Are they brothers from a different mother? Seriously, Star Motorcycle’s 2010 Stratoliner looks strikingly similar to something in Victory’s lineup called the Cross Roads. Starting at the front, these bikes look like twins, well maybe distant cousins. But you can still tell they are related.
The front fender of the Stratoliner appears meek and timid compared to the mammoth installed on the Cross Roads. The headlights, while they are both designed to light your way in the darkness, have totally different personalities. Depending on the model (S or Delux), the Stratoliner’s headlight either appears to be attached to the front of something you would find on an F1 racer, or it is trimmed in chrome and rounded in the front. The Cross Roads’, however, looks like driving at night would result in a trip to the hospital after being blinded by the reflection off the front fender.
The windscreens both look like windscreens and the handle bars take on a slightly different shape. It is the feeling you get from the rest of the machine when you start to notice the differences. The Cross Roads tank, seat and side covers blend together to create a futuristic feel with a more sweeping motion. Which contrasts to the Stratoliner’s traditional configuration of a defined tank, seat and side covers.
The luggage bags of the Star share a resemblance with the Victory’s bags, tying together with the configuration of the rest of the bike; where as the Stratoliner appears that the bags were an after thought. Bringing up the rear, with slightly different tail lights, the rear fenders come to a point at the bottom to show onlookers the direction from which they came.
Looks aside, the Star boasts a 113 cubic-inch, air-cooled V-Twin engine compared to Victory’s 106 cubes. EFI and four valves per cylinder aid both engines in the combustion process. A five-speed transmission on the Stratoliner and a six-speed on the Cross Roads make reaching highway speeds possible. Dual disc brakes in the front with one disk in the back will keep these cousins tame, but a wider rear tire on the Stratoliner gives you more contact with the road.
An MSRP of $17,290 for the Star Stratoliner and $15,999 for the Victory Cross Roads put these bikes in immense competition, focusing on those buyers looking for storage capacity, looks, and ride ability.
Tyler Hopper
AllAboutBikes.com Staff Writer
