[ares x]

Yesterday I washed and waxed Desiree's Stryker for the first time. First time for me. Not the first time washed and waxed. In the process I got a real close look at a lot of the parts and some of it was a little disappointing. Here are the things I found that I feel should've been done better on this bike.

• 
  [li]Upper belt guard is plastic and moves around a lot. This is made of metal on the Raider. [/li]
  [li]Engine Valve Covers are plastic. (I believe that's what these are. I'm no mechanic) This is really disappointing because the plastic chrome may not hold up as well. Nothing on the Raider's engine is plastic.[/li]
  [li]The cover around the neck just behind the handlebars has a cover on it that looks really good, but again plastic. Why?[/li]
  [li]Not loving the way the speedo housing attaches to the bars. It doesn't feel solid and again made of plastic. [/li]

Now don't get me wrong... I love this bike and have no regrets getting it for Desiree. If there was no such thing as a Raider I would be all over this thing. I'm just not thrilled that Yamaha would follow suit with Honda and put so much plastic on the Stryker, especially after they got it right with the Raider.

 

[Natedog]

I'm with you on this one.

Every decorative peice, chrome or otherwise on the bike is plastic. Even the headlight I think. The black rear fender trim on the side is also plastic. I assume its to keep costs down. This would explain why the Raider is so much more expensive.

I'll probably either replace most of these parts with alluminum ones or be painting them anyways.

 

[canyon1]

Now, Now don't be too hard on plastic. At least it doesn't rust or corrode, and it'll probably be around long after metal has turned to dust. If you remember the mid '60s film "The Graduate" the "word Mr. Robinson gave to Dustin Hoffman after his wife seduced him.... just one word, "PLASTICS", as advice in where his future should lie. Maybe he was right. Go look at the inside of your car, your TV remote, the keypad you're typing on, etc, etc. etc.

 

[Natedog]

Actually I'm typing on a piece of glass iPhone

I hear ya on plastic. It's everywhere. On a motorcycle like the Stryker or any other custom chopper, things gotta be metal. Anything else just doesn't seem to "fit". Would you put cast iron on a racebike? Of course not.

Don't get me wrong I love this bike and everything I do to personalize it makes me live it more.

My 2¢.

 

[dejablu110]

I wrote a pretty detailed review of the stryker in RSR and mentioned
I was disappointed in all the plastic. Check the fender struts also.

 

[straightjacket]

Been looking at different options with mods, in all these same areas. First is just removing some of them, second I picked up some black wrinkle finish, thought it would be a good contrast. With all these plastic parts it really opens up aveinues for aftermarket pieces, hopefully they jump all over it! Also if I try a mod or different finish and dont like it, it's cheap to replace.

 

[ares x]

I wrote a pretty detailed review of the stryker in RSR and mentioned
I was disappointed in all the plastic. Check the fender struts also.

Yep! I forgot to mention those. That was a huge surprise. I was not expecting them to be plastic.

 

[ares x]

Now, Now don't be too hard on plastic. At least it doesn't rust or corrode, and it'll probably be around long after metal has turned to dust. If you remember the mid '60s film "The Graduate" the "word Mr. Robinson gave to Dustin Hoffman after his wife seduced him.... just one word, "PLASTICS", as advice in where his future should lie. Maybe he was right. Go look at the inside of your car, your TV remote, the keypad you're typing on, etc, etc. etc.

You obviously don't live in AZ. In the hot ass desert, plastic melts.

 

[dutchs]

I ride with a guy that has a kawasaki and his bucket is made out of plastic, well the bulb got old and started getting hot long story short it looked like the bucket grew a tumor. I can say that the gauge cover, whatever, but the rest of it i was shocked. Good topic by the way!

 

[dejablu110]

there were a bunch of us looking the stryker over at Biketoberfest, before
they officially started really selling, and was pretty disappointed at all the
plastic. Especially the head covers and the fender struts. It is a very comfy
and natural feeling bike for riding but......that plastic, how can you powdercoat
plastic?? lol Im just joking, but really!!

 

[11Stryker]

Aw Come On Y-all, All that metal weight adds up! With the tall backrest, luggage rack, windshield, engine guard,240 tire, I'll bet that I have added 30lbs to my bike. I'm happy myself that all the things that can be plastic are plastic, just because of the added weight they would impose! Yamaha is probably doing us all a big favor with the plastic they used in non-structural places! The steel front fender I removed weighs twice what the Fiberglass Full reaper fender I installed. I will do the same with the rear fender when Low and Mean come out with one. The Less the bike weighs and the less donuts we eat for breakfast will make for a leaner-faster/Human-Bike pairing out on the highway!!! LMAO But really- Think about it!!!!!!

 

[canyon1]

11 Stryker is right ! Every pound of extra weight means less accelleration and speed. The whole chopper concept is about less, not more, in the interest of SPEED. There are no fat jockeys in horse racing. While the idea of plastic on a motorcycle is disturbing to some, it is not just a matter of cost. The fact is that is it weighs less. I am now going to go pick up my plastic chainsaw and cut some wood and then use my plastic blower to clean my driveway.

 

[11Stryker]

Deja & Ares, With all due respect to the Raider owners, we Stryker owners don't have the extra 600cc that you have to haul the extra weight around. LOL We want to be competitive with all bikes on the road. The only metal they could have put in place that weighs less than plastic is Magnesium. But the cost of that would drive the Stryker price up to the Raider price. High price to pay for us Stryker owners just to say "we got metal".

 

[dutchs]

All very valid points, but in the laws of physics, a couple of extra pounds is not going to take from the performance of that machine. If you are talking 30-50lbs, yeah i could see that. All the cheap plastic parts stamped in metal and painted/chromed would not weigh all that much. A lot of motorcycles are going to production fiberglass fenders for weight, but yamaha gave us steel, big pieces cost performance, not accents.

 

[dejablu110]

Hey, don't worry .....you guys will never be taken as being disrespectful.
This is what these forums are about.....each individuals opinions and thoughts.
I take any of this and learn!

 

[canyon1]

I really can understand the aversion to plastic. I hated the plastic bumpers when they first came out on cars in the late '60s (I think). The older ones didn't hold up good and the paint usually ended up flaking off, especially when the bumper got tapped. Today they are not much better. Yeah, I love the old stuff, but don't miss replacing the ignition points and condenser and sparkplugs every 10,000 miles. Nor do I miss fiddling with the automatic choke every time it got cantankerous. I guess there are compromises everywhere you look. When I see the ads for plastic-chrome parts that replace the metal trim pieces on vintage cars it still makes me cringe. The plastic side covers and air filter cover on the Stryker look fine to me. I got the black one and don't have to polish the exhaust pipes either. (Can't figure out how to post the emotion) GRIN !

 

[11Stryker]

+2 Friends!!

 

[RedStar Raider]

No one buy a Stryker to go out and compete with other bikes on the road. They're not built for that, they are simply said: badass middle weight cruisers!!

 

[ares x]

I hate all the plastic parts used in my Inifiniti G35 coupe. It just comes off as cheap to me. And I'm noticing the AZ heat playing havoc with some of the parts inside the car and it's garaged and usually parked in covered parking.

 

[dejablu110]

I hate all the plastic parts used in my Inifiniti G35 coupe. It just comes off as cheap to me. And I'm noticing the AZ heat playing havoc with some of the parts inside the car and it's garaged and usually parked in covered parking.

I dont care....I dont want plastic on my bike, but if you guys are
happy with it.....Im happy for ya!!!