Cruiser Comeback

CRUISER COMEBACK

CW COMPARISON

Renewed popularity for high-style motorcycles

ONCE UPON A TIME THERE WERE CRUISERS. THEY bloomed, as a popular production type in the late 1970s, from the bob-jobs and choppers crafted-yes. and cobbled, too-decades earlier by individual American riders out of individual pieces of Arnencan iron. But what blooms can fade. Cruisers did, in the middle 1980s, along with every other type of motorcycle But cruisers-not Harley-Davidsons; now, but the Japanesebuilt bikes that derive their styling from the cruiser phenomenon-have rebloomed.

“Cruisers are where the action is,” says Don Brown, of Don J. Brown and Associates. Brown, a longtime motorcycle industry consultant and observer, estimates that 85,000 cruisers were sold in the 1993 model year, against 60,000 sportbikes.

Harley-Davidson owns 58 percent of the over-all cruiser market, Brown says, but that leaves a bit of room on the playing field for Honda,

Kawasaki, Suzuki and fYamaha, who intend to use that room to score their own sales points.

Those points can be scored on the backs of cruiser-style motorcycles because of their stylish looks and unintimidating nature, observers say. According to John Hoover, Kawasaki’s director of sales services and product management, “It’s a control issue. Cruisers are comfortable, and they’re not overpowering.”

Jim Bates, Honda’s manager, motorcycle press, agrees: “Cruiser buyers aren’t particularly interested in going fast. They want to look good and have that central experience of the V-Twin. They look at our CBR900RR and CBR600F2 and say, ‘Oh, that’s too much for me.’ The folks who buy cruisers are not interested in going fast, they just want to look good.” Those who ride in middle America, where canyons and corners are scarce, also play a part in the return of the Japanese cruiser. Says Hoover, “Riding from Dallas to Austin isn’t much fun on a ZX-7. A cruiser is simply a lot more comfortable.”

If that’s the case, you ask, why not just buy a Harley-Davidson?

A lot of riders do. Says Hoover, “HarleyDavidson offers a lifestyle you buy into, and we can’t offer that. To try to do so would be an insult to Harley riders. We offer an alternative that gives you the attributes of a cruiser but with the technology of the ’90s that a lot of people have requested.”

, Bates agrees, saying, “Japanese cruisers have their own set of attributes. Harleys are seen by some customers as somewhat primitive, maintenance-intensive machines that vibrate. They see the Japanese cruisers as more refined and less maintenance-intensive.”

That perception may or may not be realistic. Nevertheless, here are those bikes, all 11 of them, spanning a wide range in both chassis and engine sizes. What rings true about each is this: Each offers a viable alternative in the search for a ride in the American idiom. American riders see that, and are buying them. To find out why, read on.