Heed 505

Next to Orange County Choppers Greenie bobber, one of the more Daytona-friendly motorcycles to ride is Star’s all-new 2009 VMax. “What?” You’re probably thinking to yourself. “Doesn’t that motorcycle make almost 200 horsepower?” Well yes, while there’s no doubt that its insanely fast it’s also next to impossible to wheelie or endo which means you mitigate any chance of getting a stiff $1500 fine for raising a wheel off the ground here in Florida.
 
It’s also super comfortable with a thick, supportive seat that cups your bottom perfectly and allows for complete control during those full-throttle acceleration bursts on Florida’s countless straightaways. Riding down Daytona’s main drag, International Speedway Boulevard, the VMax garners considerable attention especially when you’re squealing away from the stoplight, smoke coming off the rear wheel tire as it delivers a fresh strip of rubber on the pavement. And with the VMax’s mellow exhaust note and absence of any gaudy chrome, the police will never see or hear you coming. Trust me… Or you wouldn’t be reading this.

We also had a chance to sample something a little flashier from the boys at Yamaha—The all-new 2009 Yamaha YZF-R1. And despite my initial apprehension of it based on the photos I’ve seen, in real life the bike looks awesome—especially in its Pearl White/Rapid Red colors. Its mix of sleek lines and rounded shapes are now the definition of contemporary sportbike design. Plus with its revised engine configuration it finally sounds just as tough as it looks even with the stock titanium pipes.
 
Although Daytona Bike Week isn’t really the most ideal place to ride a sportbike, simply touring around on it gave me a glimpse of just how good a streetbike the R1 is going to be. Where previous R1 iterations have always lacked in useable real world power, i.e. bottom-end torque, the new bike has plenty of steam down low. So much in fact that it actually feels similar to the torque king, Ducati’s 1098 V-Twin Superbike. I can only imagine how good it’s going to be both in the canyons and out on the open road where you can experience its powerband without worrying about going to jail, like here in Daytona. Without question, Yamaha and Star have got some excellent motorcycle models that can fit the bill no matter where you ride.