As far as legacies go in the world of two-wheeled vehicles, Japanese bike maker Yamaha is pretty hard to beat. And the manufacturer’s rep is all the more impressive considering Yamaha didn’t produce its first motorcycle until 1955, focusing instead on producing high-quality musical instruments for the bulk of its first 70 years in existence. However, when Yamaha Motor Company split off in the mid-50s and delivered the YA-1 to the world, it almost instantly announced itself as a major new player on the motorcycle scene.
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Over the ensuing decades, the company has earned renown for producing high-octane builds as revered on city streets as they are feared on the racetracks of the world. If you’re a fan of the Yamaha brand, you no doubt know the company has delivered some well-loved cruiser class bikes over the years. You also probably know that Yamaha has spent recent years scaling back its presence in the cruiser arena. In fact, these days, Yamaha offers only two cruisers in its lineup: the XSR700 and the XSR900.
Those bikes are included under Yamaha’s Sports Heritage lineup. While the company doesn’t currently have plans to build that lineup, we can’t help but hope that if Yamaha changes its position on producing bikes in that class, the company would look to these past builds for inspiration.
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The Yamaha Road Star
When Yamaha went all-in on motorcycle manufacturing tangling with the likes of iconic American road huggers from Harley-Davidson and Indian was probably not part of the plan for the company. But over the years, some of Yamaha’s cruisers — see the beastly Star Venture — indeed began to look and feel a lot like builds from those iconic American companies. And among the Yamahas that bore that more classic American look, a case could be made that the Road Star would make a fine fit for a modern revival.
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That is, in part, because the build has barely been dead a decade at this point, with Yamaha killing the Road Star in 2014. In terms of looks, it fronted a relatively modern frame. As for the last Road Star in the line, it bore the name Silverado, and when outfitted with saddlebags, looks as ready for a long day of riding as any bike in Yamaha’s extended family. The Road Star family had been around since 1999, and though the build stayed relatively true to its form, that final model boasted as muscular a frame as any in the line.
That build was backed up by an equally punchy engine, with the Road Star Silverado’s 1,670cc four-stroke V-twin engine pushing 75 hp and 83 lb-ft of torque. A new version would benefit from a modest power upgrade, and that bulky frame could maybe do with a little streamlining too.
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[Featured image by Cdamian via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | Public Domain]
The Yamaha XJ1100 Maxim
On the subject of classic Yamaha motorcycles that could use a few modern touches, we’d argue the XJ1100 Maxim is not one of them. Yes, the bike’s looks are maybe a little dated and bare some distinctly 1980s flourishes — particularly an optional rounded, all-glass fairing — but therein lies the charm of this two-year-only build from the Japanese bike maker.
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You read that correctly, the Yamaha XJ1100 Maxim was manufactured for just two model years, offered in the U.S. between 1982 and 1983, and in Canada between 1983 and 1984. Fans of the build no doubt recognize the signature look of Yamaha bikes from that period. At the risk of waxing nostalgic, we’d love to see a modern build from the manufacturer fronting those classic cruiser vibes.
As for the bike’s power capabilities, the XJ1100 Maxim likely wouldn’t need too much of a boost. After all, this short-run Maxim was packing an 1,101cc four-stroke engine. That four-cylinder engine was also fitted with Mikuni carburetors that produced 95 hp at 8,000 rpm and 65 lb-ft of torque at 6,500 rpm. Now, that may not sound crazy by more modern standards, but when you account for the XJ1100 Maxim’s slim frame and relatively lightweight (a reported 582 lbs.), that output could make for a pretty punchy ride. Could it be more powerful in a revival build? Sure — so long as you make that all glass fairing standard.
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[Featured image by Macg1234 via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY-SA 4.0]
The Yamaha Raider
There are more than a few bikes in Yamaha’s recent cruiser past that fans of the brand started missing the moment they went the way of the Dodo. For our money, the long-in-production Yamaha Raider should be near the top of any such list because, well, it arguably ranks among one of the coolest looking builds to ever grace the manufacturer’s cruiser lineup. You can argue that point all you want, but we’ve honestly never seen a bike that looks quite like this, with the aptly-named Raider fronting a frame that is somehow both slinky and decidedly muscled-up.
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In any case, the Raider was around for a solid decade before Yamaha pulled the plug in 2018, with the first models hitting the road in 2008. In terms of evolution, the last of the Raider lineup didn’t look too different from the first, with a lengthy frame, lowered saddle, and pulled-back handlebars coming, arguably, as close to the look of a proper chopper as Yamaha ever got.
Not to keep harping on the bike’s looks, but the Raider is a legitimately singular build in Yamaha’s lineup, and for the decade it was in production we couldn’t take our eyes off it. The bike’s were hardly slouches in the power department either, with ’08 models packing Hemi power and the final builds pushing 1,853cc four-stroke V-twin engine that could push 100 hp and 124 lb-ft of torque. We do, however, have one stipulation to bring the Raider back into Yamaha’s cruising mix, which is that the bike should only be made available in all black.
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The Yamaha VMAX
You didn’t think we were gonna put together a Yamaha cruiser list and leave out the VMAX did you? After all, the VMAX is one of the finest cruisers to have ever graced the Yamaha lineup, and we just cannot imagine a world in which that will ever change. Like so many Yamaha fans out there, we were pretty stunned when the manufacturer pulled the plug on the build in 2020 after a 35-year production run. And just like so many others, we’ve been holding out hope that the VMAX may one day make a triumphant return to the company’s lineup.
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Given that the staunch Euro 5 emissions restrictions were ultimately what did the VMAX in, that wait could be lengthy, as Yamaha would certainly have its work cut out in rolling back the build’s footprint. After all, when the VMAX made its debut in 1985, it essentially broke the mold for the muscle cruiser, with Motorcyclist even dubbing the build “the original power cruiser” in its 2020 obit for the bike.
To be clear, the bike’s legendary reputation for power is hardly unwarranted, with the final 2020 models powered by a 1,679cc, DOHC, 16-valve V-4 that pumped the ponies up to 174hp and deliver 112 lb-ft of torque. Yes, those numbers are all significant bumps over the original 1984 models, though even those were pushing an era-impressive 145hp. But of all the bikes listed here, this is the one that we’d legitimately beg Yamaha to change absolutely thing, because in terms of style, power, and grace, the VMAX is, and always has been, the perfect power cruiser.
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[Featured image by Cdamian via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC0 1.0 Universal]
