10 Metric Cruisers That Are Obvious Copies

Manufacturers want a slice of the American cruiser market and aim to emulate the classic cruiser design

The motorcycle world might be global, but it's still a fairly tight-knit industry. Design influences wash back and forth across oceans and geopolitical borders to appeal to the maximum number of potential buyers. Sometimes through parallel evolution, features come naturally, but sometimes the similarities are entirely deliberate with a range from a low “generally emulating” a style up to “purposefully copying” a specific bike or range of bikes.

American-style cruisers tend to be low-slung with a long wheelbase. The rider is generally in a comfortable, upright position with hands just below the level of the shoulders for good leverage and feet either in a mid-mount or forward-mount position. There's only one acceptable engine, a great big V-twin in most cases, and a smaller V-twin in the rest. It has a custom culture all its own, and sometimes serves as the catalyst for a cultural shift to the American-biker lifestyle, whether in a club or not.

Tongue-in-cheek, we refer to metric bikes going for that American cruiser style as “Charlie-Davidsons,” specifically the machines from Asia, but the umbrella is a large one, so the Europeans and Brits end up thrown into the mix. These bikes are strong examples, though it is by no means an exhaustive list. Harley-Davidson evolved the American cruiser look uninterrupted since the '40s, and without direct competition, once the original Indian Motorcycle Company shut its doors in '53, so it's the most copied and emulated brand in this particular genre.

Information was gathered from the different manufacturers and personal experience in the industry to compile this list of metric motorcycles that emulate or copy the American cruiser look and style.

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The Yamaha Bolt R-Spec clearly targets the '86-and-up, Evolution-powered Harley-Davidson Sportster line with multiple shared design features, and a similar attitude. No specific model in particular, just a likeness to the Sportsters in general. The round headlight, teardrop fuel-tank profile, short-rise bars, and V-twin engine are all very Sportster-tastic in appearance, especially when combined.

At 27.2 inches tall, the seat is a couple of inches taller than the '22 Iron 883 model for instance, but still low enough to be comfortable and confidence-inspiring at stops. The powerplant is also akin to a Sporty with its V-twin configuration and transmission packed into the same casting as the engine's bottom end to complete the package.

Clear H-D Sportster design inspiration

Low seat and mid-mount controls

Fun V-twin engine that looks the part

Cramped for tall riders

No stock passenger capacity

A bit generic looking

Kawasaki hits all the important points with its design and adds some of its own touches with this showroom-custom machine. Fat front forks and a full front fender tie directly to the Harley-Davidson Fat Boy. That's not the case with the wheels though. The original Fat Boy had solid-disc wheels, and that's something carried forward since then, but they get credit for putting the whitewalls to the outside all the same.

As expected, the engine is a V-twin but blacked out with only the polished cooling-fin edges to break up the black hole under the fuel tank. The polished stuff is crucial to highlight the engine's layout. The V-twin engine is essential to the Fat Boy's identity, and so the Vulcan needs to go there, too, to complete the look. Kawi even uses something similar to the H-D Softail's swingcage to give it that faux-rigid finish with a modern ride. Paired with the juice front forks, these date the look to something in the mid-to-late '40s as well as the modern Fat Boy.

Good-looking design

The engine looks the part

Comfortable cruiser-inspired rider's triangle

A bold level of emulation for a current H-D model

Forward footboards may tax shorter riders

Honda launched its Shadow line back in 1983, and it has always been about giving people an alternative to the H-D lineup. This coincides with the last year of the Shovelhead Big Twin before The MoCo switched to the Evolution Big Twin. The Shadow Aero doesn't copy any model in particular but is an amalgamation of parts that could have been on any model H-D cruiser.

A full front fender and fat front end set the stage with FL proportions. A pullback handlebar joins with a chrome instrument console and teardrop fuel tank to set the cockpit up just like H-D does. The seat is low-slung, and chrome cans cover the rear shocks, which is a feature frequently found on earlier models, but not so much on later models. Again with the V-twin engine that has the right look and geometry, if you can see it for all the blackout paint that cloaks the entire drivetrain. Without a target model, the Shadow Aero is kind of all over the place with its design but still manages to convey a general Harley-ness, enough to fool the casual observer or non-rider folks.

Dated good looks

Classic American design elements

Easy to ride

Design could be more focused

Engine should be highlighted

Forward controls may be uncomfortable for short riders

RELATED: Why We'd Pick A Metric Cruiser Over A Harley Any Day

The Tuning Fork Company makes a small-displacement American-style cruiser for new riders or riders looking for something that's easy to handle and cheap to operate. Enter the Yamaha V-Star 250. This bike is smaller than the Bolt, but rather than emulating the look of the H-D Sportster, it looks more like a proper cruiser in its proportions, like an old H-D FXR or Dyna that someone left in the dryer a wee bit too long.

It has old-school charm, no doubt, with its laced wire wheels, teardrop fuel tank profile, and pillion pad that look like straight throwbacks from the '80s era. Of course, the 249 cc V-twin is far smaller than anything from the U.S. lineup, but they got the overall shape right. This bike doesn't copy a specific H-D model, but does manage to match the general appearance of a range of Motor Company products, in looks if not in proportions.

Compact and new-user friendly

Unthreatening power

Classic American design elements

Interstate travel is a problem

Might be cramped for taller riders

Could to be quickly outgrown

When Kawasaki released the Vulcan 1700 Vaquero ABS in 2011, the H-D Road Glide had already been in production for 13 years, and the Kawi version is fairly close to the H-D machine. They share a fat front end with a full front fender and fixed, frame-mount fairing, though the H-D mounts pimp lights while the Kawi has a pair of fairing vents. Both also rock a custom-style windscreen though Kawi takes things a step further with beefy lower fairings that add considerable visual weight, but that's the main difference betwixt the two upfront.

The Vaquero fuel tank is a dead ringer, as are the deep pilot's saddle and integrated pillion pad nestled between two color-matched hard bags. It's a bagger, but Kawasaki calls it a Bagger Cruiser. Naturally, nothing but a V-twin would do. It's a large one at that, so the Vulcan packs in 1,700 cc to meet that requirement. The 107.6 pound-feet of torque is a nice bonus, almost as much as the more recent Milwaukee-Eight Road Glide engine at 111 pound-feet. This makes the Vaquero's engine plenty good enough with which to have some fun, albeit with such a heavy bike, even if it seems to borrow heavily from the Road Glide.

Powerful and American-looking V-twin engine

Light touring capable

Borrows heavily from the H-D Road Glide

Traded pimp lights for fairing vents

Opaque-tinted windshield offers little protection

Suzuki gets in on the action with perhaps the most blatant example of model-borrowing in its Boulevard C50T. Anyone with even a passing familiarization of Harley-Davidson's Softail lineup will recognize the Heritage Softail Classic, to be sure. Laced wheels and a fat set of forks run with a large windshield, though the Heritage Classic adds a set of passing lights that don't make it onto the Boulevard.

The large fuel tank sports a chrome console, just like the H-D. While Suzuki runs with chrome studs in their leather and the current Heritage Classic has none, earlier versions of the Heritage had the full kit with chrome studs and conchos complete with black leather tassels, so it's still a valid design point. Even the frame has a part to play with rigid-style geometry and the articulated swing-cage rear end that creates an antique look but a modern ride, just like H-D's Softail frame, both old and new.

Classic H-D Heritage-like good looks

Definite American-style cruiser

Softail-like rear end

Saddlebags are smaller than the Heritage's bags

Needs passing lamps

Forward controls will tax shorter riders

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Honda pulls a trick similar to what it did with the Shadow as the old Rebel line isn't a copy of any particular model. It is a collection of parts that, when taken together in their totality, make a very American-looking little standard cruiser. It rocks a full-size bike build, just scaled down a bit, and decidedly not very Sportster-like in its proportions.

Honda nails the overall look that sports a teardop fuel-tank profile, scoop seat with offset pillion, and bobbed fenders. With the cockpit is cramped, and this is no bike for tall riders. The factory doesn't bother with a V-twin engine, opting in favor of a parallel-twin mill that was a constant, in various sizes, across the Rebel family line even up into current times on the new Rebel design. This bike is quite popular and engenders quite a cult following here in the U.S., not entirely unlike the one centered around Honda's Shadow family of bikes.

Compact and easy to handle

Classic looks

Excellent first bike for budding cruiser riders

The 450 was barely interstate capable

Cramped cockpit and pillion area

Very uncomfortable and hard pilot's seat

Not only does Moto Guzzi make a U.S.-esque cruiser, the factory built its “California” model specifically to mimic the American-cruiser style, it's even in the name. More like a collection of parts than a specific model, the California leads the way with fat front forks, complete with beercan skirts that make them even fatter yet, just like any of a number of H-D models.

A buckhorn handlebar and forward footboards make for a very cruiser-like riding posture to be sure. The relatively low seat puts you in a good position to get your feet down at stops and maneuver at walking speeds. The covered rear shock makes another classic American connection, as do the upper lines of the gas tank, though the cut-away bottom of the tank accommodates the transverse-mount V-twin engine. Laced wheels and whitewalls complete the package in '60s H-D style.

Good-looking bike

Set up for cruiser-like comfort

Doesn't emulate a specific make or model, just a general American vibe

The V-twin is transverse mount making for a shorter bike

Kind of dated at this point

The Triumph Speedmaster is a mixed bag with some Harley-like features but with strong Bonneville overtones. A saddle-like pilot's perch slings your butt low and in comfort, and resembles the seat used on the old FXFT/P models from the mid-to-late '80s. The engine is definitely all Bonnie, but out back is a swing-cage similar to the H-D Softail with the shock hidden under the seat. It gives it that faux hardtail look, and with it, an air of antiquity that really sells the overall dated look. There's some blackout with bellow gaiters on the forks, black bullet turn-signal housings, and black sliders, but those details are hardly unique to the American bike culture, even if they are common in H-D culture throughout the 20th century.

Rigid-style frame geometry helps to sell the look

Swing-cage setup gives a modern ride

Blackout paint makes a connection to custom culture

The parallel-twin engine isn't American-like

The fuel tank is very Bonnie

Fork gaiters are for sportier or off-road bikes in general

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First launched for a 2008 release, the Honda VTX1300T carries enough American design features to pass for one at a glance as it borrows heavily from the H-D Heritage Softail Classic. The full-length fenders are reminiscent of old/big H-D models, and the chrome skirt puts it over the top. A beefy frontend sports pimp lights outboard of the round headlight to dress things up and put out more lumens for safety's sake.

The tank has a custom H-D look, but the saddle, pillion pad, and passenger backrest are very FL-like. Honda even went so far as to make a sort-of tombstone taillight to dress up the rear end like an old Harley indeed. A V-twin plant powers it with the look you'd expect from an H-D product, at least in the cylinder area. Sleeved rear shocks make another classic H-D connection, though to be fair, Indian used shock covers, too, on some models.

Classic U.S. design

Baked-in touring capacity

Nice looking engine

Engine geometry is too wide

No passing lamps

Mag wheels

Allyn started early on with an interest in mechanical things and making things go. She pursued careers in both the automotive and motorcycle industries as a mechanic. Having shared her love of motorcycles with her husband, biker TJ Hinton, Allyn brings that knowledge to TopSpeed. Allyn holds a degree in computer networking with certificates in A+ and Net+. Her other interests include raising chickens, homesteading, and textile arts.