First Ride: 2002 Yamaha Road Star Warrior - Motorcycle.com
Torrance, California, November 6, 2001 -- As our recent shootout confirmed, making a performance cruiser is a difficult task indeed. Not only must the bike be able to accelerate hard, turn fast and precise as well as stop fast, it must also turn heads by maintaining some sort of boulevard bad-assery. Sure, engineers in white coats can help a motorcycle achieve most of the performance goals, but the last -- and some would argue, most important -- element, is up to the designers.
After returning from the official press introduction in Half Moon Bay, California where we had a chance top sample Yamaha's latest and greatest, it's no wonder that the Yamaha Road Star Warrior has
Equipped with a 1670 cc, air-cooled V-twin engine, the Warrior produces a claimed 79.9 horsepower at 4,400 rpm and 103.8 lbs/ft of torque at 3,500 rpm. Improved upon from the standard Road Star engine, the Warrior features all-new upper engine parts. Even the push-rod arrangement is different.
Feeding this revised motor is a new air intake system. Comprised of two intake boxes, their combined volume is a whopping two gallons (7.5 liters) in size. This gives the intake system a reported 115% increase in volume while lowering the intake resistance by 70% when compared to earlier Yamaha cruisers.The exhaust exits through a controversial exhaust can. The muffler weighs in at 8.3 kilograms. That's 1.6 kilograms less than the a standard Road Star muffler, while increasing internal capacity by 1.8 liters to 11.5 liters. And not to worry, while the exhaust can looks very sportbike-esque, the essential cruiser exhaust note remains.
Though the looks of the Warrior have already drawn their fair share of giggles, the bike's handling drew nothing but praise.
Once on the road and out of the meeting room of the stately Ritz Carlton (no, we're not kidding), these updates were evident immediately as beaucoup power flowed through a roughly 8.5 mm thinner drive belt to the fat 200-section rear tire. The close-ratio transmission snicked through the ranges without any hassle and we were surprised at how well the machine pulled from mid-range.
Indeed we were surprised, at the mid- and low-range tractability of the motor. But once the tach needle swung closer to red-line, we were met with a noticeable drop in power. We only make mention of the drop because the rest of the powerband is so fulfilling. Nevertheless, considering the design goals of the motor, we're very pleased with the way the motor turned out. What pleases us more, though, is the knowledge that within a few months, Speedstar parts will be available for the Warrior that'll reportedly bump up horsepower past the century mark.
Combine effective brakes, motor and chassis and you get a solid package. The tight and twisty roads that the demo ride comprised of really showed us that a cruiser could handle. Tight switchbacks and off-camber road surfaces proved no problem for the Warrior. However, once the road took a turn for the worse, or more likely, when we turned up the heat a few notches, we noticed the damping was a bit slower than we would've liked. No bother. It is a cruiser after all, isn't it?
Compromise, that's the name of the game with performance cruisers. Or is it? If you wanted a sporty machine, you would've gotten a sportbike. If you wanted the look and feel of a true grit cruiser, you would've gotten one. Performance cruisers lie in the thin gray realm on the dark side of the motorcycle spectrum. And it's an area we're becoming more and more enthralled with.
Yamaha's own line of Speedstar performance products will be available very soon. Parts will not only allow you to customize the looks of your bike, but performance goodies see the new Warrior producing a touch more than 100 horses which is pretty nice, no matter how it looks.
How does the Yamaha hold up in relation to the competition? With a smooth, powerful motor, awesome handling (by cruiser standards at any rate), cruiser feel and a custom look, things are looking pretty good, we'd say. Foibles? Sure, they're there, but as a package this new Yamaha spells serious trouble for other manufacturers, and it spells out yet another solid choice for consumers.
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