2006 Star Stratoliner Press Introduction
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Excellent article Gabe... Loved the agressive riding inset..
" gave it a try, remembering that according to riding gurus Keith Code and Lee Parks, hanging off a sportbike drops the center of gravity, allowing the bike to carry more speed while using less precious lean angle. "
I can see it now a "high performance" riding school for cruiser riders like longride and Buz..(GPTB)..Gabe you could be the next Keith Code.... Gabe "knee dragging cruiser guru" Ets-Hokin. Have the class in Vegas like Freddy and it will be a hit.
Ah the brochure copy that is going through my head "You will marvel as you see arm chaped clad cruiser riders dragging their knees" A knee puck that has leather fringe...The possibilites are endless....
" gave it a try, remembering that according to riding gurus Keith Code and Lee Parks, hanging off a sportbike drops the center of gravity, allowing the bike to carry more speed while using less precious lean angle. "
I can see it now a "high performance" riding school for cruiser riders like longride and Buz..(GPTB)..Gabe you could be the next Keith Code.... Gabe "knee dragging cruiser guru" Ets-Hokin. Have the class in Vegas like Freddy and it will be a hit.
Ah the brochure copy that is going through my head "You will marvel as you see arm chaped clad cruiser riders dragging their knees" A knee puck that has leather fringe...The possibilites are endless....
Nice wite-up, Gabe! Yamaha has installed some nice touches with the lockable wind screen and trim applied with double sided tape. The lack of carrying volume seems to be the only real drawback, given that purchasers are not looking for real sportsbike performance. Somehow it seems a bit amiss to have a bike with luggage volume no greater than the engine displacement!
And a sort-of personal question: I know you are mostly a sporting style rider. Did you find it awkward to ride with the feet stretched forward? Related to that, did you miss being able to tell from the toe of your boot that you were getting close to the ground, rather than having the footboards scrape?
And a sort-of personal question: I know you are mostly a sporting style rider. Did you find it awkward to ride with the feet stretched forward? Related to that, did you miss being able to tell from the toe of your boot that you were getting close to the ground, rather than having the footboards scrape?
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Thanks Gabe, I was able to sit on the new base model the other day. I was very impressed with the way the bike fit me. Being 6'3" I find just about anything with floorboards can be a bit cramped. Not so on the Yama...ooops, Star.
I'm guilty of being a sucker for the HD marketing, I still would love to have a roadking. However, given the hard facts, the star makes a good argument for a "better mouse trap"
I'm guilty of being a sucker for the HD marketing, I still would love to have a roadking. However, given the hard facts, the star makes a good argument for a "better mouse trap"
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Been busy kicking some Airbus butt Installed new connection/sockets for electric vest, battery tender, and laser jammer/radar detector. Back in the saddle tomorrow after I get a new back tire (too many burnouts at the Burger barn (XXX drive in Issaquah))...
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...cruising....cruiser....out cruising....it all seems so homosexual,.... it must be, why else would someone need to rest their ass that long while " riding", think I'll leave the cruising to the cruiser set.... blechhhhh puuuuuke.
I bet he couldn't have caught us on the little romp we took when we went out. He's obviously diluded himself into thinking he is a real motorcyclist. He confuses ownership with skill. Since nobody has ever seen his face or ridden with him, all those big words ring hollow.
Are you familiar with the word "homophobia?"
I take from your not understanding why "someone would need to rest their ass that long while riding" that your idea of "riding" is to go flat out stoplight to stoplight, or bar to bar, putting maybe 1,000 miles a year on a bike. Real bikers ride long distances and explore the country, like the horsemen that settled the west. I'd rather be that guy than a "punk on a rocket".
I take from your not understanding why "someone would need to rest their ass that long while riding" that your idea of "riding" is to go flat out stoplight to stoplight, or bar to bar, putting maybe 1,000 miles a year on a bike. Real bikers ride long distances and explore the country, like the horsemen that settled the west. I'd rather be that guy than a "punk on a rocket".
Sort-of-Personal!
Actually, it's a lot less personal than the sort of questioning I get sometimes!
Hopping onto a cruiser from a sportbike or a standard is really weird. It almost feels like a different sort of vehicle. A lot of the stuff Lee taught us in the class we took in Pheonix (see my Lee Parks story here: http://www.motorcycle.com/mo/mcgabe/05_Better_Life/index.motml) doesn't apply with cruisers, so you have to improvise ro just ride really slow.
I always pull my toe up onto the footpeg when cornering (like Lee told you to do, ahem!), so I don't gauge available ground clearance with my toe- rather, I do that with my knee! On the street, it's usually not an issue, sportbike or standard. I actually stick my toe out a little over the floorboards on a cruiser so I can predict scraping that way.
Have a great New Year, Frank! I hope the snow isn't too deep up there, unless you're snowmobiling!
Actually, it's a lot less personal than the sort of questioning I get sometimes!
Hopping onto a cruiser from a sportbike or a standard is really weird. It almost feels like a different sort of vehicle. A lot of the stuff Lee taught us in the class we took in Pheonix (see my Lee Parks story here: http://www.motorcycle.com/mo/mcgabe/05_Better_Life/index.motml) doesn't apply with cruisers, so you have to improvise ro just ride really slow.
I always pull my toe up onto the footpeg when cornering (like Lee told you to do, ahem!), so I don't gauge available ground clearance with my toe- rather, I do that with my knee! On the street, it's usually not an issue, sportbike or standard. I actually stick my toe out a little over the floorboards on a cruiser so I can predict scraping that way.
Have a great New Year, Frank! I hope the snow isn't too deep up there, unless you're snowmobiling!
Oh, man! This again!
There's no pleasing some of you guys! Sure, we've done four glowing Yamaha reviews in a row...but three were for the SAME product-- the Roadliner intro, the "Three R" comparo (with the Roadliner again!) and this one.
As for the R6 before it, well, it's a really good motorcycle. It was top pick for plenty of other magazines.
We've reviewed over 70 motorcycles this year. Most of them we've liked! Some we didn't. It shouldn't seem strange when we like four bikes in a row from the same brand- there's only six brands we spend 95% of our time on (and that represent 97% of sales nationally.)
By the way, we didn't report very favorably on the Triumph Rocket III, but they advertise on this site. So does Ducati.
Just because a brand does well four tests in a row doesn't mean they have a "special relationship" with us. If I was a sports reporter and I reported the Dolphins won four games in a row would that mean the Dolphins were giving us free celebrity rub-downs in the Dolphin's locker room?
If the test was for some of Yamaha's not-so-good bikes, like the YZF600R (which was last in our Value Supersport story), or the V-star 650 (yich!), they wouldn't have come out on top.
There's no pleasing some of you guys! Sure, we've done four glowing Yamaha reviews in a row...but three were for the SAME product-- the Roadliner intro, the "Three R" comparo (with the Roadliner again!) and this one.
As for the R6 before it, well, it's a really good motorcycle. It was top pick for plenty of other magazines.
We've reviewed over 70 motorcycles this year. Most of them we've liked! Some we didn't. It shouldn't seem strange when we like four bikes in a row from the same brand- there's only six brands we spend 95% of our time on (and that represent 97% of sales nationally.)
By the way, we didn't report very favorably on the Triumph Rocket III, but they advertise on this site. So does Ducati.
Just because a brand does well four tests in a row doesn't mean they have a "special relationship" with us. If I was a sports reporter and I reported the Dolphins won four games in a row would that mean the Dolphins were giving us free celebrity rub-downs in the Dolphin's locker room?
If the test was for some of Yamaha's not-so-good bikes, like the YZF600R (which was last in our Value Supersport story), or the V-star 650 (yich!), they wouldn't have come out on top.
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Not only that, but a Concours offers better performance than the $16K, 750Lbs chrome boat anchor. For the same money you can get a real touring bike like the Venture or get a R1200RT for a little more. WTF. It's not worth $16K, at least not for me. I guess TC types must have a ton of disposable income. That being said, I'll take the Concours.
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