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" Austin, TX\u2014The bottom of a major recession seems like a strange time for a factory-issue chopper to thrive, but Honda&amp;#039;s tricked out Fury has emerged as the top-selling bike in the metric (i.e., non\u201A\u2014Harley-Davidson) factory custom genre. Proving they won&amp;#039;t take those claims sitting down, Yamaha&amp;#039;s Star Motorcycles division has retorted with a chopper of their own, the low-slung Stryker. Starting at $10,990 in black and $11,240 in blue or reddish copper, the Stryker undercuts the Fury by as much as $2,000. So Star beats Honda on the price, but how does it compare from the saddle? We spent a day traversing Texas hill country to find out. The Specs Choppers are defined by the lazy lean of their forks, and the Star Stryker boasts a 40-degree-of-total-fork rake, with the steering head positioned at 34 degrees and the clamps adding 6 more degrees of tilt. For reference, the mother of all choppers\u201A&amp;quot;Captain America from the film Easy Rider\u201A&amp;quot;had 43-degree forks, while the Fury&amp;#039;s rake comes in at 38 degrees. The second hottest spec du jour is seat height, and the Stryker sports the lowest saddle in the Star Motorcycles lineup, with a perch positioned just 26.4 inches above pavement. The number is notable since Star expects that 35 percent of Stryker buyers will be female. Merging with the narrow point of the saddle is a 4-gallon fuel tank; combined with the bike&amp;#039;s estimated EPA figure of 40.9 miles per gallon, Stryker should attain a cruising range of over 160 miles. Cradled by an all-new steel frame is Stryker&amp;#039;s 1,304-cc v-twin powerplant, which is liquid-cooled via a discreetly tucked radiator between the frame&amp;#039;s front downtubes. The mill is sourced from the V-Star 1300 and tweaked with higher lifter ratios for more kick and roller rocker arms for reduced friction. Though the dual counterbalanced engine yields the same peak horsepower and torque figures as the V-Star 1300 application, responsiveness and midrange power have been boosted. A five-speed transmission links the engine to a new carbon-reinforced final-drive belt and a wide 210/40-18 rear tire. The package weighs in at 646 pounds, full of fluids. Since the typical Star Motorcycles customer springs for an average of $1,100 in accessories at purchase and an additional $750 down the line, Stryker is already available with over 60 trick bits, from custom seats, quick-release windscreens and luggage to billet wheels and backrests. &amp;amp;gt;  The Ride Choppers have a tendency for disastrous handling and front-wheel flop due to their long wheelbases and reclined forks. To defy those proclivities, Stryker employs two engineering tricks: a low center of gravity, and a steering yoke tilted at 6 degrees. The tilted yoke alters the steering geometry so the trail figure\u201A&amp;quot;a measurement reflecting the relationship between the steering head and the front axle\u201A&amp;quot;comes in at 4.3 inches, which is lengthy enough to significantly increase stability.  Insert the key just behind the speedo and hit the starter button, and the 60-degree v-twin kicks to life with a mellow but authoritative hum. Revving is accompanied with enough of a snarl to suggest there&amp;#039;s some meat on this bike&amp;#039;s bones, but the counterbalanced engine doesn&amp;#039;t transmit much pulse through the chassis until revs get fairly high. Flip up the kickstand and shove the shifter into gear, and the light clutch proves progressive and smooth as you release the lever and allow the Stryker to pull away in first gear. Once you settle the soles of your boots on the forward pegs, your lower extremities might feel a bit stretched out, to the point that your heels drop a bit disconcertingly toward the ground. Heels are also the first things to touch down when the Stryker is pitched into a turn, but peg-scraping requires more lean angle than you might expect, and even then, a lift of your boots allows them to fold up and facilitate a slightly more aggressive cornering. While the Stryker&amp;#039;s lengthy 68.9-inch wheelbase proves unwieldy during parking lot maneuvers and U-turns, that awkwardness dissolves once the bike gains momentum and hits highway speeds. Though the 5.3 inches of front suspension travel and 3.9 inches in the back sometimes transmits a bit of jostling over rough road surfaces, it&amp;#039;s not horrendously stiff on smoother highways. And as we observed on mile after mile of sweepers while riding through rural Texas, the Stryker&amp;#039;s suspension manages to make the bike feel connected to the road, despite the wonky geometry inherent in choppers. Initial bite from the two-piston, 320-mm front brake isn&amp;#039;t particularly strong, but when working in conjunction with the single-piston, 310-mm rear, stopping distances are reasonably brief. Unlike the Honda Fury, the Sta Stryker does not offer antilock brakes.. After 130 miles of riding, we walked away pleasantly surprised by the Star Stryker&amp;#039;s obedient road manners and agreeable personality. Though its firm saddle might not have been so accommodating had our ride been lengthier, we figure this custom-style chopper is better suited to casual cruiser enthusiasts rather than long-distance riders. The Bottom Line Though it&amp;#039;s an unlikely time for a custom-style chopper to hit the market, Star&amp;#039;s Stryker is a well-priced and attractively finished bike that makes the frivolous genre more appealing to mainstream riders. Its ergonomics are not quite as extreme as the Honda Fury&amp;#039;s, thanks to the easier reach of its handlebars and its more cruiser-like posture, but the Stryker exudes a riding style and road presence that&amp;#039;s distinct from Honda&amp;#039;s. We anticipate both choices to be equally appealing to different audiences: the Honda appeasing fans of more radical styling, while the Star attracting riders who don&amp;#039;t want to completely abandon the traditional cruiser stance. Impressively, both bikes achieve unexpectedly high levels of functionality for a genre that&amp;#039;s known for impracticality. Ultimately, these types of motorcycles exist mostly for their style, so the choice boils down to a matter of taste.  The Star Stryker&amp;#039;s ergonomics and suspension geometry may not be for everyone. But for those seeking a durable, reliable take on the decades-old chopper genre, the Stryker serves up some serious competition for the Honda Fury, which can no longer claim to be the sole custom-style chopper offering from a major manufacturer. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/motorcycles/a6195/2011-star-stryker-review/>