Power To the Pavement
POWER TO THE PAVEMENT
SUPER CRISER shootout
Time to put up or shut up
MARK CERNICKY
THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING, SO the saying goes, and putting these power-cruisers through their paces was my part of this multi-faceted test.
California Motor Speedway in Fontana is mammoth, covering 529 acres and residing 1121 feet above sea
level. This new mecca of SoCal motorsports has been in operation for six years now, but oddly enough, this was my first visit. While Road Test Obi-Wan Canet was busy creating his own battlefield for the handung portion of this comparison, I ripped off runs down the dragstrip that has only been in operation since last September.
Starting at the shallow end of the power pool, I ran the Not-So-Mean Streak first. The Kawi has a comfortable, almost broken-in feeling from the first lift off the kickstand to the light, loose clutch pull. Giving up between 12 and 44(!) bhp to the other three meant no problems getting a good launch without wheelspin-heck, your Aunt Blatty could reel off 13-second runs on the Streak. Panic-braking presented no difficulties, either. Consistent feel and precise feedback from the components up front made my job easy.
In contrast, the Warrior has a very touchy rear brake and a slightly wood-
en feel to the front, requiring quite a bit more lever pressure and finesse. The tank/seat juncture is a bit too far back for my 5-foot-8-inch frame, too, which prevented me from ever feeling like I was in the sweet spot. As the Warrior attacked the quarter-mile, its pushrod power pulses produced a well-mannered delivery of linear lunge. The LCD rev counter adds a welcome visual aid, doubling as a shiftlight by flashing when it reaches redline.
“Sumo ballerina’’ is the best way to describe the Whole Lotta Motorcycle that Honda calls the VTX. If purchased by the pound, this would be the bargain of the bunch! Because the VTX has the most torque and the lowest rev ceiling, shifts during drag passes had to be precisely bunched. It took a few tries to get a pass I was happy with, because if I didn’t leave rubber at the line, it would light up the tire on the shift to second. You never miss your tach until it’s gone; this bike was missing one bad. Semi-linked braking (the foot pedal activates all three calipers) brought the behemoth to a halt in semiuncertain terms, with a couple of unannounced front-wheel skids during extreme braking. It’s hard to hide the weight when you can't wait to stop!
Stopping on the V-Rod was a very narrow bridge to cross. Though the Harley posted braking numbers on par with the best, they were the hardest to come by. It locked the front wheel with regularity-though it did so predictably-when our panic-stop sequence was initiated. Mechanical balance is outstanding. Very impressive, and not just for a Harley, but for anything on the market today. Motor, tranny, clutch...all have a feel I can’t compare to anything else I've ridden. Application of power to the ground is even more impressive. Packing more than 100 rear-wheel ponies, this hot Rod rocks from stoplight to stoplight. Here, it's the undisputed Quarter-Mile King. As the V-Rod roared past the stripe, there was no doubt who had the power.
ADVANTAGE: HARLEY-DAVIDSON
