The motor is stock for the series, with the only allowable mod's being a Dynojet carb kit and freer flowing exhausts. The head received a multi-angle valve job and had the air filter replaced with a freer flowing piece. The exhausts were retro style with reverse megaphones with a not too a mega-noisy sound, and they obviously looked the part.

Five 2005 Suzuki Boulevard models will hit showrooms in August 2004 -- the S40, S50, S83, C50 and C90 -- with more to come in 2005, including the signature M50 muscle machine. Suzuki has designated three separate cruiser lines as the basis for future line growth with specific product names reflecting not only engine size in cubic-inch displacement but also the style of the bike as well -- the stylish "S" series, the "C" series featuring classic cruiser styling and the more-muscled "M" bikes.

Don't ask us why most cruisers don't come with tachometers. We think every motorcycle needs a tach. Perhaps the manufacturers think that, because cruisers aren't constantly trying to wring the last bit of performance out of a [motorcycle]'s engine (like those sportybike types), we don't care what the engine is up to. Or maybe they think we find clutter on the handlebar so distasteful we'd rather not be bothered with how quickly the engine is spinning.

"This is the 18th consecutive year that Harley-Davidson has achieved records for both revenue and net income," said Jeffrey L. Bleustein, chairman and chief executive officer of Harley-Davidson, Inc. "We had a phenomenal year full of memorable once-in-a-lifetime experiences surrounding our 100th Anniversary. Introducing the Harley-Davidson brand to hundreds of thousands of potential customers has undoubtedly sparked the dream of ownership and created new excitement for our products."

Drivers wearing reflective or fluorescent clothing had a 37% lower risk of crash related injury than other drivers. Compared with wearing a black helmet, use of a white helmet was associated with a 24% lower risk, and daytime use of headlights was associated with a 27% lower risk.

Kawasaki has announced their 2004 new models, including a huge, 2,053cc v-twin cruiser known as the Vulcan 2000, the ZX-10R supersport, and, for Europe only, the Z750 Naked. These models are discussed below in press material obtained from Kawasaki in Europe. Note, also, that Kawasaki has revised the Vulcan Mean Streak by, among other things, increasing its displacement to 1552cc, and there are numerous changes to the ZX-6RR for 2004. These latter two models are not discussed below.

Finally, we have the four contenders for open-class honors together. Here are the results from our dyno day-all four bikes run on our SuperFlow CycleDyn dyno one after the other.