10 BEST METRIC CRUISERS EVER MADE
The cruiser might be as American as apple pie and Harley-Davidson and Indian might have built successful companies manufacturing them in all shapes and sizes, but that’s not to say that the Japanese and European manufacturers don’t know a thing or two about how to roll down the road in style and comfort.
While some so-called ‘metric’ cruisers might be mere pastiches of the traditional American cruiser, other models have been more innovative, taking the cruiser in a different, more dynamic direction while still maintaining the core values of comfort and style. Here’s our pick of the best metric cruisers over the years.
Related: The Real Difference Between Harley-Davidson And Metric Cruisers
Yamaha Virago
1981 - 2007
Yamaha’s first attempt at a cruiser and a hugely successful attempt it was too. One of the first mass-produced motorcycles to be fitted with monoshock rear suspension, it was later re-engineered to a twin-shock rear end, perhaps for a more traditional look. Available in a huge array of displacements, from 125cc to 1063cc, with either chain or shaft final drive. All models had plenty of chrome and traditional cruiser styling. The 1063cc version (called the XV1100) produced 60 horsepower which, along with an all-in weight of only 540 pounds, allowed it to out-perform contemporary Harley Davidsons. Excellent build quality accounts for the large number of Viragos still running today.
| Engine | V-Twin |
| Power | 60 horsepower |
| Torque | 62 foot pounds |
| Weight | 540 pounds |
Honda Shadow
1983 - today
While the Honda Gold Wing is considered to be a touring motorcycle, Honda has played in the cruiser segment since 1983 with the long-running Shadow model. Like the Yamaha Virago, the Shadow has been available in displacements of between 125cc and 1100cc, all with shaft final drive. If the Shadow, like many of the Japanese cruiser attempts, is unashamedly American in conception and design, they appeal because of their reliable engineering and smooth running. Some Shadow models even had more vibrations engineered into the engine, not to mention sounding like a Harley-Davidson, through the use of a single crank pin engine, while all shamelessly copied the traditional Harley looks. Typical Japanese quality means long life and excellent reliability.
| Engine (750cc version) | V-Twin |
| Power | 43 horsepower |
| Torque | 44 foot pounds |
| Weight | 507 pounds |
Kawasaki Vulcan 900
1984 - today
If the 1970s saw the rise of the Japanese motorcycle manufacturers, then the 1980s was the decade where they really started flexing their muscles and attacking markets in which they had no previous experience but which they proved just as capable of competing in successfully. The Kawasaki Vulcan, as with the Yamaha Virago and Honda Shadow, has been built with engines ranging from 125cc to 2,053cc, with the Vulcan 1700 Vaquero and Vulcan 900 being the models built today. Maintenance and dirt-free shaft drive yet again, great style, comfort and smooth running. If early models looked like bad copies of American cruisers, recent models have defined a design language of their own, or is it just because the Japanese cruiser has become familiar?
| Engine | V-Twin |
| Power | 50 horsepower |
| Torque | 57 foot pounds |
| Weight | 610 pounds |
Suzuki Boulevard M109R BOSS
2006 - today
Suzuki was a little later to the cruiser market than its Japanese rivals and followed the herd in producing copies of Harley-Davidsons, with greater or lesser success, depending on your viewpoint. Then, in 2006, came the Boulevard M109R and Suzuki changed the Japanese cruiser landscape. Suzuki decided to dial in performance to the M109R, giving it a near 1,800cc V-Twin engine, pushing out 120 horsepower and 100 foot pounds of torque. Of course, such power requires control, so Suzuki gave the M109R sports-bike brakes and suspension that raised the dynamic stakes of the class up a notch or two: it was a sports cruiser! Big, bold and beautiful, it is fast as well and not just in a straight line!
| Engine | V-Twin |
| Power | 123 horsepower |
| Torque | 118 foot pounds |
| Weight | 764 pounds |
Honda Valkyrie
1997 - 2015
Honda obviously took a good look at the Gold Wing and realized that the engine was tailor-made for a cruiser-type motorcycle. The result was the Valkyrie, using the 1500cc version of the Gold Wing’s flat six-cylinder engine in a typical cruiser chassis and styling. That it was aimed squarely at the American market was evidenced by the decision to build it at Honda’s Ohio plant, and it was certainly American in concept and style.
Eventually, it received the 1800cc Gold Wing engine in 2003 although the styling of the Rune model, as it was called, was polarizing to say the least. After a break, the Valkyrie was re-introduced in 2014 which lasted for a couple of years. One of the few non-V-Twin engined cruisers, it was also one of the best, irrespective of country of origin.
| Engine | Flat Six cylinder |
| Power | 118 horsepower |
| Torque | 120 foot pounds |
| Weight | 750 pounds |
Related: Honda Rune: When Honda’s Designers Went Completely Mad!
Ducati XDiavel
2010 - today
‘Ducati’ and ‘cruiser’ are not two words you would normally think to put together but the arrival of the XDiavel changed all that. It continued the trend of the performance cruiser started by the Yamaha VMax and was powered by a 1,262cc V-Twin engine, pushing out 152 horsepower and 92 foot pounds of torque, giving a top speed of 160mph: this was no ordinary laid back cruiser. If the straight line performance was special, then so too were the chassis dynamics, impressive despite the long wheelbase and weight. Using belt final drive - a first for Ducati - the XDiavel was Ducati’s fastest accelerating model, with a 0-60mph time of 2.9 seconds! Italian style and performance had come to the cruiser market.
| Engine | V-Twin |
| Power | 152 horsepower |
| Torque | 92 foot pounds |
| Weight | 549 pounds |
Yamaha VMax
1985 - 2020
Straight line speed for straight line speed’s sake, the Yamaha VMax pre-dated the Ducati XDiavel by 25 years and was no less celebrated, even if it was for all the wrong reasons! Blisteringly quick in a straight line, being powered by a 1,197cc V4 engine pushing out 120 horsepower at the rear wheel (shaft driven), it also recalled certain 1970s sports bikes by having a woefully inadequate chassis that meant it was a real handful to get round corners at speed. Distinctive looks hid a small gas tank which meant it wasn’t practical for long distance riding but with acceleration like that, who cared? A completely new VMax arrived in 2009 with a 1,679cc V4 engine and a chassis that could actually contain the power without tying itself - and the rider - in knots. One of the great motorcycles.
| Engine | V-Four |
| Power | 120 horsepower |
| Torque | 122 foot pounds |
| Weight | 683 pounds |
Related: Yamaha VMAX - Performance, Price, and Photos
Triumph Rocket lll
2004 - today
Excess for the sake of it, Triumph’s Rocket lll arrived in 2004 and amazed everyone. Not content with equaling the engine displacements of rival models from Harley and Honda, Triumph went all-in with a longitudinally-mounted three-cylinder engine of 2,294cc, producing 148 horsepower and a massive 163-foot pounds of torque: even the starter motor made as much power as the very first Triumph engine from 1902! Big, bulky and imposing, Triumph called it a ‘musclebike’ as opposed to a cruiser, but it filled that role just as well. In 2019, the updated Rocket 3 arrived, with a 2,458cc engine, pushing out 165 horsepower and 163 foot pounds of torque, complete with vastly improved styling, putting it directly head-to-head with Ducati’s XDiavel and Yamaha’s VMax. There’s as much ‘sport’ as ‘cruiser’ in the Rocket 3, with top-spec Showa suspension and Brembo brakes as well as advanced electronics.
| Engine | Inline three cylinder |
| Power | 165 horsepower |
| Torque | 163 foot pounds |
| Weight | 641 pounds |
Triumph Bonneville Bobber
2017 - today
Is a bobber a cruiser in the strictest sense of the word? Perhaps, as in the case of the Triumph Bonneville Bobber, it doesn’t really matter, especially when it looks as good as this and goes this well. Triumph took the standard Bonneville and bolted on a seemingly rigid rear end, which was actually more like Harley’s Softail design, featuring a horizontally-mounted monoshock under the single, cantilevered seat. Simple and tasteful, the Bonneville Bobber is a mixture of traditional nostalgia and modern efficiency, the Triumph 1200cc parallel twin engine being the perfect power unit, with bags of torque and smooth horsepower. Not great for long distance rides, due to comfort issues but if looking cool matters, few bikes do it as well as the Bonneville Bobber.
| Engine | Parallel Twin |
| Power | 76 horsepower |
| Torque | 78 foot pounds |
| Weight | 553 pounds |
BMW R 18
2020 - today
BMW has shown in recent years that it is not afraid to apply its knowledge to completely new categories of motorcycle, models that tip their hat to the heritage of the company in terms of style, while being as up to date as their boxer engine will allow. If anything, the 1,802cc boxer engine is a much more natural fit in the long and low R 18 as it is in any of its other products, providing a strong visual element, while the styling of the rest of the bike harks back to BMW’s very first models in the 1920s. The engine produces a lazy 90 horsepower and 117 foot pounds of torque which propel the 761 pound weight along nicely. BMW intends the R18 to be a blank canvas for customizing, whether using the BMW parts catalog or encouraging custom builders to re-imagine it, almost always with brilliant results. Variants have appeared - Bagger and Transcontinental - but the original is the purest and the best.
| Engine | Boxer twin |
| Power | 90 horsepower |
| Torque | 117 foot pounds |
| Weight | 761 pounds |