Yamaha has brought to the market a cruiser bike built with a minimalistic approach yet full of style, attitude and performance. The 2014 Yamaha Bolt will be launched under Yamaha USA’s subsidiary brand Star Motorcycles. Star Motorcycles is a U.S. specific brand undertaking all the cruiser bikes offered by Yamaha. The Bolt displays the raw styling of a cruiser bike without the flash. It features a typical cruiser low-seating of 691 mm and offers an upright riding position thereby improving the handling and the rider’s confidence.
The rider and passenger seats are two different units both featuring a dual texture buckskin or suede design. The passenger seat can be removed too, if desired. Powering the Bolt is a 942 cc, 60° twin-cylinder, air-cooled, SOHC engine, coupled to a 5-speed gearbox. Power figures are not disclosed but the Bolt produces 80.41 Nm of torque at 3000 RPM. The instrument panel hosts an LCD digital meter assembly with speedometer, odometer, dual tripmeters, fuel reserve tripmeter and a clock. There is also an engine-trouble light incase something’s not right with the engine.
The bodywork has been done showcasing the strength and quality with a raw metal look and Yamaha has kept away the shine and gloss of chromework. The engine also has been matte painted. With that displacement, the Yamaha Bolt still claims an average fuel consumption of near about 20 km/l. The teardrop shaped fuel tank holds about 12-litres of fuel.
Yamaha has also introduced a sportier version as the Bolt R-Spec. Specific to the R-Spec are features such as special colours, remote reservoir shocks, cool textured colour stitched seat, black fenders and blacked out mirrors. The standard Bolt is available in Pearl White or Raven whereas R-Spec sports Matte Gray or Camo Green colours. The Bolt, as of now, is only available for the American and Canadian market and nothing can be said about it coming to India yet. It is priced at about ($7990) roughly Rs. 4.3 lakhs and the R-Spec model at not much higher ($8290) Rs. 4.5 lakhs. So can the Yamaha Bolt prove to be a slightly compromised option for a Harley-Davidson?
