Yamaha is usually associated with sport bikes, adventure bikes, or dirt bikes. One thing it hasn’t been known for is a cruiser. That’s a deserved reputation, because Yamaha hasn’t made a new cruiser or even updated its old cruisers in an extremely long time. So it will sound odd when we tell you that there exists a Yamaha cruiser that rivals the OG Harley-Davidson Sportster.
Not only that, but it does it at a lower price. Harley-Davidson purists might even prefer this Japanese cruiser over the American one. Here then is this oddball cruiser from a Japanese manufacturer that seems to play the American cruiser game better than the definitive American cruiser manufacturer.
The Bolt R-Spec Rivals the Harley-Davidson Sportster At A Lower Price
The Bolt was a cruiser launched in 2013, and the R-Spec was the more aggressive version that debuted in the middle of 2014. It was very obviously a tribute to the Sportster of the time, the one with the Evolution engine. The Yamaha took the same formula and made it better in a very Japanese way: better quality, better reliability, and lower costs of ownership. Today, the Sportster series has moved on and turned into a very different animal, but the Bolt R-Spec soldiers on, offering a throwback cruiser with modern quality and reliability at an economical price.
Yamaha Bolt R-Spec Price: $8,999
The Bolt R-Spec is priced $1,000 cheaper than the Nightster. The gap widens with other models in the range, especially the Sportster S, which costs $15,999. For the price, the feature set of the Yamaha is alright, especially when you view it as a blank canvas for customization. With the kind of run it has had, it will also be reliable, and the costs of ownership will be very low.
The Yamaha Bolt R-Spec Has Throwback V-Twin Power
The Bolt R-Spec uses an engine that bridges the gap between old school soul and modern tech. This 60° V-twin is air-cooled and has an SOHC head, but it has four valves per cylinder and fuel injection. It displaces 942 cc, and the bore and stroke measure 85 and 83 mm, respectively. It runs a relaxed 9.0:1 compression ratio, so the output is a lowly 65 horsepower and 59 pound-feet.
Yamaha doesn’t disclose where the power peak occurs, but we know the torque peaks at a low 3,000 RPM. A wide-ratio five-speed gearbox was par for the course at the time, so that’s what you get here. Final drive is via a belt, to make it a true tribute to an American cruiser.
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A Simple Chassis Underpins The Bolt R-Spec
The Bolt R-Spec uses a traditional downtube frame to cradle the engine in. This might make it a little heavier than contemporary sporty cruisers, but it also makes it really easy to customize. Telescopic forks with 4.7 inches of travel are present at the front, and twin piggyback rear shocks with 2.8 inches of travel round out the suspension. The brakes are also old school: a single 298 mm disc does duty at both ends. These are housed on a 19-inch front rim and a 16-inch rear one.
Yamaha Bolt R-Spec Dimensions
The Bolt R-Spec is 90 inches long, with a wheelbase of just under 62 inches. The ground clearance is 5.1 inches, which is okay considering the twin rear shocks allow for a low seat height of 27.2 inches. Wet weight stands at 542 pounds, and the fuel tank is a relatively small one, at 3.4 gallons.
Yamaha Bolt R-Spec Features
The Bolt R-Spec doesn’t have many features, to be honest. The stock instrument cluster is a round unit with a rectangular LCD in it. The digital part displays speed and the odometer reading. However, it isn’t a dealbreaker, since there is such a wide choice in the aftermarket for all kinds of instrument clusters that will suit your style better. Think of the Bolt R-Spec as a blank canvas, and you’ll understand where Yamaha is coming from.
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Yamaha Bolt R-Spec Competition
The Bolt R-Spec was designed as a competitor for the Sportster range, and the current range has three models. The Nightster, Nightster Special, and the Sportster S. The Nightster is a bare-bones version, with an analog instrument cluster and no pillion seat, but it retains basic safety like ABS, traction control, and drag-torque slip control. It is a very different kind of cruiser now, and the engine itself is a high-revving, fully liquid-cooled Revolution Max engine.
The mill comes mated to a six-speed transmission with an assist and slipper clutch. Thanks to its new-age chassis, it is significantly lighter than the Bolt R-Spec. It is a similar thing with the Nightster Special: it offers a TFT screen, cruise control, Bluetooth, and navigation in addition to what the base Nightster offers.
The Sportster S is the crown jewel of the Sportster range, and it gets the Revolution Max engine with variable valve timing on all its valves. It has almost twice the power as the Bolt R-Spec, too, and it looks a lot more modern thanks to Harley’s choice to style it after the flat-track racers in its history. A TFT color screen, Bluetooth, navigation, and a six-axis IMU (that unlocks traction control, drag-torque slip control, and ABS) sweeten the pot.
However, when it comes to customization, the Yamaha will be infinitely easier – it isn’t just the lack of electronics, either. The kind of suspension and brakes it has will make it far easier for it to find compatible aftermarket parts, not to mention the fact that it has been around for a decade. Leaving it stock is also not a bad idea, because we have yet to ride a Yamaha that handles badly!
Yamaha Bolt R-Spec Vs Harley-Davidson Sportster
|
Model |
Yamaha Bolt R-Spec |
Harley-Davidson Sportster S |
|
Price |
$8,999 |
$15,999 |
|
Engine |
60° V-twin |
60° V-twin |
|
Displacement |
942 cc |
1252 cc |
|
Power |
65 HP |
121 HP @ 7,500 RPM |
|
Torque |
59.3 LB-FT @3,000 RPM |
93 LB-FT @ 6,000 RPM |
|
Curb Weight |
542 LBs (wet) |
502 LBs (wet) |
Source: Yamaha Powersports