...the incredible diesel device I found waiting for me to ride in the Bavarian countryside south of Munich, masquerading at a swift glance as an American-style cruiser with a big parallel-twin motor that could easily resemble Triumph's forthcoming 1500cc custom, is a bike literally unlike any other, and not only because of its choice of fuel.

Topping the firm's 2005 announcements is the Hammer, a 1634cc, six-speed power cruiser. Responding to the trend towards ever-bigger V-twins, Victory bored out is four-valve 1507cc overhead-cam 50-degree V-twin—already the performance king among mid-teen V-twins—by 4mm to 101mm, creating an engine which could cruise at a lower rpm and still provide no-downshift passing power.

That's when I saw it. The clutch lever dangled uselessly from the handlebar, broken right before the joint where it attaches to the cable. Horrified, I had to walk away from the bike to control myself during the initial shock. It was all I could do not to burst out crying. I can't believe this!!! I'm at the top of an Alpine pass, in who KNOWS what country by now (Italy, by a few meters), with nothing but a coffee shop around for kilometers, with no clutch?! F...

Somewhere between a Hayabusa and a Honda Rebel exists a class of motorcycles that cuts one of the largest swaths among streetbike riders, they are what we like to call "reality bikes."

A reality bike, by our definition, is an elemental yet widely capable machine that is friendly to both its owner's wallet and its insurance provider, perfectly willing to pound out commuter miles during the week followed some out-of-town fun on the weekend.

My favourite are roads that haven't been ridden for years. Sometimes, I am leaving some log on the road, to see if someone else travels here and when I return in a year or two, I see my log is still there, which suggest, that I still have no followers.

The fact is, the Buell motor is surprisingly effective after the massaging received by Mr. Buell. We know it’s not a 14,000RPM screamer, never will be, but it’s got grunt. Ignoring factory claimed, I suspect this thing probably makes mid 80's in ponies (although it felt like 65 in the high country) torque is suitably beefy though and if past experience of the breed counts, I think it’ll be surprisingly high for its class.

The FXDBI Street Bob is stripped-down, single-seat version of the Dyna, with the minimalist style that you might see in a stripped-down homebuilt custom. Styling highlights include a 29-degree steering head and fork angle, "Mini ape-hanger" handlebar, speedo set on the Fat Bob fuel tank, a new wrap-around rear fender over a 160mm rear tire, wire-spoke wheels, mid-mouint footpegs and congtrols, Street Bob air cleaner trim ring, special tank emblems, and a wrinkle-black finish on the console, belt guard, and battery cover, which has polished trim. Fuel-injection is standard.

The Nightster isn't exactly light at a claimed 545lb dry weight (claimed 565lbs ready-to-run), but the center of gravity is fairly low, and this combines with the wide bars to make aggressive riding easy, even at around-town speeds. Out of all the cruisers I've ridden, the Nightster would be high on my list if my plans involved a lot of city riding - it's almost like a (really low) standard in terms of how it attacks city traffic. Just be careful of those wide bars while splitting lanes!