Loose Lines [Issue 81, Aug/Sept 1997]

I'm no fan of Yank cruisers. Having said that, they do have some good points. Their naff, upright riding position and querulous, if not dangerous, handling mean that the engines rarely get thrashed. They are simply too dangerous to ride hard. Even old ones often have a lot of mileage left in them. How much effort it takes to convert them into something more than a pose tool depends on the particular model but it shouldn't cost much if bits from breakers are used.

Huge numbers of Yank imports turn up in the UK every year. Some companies specialize in particular models, such as the XS650, others take whatever's going. A lot of the stuff is genuine low mileage, a good deal given the above constraints. Others have been standing in fields for a long time, have a lot of deep rot and although the engine may start up okay, they can need a lot of care, attention and dosh before they run well.

Others are tarted up, clocked and presented as prime meat at high prices. The margins can be very large, indeed. It’s not always easy to tell the good from the bad, the best way is to test a few examples of the particular model you want to buy - become used to the way the bike performs, its smoothness (or lack thereof) and engine noises.

The worst thing to do is just to wander down to the local importer, plonk down the money for the first bike that takes your fancy. You may get lucky, walk away with a brilliant deal, but chances are you'll either pay too much and/or end up with a dog that will take a lot of effort to sort out.

Be especially wary of importers who are also breakers, they often buy crashed imports cheaply, straighten them out and try to offload them as the real thing. The odd handling can be written off as merely the result of the high bars and custom geometry - ‘You'll soon get used to it, mate, they're all like that...’ And other bullshit.

The range of Yank imports run from £500 CB350's from the early seventies right through to ten grand, nearly new Honda 1500 Gold Wings (which, incidentally, are actually manufactured in the States). Such is the disparity between UK and US prices that almost anything that can still turn a wheel is imported - one major reason, the pound has yet to sink to the depths against the dollar as it has done against European currencies.

By far the best way of getting a good Yank deal is to do a private import. Take a holiday or business trip to the States, buy the bike of your choice and send it back as freight on a ship. Easier said than done? Perhaps, but almost anywhere you go in America, for almost any bike you want to buy, it’s big bargain time. Weird but true.

Bill Fowler