[V Star 650]

Cruiser V-Star 650 in the bone white

 

[normansalas7]

Consider this an ongoing census. Just let the people know what you're riding.

.. Want it. Dead or alive

My wife has the star 250. She gets 87 Mpg

That's awesome. The 950 is a gas hog. I almost ran out of gas the other day. It should have a fuel gauge. Not a stupid Reserve light. Shame on Yamaha

 

[bevo1981]

.. Want it. Dead or alive


That's awesome. The 950 is a gas hog. I almost ran out of gas the other day. It should have a fuel gauge. Not a stupid Reserve light. Shame on Yamaha

stock it gets over 50mpg. that's about average for most middleweight cruisers of the time. what are you getting?

 

[normansalas7]

stock it gets over 50mpg. that's about average for most middleweight cruisers of the time. what are you getting?

I honestly don't know. It'll be wonderful if it had a built-in MPG computer. Just like every single vehicle out their has. All I know is that I filled up to maximum the other day and I took a 15 mile trip up and a 15 mile trip down so that was 30 mi. And then I did some riding around, which was maybe another total 25 miles so 30 + 25 = 55 miles. I don't know, I would say I'm getting maybe 35 miles per gallon. I wish the tank was bigger than 5 gallons. But oh well, I'm just grateful for a wonderful cruiser. I love the floorboards, I think that's such an important thing for a cruising bike. Especially when you're 6'2 and 295 lb like I am.

I was looking at a Vulcan 650s, a 2020, with only 2,000 mi. But the reason I didn't go for it because it just wasn't a bigger bike, it was missing the floorboards. And let me tell you that 950 CC motor, it rips. It is so fast that I'm completely blown away. This coming from a guy who loved muscle cars and own several Camaro z28s and Camaro SS's, and a 2006 Pontiac GTO and Dodge Charger RT'S. You get the point.

Must be what? a 2008?
If it is the candy Apple Red?

Wow. 287,000 mi! No wonder every single boat out here in Miami Florida has Yamaha outboard engines.

Question for you, mine is 13,000 mi. (third owner) Is there anything maintenance wise that I should do at this point or is the owner's manual being exaggerative. Also, at which mileage Point did you have to rebuild the engine? Inquiring minds want to know😁

Hey all
I bought a brand new VStar XVS650A Classic in Black as my first bike in 2007 - Learner Legal here in Australia. I loved riding that thing - commuted to work in Sydney for years. I had to sell it around 2011 and I've been bike-less for the last few years. Now my son recently bought himself a Yamaha XSR700 so of course I've had to go by myself an Vstar XVS1100A Classic in Candy Apple Red so I can go riding with him. I did a ton of research and looked at all bikes, but focussing on the HD Fat Boy and Triumphs, but kept coming back to the VStar Classic for it's value for money, looks, comfort, familiarity and reliability. Cannot wait to get back on the road when I pick it up in a couple of weeks. Stay safe

Out of all the countries, I see many YouTube videos from australia, I guess motorcycles are extremely popular there. I used to own a 2006 Pontiac gto, which you know is a Holden monaro. What an awesome car!

Not to many v star 1300s out there? Common problems? I own one.and just curious

I heard it's because they started making the 1300 at a very late point in time, and the production line was only a few years. And then they stopped it. Whereas, if you look at the 950, it's been around for over a decade if not more , a very long time indeed... so the bike has pretty much been with the same chassis, the same engine, so they've been able to tweak it over time to exactly where they wanted to be. Not so with the 1300 model.

I had one and loved it. It got totaled a few weeks ago so it is no more. Having previously owned a 650, I too was surprised by how few there were and how little aftermarket support there was and had been. To me it was the best of the Vstar line. Handled well like a 650, but had more engine than the rest of the line, fuel injected, water cooled, just about perfect. I had wondered why it didn't appear to sell as well as the 1100.

I ended up with a Stratoliner to replace the 1300. Love them both.

God took Enoch and he was no more. When I read your post that suddenly came to my mind. I wonder why.

Started in grade school with a Yamaha recorder flute thing. Then a Yamaha trumpet in high school. A decade later I got a 2006 roadstar. First sergeant wouldn’t let me get a smaller bike. It sat in the garage for just over a decade. Got it roadworthy last year with all the farkles I couldn’t afford before. It’s currently sidelined until I figure out the cracked passing light bar. Just a few months ago, a 2021 Xmax.

The Yamaha recorder flute! I do remember that. You must be around 50 years old. Many people don't realize that that beautiful Yamaha pianos, they basically stem from the same company that branched out eventually....but it all originated from the same company in Japan

 

[Yamaha Pat]

That's why their logo is tuning forks.

 

[bevo1981]

I honestly don't know. It'll be wonderful if it had a built-in MPG computer. Just like every single vehicle out their has. All I know is that I filled up to maximum the other day and I took a 15 mile trip up and a 15 mile trip down so that was 30 mi. And then I did some riding around, which was maybe another total 25 miles so 30 + 25 = 55 miles. I don't know, I would say I'm getting maybe 35 miles per gallon. I wish the tank was bigger than 5 gallons. But oh well, I'm just grateful for a wonderful cruiser. I love the floorboards, I think that's such an important thing for a cruising bike. Especially when you're 6'2 and 295 lb like I am.

to find out for sure, note your mileage the next time you fill up. then when you get to the reserve light, which comes on when you have 0.8 gallons left, or whenever you decide to fill back up, and note your mileage at this point. then note how many gallons it takes you to fill back up. now you know how many gallons of fuel took you X number of miles that you get when you subtract your two mileage points. if your bike is completely stock from an engine/power standpoint, and you're only getting 35 miles/gallon, something may need adjusting. your air/fuel mixture may be off or you may have some kind of leak. btw, the fuel tank is 4.4 gallons total.

 

[wiesshund]

.. Want it. Dead or alive


That's awesome. The 950 is a gas hog. I almost ran out of gas the other day. It should have a fuel gauge. Not a stupid Reserve light. Shame on Yamaha

Eh most motorcycles do not have fuel gauges.
Except the big road bikes.

We kind of have not needed them for the last 100+ years

950 should get around 50mpg average? higher or lower depending on the rider.

That's why their logo is tuning forks.
View attachment 138742

LOL
That isnt why, but it's funny

 

[normansalas7]

That's why their logo is tuning forks.
View attachment 138742

Yeah, that logo is a strange logo. Never understood it actually

 

[wiesshund]

Yeah, that logo is a strange logo. Never understood it actually

The logo?
Nah it makes perfect sense.

Who is Yamaha really?
What is Yamaha's main product?

Hint, it does not have wheels or an engine.

 

[normansalas7]

The logo?
Nah it makes perfect sense.

Who is Yamaha really?
What is Yamaha's main product?

Hint, it does not have wheels or an engine.

Ummm. Music?

 

[normansalas7]

I noticed you're in Florida as well, what part?

 

[normansalas7]

The logo?
Nah it makes perfect sense.

Who is Yamaha really?
What is Yamaha's main product?

Hint, it does not have wheels or an engine.

Music?

 

[wiesshund]

Wow. 287,000 mi! No wonder every single boat out here in Miami Florida has Yamaha outboard engines.

Question for you, mine is 13,000 mi. (third owner) Is there anything maintenance wise that I should do at this point or is the owner's manual being exaggerative. Also, at which mileage Point did you have to rebuild the engine? Inquiring minds want to know😁

Mind you that is not on the factory set of rings.
I've put new rings in, rolled new bearings in (white metal doesn't last forever), replaced the plastic chain guides cause they do wear.
did a valve job, mostly because i wanted to play with the machine.
Bike never shut down and said i aint going unless you overhaul me or anything, mostly a simple matter of
Ok we got XX miles on it, and it is an air cooled motorcycle, gonna pull it down and do these things just because.
No hard parts though.
The ceramic coating yamaha does the jugs with just doesnt seem to wear, least wise under the minor stress of a 650
Like you literally just scrub it with Dawn and a mild scotchbrite (Mild, not the aggressive kind that will polish cast iron) and it's like there, jugs reconditioned.

Some of the bikes parts are sacrificial
rings are sacrificial objects, they give themselves up to keep sealing
White metal bearings are sacrificial, they take the brunt of the wear
There is a lifespan for them and a point where it is best to replace them if you want to just keep running a thing eternally
But unlike other engines, there wasn't any documented time span for when these things should come to pass, so i just adopted what i would do if it was an antique british car
and then made a guesstimate adjustment for modern materials and manufacturing.

Outside of certain bikes, no one ever keeps one long enough or gets enough miles on it to document.
If you want to know how often to do a preventative tear down on an MG, or air cooled VW, or Rolls Royce or Triumph TR6 etc, you can go look it up and find out at XX miles
tear it down and roll in new bearings and rings, de-coke the heads and lap the valves etc to avoid having to do a major overhaul entailing boring honing and turning
(At least until much later, eventually everything needs bored hone turned and recut.)

The bike has basically been my only mode of transportation since 2008, and I HATE getting new vehicles, so it was always my intention that the thing live a stupidly long time.

As far as Maintenance at 13k?
To be 100% honest, I would make the assumption that the previous owner didn't do squat, and i would take the maintenance intervals in the manual
and make a list of all things from every interval, without repeating them of course, and I would go over everything.
If you check something and find it is OK or it has been done you are out nothing but time.
If you assume the other person told the truth and they did not, or their shop was shoddy, then you are out $$$
I make it a rule to never ever trust what i am told regarding previous maintenance, if i did not see it, it did not happen.

Which bike did you have? I forget.

On the 1300
The 950 and the 1300 were to be the replacements for the 1100 and the 650
Unfortunately by the time they came out, the 1100 sales were already down, I think the market was beginning to go soft or shift.
The 1100 did cease to be, but the 1300 sales just didn't pick up.
It also did not help that with the loss of the 1100, the price point was gone.

The 1100 was often under $8,000 towards the end.
The 1300 was over $10,000 and upwards of $14,000 depending on what package you got.
That is kind of an entirely different group of buyers

The 650 was $6000 and for reasons I am not 100% sure of, it never made it's intended cease of production, it kept running beside the 950 until they shut the whole thing down
V Star went byebye almost entirely. (V Star 250 is still around but it is literally a virago 250, virtually unchanged since the day it was 1st released)
Cruiser market was just dead by then.
I speculate that they simply could not in a financially justifiable manner, kill the 650.
It kind of dominated that price range and it had no trouble selling, the 950 could not touch the price range of the bike it was intended to replace and people still wanted a bike in that price range.
Remember the 650 was sold in virtually every market on the planet, including a lot of very poor countries with very poor fuel supplies, no maintenance facilities as well as countries that have absolute hard limits on allowable motorcycle displacement.
The 950 could not even enter some of these markets and was fuel injected and more complex to boot.
So i would imagine that would not make any kind of sense to give up until the market died?
I don't know, for sure but seems a good guess.

Anyways back to the 1300
It replaced a sub $10,000 bike but was in excess of $10,000
So it kind of misses its target audience.

The 950 slid into the 1100's slot price wise, not so good for a bike meant to replace the 650
The 950 is $8,000 for the base model, but 950 does not ring the bells of the people who want a 1200.
They want a 1200 evo sporty/softail but they dont wanna pay harley pricing, but they are willing to pay 8k
Now there is no bike for them.
The 950 is a fine bike but
it's a 950
And you know how people are over raw CC numbers.
"Oh you only have a 650? that's a shame, i have an 883"
Yea except the 883 and the 650 are pretty much comparable except in resale value.

And if a guy's willing to put out the cost of a 1300
Then why not a Roadstar? A bike with spine twisting torque at all of 2500 rpms, a bike that never sounds like it is revving and can drag a truck up the side of a wall.
The cost is about the same.

I think if they could have done better with the numbers and possibly brought out the 1300 sooner, it may have sold better.
Maybe if they could have sold it for around 9k, with a good marketing campaign and an earlier release?
Nothing is really wrong with the bike itself it just came in too high for the slot it was to take over and sadly came in as the cruiser market was about to take a slide into oblivion.

Now between you and I, what disinterested me in the 950 and 1300 (aside from I HATE buying new vehicles)
Was the styling.
The neo art deco or whatever it is, I call it Swoopy because that is the word that immediately comes to mind when I 1st saw them.
I am old, I like stuff that looks OLD.
You can hand me a car with the latest and most advanced mechanical tech on the planet
and i WONT like it, because it is going to look exactly like something envisioned in some designer's 2024 chemically induced dream.
Now if you wrapped it in a composite recreation(recreation, not modern reimagining) body of a 56 chevy belaire, or 62 nova, or 70 challenger etc, Ok we'll talk.
I dont like Swoopy LOL

The engines i was fine with, i liked the belt drive, i like the idea of spokeless alloy wheels.
I didn't like the visuals.
If they threw the 650 and 1100 custom tinwork on the 950 and 1300, then we might talk, at least on the 950, 1300 still costs too much.

 

[DRMousseau]

You covered this topic EXCELLENTLY!!!
And 'swoopy',.... luv that description, but not the style.

I guess I've never really taken note of a great many motorcycles out there,... till someone brings one to me and asks, "Can ya fix it?"
ugh.

The xvs650 was an exception!!! When I first saw it introduced and on the streets, I was VERY curious!
Reminiscent of old V-twin styling in a class comparable to a modernized 45ci Flathead, there was nothing like it ever!!! And I always wanted a li'l Flathead. Worked on 'em, ridden 'em,... jus never had one of my own. Kinda liked the 80ci flatty too. Jus a classic style of simplicity.

And no other Star model nor Yamaha has captured me in such a way.

Now I've ridden MANY, and owned a few bikes in my lifetime,... but with advancing age, some considerations were to be made.
So when the opportunity was presented, and all considered,... I jumped on "Pop's Last Ride", an original condition '98 XVS650 custom. I'd have prefered a classic, but hey,... it's been HUGELY enjoyable!!!