So, 1981 is the year. Yamaha Virago is gaining territory for the Japanese in the cruise ship market, while Harley-Davidson is nervously smoking on the sidelines, and even this case seems to be about to have to look for investors willing to invest in the extremely promising business of buying a pack of cigarettes. It was at this point in history that the production of perhaps the most widely used V4 engines at the moment began. Despite the very large number of V2 and V6 engines – and the logical conclusion that there should be a V-shaped four between them – by 1982, the V4 engine was, in fact, a curiosity. Somehow it so happened that four-cylinder V engines were never in the options of really popular cars or motorcycles. But in 1982, looking at the success of the Yamaha Virago, Honda decided to snatch its piece of the American dream. And it just so happened that by that time, the Comrade Soichiro Corporation had developed a V4 engine for motorcycles in order to return to racing the Moto Grand Prix. Having a base for the production of a four-cylinder engine, Honda decided, in addition to the Shadow model with a standard two-cylinder V, to launch the Honda Magna cruisers with the V4 on the market.
The photos show, in fact, a factory Magna of the first generation, with only a slightly modified chopper-style front and luxuriously repainted. The design was still a bit peculiar, and more reminiscent of Virago than Harley. And the square headlight stands out especially: the round one will be installed only in the 87th, sort of. Bug or feature? On the one hand, the goal of the Japanese was to copy the American bike - and they will definitely come to this in the 90s. On the other hand, they will lose the opportunity to create something of their own, to establish their own image and character. And what at that moment seemed like a joint, forty years later looks like a specific, peculiar design of the early 80s. I wouldn't be surprised if at some point it becomes fashionable to copy the Magna and Virago, and install square headlights on bikes.
The next nuance of this story was the fact that it happened in America, and therefore various journalists and motorcycle enthusiasts immediately began to check new cars in the quarter-mile races. And the Japanese heard the desire of the buyers, which resulted in an arms race. Someone at Honda comes up with an obvious idea: why not actually sell a bike that looks like a cruiser, but can not only crawl on the roads, but also show itself in a race? It’s amazing that absolutely no one at AMF thought of this in the 70s. However, what to expect from a company that, before buying Harleys, was best known as a manufacturer of bowling balls. In general, it is what it is. In 1983, Honda released the Magna V65 model, with a 1.1-liter engine and 116 horsepower – perhaps the first power cruiser or, as they are also called, an oil bike (or muscle bike).
A radical chopper powered by a Honda Interceptor VF 750 F motorcycle. Interceptors, like Magnas, began to be produced in the 82nd year, and they were equipped with plus or minus the same V-shaped fours as Magnas. Plus, the same engines were in the Sabre model of the same 82nd year - Honda was either confident in its engine, or decided to see which type of motorcycle the new power plant would take root best, and therefore rolled out three cars with V4 to the market at once. Which, of course, only contributed to the spread of the new engine.
A custom bike based on a second-generation Honda Magna - that is, built in 1987 or 1988. This model has received the nickname Super Magna among fans, although it is not easy to understand what exactly the motorcycle deserves such an honor, since each fan has his own opinion about why this particular bike is super.
And, coincidence or not, Yamaha was right on Honda’s heels. With a delay of three years, the Torakusu company also made a V4 for a racing motorcycle – and also decided to put a new type of engine in its new cruiser. And thus, in 1985, the Yamaha V-Max appeared on the market – for the motorcycle world, this car is like a Dodge Charger. That is, if they say a maslcar, they most likely imagine a Charger of the 69th year. And if they say an oil bike is a V-Max 85th. Or, to put it in English, if the Honda Magna V65 is a “power cruiser”, then the Yamaha V-Max is “the power cruiser”. Yes, incredibly, but the fact is that the Japanese invented and fixed the oil bikes. With a 1.2-liter engine and 120 hp, the V-Max literally blows the roof off everyone who sits on it. The new Yamaha motorcycle becomes popular instantly: magazines speak about it one better than the other, Cycle Guide gives it the award “Bike of the Year 1985”, and the V-Max is successfully sold in America, sells well in Japan – in general, it is sold everywhere and in large quantities.
Yamaha V-Max, rebuilt into a chopper. Although many parts have been modified, they are still nothing more than a 1992 Yamaha. In addition, this motorcycle is full of parts from the 2008 Kawasaki ZX-6R - for example, the front wheel and the 7.5 cm long forks turned upside down. Nevertheless, the end result is definitely representative of the American scene, and even with a 145 horsepower engine.
Like the V-Twin engines from Harleys, Japanese V4s can sometimes be found in small hot rods. For example, in this yellow car based on the Model T, an engine from a Yamaha V-Max motorcycle was installed.
It is worth mentioning, of course, that in addition to Yamaha and Honda, other Japanese corporations have also attempted to create an American bike. For example, Suzuki had the Madura model, released in 1985 as a response to the Magna V65 model and a direct competitor to the V-Max. Also a V4, also a volume of almost 1.2 liters. However, Madura, like many others, lost miserably to Yamaha and Honda: Suzuki stopped producing its oil bike just two years later. For comparison, the V-Max was produced with minimal changes for 22 years, until 2007, and then it was upgraded to the second generation, which was produced from 2009 to 2020. And the Honda Magna was produced in various forms and with different engines from 1982 to 1988 and from 1994 to 2003. In general, Honda and Yamaha have definitely and beyond any doubt become the dominant force in the field of cruisers, and the Magna and V-Max models are icons. It is in view of all of the above, including many years of production, that Japanese V4s from Yamaha and Honda are quite popular alternatives to the Harley V-Twin in custom motorcycles, and it is not difficult to find examples of such projects.
The Eleganza is a custom motorcycle based on the Yamaha Royal Star model with a V4 engine, built by Cobra Customs in '95. The history of this workshop perfectly shows that the managers of Japanese companies did not stick into the custom scene at all: Cobra Customs became one of the first to build Japanese cruisers, and this happened only in the 94th year - and that happened only thanks to a successful combination of circumstances. The fact is that at that time, Cobra was only engaged in the production of mufflers and exhaust pipes for the Japanese, and, having made a couple of really successful parts, they tried to give them some kind of publicity. It was for this purpose that they contacted Cycle World magazine, where they were told that they were not reviewing silencers. Then the cats from Cobra suggested: what if we build several bikes, which, by coincidence, will have our silencers? Cycle World replied: if the bikes will be interesting, it's not a question. And that's when the guys from Cobra Customs went to Honda. Yes, the Japanese didn't even try to establish contacts with garages and motorcycle builders - they were just lucky that someone from the scene finally came to them. And when the motorcycles were built, Cobra Customs quickly became a full-fledged garage, because it became clear overnight.: The demand is huge, but the supply is essentially zero.
Custom Magna-Fied and Flame bikes from the Cobra Customs workshop. It was these two motorcycles that turned Cobra from a manufacturer of mufflers into a full-fledged garage for the manufacture of custom cars and all kinds of spare parts for them. The Magna-Fied is a Magna 750 with a V4 engine, while the Flame is a VT1100 Shadow with a more standard twin-cylinder engine. Since there were still no catalogues of spare parts for customizing Japanese bikes at that time, most of the parts for these projects were made manually.
And here is the very article in Cycle World magazine from June 1994, for which everything was started. It does advertise the same exhaust pipes, but it already mentions that fenders, side panels, and handlebars will soon be available. And all because at that time Cobra Customs had already taken these motorcycles to the Dealer Expo, which prompted them to significantly expand their range. According to Ken Boyko's recollection, people asked where to get such wings or where to buy such a gas tank, and Ken could only offer them silencers in response, and the whole situation resembled some kind of stupid joke.
Rereading this entire text, I myself involuntarily wonder how Harley-Davidson managed to survive this period in general. Considering that the Harleys were already on the verge, such a large-scale invasion should have seemingly finished them off. And, in general, this is exactly what would have happened if it hadn’t been for the Evolution engine, which the Americans were able to produce by 1984. Nevertheless, all this experience has not gone unnoticed either for Japanese motorcycle manufacturers, or even more so for American ones. By and large, we can say that Harley-Davidson will never be the same again.
