...the new Sportsters have been almost totally revised, and are again motorcycles that can be taken seriously on their own merits. There are a number of significant changes -- engine improvements, stiffer frames, new brakes, improved finish, etc. -- but the most important new feature of the 2004 Sportster line is its system of rubber mounts that insulates the rider from the engine's vibration.

Honda's 600cc Shadow VLX V-twin offers the perfect balance that keeps it moving out of showrooms year in and year out. It's big enough to rely on for highway transportation, small enough to not intimidate short or inexperienced riders, stylish enough to provide pride of ownership, and affordable enough that almost anyone can afford it or buy one as a second [motorcycle] for a spouse. However, the VLX faced a major challenge for 1998 when Yamaha rolled out the 650cc V-Star -- the first small-displacement V-twin to be drawn in current-cruiser fashion. Not only did the V-Star pack more displacement, longer and more comfortable lines, and an additional ratio in the gearbox, it also blew away the VLX with a lower price.

Ladies and gentlemen, behold the VTX1300.

With the smaller VTX, Honda has created a [motorcycle] that provides answers to the questions the VTX1800 left unanswered. For starters, the 1300 is nearly 2 inches shorter and a significant 60 lbs. lighter than the 1800. This reduction is both size and weight has an immediate improvement in the handling characteristics versus the bigger [motorcycle]. From the moment the 1300 is lifted off its kickstand the difference is noticeable.

The biggest news with the Aero is that Honda dropped the chain drive from the old 750's in favor of a quiet maintenance-free shaft drive. Now this 750 competes on a level playing field with the Suzuki Intruder and Volusia 800's, the Kawasaki Vulcan 750, and the Yamaha V-Star 650, which now may feel the pressure to bump up their displacement to the 750 range soon.

Visually, the motor is just as stunning, taking up a large amount of real estate in between the massive steel frame rails. And, the first thing that strikes the eye, after the huge attractive air cleaner cover, is the chrome pushrod tubes that actually contain pushrods. “To allow for a lower engine height” is the official reason, in an effort to maintain a lower centre of gravity and a lower seat height. Makes sense, but I couldn’t help wondering how much of the decision was style-driven based on a certain other popular V-twin’s method of valve actuation.

Secondly, a large handful is going to have you thinking you have inadvertently hitched a ride on the Space Shuttle during takeoff, however, and you better be hanging on. Producing 147 lb-ft of torque at 2500 rpm and 140 bhp at 5,750 rpm, you are in for a wild ride. As the approaching landscape goes into some sort of manic fast-forward and your stomach internals attempt to wrap themselves around your spine, the Rocket III just keeps feeling as if it is never going to run out of power.

The most significant new model announced then, the new Royal Star Tour Deluxe, will be in dealers by the end of the month, and most of the remaining models in Yamaha's 2005 cruiser line—including all the significantly changed models— will be available in July. Only a few minor-change models will wait until August or later to trickle in to dealer showrooms. The Ventures are scheduled for August deliveries to dealers, and the standard Warrior and some V-Star models.

The 1800F wears a new look for the VTX series that's sort of a tough rendition of the VTX1800C. It shares that bike's 4.8-gallon fuel tank (now with a seamless configuration) and footpegs, but the style is made more aggressive with bobbed fenders, 18-inch wheels with low-profile radial rubber, a smaller headlight, its own echausr system, a new high-rise handlebar, flush LED taillight, wedge-shaped mirrors (shared with the C), and other details like new fender rails, visors on clear-lens turn signals (also shared with the C), and LCD instrumentation that includes a bar-graph-style tachometer as well as a clock.