Yamaha Roadliner Stratoliner XV1900A

I upgraded to this 1854 cc (113 cubic inch) cruiser- touring bike from the V-Star 1100 Classic that I owned (and reviewed) previously. This is Yamaha's motorcycle engineering masterpiece. The Roadliner and Stratoliner are the same bike, except the latter comes with leather-covered hard bags, a windscreen and a sissy bar/backrest, all of which can be added to the Roadliner right at the dealer. A mixture of new design features (aluminum frame, two spark plugs per cylinder, fuel injection, retro cues in design, built-in oil cooler) and old (pushrods, air cooled engine) work together to make this a unexcelled ride. Nearly twice the displacement of the 1100, this bike gets 3 mpg more and frankly, handles better at both low and high speeds despite a curb weight (Stratoliner) of slightly more than 800 pounds. Like a fat man dancing lightly, this bike surprises! 36" handlebars allow for very comfortable parking lot maneuvers, and the 190-17" rear tire plants this bike firmly on the highway. BHP (102) and torque (123) at the crank are impressive, and most owners report dyno results at the rear wheel of 85- 90 BHP and 102 lb-ft of torque with only relatively minor mods (air intake, exhaust upgrade). A lot of riders think this is essentially an over-bored 1700 cc engine found on the best-selling Yamaha Road Star, but this is not the case. For instance, aside from the (amazing) aluminum frame, there are two throttle bodies rather than one and they are each a larger (43 mm in diameter) than the Roadie's. Compression is higher in the 'Liner too, and its power numbers are significantly higher both on paper and in my seat-of-the-pants dyno!. In short, Yamaha engineered this bike from scratch, and the results are fantastic.