Yamaha 1670 ROAD STAR WARRIOR 2006 — Specifications

When the American custom market started smelling gunpowder, every Japanese manufacturer pulled out its heavy artillery. Honda struck with the VTX 1800, Kawasaki lit the fuse with its Mean Streak 1500, Harley-Davidson surprised everyone with the V-Rod. Yamaha watched, waited, then laid on the table the Yamaha 1670 Road Star Warrior — a machine not trying to imitate Milwaukee, but to answer it on its own turf, by its own rules.

Visually, the Warrior plays in a different league than its siblings. Long, dark, draped in aggressive chrome, it wears an air intake on the left flank like a battle scar, and an exhaust on the right whose diameter suggests heavy artillery more than fine craftsmanship. The double-lower-cradle steel tubular frame borrows its architecture from the Wild Star but is reinforced to handle what the engine will demand. And this engine demands a great deal. The V-twin with 97 x 113 mm bore and stroke, compression ratio at 8.4:1, swells to 1670 cc to deliver 86 horsepower at 4,500 rpm. The figure that truly matters is the torque: 141.2 Nm available from just 3,500 rpm — more than a Hayabusa, but produced three times earlier in the rev range. On a 297 kg custom, that fundamentally changes how the machine behaves exiting a corner.

That's where Yamaha slipped another surprise into the package. The 41 mm inverted telehydraulic fork with 135 mm of travel, borrowed without apology from the sport world, reveals the engineering team's true intentions. You don't fit that type of running gear to a cruiser designed solely for straight boulevards and chrome shows. The dual 298 mm disc brakes with four-piston calipers up front, backed by a 282 mm disc with two pistons at the rear, confirm that the Warrior is built to be ridden, not merely admired. At 190 km/h on the speedo, with this level of grip and a dry weight kept to 275 kg, the bike delivers on its promises on open roads.

The engine, aided by fuel injection, displays a smoothness that contrasts with its stature. No brutality on the throttle, no snatching at low speed — simply a direct, muscular progression that pushes hard from the bottom of the rev range. The five-speed gearbox shifts with precision, and the belt drive absorbs the vibrations of this big V-twin while preserving a certain mechanical refinement. In corners, despite its imposing dimensions, the Warrior surprises with how easily it changes direction, thanks in part to genuine ground clearance before the footpegs scrape the tarmac — something not all its competitors can claim.

One point deserves honesty, however. The riding position — arms stretched toward the forward handlebar, feet pushed well out front — hollows out the lower back after a few hours. The 15-liter tank imposes regular fuel stops, which isn't entirely bad news for the lumbar region. As for two-up riding, with a seat configuration that clearly sacrifices the passenger for the rider's benefit, two bikes would be the better option. The Warrior is a selfish machine, built for a rider who wants pleasure without compromise, at a price of €13,722. It targets the rider who found customs too slow, not the showroom browsers. And in that precise niche, it has very few serious rivals.