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Had an 1100. Found out cruisers weren't my thing, but I'll try to be objective:
+
Plenty of torque down low
Comfortable for me at 5'9". Probably be OK up to 6'
Reliable. Never failed to start. Shaft driven.
-
No tachometer
Oil filter change requires removing the exhaust (not sure about 1300)
Carb'ed (not necessarily bad)
Air cooled, hot! (Don't think the 1300 is)
Dated technology (1300 should be better)
Stiff throttle (Used to get blisters from holding the throttle)
From the specs, it looks like the 1300 is much more advanced. The Yamaha bikes are well finished and very reliable. If I were in the market, I wouldn't hesitate to get another.
Thanks for the info, Johnny. I took a test drive this morning and I must tell you, what a difference! Of course, my current bike (soon to be my old bike ) was a 750. Granted there is a weight diffential but that is more than made up for in the torque and the feeling of power.
Awesome! A buddy of mine rides a Yamaha 1100 and likes it. He replaced the factory pipes with some straight pipes, changed the carb cover for a procharger styled one, lowered it, and added forward controls. He seems to like the bike plenty, but wishes he had more power out of it, the 1300 might fix that.
Personally for cruisers I couldn't get into the V-twin setup. Have a V-twin sportsbike (SV650) and a V4 Cruiser (Honda Magna) and am pretty satisfied with both, especially the torque and horsepower provided from the Honda's four cylinder motor. Enjoy the ride!
Thanks for the info, Johnny. I took a test drive this morning and I must tell you, what a difference! Of course, my current bike (soon to be my old bike ) was a 750. Granted there is a weight diffential but that is more than made up for in the torque and the feeling of power.
I think that test may have made up my mind!
As someone who now has two Kawa's, the Yamahas are really well put together.
Somehow, a free test drive is the worst thing that can happen to your wallet.
Lowered the 1100? I had all kinds of problems bottoming out off curbs as it was!
He bottoms out like crazy, but won't change it cause he loves the look. There's actually a small tab next to the drive shaft that has taken some absue from part of the frame rubbing against it. As of now, i believe it's worn down that it's not as much of an issue, but i'm sure it made some terrible grinding noises when it was new. His forward controls were purchased off the net, and the breather on the right side, along with the exhaust (think it's on the right) forces your right foot to sit at an incredibly akward angle to to the brake pedal....seems uncomfortable, but he's gotten use to it...
I have an 09 1300 classic and I love it. The belt drive is so smooth the low end torque is un believable. It is an all around great bike.
I traded my 1200 sportster in on it. I found that at 6’ 1” I just didn’t fit on the HD but I fit great on the v-star!
I totally agree about loving your V-Star!
I just took possition of mine on Monday and enjoy riding it so much I have already put about 800 miles on it.
My dealership did not have a classic, so I bought the V-Star 1300. I really don't mind the difference, especially since I really wasn't looking to buy at the time.
I can hardly wait for the warmer weather (for once) to really get out and put some miles under the tires.
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) was a 750. Granted there is a weight diffential but that is more than made up for in the torque and the feeling of power.
Enjoy the ride!
