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I hear or read this term on a regular basis, but rarely have I found it defined. I'd like to suggest it be added to "The Motorcycle Bikers Dictionary" and offer a "definition".

Musclebike- A Standard or Naked motorcycle equipped with a large displacement engine that produces lots of power and torque and fully fills the frame. With massive tuning potential, aggressive looks and attitude, they don’t hide their muscle under aerodynamic fairings, and should not be confused with Superbikes. They can also be described as a well balanced touring motorcycle harboring huge straight line stomp; a power cruiser with the soul of a hot rod when taken within the context of the period in which they were built.

mrflamewerks wrote:I hear or read this term on a regular basis, but rarely have I found it defined. I'd like to suggest it be added to "The Motorcycle Bikers Dictionary" and offer a "definition".

Musclebike- A Standard or Naked motorcycle equipped with a large displacement engine that produces lots of power and torque and fully fills the frame. With massive tuning potential, aggressive looks and attitude, they don’t hide their muscle under aerodynamic fairings, and should not be confused with Superbikes. They can also be described as a well balanced touring motorcycle harboring huge straight line stomp; a power cruiser with the soul of a hot rod when taken within the context of the period in which they were built.

Sounds like you're referring to that beaut in your avatar. I've always heard them referred to as Power Cruisers or just Heavyweight Cruisers.

dr_bar wrote: Sounds like you're referring to that beaut in your avatar. I've always heard them referred to as Power Cruisers or just Heavyweight Cruisers.

Thanks, I do like my Valk. They have been frequently referred to by some as musclebikes. Other machines I've seen under the heading of "Musclebike" are:

Boss Hoss
Triumph Rocket III
John Covington's Steed Motorcycles
Rucker Performance Assassin
Harley V-Rod
Yamaha V-Max
Ducati M900
Indian Chief
Harley Shovelhead (along with other HDs)
Kawasaki Vulcan Drifter
Honda VTX 1800
Suzuki Hayabusa

I've seen references to the early Kawasaki KZ1000 and GoldWing GL1000s as the "original musclebike". The Vincent Black Shadow or the Brough Superiors are probably more likely candidate for the title of First Musclebike.

I've seen the term in industry literature going back at least a dozen years, and heard a lot of people bandy the word about, but I have never run across a clear definition. So I've done some research and talked to a number of people and drew up this definition from the input I've gotten from all those sources.

mrflamewerks wrote:I hear or read this term on a regular basis, but rarely have I found it defined. I'd like to suggest it be added to "The Motorcycle Bikers Dictionary" and offer a "definition".

Musclebike- A Standard or Naked motorcycle equipped with a large displacement engine that produces lots of power and torque and fully fills the frame. With massive tuning potential, aggressive looks and attitude, they don’t hide their muscle under aerodynamic fairings, and should not be confused with Superbikes. They can also be described as a well balanced touring motorcycle harboring huge straight line stomp; a power cruiser with the soul of a hot rod when taken within the context of the period in which they were built.

Good suggestion! I'll add that in. I thought I already had that one, but guess not. Ops.

I'm a big fan of the naked muscle bike. Ahh. Z1, ZRX, 919, CB1300... yup.

Mike

totalmotorcycle wrote:
Good suggestion! I'll add that in. I thought I already had that one, but guess not. Ops.

I'm a big fan of the naked muscle bike. Ahh. Z1, ZRX, 919, CB1300... yup.

Mike

Thanx. Seems strange not to be able to find a definition for "musclebike" anywhere. It appears to be in relatively common use in the motorcycling world. At least when people are talking about standard or naked, large displacement bikes. Usage starts to appear in the early '90s, at least from what I've seen. Unlike musclecar tho', there isn't any real clear cut concept of what constitutes a musclebike. At least with musclecar, there is a time frame, the late fifties through the mid 70s, and type of car, mid and full size cars with a smattering of compacts thrown in that are powered by beefed up V8s, that are readily associated with the term. There has been a resurgence of the musclecar, of course, but when someone says "musclecar", most people think of cars like the original Chevelle SS, Dodge Daytona or Mustang Mach I out of the 1960s. The term musclebike doesn't have the same instant recognition with J.Q. Public.

Sorry for not adding that definition sooner, I missed it and just saw it now. Will add asap.

Mike