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Hello from Minnesota and a question

806 views 5 replies 6 participants last post by  wimg 
#1 ·
Hello all,
I am the recent proud new owner of a 2013 V Star 1300 Deluxe. I am coming off of a 2006 Suzuki C90t 1500 cc which I loved. This is my first Yamaha. I am enjoying many aspects of the vstar except it's just not as comfortable for me or my passenger as the c90t. My shoulder's get stiff pretty quickly and the heat from the exhaust pipes is difficult for both of us at times. My passenger finds that the Yamaha back rest that came on the bike is too far back.

Any suggestions for modifications to help make this otherwise beautiful bike more comfortable?
I'm 5'6, 29 inch inseam. The bike has stock seats and is at stock height.
Thanks and I'm looking forward to being a part of the forum!
 
#2 ·
Welcome from Southern MD!!! I believe that there have been some questions similar to this in the past couple of weeks. Most of them revolve around getting a Mustang or Ultimate seat. As they have a tendency to push you forward a little. Not sure what could be done about the backrest short of getting a thicker one, perhaps?

GL!

eGo
 
#3 ·
Hi gc, welcome to the forum. eGo is correct, there's been several threads lately about factory yamaha seats. I have an 09' 950t myself and have a Mustang brand seat on it. Vast improvement, but shop around. As far as the exhaust goes, I used titanium header wrap on my bike and cut the heat in half. If you can afford it, ceramic coating is the best way to go, yet more expensive. Some of the aftermarket seat companies may be able to advise you on a better backrest. Don't forget to send some pics of your ride, and hit the Internet for aftermarket parts. Ride safely!
 
#6 ·
Hi girlcat,

Welcome to the forums from the Netherlands!

Your ride is an excellent one, I should know as I had one, just wanted a bit more grunt at low revs - the only reason I traded it in.

I had similar problems with regard to reach, and all I found I had to do was change the handlebars for the touring version, which put my arms and riding position in a much more comfortable position, to the degree where not only my stance was better, but also steering and handling improved dramatically - was good, but got a lot better.
Baron make some, sscustomcycle do too.
Baron: http://www.baronscustom.com/catalog/display/1669/index.html
sscustomcyle: http://www.sscustomcycle.com/products/accessories/BikerTrash/BikerTrash1.shtml
(just scroll down quite a bit, you'll find the ones recommended for the 1300 almost at the bottom of the page).

Mounting instructions: http://www.1300tourer.com/node/1381
I did get the Baron ones. I found I did need an extension to the brake cables, BTW.

It did wonders for me: I have a bad back, and after fitting these I found it actually is beneficial to my back. Have pain, go for a ride, fixed! :)

For the passenger I mounted Highway Hawk floardoards, that solved the problem for the hot exhaust for the pillion rider, and is more comfortable too :), and looks great.

Personally I never had any problems myself with the heat from the exhausts on the 1300, but then, average temperature is probably a lot lower here than where you are.

As to the sissy bar: I mounted a Hepco & Becker sissy bar for the 1300, which I think fitted with the look of the bike better than the OEM one, but I don't know whether that is easily available in the USA. It is quite a bit lower and straighter, so less far backwards.
F.e.: http://www.polo-motorrad.com/en/sissybar-xvs-1300-midnight-star-100040.html?___from_store=en
http://www.moto24.de/hepco-becker-sissybar-yamaha-xvs-1300-midnight-star.html
There also is a version with a rack, which is the one I installed, example, couldn't easily locate an example with the XVS1300:
http://www.polo-motorrad.com/en/sissybar-yamaha-xvs-1100-drag-star.html

I've attached some pics of the 1300 I owned, so you can get an idea.

One other option I always recommend, is the replacement of the front fork springs of teh 1300 with progressive ones. The 1300's springs are a bit weak, and I found they bottomed out on really bad roads (humps and bumps, not holes). Changing to progressive springs fixed that, and an added bonus was an even better handling/steering. The 1300 is a bike which doesn;t ride liek a traditional cruiser in th efirst place, as it corners extremely easily and pleasantly, no hard work required, or falling over type of thing for that matter, but this made it almost feel like a sports motor, from a steering and handling POV. As it doesn't really cost a lot to have this modification done, it comes very highly recommended!

HTH, kind regards, Wim
 

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