Evaluation: Middleweight Muscle
The 700-Class Performance Cruisers
Hot Rod Magazine - Nov 1985
by Dexter Ford
There used to be a clearly defined group of motorcycles called, for
lack of a better term, "standards." These were the bikes that could
function well in almost any street-riding mode, from long haul
touring to backroad rat-racing to urban trolling. They are mostly
gone now. The choice today in mid-size motorcycles is between
all-out road racers, ready for sticky tires and a trip to the race
course, and the bikes you see before you street-wise bikes with 4
cylinders, flashy styling, more or less laidback riding positions,
and, we are discovering, a remarkable ability to do almost anything
a rider could want from them. The standard look (low, conservative
bars, muted style, and a comfortable seat) may be gone, but these
three shaft-driven inline fours from Japan are the heirs to the
class in terms of sheer versatility.
KAWASAKI ZN700 LTD
The LTD is the most cruiser-oriented machine of the three its high,
pullback bars and radically stepped seat force the rider into an
easy-chair position, and its aging, but very effective, DOHC
two-valve motor is the strongest of the bunch in terms of low-end
punch. Mid-range is good--but the two Maxims, from Yamaha, can eat
it up when all-out acceleration is the game. The motor is the
smoothest of the group, with its rubber mounting system, and the
chassis is quite competent, even for hard going on the backroads,
though a little less agile than its Yamaha brethren. If your idea of
the ideal machine is a mellow, nicely engineered city bike that lets
you loll back against the seat step and delivers velvety power from
the bottom of the tach dial, the $3149 LTD may be your choice.
YAMAHA XJ700 MAXIM
The Motorcyclist Magazine testers almost unanimously chose the
air-cooled, DOHC, two-valve Maxim as their favorite, day in and day
out, of the three. Its newer and more expensive sibling, the awesome
five-valve Maxim X, has more top-end power, and if racing for pinks
is the game, the Maxim X is going to be the outright winner. But on
the street, keeping the Maxim X's engine spinning up near its
10,000-rpm redline gets a bit tiring; the pros all preferred the
torquier, smoother, and slightly slower Maxim.
The chassis of the two Yamahas is almost identical; like the Kawie,
they're both shaft-drive 5-speeds, but both Maxims have much more
alert, upright riding positions. For most riding, from high-speed
rural outings to freeway cruising, the testers liked the erect
Yamaha setup better. The Maxims allow the rider to lean into the
wind on a highway--to keep from having to support the upper body by
pulling back on the bars all day; the lower, flatter handlebars also
help make the steering feel more immediate, and let the rider haul
his way forward to get extra traction at the front wheel when
cornering hard.
The engine is not new, but it works wonderfully; carburetion is
glitch-free, and there is always power at hand, from 1500 rpm to
redline. And most judged the Maxim's styling to be the best of the
group as well; the candy-red tank and tastefully applied brightwork
make the XJ a bike even a confirmed sport bike rider could love.
YAMAHA XJ700X MAXIM X
Yamaha broke new ground this year with the FZ750, a very serious
sport bike with a radical five-valve-per-cylinder, DOHC head. Very
simply, the FZ makes more power than any 750 has ever made before,
and all with impeccable low-end and mid-range. The Maxim X has the
cruiser version of that motor; the bottom end is substantially
different, but the business end--that wonderful five-valve head--is
identical.
And the thing moves like the technology leader it is. When the tach
needle winds past 7500 rpm the bike takes off like an F-14 from the
deck of the Hornet. Yamaha's V-Max, the 1200cc, V-4-powered monster
that's now the most powerful bike available over the counter, now
has a little brother in the stop-light wars.
For confirmed speed freaks the Maxim X is a standout, but a couple
of flies stray into the adulation ointment. The carburetion is not
great at low speeds; trying to open the throttle smoothly from idle
gets you a substantial lurch, no matter how gentle you are. And the
power is impressive only at the top end; both the Kawasaki and the
two-valve Maxim were faster in our roll-on race from 50 mph in top
gear. The liquid-cooled, high-tech motor is a jewel, but you can get
more tasteful styling, easier-to-use power, and the same chassis in
the plainer Maxim, and for $500 less.
Whichever you choose, the 700 cruisers will be giving you fast,
low-maintenance transportation--and with all the style you'll need
to turn heads.