Visordown readers' Top 10 customs
We've had a look at your reviews and ratings, and then we've done the maths. Here are your top 10 most highly-rated custom bikes
HERE are your top 10 custom bikes, as voted for by you.
We've taken all the customs from our huge database with three reviews or more, then averaged out owners' detailed ratings on the engine, brakes, handling, comfort and build to bring you the consumer's top 10. The higher the score, the more highly rated the bike.
Remember, this list is created using your reviews and ratings.
10. Suzuki Intruder M800: 3.7 out of 5
Reasonable looks, lots of comfort and good reliability from Suzuki's M800. Powered by a 805cc V-twin that makes 53hp and plenty of torque, the Intruder has adequate power for cruising two-up. Just don't expect it to stop you in a hurry, you only get a single disc at the front and a drum brake at the rear to bring its 269kg heft to a halt.
9. Triumph America: 3.8 out of 5
Fake drilled air cleaner covers, an ignition key tucked away below your ‘butt’, exposed battery case, pear-shaped rear light unit and deep, deep chrome engine covers. Welcome to the Triumph Bonneville America. In the flesh the Bonnie America is a looker. That lumpy, misshapen twin-cylinder motor doesn’t dominate the bike, but does have a presence. Shiny rims – 18in front, 15in rear – wear old fashioned-looking and high profile tyres while two long, low exhaust pipes make like running boards down either side of the bike. The factory’s had a pop at injecting some attitude into their DOHC 790cc Bonneville engine by altering the firing order to a Ducati-like 270° to stagger the power pulses.
8. Yamaha BT1100 Bulldog: 3.91 out of 5
The Bulldog’s funky wrapping paper may give the impression of an urban street-warrior, but the present underneath the groovy angles is actually cruiser based – although Yamaha are branding it a roadster. And all that metals hangs around 1,063cc of old-school, air-cooled satin black V-twin engine, hoisted out of Yamaha’s full stretch Drag Star, complete with a pair of Keihin carburettors, five-speed gearbox and shaft drive. Peak power is a claimed 65bhp at 5,500rpm and 65ft-lbs of torque at 4,500rpm, nudge it into life and the Bulldog chuffs away pleasantly, with a bit of a lolloping throb to its engine note. If you ratchet back any desire to travel urgently, settle into the Bulldog’s friendly personality and drift along, it’s fine.
7. Yamaha XV535 Virago: 4 out of 5
The Virago's 535cc V-twin was never built to set the world on fire but combined with shaft drive, it's a low maintenance machine with good reliability. Niggles include poor braking performance and a tiny 8.6L fuel tank on the first model. Still, it handles better than it should and has the comfort to take you for miles.
6. Harley-Davidson XR1200R: 4.1 out of 5
The heart of a Harley has been, for over 100 years, a big, tall shaking slow and low-revving V-twin motor. And the XR1200 is a perfect example of a modern Harley-Davidson, harking back to an iconic model in its glorious history and being lumbered with all the design baggage and compromise that brings. For example the big 45-degree V sits in a simple, heavy steel double-cradle frame. Based largely on a Sportster XL1200 road bike, the XR1200 has some Japanese-style technology added in order to meet the European brief – Showa suspension, cast alloy wheels and Nissin brakes, although not radial. The engine is retuned with some essential performance tweaks too, something that comes in handy to tug its 250kg dry weight.
5. Harley-Davidson VRSCA V-Rod: 4.12 out of 5
When Harley-Davidson unleashed the VRSCA V-Rod, it became their most important model for 50 years. With a watercooled, 115bhp, 60 degree V-twin motor straight out of their VR1000 racebike, it marked the start of a new direction for the Milwaukee firm. One of the best looking bikes to come out of the factory the V-Rod had performance too, other than a notchy gearbox and typically cruiser handling.
4. Honda F6C Valkyrie: 4.16 out of 5
Essentially a Goldwing in naked guise, the Valkyrie still tips the scales with a behemoth 309kg dry weight. The silky smooth 1520cc six-cylinder engine makes 100hp and 96ft.lb and gives the F6C the potential to be a serious mile-muncher, even when two-up.
=2. Triumph Thunderbird 1600: 4.3 out of 5
The engine itself is physically enormous, displacing 1597cc and boasting such vast castings your left leg actually ends up fouling it on its way to the footpeg. Fuel injected, with four valves-per-cylinder, two balance shafts, a hushed belt final drive and a central camchain, the motor’s been developed to strike that elusive balance between “soul” and refinement, a task Warburton insists was “as difficult as it is to get performance out of a sportsbike engine”. The end result is undoubtedly an unobtrusive road buddy – no vibes, little or no induction or exhaust noise at speed, a mere 3,000rpm on the tacho at 70mph in top. For such a big, weighty bike, the Thunderbird turns easily enough and, once into a corner, the thing’s predictable enough to let you flirt with the limits of ground clearance all the way round.
=2. Ducati Diavel: 4.3 out of 5
We’ve entered an era where the technology available has made bikes like the Diavel possible. Although it has the silhouette of a cruiser, it smashes the cruiser mould due to it using a 160bhp engine from the 1198 superbike, with a few changes. It has fully adjustable suspension, front and rear, meaning it’s as well sprung as the sportiest nakeds and the brakes from the 1198SP mean that no corner has been cut on the path to performance and that this isn’t just a flashy all-show and no go offering. A massive 240-section rear tyre and a long wheelbase are not the ideal ingredients if you want a bike to handle, but the Diavel doesn’t suffer one bit.
1. Yamaha Midnight Star 1900: 4.62 out of 5
It's more high-tech than its air-cooled, pushrod-operated V-twin engine layout suggests. That 1854cc motor, Yamaha's eight-valve V-twin, is fuel-injected and breathes out via the cruising world's first EXUP valve. The frame and swingarm are made from aluminium, not wrought iron. The bike is every bit a laid-back cruiser, though. Despite twin balancer shafts the big V-twin lump judders enough to give some character, and it has heaps of grunt. Stability isn't a problem either, thanks to the compliant but well-controlled suspension. Ground clearance is reasonable, and there is plenty of stopping power from a front brake whose specification of twin 298mm discs and four-pot calipers was good enough for the YZF-R1.
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