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A lot of bike for not too much money

I've had this bike for almost six months now, and I still enjoy it as much as the first week. The braking is responsive and the handling is excellent. If you're not bashful in the twisties you will scrape pegs, exhaust cover and various bolts. Of course it'll never be a sport bike, if you want th...at level of cornering get a sport bike. But I do ride with some sporties and unless they're gunning for it I've been able to keep within visual range if not right with the group.

On the looks end it is a good looking bike with just enough to make it different. This is especially evident in the Special Edition models ('06-'08). Mine's an '07 SE and at bike nights around here it's gotten as much attention stock as the Harley full custom bikes have.

In the power department it has plenty to do what you want, but compared to other offerings out there for 'mid-level' power cruisers it is a bit underpowered. A fair amount of this can be remedied with some common modifications. Regardless you won't likely find yourself disappointed unless you're looking for speed and acceleration at the track level. Again if that's what you're after a cruiser probably isn't your thing.

When it comes to price these definitely do well. Used low mileage bikes aren't terribly difficult to find and can often be found at a good price. New models MSRP for $11,100 standard and $11,300 SE but this isn't written in stone. I've known a couple of dealerships to offer the SE's for $1,000 less if you do your homework in their model year. Mine I bought in '08 (as an '07) new for $9500. Keep in mind however that a lot of dealerships dont' keep these on the floor long, they sell pretty well. Mine was a walk-in request to find one, the one they had on the floor (standard black & chrome '08 I believe) was gone within a month and the '08 SE they received was gone less than a week after they put it on the floor. As such you may not be able to get as good a deal as a model that might sit for a couple of months.

At the time Yamaha didn't really have one I liked, Suzuki had one or two but a bit higher in price and Victory & Harley, although some of theirs coming out I'm starting to like again, are still just too high in price for me to seriously consider. The Mean Streak had a near-perfect combination of a alot of factors at a good price and I've been hard-pressed to talk to anyone who owns one who doesn't love it so far.

Granted as an owner this is probably a bit biased but hopefully it's helpful to those in the market. Read Full Review