Yamaha’s Star rolls out Bolt and Bolt R-Spec urban ‘bobbers’

Yamaha’s Star Motorcycles line has released images and specs on its coming Bolt and Bolt R-Spec cruisers, bikes the company clearly hopes will be attractive to Harley-Davidson buyers looking for something a little different and a little more affordable.

The V-twin, air-cooled 950cc “interpretation of old school bobbers,” the company says, are priced to move at $7,990 for the Bolt and $8,290 for the Bolt R-Spec, which is the same bike with cooler paint, graphics and other details. The Bolt will be in showrooms in April, the Bolt R-Spec in July. Both will come with a batch of custom accessories to allow customers to personalize these raw machines. (Steel fenders, for example, to which can be added custom paint, graphics, etc., more easily than carbon fiber or plastic.)

Stylistically, the Bolt has a lot in common with Harley’s Breakout, the urban prowler the company unveiled last week at Daytona Bike Week. The two bikes may well be going after the same market, too -- a younger, hipper, more urban market than might be interested in Harley’s big Ultra Classic Electra Glide.

The Bolt may not have the noble lineage, but it has the price point. The Breakout, which has about twice the Bolt’s engine capacity, costs more than twice as much: it starts at $17,999 for the basic model.

The stripped-down, chrome-free Bolt comes in Raven and Pearl White. The Spec will be sold in Matte Grey and Camo Green.

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