Power To the People!
POWER TO THE PEOPLE!
ROUNDUP
BIG GOINGS-ON IN power-cruiserdom these days, what with exciting big-bore offerings from Harley-Davidson and Victory, plus a new in-house brand from Suzuki. Harley fired the first shot, unveiling its 2005 Custom Vehicle Operations models, which include a 1250cc hot-rodded Screamin' Eagle V-Rod, the return of the 103 cubic-inch Screamin' Eagle Electra Glide and, most significantly, a 103-cubic-inch Screamin’ Eagle Fat Boy. Why is the Fat Boy so important? It marks the debut of the new 1690cc Twin Cam Beta engine. The Beta version of the Twin Cam incorporates twin balancer shafts and is rigidly mounted in all Softails, while the non-counterbalanced Alpha is rubber-mounted in FLs and FXD
Since 2001, Harley has offered a 43/s-inch stroker kit for Twin Cam Alphas, manufactured for The Motor Company by JIMS. But the difficulty of maintaining balance factors prevented a similar kit from being offered for the Twin Cam Beta. Even now, there will not be a stroker kit for the Beta. The changes required are extensive enough that Harley instead
will offer complete 103cubic-inch Beta stroker engines through its P&A division. The Screamin’ Eagle Fat Boy is the first production application. The new engine uses lightweight pistons and conrods along with shortened wrist pins to impressively reduce reciprocating weight 12 percent from the smallerbore 1450ccTwin Cam. That allows stock balancers to be retained, though they ride in upgraded bearings. Harley engineers claim the new engine makes 100 foot-pounds of torque at 4000 rpm and that it vibrates no more than a stock Beta. Perhaps most importantly, all the components for the stroker Beta are either made in-house or by the same folks who supply the 1450ccTwin Cam, indicating this engine may someday see wider use across the Harley line. Up the road in Minnesota at Victory, the $ 16,999 Hammer is powered by the Vegas' 1 00-cubic-inch Freedom 100/6 motor and features a new six-speed gearbox, which transmits power to a monstrous 250mm rear tire. The 100/6 (100 cubic inches, six speeds) boasts a new cam drive, oil pump drive, primary gears and a narrowed sump to accommodate 20mmnarrower lower frame rails. The footpeg mounting brackets are also modified fiir improved cornering clearance, while the voltage regulator now resides under the engine for a cleaner appearance.
Introduced alongside the Hammer is the more subtly styled Vegas 8-Ball. In stark contrast to the flashy Hammer, the $12,999 8-Ball sports a more understated appearance. While the 8-Ball and Vegas are mechanically identical, there are still two important differeiices: First, everything from the crinkle finish engine treatment to the handlebars and even the hand/foot controls is black. Only the exhaust, headlight, speedometer and mirrors remain chrome. Second. the passenger seat and footpegs, as well as the right-side "V" cover (which originally covered the fuel and oil lines), have been removed, imparting a "stripper" look. The only addition is an 8-Ball logo on the front fender. Suzuki captured the attention of its nearly 1100 dealers this past June in Las Vegas with fireworks, on stage aerobatics performed by RM mounted racer Travis Pastrana and a taped telephone con versation with new recruit Ricky Carmichael. But these were only a warm-up for The Really Big News: the new "Boulevard" cruiser line, aimed at consumers who "de sire styling and technology."
Name changes accompany the revised branding. The Savage 650 and Intruder 800/1400 are now known as the S40 ($4399),. S50 ($6499) and S83 ($8399), while the Volusia 800 and Intruder 1500 LC have become the C50 ($6799) and C90 ($10,399). The numerical designations indicate engine displacement in cubic inches. While the "5" models are largely unchanged, the "C" models feature dual-throttlebody electronic fuel-injection derived from the GSX-R repli-racers. The coming-soon M50 will be a power-cruiser. An extensive line of acces sories is already available.
This is a transitional period for Suzuki, with more to come in the near future. Glancing over his shoulder at an illustration of the planned 2006 M105, VP Mel Harris said, "What you see here is just the tip of the iceberg. By 2007, we're going to blow your socks off."
