Road Test: Night Rod v. M1800R v. Midnight Star

There's a new kind of bike on the market and somebody has called it 'power cruiser'. Power cruiser is a bit of an oxymoronic, contradictory thing - what do you need power for when you only want to plod along? Well, let's have a look at a couple of two-cylinder examples.

Brand new on the market, the Suzuki M1800R Intruder is a 1.8-litre twin. It's massive in every respect. Then we have a Harley-Davidson Night Rod, a bike with a big name and an astonishing (for a Harley) Porsche-designed 1130cc engine.

Their style lends itself to late night kerb-crawling wearing piss-pot lid and black wraparound shades. They ooze attitude and threats. So what better venue to set our little confrontation than Southend-on-Sea? Especially as we found what is possibly the best fish and chip shop in the south of England - Marriotts, it's called, on Southend seafront. It's worth a trip to Southend in itself (well, nearly).

The difference between these and conventional cruisers is the difference between Tarantino's Vincent & Jules and Peter Kay's Max & Paddy. The Night Rod and the Intruder mean business. Insert key and start reciting Ezekiel 25:17. Open the throttle - instant furious anger - and you will know my name is the Lord.

Talking of names, I keep forgetting what Yamaha have called their big cruiser, the third bike in our test. Midnight something... Er, Nightstar, er, no that's not it. 'Harley-Davidson!!' shouts a small boy from a group at the bus-stop as I chugger past. Well done, ten out of ten. Not well done little boy, but well done Yamaha. The Yamaha is a Harley clone and I challenge any Yamaha marketing man to pretend to argue otherwise. It's shameless. But Kawasaki and Suzuki do exactly the same. There's only Honda with any self-respect.

It's this automotive plagiarism that has inspired Harley to fight back, making its own incursion into Japanese territory with its V-Rod series. But you have to hand it to Yamaha, this is a really slick effort. Not just because it fooled a ten-year-old boy, but because it's an excellent motorcycle, albeit fashioned in a style made popular by Harley-Davidson.

At 1.9 litres, the Yamaha displaces a bucketful of gas every second, but, is it a power cruiser? I'd say not, but it's a good counterpoint by which to define the other two and give you a steer on what you're getting yourself into.

Anyway we're talking V-twins here and when you talk V-twins, you talk Harley-Davidson. Harley-Davidson went slightly off-message back in 2002, and launched the V-Rod. They followed that with the Street Rod - a more sporting version - and now the Night Rod.

The Night Rod is somewhere between the two, with conventionally positioned footrests as well as feet forward 'highway pegs'. It has high-rise pull back handlebars and a scooped out low-slung seat. But whichever way you sit on one, what defines the Night Rod, as with its other brothers called Rod, is that engine. It's a smooth 60¡ V-twin. Harleys had 100 years of lumpy 45¡ V-twins before this, so the engine lives up to its 'Revolution' name. And it pumps out power like a Ducati on song. It loves to rev and catapults forward faster than its chassis would readily agree to. But that's okay, it's got brakes - proper twin discs that work. So there it is: cruiser style, with huge go-stop ability.

The inaptly named Suzuki Intruder (can you imagine this sneaking uninvited anywhere?) is very new and has several very remarkable features. It has highway pegs too. It has wide, flat, swept back bars. It has a laughably oversized motor and the biggest rear tyre you will see on any motorcycle in production (a 240-section!). I'd like to tell you how much power goes through that tyre but the bike is too long to fit on our dyno. Claimed power and torque is 127bhp@6200rpm and 118lb.ft of torque at 3200rpm - and I'm not arguing. The front end is even more eyebrow twitching. It's derived from the GSX-R1000 - upside down 46mm forks, with radial four-pot caliper brakes running on 310mm discs. Now this is good thinking. Unlike the Harley, which has great brakes but very rudimentary forks (which often amounts to a locked front wheel), the Suzuki can counter its stonking motor and scary momentum with controllable, effective stopping power.

So we have two power cruisers, packing serious firepower, while being very laid-back about it - Vincent & Jules, y'see. Mmm, tasty burger. Bang.

Now here's Paddy's partner, Max. Not V-Max, but it is a Yamaha. This has, funnily enough, the biggest motor of the bunch - a 1900cc twin. Ironically the smallest motor (Night Rod) has 20 more horsepower. But that makes sense in some weird kind of reverse logic. The Midnight Star is designed to relax you with its effortless lolloping oomph. It redlines at 5000rpm, half the engine speed of the Harley Night Rod. Up to that it thumps out great pulses of power shoving you in the back like an elephant pushing a log. Get this: 114lb.ft of torque. Mean anything? Okay, a GSX-R1000 makes 86 - now do you get it?

There'd be no satisfaction or benefit from thrashing the Midnight Star. And that's the defining trait of a big cruiser. It should relax you, let you enjoy the slow, deliberate pace, not egg you on to the redline and speeds where you have to think quickly. This is what sets this bike apart from the other two. It's what all the big-inch Harleys have too, but the Yamaha does it beautifully and, actually, better, I think. But that's for another test.

If you like a speed and adrenline rush, the Yamaha is not for you. It has a distinctly different power package. But then the styling reflects this. It takes its cues from the automobiles of the 50s; black, masses of chrome and trim, pointy bits for pointy sake, the style of an era, well captured. The instruments are a work of art and glow blue at night - and check out the tiniest tacho in existence. The quality of finish is the best I've seen on a Japanese bike in a long time and should give Harley something to think about.

This quality pervades the bike. The suspension is fantastic, damped well enough to allow the bike to handle, but such a plush ride. Full marks Yamaha.

If all this talk of easy riding is making the Suzuki sound frenetic, that would be overstating it. But it does make you want to nail it. And like all Suzukis, when you do, you're rewarded. The Intruder likes going a good pace. It's super stable and steers true; it loves fast sweepers. But don't get beyond yourself - this is too big a motorcycle to rely on to sort out your mistakes for you. It probably doesn't even fit in your garage. Get it wrong at speed and you're gone - a very big hole in the hedge. So just ride within limits, pick the right moment, the right road. Or just slip into cruise mode. At low speed it's surprisingly easy to manoeuvre.

The Intruder looks good. From behind it's mindblowing - utterly huge. From the side, it's almost articulated. From the front, well, from the front it sometimes looks like some kind of giant queen-Alien scooter. Or is it just me? Sorry, shake off that mental image - it is a crowd-puller, show-stopper, gob-smacker.

The only real criticism I can level at it is the ground clearance. It is by far the worst of the three. And on top, the pegs are a stretch and encourage you to trail your heals, which results in your foot being dragged off the peg as they catch the Tarmac in corners. But that's it, one little blot on an impressive landscape.

A cruiser with Harley-Davidson on the tank may not have to try too hard to win some fans, but I think the Night Rod is selling the brand a little short. The black theme hides a budget version of a cracking series (V-Rod/Street Rod). The matt black tank is mean, but in the wrong sense. It marked easily and seems cheap. This bike costs £11,475, and you need to spend another £200 for a lacquered colour finish. And these days LED clusters are de rigeur; the Harley's single car-type bulb is low-tech alongside. There's an uncharacteristic budget feel to this model.

But it doesn't half go. You can really thrash this bike, in traffic or out in the country. With a proper sporting 180 rear tyre, it handles and it has enough ground clearance to give it a true dual purpose - hey, new category: Sports Cruiser! That's really a tag for the Street Rod. The ergonomics of this model, with its two sets of footrests, one forward, one central, gives you two options depending on your mood. The motor does too. It's as happy to lounge in the low range as it is to zing up to 9000rpm. At walking pace you find you need those wide bars as the heavy front wheel starts to flop from side to side.

I found the seat pan too low for my 5ft 11in as it cramped my legs, and the loss of seat padding allowed sharp jolts to interfere with my behind; Niall seemed happy enough with it though... But no-one was happy with the Rod's fuel range - a scandalous 90 miles.

You can't pick winnners and losers from this group; each has its own unique approach to a certain kind of motorcycling. In value for money terms, you probably can - given that you want something different, something to create a splash, at £8999 the Suzuki Intruder will make the biggest splash of the three for a grand less than its nearest rival. Think of all the Kahuna Burgers that would buy.

NIALL'S SECOND OPINION - SUZUKI

At first sight all three looked very appealing but the Suzuki was the only one of the trio that truly delivered the goods over a day's riding. First, the motor had a great free revving feel with excellent punch and a nice bark to boot. The wide seat numbed my backside after a hundred miles but otherwise the riding position was just right, for me at least. It has the best-looking digital rev counter I've ever seen. Forgetting the slightly agricultural transmission I feel this is one Japanese model that can compete with Harley-Davidson at its own game.

NIALL'S SECOND OPINION - HARLEY-DAVIDSON

This stunning, slim-line bad boy is one of the best looking Harleys ever.

It's the sportiest of the three bikes here, and you can pull your feet back on to the second set of pegs, then have a bit of fun down the back roads when you get tired of highway cruising.

Apart from the creaky clutch action I couldn't fault it either as a ride or for feel-good factor. The frustrating indicator switches and battery-draining alarm did give some grief but they were a small price to pay. Factor in heritage and history and I would probably prefer to buy the Night Rod.

NIALL'S SECOND OPINION - YAMAHA

Yamaha have tried a bit too hard cosmetically with this, forgetting along the way that the biggest pleasure will always be in the riding. Hitting the starter produces much wheezing as the big V-twin rattles into action before settling down to idle with just a bit too much tappet noise for my liking. Its chrome indicators are over-the-top and the numbers on the speedo remind me of grandma's kitchen clock. The comfort, handling and brakes are all very acceptable, but the heel-and-toe gear shift is a waste of time. Otherwise a fantastic motorcycle!

SPECS - HARLEY-DAVIDSON

TYPE - CRUISER

PRODUCTION DATE - 2006

PRICE NEW - £11,450

ENGINE CAPACITY - 1130cc

POWER - 116bhp@8000rpm

TORQUE - 78lb.ft@7400rpm

WEIGHT - 287kg

SEAT HEIGHT - 660mm

FUEL CAPACITY - 18.9L

TOP SPEED - 143mph

0-60 - n/a

TANK RANGE - N/A

SPECS - SUZUKI

TYPE - CRUISER

PRODUCTION DATE - 2006

PRICE NEW - £8999

ENGINE CAPACITY - 1783cc

POWER - 127bhp@6200rpm

TORQUE - 118lb.ft@3200rpm

WEIGHT - 315kg

SEAT HEIGHT - 705mm

FUEL CAPACITY - 19.5L

TOP SPEED - 127mph

0-60 - n/a

TANK RANGE - N/A

SPECS - YAMAHA

TYPE - CRUISER

PRODUCTION DATE - 2006

PRICE NEW - £9999

ENGINE CAPACITY - 1854cc

POWER - 90bhp@4750rpm

TORQUE - 114lb.ft@2500rpm

WEIGHT - 329kg

SEAT HEIGHT - 735mm

FUEL CAPACITY - 20L

TOP SPEED - 124mph

0-60 - n/a

TANK RANGE - N/A

There's a new kind of bike on the market and somebody has called it 'power cruiser'. Power cruiser is a bit of an oxymoronic, contradictory thing - what do you need power for when you only want to plod along? Well, let's have a look at a couple of two-cylinder examples.

Brand new on the market, the Suzuki M1800R Intruder is a 1.8-litre twin. It's massive in every respect. Then we have a Harley-Davidson Night Rod, a bike with a big name and an astonishing (for a Harley) Porsche-designed 1130cc engine.

Their style lends itself to late night kerb-crawling wearing piss-pot lid and black wraparound shades. They ooze attitude and threats. So what better venue to set our little confrontation than Southend-on-Sea? Especially as we found what is possibly the best fish and chip shop in the south of England - Marriotts, it's called, on Southend seafront. It's worth a trip to Southend in itself (well, nearly).

The difference between these and conventional cruisers is the difference between Tarantino's Vincent & Jules and Peter Kay's Max & Paddy. The Night Rod and the Intruder mean business. Insert key and start reciting Ezekiel 25:17. Open the throttle - instant furious anger - and you will know my name is the Lord.

Talking of names, I keep forgetting what Yamaha have called their big cruiser, the third bike in our test. Midnight something... Er, Nightstar, er, no that's not it. 'Harley-Davidson!!' shouts a small boy from a group at the bus-stop as I chugger past. Well done, ten out of ten. Not well done little boy, but well done Yamaha. The Yamaha is a Harley clone and I challenge any Yamaha marketing man to pretend to argue otherwise. It's shameless. But Kawasaki and Suzuki do exactly the same. There's only Honda with any self-respect.

It's this automotive plagiarism that has inspired Harley to fight back, making its own incursion into Japanese territory with its V-Rod series. But you have to hand it to Yamaha, this is a really slick effort. Not just because it fooled a ten-year-old boy, but because it's an excellent motorcycle, albeit fashioned in a style made popular by Harley-Davidson.

At 1.9 litres, the Yamaha displaces a bucketful of gas every second, but, is it a power cruiser? I'd say not, but it's a good counterpoint by which to define the other two and give you a steer on what you're getting yourself into.

Anyway we're talking V-twins here and when you talk V-twins, you talk Harley-Davidson. Harley-Davidson went slightly off-message back in 2002, and launched the V-Rod. They followed that with the Street Rod - a more sporting version - and now the Night Rod.

The Night Rod is somewhere between the two, with conventionally positioned footrests as well as feet forward 'highway pegs'. It has high-rise pull back handlebars and a scooped out low-slung seat. But whichever way you sit on one, what defines the Night Rod, as with its other brothers called Rod, is that engine. It's a smooth 60¡ V-twin. Harleys had 100 years of lumpy 45¡ V-twins before this, so the engine lives up to its 'Revolution' name. And it pumps out power like a Ducati on song. It loves to rev and catapults forward faster than its chassis would readily agree to. But that's okay, it's got brakes - proper twin discs that work. So there it is: cruiser style, with huge go-stop ability.

The inaptly named Suzuki Intruder (can you imagine this sneaking uninvited anywhere?) is very new and has several very remarkable features. It has highway pegs too. It has wide, flat, swept back bars.

It has a laughably oversized motor and the biggest rear tyre you will see on any motorcycle in production (a 240-section!). I'd like to tell you how much power goes through that tyre but the bike is too long to fit on our dyno. Claimed power and torque is 127bhp@6200rpm and 118lb.ft of torque at 3200rpm - and I'm not arguing. The front end is even more eyebrow twitching. It's derived from the GSX-R1000 - upside down 46mm forks, with radial four-pot caliper brakes running on 310mm discs.

Now this is good thinking. Unlike the Harley, which has great brakes but very rudimentary forks (which often amounts to a locked front wheel), the Suzuki can counter its stonking motor and scary momentum with controllable, effective stopping power.

So we have two power cruisers, packing serious firepower, while being very laid-back about it - Vincent & Jules, y'see. Mmm, tasty burger. Bang.

Yamaha Midnight Star

SPECS - YAMAHA
TYPE - CRUISER
PRODUCTION DATE - 2006
PRICE NEW - £9999
ENGINE CAPACITY - 1854cc
POWER - 90bhp@4750rpm
TORQUE - 114lb.ft@2500rpm   
WEIGHT - 329kg
SEAT HEIGHT - 735mm   
FUEL CAPACITY - 20L   
TOP SPEED - 124mph
0-60     - n/a
TANK RANGE - N/A

Now here's Paddy's partner, Max. Not V-Max, but it is a Yamaha. This has, funnily enough, the biggest motor of the bunch - a 1900cc twin. Ironically the smallest motor (Night Rod) has 20 more horsepower. But that makes sense in some weird kind of reverse logic. The Midnight Star is designed to relax you with its effortless lolloping oomph. It redlines at 5000rpm, half the engine speed of the Harley Night Rod. Up to that it thumps out great pulses of power shoving you in the back like an elephant pushing a log. Get this: 114lb.ft of torque. Mean anything? Okay, a GSX-R1000 makes 86 - now do you get it?

There'd be no satisfaction or benefit from thrashing the Midnight Star. And that's the defining trait of a big cruiser. It should relax you, let you enjoy the slow, deliberate pace, not egg you on to the redline and speeds where you have to think quickly. This is what sets this bike apart from the other two. It's what all the big-inch Harleys have too, but the Yamaha does it beautifully and, actually, better, I think. But that's for another test.

If you like a speed and adrenline rush, the Yamaha is not for you. It has a distinctly different power package. But then the styling reflects this. It takes its cues from the automobiles of the 50s; black, masses of chrome and trim, pointy bits for pointy sake, the style of an era, well captured. The instruments are a work of art and glow blue at night - and check out the tiniest tacho in existence. The quality of finish is the best I've seen on a Japanese bike in a long time and should give Harley something to think about.

This quality pervades the bike. The suspension is fantastic, damped well enough to allow the bike to handle, but such a plush ride. Full marks Yamaha.

If all this talk of easy riding is making the Suzuki sound frenetic, that would be overstating it. But it does make you want to nail it. And like all Suzukis, when you do, you're rewarded. The Intruder likes going a good pace. It's super stable and steers true; it loves fast sweepers. But don't get beyond yourself - this is too big a motorcycle to rely on to sort out your mistakes for you. It probably doesn't even fit in your garage. Get it wrong at speed and you're gone - a very big hole in the hedge. So just ride within limits, pick the right moment, the right road. Or just slip into cruise mode. At low speed it's surprisingly easy to manoeuvre.

The Intruder looks good. From behind it's mindblowing - utterly huge. From the side, it's almost articulated. From the front, well, from the front it sometimes looks like some kind of giant queen-Alien scooter. Or is it just me? Sorry, shake off that mental image - it is a crowd-puller, show-stopper, gob-smacker.

The only real criticism I can level at it is the ground clearance. It is by far the worst of the three. And on top, the pegs are a stretch and encourage you to trail your heals, which results in your foot being dragged off the peg as they catch the Tarmac in corners. But that's it, one little blot on an impressive landscape.

Harley-Davidson VRSCD Night Rod specs

SPECS - HARLEY-DAVIDSON
TYPE - CRUISER
PRODUCTION DATE - 2006
PRICE NEW - £11,450
ENGINE CAPACITY - 1130cc
POWER - 116bhp@8000rpm
TORQUE - 78lb.ft@7400rpm   
WEIGHT - 287kg
SEAT HEIGHT - 660mm   
FUEL CAPACITY - 18.9L   
TOP SPEED - 143mph
0-60     - n/a
TANK RANGE - N/A

A cruiser with Harley-Davidson on the tank may not have to try too hard to win some fans, but I think the Night Rod is selling the brand a little short. The black theme hides a budget version of a
cracking series (V-Rod/Street Rod). The matt black tank is mean, but in the wrong sense. It marked easily and seems cheap. This bike costs £11,475, and you need to spend another £200 for a lacquered colour finish. And these days LED clusters are de rigeur; the Harley's single car-type bulb is low-tech alongside. There's an uncharacteristic budget feel to this model.

But it doesn't half go. You can really thrash this bike, in traffic or out in the country. With a proper sporting 180 rear tyre, it handles and it has enough ground clearance to give it a true dual purpose - hey, new category: Sports Cruiser! That's really a tag for the Street Rod. The ergonomics of this model, with its two sets of footrests, one forward, one central, gives you two options depending on your mood. The motor does too. It's as happy to lounge in the low range as it is to zing up to 9000rpm. At walking pace you find you need those wide bars as the heavy front wheel starts to flop from side to side.

I found the seat pan too low for my 5ft 11in as it cramped my legs, and the loss of seat padding allowed sharp jolts to interfere with my behind; Niall seemed happy enough with it though... But no-one was happy with the Rod's fuel range - a scandalous 90 miles.

You can't pick winnners and losers from this group; each has its own unique approach to a certain kind of motorcycling. In value for money terms, you probably can - given that you want something different, something to create a splash, at £8999 the Suzuki Intruder will make the biggest splash of the three for a grand less than its nearest rival. Think of all the Kahuna Burgers that would buy.

NIALL'S SECOND OPINION - SUZUKI

At first sight all three looked very appealing but the Suzuki was the only one of the trio that truly delivered the goods over a day's riding. First, the motor had a great free revving feel with excellent punch and a nice bark to boot. The wide seat numbed my backside after a hundred miles but otherwise the riding position was just right, for me at least. It has the best-looking digital rev counter I've ever seen. Forgetting the slightly agricultural transmission I feel this is one Japanese model that can compete with Harley-Davidson at its own game. 

NIALL'S SECOND OPINION - HARLEY-DAVIDSON

This stunning, slim-line bad boy is one of the best looking Harleys ever. It's the sportiest of the three bikes here, and you can pull your feet back on to the second set of pegs, then have a bit of fun down the back roads when you get tired of highway cruising. Apart from the creaky clutch action I couldn't fault it either as a ride or for feel-good factor. The frustrating indicator switches and battery-draining alarm did give some grief but they were a small price to pay. Factor in heritage and history and I would probably prefer to buy the Night Rod.

NIALL'S SECOND OPINION - YAMAHA

Yamaha have tried a bit too hard cosmetically with this, forgetting along the way that the biggest pleasure will always be in the riding. Hitting the starter produces much wheezing as the big V-twin rattles into action before settling down to idle with just a bit too much tappet noise for my liking. Its chrome indicators are over-the-top and the numbers on the speedo remind me of grandma's kitchen clock. The comfort, handling and brakes are all very acceptable, but the heel-and-toe gear shift is a waste of time. Otherwise a fantastic motorcycle!

Suzuki MT1880R specs

SPECS - SUZUKI
TYPE - CRUISER
PRODUCTION DATE - 2006
PRICE NEW - £8999
ENGINE CAPACITY - 1783cc
POWER - 127bhp@6200rpm
TORQUE - 118lb.ft@3200rpm   
WEIGHT - 315kg
SEAT HEIGHT - 705mm   
FUEL CAPACITY - 19.5L   
TOP SPEED - 127mph
0-60     - n/a
TANK RANGE - N/A