised Shadow Spirit 1 100, and tops it off with a windshield and the same hard ^ bags as the
Valkyrie Tourer. Technically a 1998
model, it will be in dealerships by March of 1997.
Like Honda, Yamaha envisions a touring future for cruisers. The company has added a
second touring version of the V-Four-powered Royal Star to its lineup. The new Tour Deluxe will come equipped with a 4-into-2 exhaust, hard bags, whitewalls and passenger accommodations that detach to reveal a luggage rack. Available only in black, the Tour Deluxe will retail for $14,999.
The cruiser boom hasn’t escaped Suzuki’s attention, either. And while the company doesn’t yet have a touring version in its lineup, it does have an all-new bike. Called the Marauder, this 800cc V-Twin is based on the 400cc Desperado sold in Japan, and is an interesting mix of classic and hot-rod styling. Available in black/green or orange/silver, the Marauder will sell for $5999.
Looks like a cruisin’ new year.
—Brian Catterson
