Speedstar

Speedstar

Hot-rod parts, rock-star looks, the Yamaha that might have been

PAUL SEREDYNSKI

WHO MAKES THAT!?!" WE WERE LESS than a mile from Yamaha's U.S. HQ, and you would have thought we had the world's first YZF-R1 in the back of the pickup. In what would become a common sequence in our short time with the latest Royal Star "styling exercise," our only response was a sad admission: "Regrettably sir, no one."

Not yet, anyway. Sharp readers may recall the first Speedstar, a titanium-painted bulldog of a bike (Roundup, February, 1997), the work of designer Jeff Palhegyi (pro nounced "apology," without the "a"). Palhegyi, 31, has made a name for himself turning out special-edition Yamahas from his design-and-fabrication shop near San Diego: "Yamaha gave me a blank sheet of paper and said, `Make something different for the dealer show, just make something bitchin'.' I said, `Okay...but it ain't gonna look like a Royal Star when it's done."

That first Speedstar was quite a hit, but it wasn't functional. With about a half-inch of rear suspension travel, it was essentially a hardtail. Yamaha was impressed, but wanted a runner. Keeping the stunning looks of the original while making the Speedstar road-going required some effort-the results of which you see here.

The inspiration, as if you hadn't already guessed? "Hotrod," Palhegyi says flatly. "I was thinking street rod the whole way-big tires, super low, bright red, big brakes, as much billet as I could put on it. I tried to retain a little bit of the Yamaha fender styling, but other than that, it just kind of all came to me. I actually built two different bodies for this bike in mockup form, and the most minimalistic one-the thinnest-was the one that looked the best."

Though Palhegyi began with a stock Royal Star, little remains.

The prominent tank was chopped and channeled, its total length extended about three inches. The front end is stock under the chrome cladding, but it has been lowered, and the tubes use Race Tech valving and springs. The minimalist tail uses a stock Royal Star shock (which works in extension) mounted underneath the bike just ahead of the rear wheel. A redesigned linkage mates the shock to a modified swingarm. The hugger rear fender bolts directly to the swingarm, preserving the hardtail look. The billet wheels are a Palhegyi design, mated to six-piston calipers and floating rotors from Performance Machine. Most of the chrome and billet accessories are from the Yamaha catalog.

"I think this particular style of bike is neat because it captures the attention of a guy who is more performance-oriented," Palhegyi says. "No way he's going to buy a Royal Star, because it looks like this big, old, cumbersome, heavy thing. Maybe he'd be more interested in a hot-rod type of a bike."

The color scheme, a simple, fiery mix by Tom Taylor of San Diego, almost gives off its own heat. "I don't like putting a lot of graphics on most of my bikes." Palhegyi says. "I like to keep the paint job basic to accentuate the shape of the body." The killer paint is only part of the attack on the senses. Few bikes garner the attention the Speedstar does parked, but if you really want to see enthusiasts flip out, start it up.

"I wanted the most small-block-Chevy sound that it could make," Palhegyi says of a machine that could earn felony counts for aural assault. The stacatto, mechanical snap that erupts from the quartet of internal megaphone exhausts brings to mind a NASCAR qualifying motor-but with over head cams and 32 valves. "It really turns heads at intersec tions, when you're just sitting there and rap the throttle a little bit," he adds in something of an understatement.

Not only is the sound impressive, but there is power behind the bark. In Royal Star mode, Yamaha's 70-degree V-Four dynos on the puny side at 63 rear-wheel horsepower. But the Speedstar was massaged in traditional hot-rod fashion. Displacement got bumped 200cc (to 1500cc) via a Wiseco piston kit (a Venture crank was installed, which allowed a gear-driven counterbalancer). V-Max cams and valve springs capped internal mods, and K&N air filters and a jet kit complement the custom pipes. The result is 84 horsepower-less than the V-Max's 109 ponies, but a very useful increase. Plus, the Speedstar stomps out nearly 90 foot-pounds of torque anywhere off-idle (peaking at 92.5 ft.lbs. at 4200 rpm). That's 10 foot-pounds more than the mighty Max, and buckets more than a stock Royal Star's 66.

Off the dyno and on the road, the Speedstar's handling is dead stable above a walking pace, but steering is slow. This is probably as much due to the stock, raked-out steering geometry as the 160/60 tire mounted on the 18-inch front rim. The 17-inch rear hoop wears the same rubber (Dunlop D204 Sportmax II) in size 170/60. Grip is plentiful, with cornering prowess limited by ground clearance. In this case, the culprit is the far-forward footpegs, chrome showbike pieces that make even slow-speed U-turns a delicate affair.

Romping through the gears requires a firm grip on the wide bars. Thanks to all that bountiful torque, the Speedstar pulls like a freight train, illuminating two ergonomic shortfalls: the slick and rather small seat's lack of positioning power, and those forward foot controls, which are quite a stretch even for some of our more long-legged staffers. I found myself hooking my toes under the brake and shift levers to prevent a shunt onto the rear fender. The front suspension is impressively supple. The rear is stiff, but for a "styling exercise," the Speedstar proved encouragingly functional.

"Almost nobody builds a showbike that rides worth a shit," Palhegyi explains. "It's almost impossible to build a bike that's 100 percent perfect riding, and still is a showbike. So you've got to combine both elements, and it's a compromise." Still, the Speedstar works in a polished manner, much like the machine upon which it's based.

Its appeal also seems to cross generation and gender lines. Three twentysomethings in a Z28 chased me down just to request an encore of throttle-twisting. Old men gave me the thumbs-up, young women stopped to talk about the bike, all with that same initial eyebrows-up/backward-head bob: "Wow..." Parked in front of Speedway Bistro & Bar at the monthly Bike Night in Newport Beach, the Speedstar was never without company, garnering nearly as much attention from the predominantly sportbike crowd as Superbike guests Miguel Duhamel and Anthony Gobert. I was sur rounded and interrogated when I tried to depart.

Though it is somehow just "right" in terms of looks, the impression that sticks is the sound. Hard to believe any of this engine's kin ever took up lodging in a Venture or Royal Star. Played through the four chromed exhausts, the lumpy, syncopated idle gives way to a pleasant, baritone rumble at cruising speed. Snap open the throttle, and what sounds like a duet of finely tuned V-Twins coming on the cam envelopes you. Hold it open, and as the engine approaches redline, that fine chorus is joined by the wail of a wide-open stock car on Daytona's high banking. Quite a repertoire. I found myself hoping for red lights, just to hear it go back through the gears, grinning like an idiot behind my tinted faceshield.

Will the Speedstar ever see production? "It's a huge departure from the normal Royal Star," Palhegyi admits. "I don't know that they (Yamaha) would ever do anything cool like that. We've shown it everywhere, and there's good response to it, but we've also shown some other (concept) bikes that there's equally as good a response to, and they're not as radical of a custom. I think the bike's probably just going to be in the Yamaha museum someday."

According to Yamaha spokesman Bob Starr, "We said, ‘Jeff, have at it. Go for it.' We think it looks great. People are blown away by it. You can tell that a great deal of thought went into the styling of it, and it's functional. Whether anything about this motorcycle will make it to production is a long ways down the road."

The Speedstar must be a tough call for Yamaha. No one argues the looks of this bike. It is stunning and unique, and the easy engine mods give it the muscle to back up its broad-shouldered stance. The question is, how much of that character could be maintained on the road to production? Showpieces rarely survive the functional grooming on the way to the showroom. - - - -

Still, Yamaha may want to take a page from Chrysler's book and the efforts to get the Viper and Prowler showcars onto the street. Efforts that have given the public a whole new impression of that company.

The ride back to Yamaha's warehouse was a stop-and-go affair, as three separate drivers flagged me down, wanting info on the Speedstar. Can't say that's ever happened with an R1... ^