Yamaha 1670 ROAD STAR WARRIOR 2004 — Specifications

In the mid-2000s, the custom segment was going through an identity crisis. Big American V-twins displayed imposing silhouettes but often sluggish powerplants, built more for posing than for performance. Honda responded with its VTX 1800, Kawasaki launched the Mean Streak 1500, Harley-Davidson ventured into sporting territory with the V-Rod. Yamaha, for its part, chose a different path: take an already massive custom and graft the DNA of a sportbike onto it. The result is the Yamaha 1670 Road Star Warrior, and it provokes as much as it fascinates.

The 1670 cc V-twin is the centerpiece of the entire proposition. Derived from the Wild Star engine, it gains two millimeters of bore, electronic fuel injection, and a compression ratio raised to 8.4:1. The figures speak for themselves: 86 horsepower at 4,500 rpm, certainly, but more importantly 141.2 Nm of torque at just 3,500 rpm. More torque than a Hayabusa, available much earlier in the rev range. With a bore of 97 mm and a stroke of 113 mm, this engine is very much long-stroke in character, which translates into a frank and linear push from low revs. The five-speed gearbox and belt drive do the rest, with a smoothness that pleasantly contrasts with the brutality announced by the machine's looks.

Because the Warrior is anything but subtle. The long-stretched silhouette, sharp chrome against a backdrop of black bodywork, the gaping air intake on the left side, and above all that massive upswept exhaust pipe that looks lifted from military hardware — the whole package commands attention. But beneath the American custom shell lies machinery with serious sporting pretensions. The steel double-cradle tubular frame borrows its main lines from the Wild Star but gains in rigidity. The 41 mm inverted fork, four-piston calipers on twin 298 mm discs up front, a rear swingarm worthy of a compact sportbike — nothing in the rolling chassis resembles what traditional custom rivals offer. The result, at 297 kg fully fueled, is genuinely surprising handling. The footpegs don't scrape until lean angles well beyond what a VTX or a Dyna Wide Glide will allow. That's measurable, and it's significant.

The experienced rider will appreciate it. The beginner, meanwhile, will first be intimidated by the sheer size before being caught off guard by the machine's actual maneuverability. The seat height of 730 mm remains accessible for a custom of this displacement, and the 15-liter tank demands regular fuel stops, especially if you're chasing the theoretical 190 km/h top speed. What is less enjoyable, however, is the riding position. Arms stretched forward, legs thrown out ahead, the back quickly adopts a painful arch. The suspension handles road imperfections adequately enough, but the rider's body pays the price for the dragster-inspired aesthetics. And forget two-up riding: with that handlebar and that seat, carrying a passenger requires a committed masochistic streak.

At €13,722 in the 2004 catalogue, the Road Star Warrior sits at the top of the sporting custom segment. It is not a machine for the hurried urban commuter or the loaded long-distance tourer. It is a sensation machine built for the solo rider who wants the visual presence of an American custom with the dynamics of a modern roadster. Yamaha didn't merely bore out an existing engine to follow the trend: the manufacturer built a coherent proposition, from the frame to the brakes to the drivetrain. In a segment where most rivals make their impression standing still, the Warrior convinces on the move as well.