Exiles From Main Street

EXILES FROM MAIN STREET

Into the Valley of Death with the touring mega-cruisers

A HARD BEGINNING MAKES A GOOD ENDING," 16TH-CENTURY AUTHOR JOHN HEYWOOD ONCE wrote. Heywood's proverb washed full force over staffers Catterson and Miles as they struggled to right 780 pounds of toppled Royal Star Tour Deluxe. Editor Edwards arrived late on the scene, eyeballing the aftermath of Miles' untimely pavement pirouette. "Didn't you see the 'Icy' warning sign?" he asked. "Of course," Miles sputtered, diverting his gaze from the nearby posting. "I just..."

Thankfully, it wasa minor low-side. Damage to Yamaha's flagship touring cruiser amounted to nothing more than a bent crash bar and a ground-down floorboard, so within minutes the trio was again picking their way through narrow, rock-strewn Wildrose Canyon toward the popular Death Valley resort town of Furnace Creek.

I Ice in Death Valley?

And how. Though the valley itself lies at sea level-and below-the mountains surrounding it rise to 11,000 feet. This ill-fated, inhospitable gateway to California's Gold Country is an American icon, and the bikes-Harley Davidson's fuel-injected Road King, Honda's six-cylinder Valkyrie Tourer and the aforementioned Yamaha-are ideal for long getaways. With jumbo windscreens and hard luggage standard, these grandiose machines successful ly blend boulevard chic with open-road opulence. So, how do they stack up against each other?

Harley-Davidson Road King

Ain’t nostalgia grand? Not according to Edwards: “If I wanted a retro bike,” he declared during a Pepsi break in “scenic” Trôna, a hard-looking borate-mining town on the way to Death Valley, “I’d buy the real thing-say, a restored Indian Four, maybe a 1960 Duo-Glide dresser.”

Regardless, the Road King’s classic good looks do appeal.

Passersby always gravitated to the Harley. In fact, one group of German tourists (on their 17th visit to Death Valley) were so enamored with the two-tone, green-and-black machine that they all but ignored the Honda and the Yamaha.

Not a lot has changed in four years of production. For ’97, the double-downtube backbone frame was modified, lowering

seat height by almost an inch. Fuses are now readily accessible without tools, and the embossed seat was subtly reshaped.

Our 49-state testbike was equipped with Harley’s electronic fuel injection (an $800 upgrade), which serves up immediate starting; the carbureted Honda and Yamaha were not so eager, especially on cool desert mornings. Throttle response, despite a minor midrange surge condition, is smooth. Indeed, smooth is the operative word here. Rubber motor mounts effectively tame the air-cooled V-Twin’s inherent vibration. At highway speeds, all that’s left is a mild thrumming.

Ergonomics get equally high marks, though the handlebar’s broad span makes slow-speed maneuvers a tad tricky; anyone with short arms will find the reach to the grips a bit too far. To its credit, however, the Road King weighs the least and is the most nimble. A touch firmer than the Honda and Yamaha seats, the Harley’s broad, tractor-style saddle is nonetheless exceptionally comfortable and supportive. Great, in other words, for long days touring straight roads.

And the folding, height-adjustable floorboards are perfectly positioned, even for taller riders.

Slightly smaller and a fair bit noisier than the other bikes’ windshields, the Road King’s screen is easily removablethe Honda’s and Yamaha’s screens are bolted in place. The shield is held in position by a pair of U-shaped bracket ends that butt up against rubber grommets located on either side of the headlight nacelle. Once everything’s in place, the screen is secure, and there are a couple of spring retaining pins that fit over the upper mounting points for an extra measure of security. To remove the shield, simply pull the two pins to the side, push the shield off the upper joints and pull it away. It’s quick and simple.

All is not perfect, however. Demerits go to the old-tech, single-piston brakes and air-adjustable suspension. The former are capable of short stops, due in part to the bike’s rearwheel weight bias, but the front setup feels wooden at the lever. And the rear is prone to lock-up. As for the suspension, Harley specifies a maximum of 25 and 35 psi, respectively, for the fork and shocks. (The valves are located on the right side of the bike, behind the saddlebag.) Much more than the factory setting of 0 psi, though, particularly in the rear, turns square-edged bumps into launching pads-harsh, harsh, harsh.

Evening rides are greatly aided by a set of running lights, one on either side of the headlight. Only the Valkyrie, with its huge multi-reflector-type headlight, offers better afterdark illumination.

Yamaha Royal Star Tour Deluxe

Once teeming with miners hoping to find their fortune, Death Valley is now a national monument, and tourism is big business. The cushy Furnace Creek Inn, for example, boasts elegant dining, spring-fed swimming pools and lighted tennis courts. (Ever mindful of budget constraints, Edwards decreed that we opt for the cut-rate Furnace Creek Ranch, down the road.) Nearby is Scotty’s Castle, a lavish, solar-heated custom home built by Chicago millionaire Albert Johnson in the early 1900s, which now has the requisite tacky gift shop and snack bar attached. In other words, there’s some kitsch among the cacti.

Kindled by the Road King’s success, the Tour Deluxe has its share of crass commercialism, too. Witness the Milwaukee-esque fork shrouding; the Electra Glide-rip saddlebags, the bolt-on cylinder finning and the “tuned-in” engine vibration. Overall, though, the Tour Deluxe is a terrific-looking motorcycle. “They sure did a great job on that Yamaha,” gushed one enthused onlooker. “It’s got to be the art-deco bike of the century.”

It’s functional, too. The riding position is more laid-back than the others, but no less comfortable. This is partly payable to the new, more deeply dished seat, which is designed to provide increased low-back support. It works, even if the bike feels somewhat short-coupled as a result.

The hard saddlebags are also new. These offer 33 percent more capacity than the Tour Classic’s leather-covered luggage, and, combined with the curvaceous rear fender, look beautiful. Why Yamaha chose not to incorporate some sort of retaining mechanism for the lids, however, is beyond us; the Tour Classic’s leather bags are so equipped. Other differences include self-canceling tumsignals, a repositioned ignition switch, restyled front and rear fender tips, and whitewall tires. And, to remind the rider that fifth is an overdrive gear designed for highway cruising, the engine diagnostic light, located on the speedometer, doubles as an overdrive indicator light.

It’s best to heed the OD light in passing situations, too. The Tour Deluxe is quicker 0-60 mph and through the quarter-mile than the Road King, but practically falls on its face in topgear roll-ons. From 40 to 60 mph, for example, the Tour Deluxe is threequarters of a second arrears of the Road King, and more than 1.5 seconds back of the Valkyrie. The chasm widens farther in 60-80 mph runs.

Here’s why: At 1500 rpm, the Tour Deluxe’s dohc, liquidcooled V-Four is making 39 foot-pounds of torque, 53 percent of peak. Comparatively, the Road King’s V-Twin is producing 57 foot-pounds, or 85 percent of its max. Five hundred rpm later, both bikes are dead-even at 63 footpounds. By three grand, both are maxed out at 74 and 67 foot-pounds, respectively. The quick-revving six-cylinder Valkyrie, meanwhile, is well on its way to a pavementshredding peak of 93 foot-pounds at 4500 rpm.

But as noted in previous Royal Star tests, this engine’s priorities are not about power and performance; they’re about sound and feel. And in that regard, the Tour Deluxe is

absolutely spectacular, even if its solid-mounted engine does imbue the most vibration. Blip the throttle and a deep, NASCAR-esque growl thunders from its paired exhaust pipes. Fun stuff.

Suspension-wise, the Deluxe is nicely balanced. “Overall, the Royal Star goes down the road best,” said Catterson after negotiating a bad, bumpy stretch of Highway 395. “It could use better damping, but I could live with it.” Kind words were also bestowed on the triple-disc brakes, which offer predictable, fade-free stopping power and never need more than moderate pressure on the hand lever or rubbercovered foot pedal. Same goes for the heel-and-toe shifter; gear changes are smooth and clunk-free.

Honda Valkyrie Tourer

Best Cruiser of 1996? That would be Honda’s 101-horsepower, 128-mph Valkyrie. “If you’re looking for the King of Cruisers,” we enthused in our October, 1996, road test, “the list of nominees starts and ends with the Valkyrie.”

Strike that.

The new King of the Cruisers is the Honda Valkyrie Tourer, a slightly slower, marginally heavier-but immensely more functionalSuperbike of mega-cruisers.

You want numbers? Try mid-12-second quarter-mile times at more than 100 mph. Zero-to-60 mph rushes past in a scant 3.8 seconds, and top-gear roll-on acceleration rivals that of some Open-class sportbikes. Top speed is a classtopping 114 mph.

Admittedly, those numbers are a few ticks of the clock and several mph down from those turned-in by the standard Valkyrie (see CW, July, 1996), but the Tourer weighs 41 pounds more and, for reasons unknown even to American Honda, produces 9 less peak horsepower and 10 fewer footpounds of torque. Of course, the barn-door-sized windscreen doesn’t help. But it does effectively ward off the cold and wind, thank you very much.

Cloaked in deep, rich chrome, the Tourer’s 1520cc flat-Six is turbine smooth. As discussed, peak torque comes 1500 rpm later than either the H-D or Yamaha. Not that the Honda is peaky: Even at 2500 rpm, the Gold Wing-derived engine is pumping out 79 foot-pounds of torque, 8 more than the Tour Deluxe and 12 more than the Road King. The Valkyrie pays for its performance at the pump, though, averaging just 29 mpg. As a result, range is only 155 miles. This, compared to 168 miles for the Yamaha and 200 miles for the Harley.

Ergonomically, you won’t find any differences between the two Valkyries. The swept-back buckhom handlebar, thickly padded seat and rubber-covered footpegs are in perfect union. Comfort is top-notch. Ditto at-speed steering, which is surprisingly light and responsive for a 777-pound motorcycle. Around town, however, beware: This is a big bike.

Aside from its sheer size, the Tourer’s only significant drawback is its rear suspension, which is just plain firm. The beefy 45mm inverted fork, however, is excellent. So is cornering clearance, as we discovered in the Panamint Mountains. On a twisty backroad, the Valkyrie exudes sport-tourer confidence. And although both of its competitors are competent handlers, the Road King and Royal Star simply aren’t in the same league.

Praise also goes to the Valkyrie’s saddlebags, the hinged lids of which shut with a satisfying Ziploc-like seal. Each bag comfortably swallows a laptop computer case-or a fortune in gift-shop memorabilia, if you prefer. Full-circumference rubber gaskets seal out rain.

Conclusion

Following a world-class dessert in the Furnace Creek Inn’s white-tableclothed main dining room (the boss at least popped for dinner at the nicer hotel), our trio of testers concluded that there are no shortage of fine reasons to purchase each one of these motorcycles-attention to detail, unparalleled aftermarket support, resale value, styling preferences, roadside assistance and warranty programs, etc. But the bike that yanks our performance-oriented heart strings the hardest is the Valkryie Tourer. Besides its adrenaline-pumping acceleration and incomparable passing power, it’s endowed with the best windscreen and saddlebags. And, at $14,499, it’s the least expensive, if only by $500.

Think of it as a set of Samsonite luggage bolted onto a Saturn V rocket booster. □

AT A GLANCE:

Harley-Davidson Road King

$15,290

Honda Valkyrie Tourer

$14,499

Yamaha Royal Star Tour Deluxe

$14,999