Daily motorbike news, views & reviews
Cruisers large and small are becoming one of the top road-going motorcycle categories. They offer riders comfort, touring capacity, power and performance. The cruiser market is dominated by Harley-Davidson, but the four Japanese manufacturers and other companies such as Triumph, Moto Guzzi and even Ducati make cruisers. We preview coming models, attend new product launches around the world and road test cruisers for performance, handling, comfort, style, economy and more.
Yamaha Motor Australia has slashed $2000 from the price of its learner-approved V-Star 650 cruiser to compete with other learner cruisers in the market. The XVS650A Classic was $11,299 and is now $9299 while the XVS650 Custom was $10,799 and is now $8799. (All prices in this article are retail and do not include on-road …
India is launching its first chopper motorcycles company, Avantura Choppers, with an American frame designer and premium bolt-on parts. Avantura Choppers is targeted at the premium end of the market with component partnerships from across the world including S&S Engines, Mustang, Kellerman and others. The brand will soon announce the launch of its first bike …
The Indian Scout has quickly become the company’s biggest-selling motorcycle and now they have added the Scout Sixty with a smaller engine capacity and an attractive $2000 price advantage. While most riders would argue there is “no replacement for displacement”, I would argue that the 999cc Scout Sixty is a more suitable package than its …
I felt a bit like Captain America riding around on the military-painted Harley-Davidson Softail Slim S with its massive 110-cube Screamin’ Eagle Twin Cam. There is a strange mixture of modern, fuel-injected power and old, stripped-down Panhead aesthetics about this bike. SEE ALL THE PHOTOS I especially love the way you can see between the seat …
For the first time Harley-Davidson has squeezed its 110-cube Twin Cam, normally reserved for CVO models, into a Fat Boy Lo frame to create its most powerful and desirable cruiser yet. HD Australia sales manager David Turney and “Pontiac tragic” nails it when he says it reminds him of the Pontiac GTO. “Pontiac squeezed in …
I used to joke that the Harley-Davidson Sportster Iron 883 came with iron suspension, but a new rear shock softens the blows from urban obstacles such as manhole covers. Like the rest of the Sportster fleet, the 2016 Iron gets the new cartridge dampening forks and emulsion technology rear shocks with 50mm travel, pre-load adjustability …
A suspension tweak, new colours and a more comfortable seat make the 2016 Harley-Davidson Sportster Forty-Eight much more than just a cafe cruiser. If it weren’t for the puny 8-litre peanut tank, it would be a comfortable cruiser for some inter-city travels. The key to the 2016 update is the premium suspension with cartridge damping …
I’ve now ridden the Indian Scout mid-weight cruiser in three countries and my impressions of this bike have hardly changed … I still love it! At $17,995 it competes well, even with the metrics, and the build quality is far and away better than any of the other bikes in this section of the market. …
Australian Moto Guzzi fans now have five California cruisers to choose from with the introduction of the Audace ($23,500 ride away) and Eldorado ($24,000). SEE ALL THE CALIFORNIA PHOTOS At the national launch in Sydney last week, national manager Ezio Forcella acknowledged that the cruiser market was growing rapidly in Australia, driven mainly by Harley-Davidson. …
Harley-Davidson has shoehorned the High Output 103 Twin Cam engine into its fleet of Softail and Dynas, but some countries, such as Australia, will have to wait for the more powerful Dyna. READ ABOUT THE 2016 HARLEYS The High Output engine has extra bottom-end torque thanks to bigger cams, but also requires an electronic throttle …