It was Friday; I have a bike waiting to be reviewed. Knowing little about the name, as I walked towards the bike, the very first impression was the striking fuel tank design that stands majestically and the fine chrome finished parts that really makes my eyes does Bling-bling .I speak to my heart, yes this bike follows the rule of what a cruiser design should be. It is simple, plain, narrow, long, exposed mechanical parts and masculine. Regal Raptor was the name it holds and design by world renowned motorcycle designer Johnny Pag. This brand is famous for its refreshing design approach for the bike with identical sets of engine. The exact model that I have tested is Regal Raptor Daytona (as Regal Raptor Momos in Malaysia) which is a style oriented cruiser.
Frankly, I have a smiling face naturally, but when I rode this bike, the nature was put aside when I found it harder to smile or even promoting a decent gesture. This bike carries a soul, a cruiser soul where usually when a rider commands a cruiser, they would show a gruesome look even if a clown crosses the road suggesting that this is not the man to be mess with. The exact cold blooded look wrapped around my face while I was cruising along. Now I understand the culture of cruiser, it would automatically turn any rider into gruesome petrol heads! Hardly found any fancy electronics on it, the carburetors were bare reminding me of 80s design bike.
Regal Raptor Daytona equipped with 320cc inline 2 cylinder engine which is surprisingly smooth for a 2 cylinder engine. Carburetors were used for air/fuel mixture instead of modern efficient fuel injectors. The exposed carburetor gives a classic mechanical oriented look rather than modern toy. Together with this package, the engine throws out 22.8hp and 22N.m of torque. This figures were not that appealing for a 320cc’bike.But it does accelerate fast.It fact, I don’t have very much difficulty in overtaking other vehicles along the highway while riding on an average of 90km/h, but things get a bit choky when I throttle Daytona beyond 110km/h. For the end user who owns this bike, I strongly recommend you to keep your speed checked at 110km/h max beyond this, things get totally different and not really comfortable to ride and as the name denotes, cruiser meant for a relaxed riding at low speed.
The dynamics of this cruiser is moderate as mentioned before, anything below 110km/h is enjoyable.The engine is kept cool by liquid cooling via a skinny thin narrow radiator. The power transmitted to a 5 speed gearbox where I find the gear changing mechanism were smooth and predictable. Zipping around the highway, I learned that this bike has a mid end torque and it hits almost linearly, really enjoyed accelerating hard whenever possible. The vibration insulation works very well as I hardly notice any unwanted vibrations while riding. The only thing to be noted is the disc brake which performs poorly. Two disc on the front wheel and single disc at the rear should do the assigned job fairly well, but it didn’t. Lots of crackling noise and rather mulled stopping power.
The styling of this bike is the one really need to be proud of. The fuel tank were well raised and radically designed, as one’s glace into it, they would think it is a custom American chopper alike. The camshaft blocks were chrome finished together with the battery cover and utility box gives a good aesthetic look.2 small exhausts seen popping between an oversized 160mm width tire. It would be better if the exhaust size is in par with the bike size and to add the disappointment further, the exhaust note is lack of thundering punch as the instant identity of a cruiser for such a good radical design of this bike. The handle bar is in good ergonomics in height. The handle was wide enough for a stylish weekend cruising escape. The instrumentations were designed with an old school in mind. Trip meter and odometer were analogue driven and basic signals were placed along the speedometer gauge. The placement of the ignition key mechanism on this bike features a bold new approach, where it is placed on the front part below the fuel tank away from a conventional location and can be turned on via a chrome finishing knob.
This bike has a notably thick cushion which is very comfortable for a long journey. Pillion rider seat backrest comes as a standard ensuring good seating position for the pillion too. The suspension setup was rather soft and it does take the torture given by the road with ease .USD forks for the front tire give more rigidity. Handling wise, Regal Raptor was good but you wouldn’t want to stick yourself in traffic jam as the wide handle bar would literally hit other vehicles on the road and together with a gruesome face of a cruiser rider, it’s a recipe for disaster.
Well, a cruiser with a superb design, simple instruments, packed with a small 320cc engine for a cruiser. Regal Raptor Daytona (Momos in Malaysian market) can be treated as a good budget cruiser that comes with an attitude that would turn any passerby to stop and have a sneak peak out of it. Both beginners who has B full license and seasoned riders who wants to hands on the cruiser lifestyle but with a budget in mind can own the bike for a price tag of Rm16k plus.
