Yamaha BT 100 Bulldog
Yamaha BT 1100 Bulldog
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Motorbikes Todayreview
To be perfectly honest I had hoped that I would not get theBulldog as a test bike! I have read things over the past couple of years aboutit in various publications and all seem to say the same thing, it's not a bikewe would want to own....but recently I asked myself why? So after a chat withYamaha in Weybridge we sorted out a nice new Bulldog in a pretty vivid colourscheme for a full test to see just what this somewhat unusual bike was allabout.
The Bulldog is a pretty muscular-looking naked V-twin roadster weighing 229kgdry and propelled along by a relatively basic 65ps, two valves per cylinder,air-cooled engine! Surely this is going to be the most boring test of all time,It's no match for serious street bikes like the Ducati Monster S4 or the SpeedTriple from Triumph - at least not until you look at the price, and the way itis built. It is also the first Yamaha designed and produced by one of itsCountry Partners in Belgrada, Italy. The Belgrada facility, beyond being theItalian import point, now possesses the manufacturing facilities to bring afully formed bike to the world marketplace. Design work was accomplished inAmsterdam by Product Planner Martin Grill, the "creator" of the Bulldog. Thebrief was to offer a bike with a wide range of usage, including "sporty ridingon smaller roads, and long distance touring."
Now let's not forget, as the average age of motorcyclists around the worldcontinues to rise, there's a large proportion of older riders looking for a bikethat's simple, stylish, practical and fun to ride. Not a test of human enduranceto ride a modern Supersports bike like a GSXR 1000 or R1, but to ride at arespectable pace and be able to have something left in reserve over and abovethe deciding road conditions.
Before you slap on the term 'Old Man's Bike' with a sneer and alaugh, don't forget that in the Western world 'mature' forty something ridersoutnumber those in their twenties, indeed the largest motorcycle manufacturer inthe West has made a brilliant success of tailoring its low-tech V-twins and hasa following second to none in the bike world. You could say that there is a casefor calling the Bulldog a 'EuroHog', because it provides the enhancedlevel of performance and improved handling dynamics required by European roadsand conditions, while still offering the first rung on the ladder to the samenon-threatening, laid back riding style that a Harley does. That impression wasreinforced to me when I fired up the Bulldog for the first time, and it settledinto an idle with an offbeat, slightly odd thud through the twin exhausts. Blipthe throttle and you get an unmistakable V-Twin crack, shut it and the pipesgrowl, even with the standard cans on. Yes the exhaust note on the Bulldog isabsolutely brilliant, it certainly adds immensely to the overall ridingexperience of this much underrated bike.
So on to actually riding it. Select first gear on the five speed gearbox andaccelerate away from rest, you are greeted to a locomotive-like takeoff whichcarries on through the gears up to the red-line at 7,000rpm. This resembles aHarley so much with the shed-loads of torque available, and the unmistakablevibrations lend it yet another parallel with the infamous 'Milwaukee Iron'.Call it character, and remember there are potential Bulldog owners that haveeither spent their entire life on two wheels, so they expect a little shake,rattle and go, or they have come to bikes via the driver's seat of their Volvo,Ford or Nissan, in which case the last thing they're looking for is atwo-wheeled car. This is not to say that the Bulldog rattles and shakes, it is avery respectable bike to ride and is easy on the vibes - but it's not boring atall, unlike your average Volvo, Ford or Nissan.
The engine is the well-proven 75-degree V-twin engine last used in theXVS1100 Drag Star, but whose heritage starts way back in 1981 with the YamahaTR1. Yamaha have tweaked it just slightly to boost horsepower to 64 at a loafing5500 rpm, and given it a huge torque figure of 65lb-ft which seems to start fromrest to about 4500rpm. The team designed a steel twin backbone frame that loopsover the engine and down to the aluminum swingarm pivot. There, they've attacheda CAST single unit dual-sided swing arm, that also houses the drive shaft andattaches the final drive unit, very neat indeed. That allows a single rear shockwhich is cheaper, usually more effective, and leaves super clean lines at therear of the bike.
This combination of a custom style engine in a sporty road chassis gives agreat sensation, in particular when travelling down smaller 'B' roads. Youreally don't need to change gear a lot, since this engine pulls strongly evenfrom the lowest revs. It's a real pleasure to swing through corners and feelsstable and controllable in almost every situation. So much so that you are farmore aware of your surroundings, and you suddenly discover that you have seensomething you have always missed before, or a small cafe on the side of theroad. I think the Bulldog fits the mood of many riders today, who are lookingfor a stylish and yet sporty machine, but at the same time enjoy a cool andrelaxed riding style.
Riding the Bulldog is a pleasurable experience all round. Although the rearshock and the 43mm forks are non-adjustable, it doesn't detract from the overallride quality, the road holding is great and is both precise and comfortable overalmost any type of surface. You would think that a bike weighing in at 229kgwould actually feel heavy when both moving it and riding, but it really doesn't!It's easy to ride at the slowest speeds and possesses that ability for feet-upultra slow town riding as the combination of a low Centre of Gravity and bikebalance is near perfect. The raised bars on pullback risers are well placed, andthe resultant riding position allows you to cruise easily at well more thanmotorway speeds without having to hold on too tight. It's a different story atthe top end of the speed range though, which is about 130mph (managed in theinterests of research!). Here the mini-screen does actually have an effect butit's not a speed to travel at for too long as you are actually bouncing off therev-limiter in 5th! If you want to ride a sports bike then don't get a Bulldog,ride it like that and you've missed the point. This is a bike where it pays touse the torque curve and change up at around 5,000rpm taking advantage of thatsmooth, unthreatening power delivery. There's more than enough horses to grabyour interest, without giving you that feeling that you're struggling to controla stampede.
Conclusion
The Bulldog is a great bike, what more can I say! Living with it should be apleasure, the spread of power and torque is so wide you don't have to changegear that often - just go with the flow and enjoy the ride. It's a verycomfortable bike with that sitting-in-it feeling rather than the perchedversion, it handles well and it has great brakes directly from the R1. Maybethese are a bit of overkill but they really do the job and give you even moreconfidence to haul the Bulldog down in super quick time.
Yamaha have created a true user-friendly product here with a lot of
Italianform and style. This, together with the Japanese function, means attention todetail. The mirrors are placed where you can actually see something other thanyour shoulders, there's a whole host of aluminium rather than plastic parts allover the bike giving a sense of substance, everything is neatly tucked away ateither end, and it has an adjustable brake lever which is a welcome touch on abudget-conscious bike.
Yes, the Bulldog name is a good one, not just because of the tough-lookingsomewhat arched styling, not just because the engine sets a visual standard, butbecause beneath it all is a bike that gives you great pleasure. We're nottalking Doberman here, we're talking about what is after all a big old 'softie'of a bike!
Second opinion by Simon Bradley
The Yamaha Bulldog is a bloody good motorbike. There, I've said it. This maynot be a popular opinion to hold, and certainly among our esteemed colleagues inthe press it is far from fashionable, but it's no less true for that.Consider this. Everyone who commented on it, whether biker or otherwise, said itlooked good. Scoff if you will, but for a bike like this that is incrediblyimportant. Next, every time I rode it, wherever it was, whatever the road, Igrinned. In fact, at times I grinned so much my face hurt. This bike is immensefun. It handles far better than it has any right to, it goes quiteextraordinarily well, it has brilliant brakes and it makes a good noise. As faras practicality is concerned, it's as comfortable as anything else in the class,it's got decent lights and it's even OK for a pillion. Well, sort of, anyway.Shaft drive means no need to adjust anything back there and the enormous buttotally understressed engine should go on forever.Biking is all about enjoying yourself, and the Bulldog allows you to do that inspades. It lapped up every type of road that I threw it at and did it in a waythat was still huge fun. Not as fast as an R1, for sure, but it allowed me totravel at a rate which would give my licence at least a faint chance ofsurviving a skirmish with the law while still having that stupid grin plasteredall over my face. Although the Bulldog is excellent as it is, I'd like to firmup the suspension a little prior to taking it on a track day. It would infuriatethe sportsbike boys to be overtaken round the outside of, say, Clearways by acruiser.And that would make me grin even more.
Source Motorbikes Today