[gman26]

Anyone here have a Yamaha V Star?

I was thinking about buying a Harley this year, but after seeing the V Star, I'm reconsidering. Heard a lot of good things about the V Star 1100. They look really nice and will probably last longer than a Harley. I have seen some for sale around $5,000.00 - not bad for such a nice bike.

[gtome]

My brother had one. It was pretty good looking and I painted a faint flame job on it to make it look even better. Only thing I didnt like was the sound. I think he may have taken the baffels out of the exhaust, which made it sound like someone was screaming in your ear when I rode next to him. I had a Fat Boy at the time.... and I dont think I would buy another Harley. There are some really nice metric bikes out there now!

[folsombird]

I don't have a V-star but I do have a Honda VTX 1800. I suggest getting the biggest displacement you can afford.

[wytnyt]

v-stars are generally low on power,,a 1300 or an 1800 vtx is theway to go.
1800 is a tad top heavy but cn leave a harley in its dust

[David Jones]

If you're buying one for the sound NOBODY can duplicate the sound of a Harley.

[wytnyt]

Originally Posted by David Jones

If you're buying one for the sound NOBODY can duplicate the sound of a Harley.

power propels you down the road,,not sound
its a known fact
harley has the sound but honda has the power
besides Honda is American made while Harley is not

[sleepy]

$5,000 V $15-20,000. No brainer. Get anything BUT a harley and enjoy riding.

[David Jones]

If motorcycling was simply about the amount of power one had you wouldn't be riding a V twin.

[wytnyt]

one can always record the lope and play it on the stereo but try doing that with brute power

[4birds]

You will be sooooooooo much happier with the Yamaha. I had one and my riding buddy had a Harley. We used to trade riding each others bike. In my opinion, the Harley rode and felt like a piece of s*-^. He spent so much time and money constantly fixing stuff that went wrong with it, he sold it. I am so glad I never bought one. I have another Yamaha now and the maintainence and reliabilty does not even compare to the Hog. Just my 2 cents...

[TA454]

I am on an 06 1100 honda great bike the other week i walked away from a buddys 09 fat bob the was shocked that he could not keep up. Bud Lyons was on an 1100 Vstar for a few years till he got his ultra for him and the wife. Bud rode that star from one side of the world to the other. You might try PMing him for his opinion,
Personally my next bike will be an AMERICAN BRAND there is definately a VICTORY in my future. If you have not ridden a Victory throw a leg over a King Pin. If you want a Hot Rod bike there is the Vegas or the big tire Vegas Jackpot. 106 cid, 96hp and 106 Lb feet of torque, 6 speed overdrive, Billit wheels and wrapped in awsome House of Color paint all for the same price as a cookie cutter Dyna. NO BRAINER

[sleepy]

Originally Posted by TA454

Personally my next bike will be an AMERICAN BRAND there is definately a VICTORY in my future. If you have not ridden a Victory throw a leg over a King Pin. If you want a Hot Rod bike there is the Vegas or the big tire Vegas Jackpot. 106 cid, 96hp and 106 Lb feet of torque, 6 speed overdrive, Billit wheels and wrapped in awsome House of Color paint all for the same price as a cookie cutter Dyna. NO BRAINER

96hp? Childs bike. If you want a REAL hot rod try a Boss Hoss. 385hp 350V8. Made in Somerset PA.

[performerrpm]

Originally Posted by sleepy

96hp? Childs bike. If you want a REAL hot rod try a Boss Hoss. 385hp 350V8. Made in Somerset PA.

the victory that was mentioned are nice bikes, but yeah boss hoss if you just be cock of the block

[performerrpm]

Originally Posted by 4birds

You will be sooooooooo much happier with the Yamaha. I had one and my riding buddy had a Harley. We used to trade riding each others bike. In my opinion, the Harley rode and felt like a piece of s*-^. He spent so much time and money constantly fixing stuff that went wrong with it, he sold it. I am so glad I never bought one. I have another Yamaha now and the maintainence and reliabilty does not even compare to the Hog. Just my 2 cents...

hmmmm, my harley's been good to me i guess along with the ultra classic my dad use to ride that my boy inherited. my dad had a friend who inherited his dads 74 shovelhead that he bought brand new, still going today. dont get me wrong i know there was some trouble with the shovels and early evos when owned by amf but the later evo and twin cams have come along way, i also agree with whoever said if riding was about speed and power you wouldnt be riding a v -twin

[sleepy]

Originally Posted by performerrpm

the victory that was mentioned are nice bikes, but yeah boss hoss if you just be cock of the block

Yep. the Victory is a very nice cruiser.

[guccieng]

i've owned a 2005 victory vegas. outstanding bike. i sold it to a pilot i fly with and it's not had a single thing go wrong with it. harley: never again.

[gman26]

Well, I want a nice looking, great riding bike. Seems like the V Star is definitely better than a Harley, I'm sold on that. For the money, I can't go wrong.

Not sure about the Honda, haven't really looked at them yet.
I don't need tons of power, just a nice riding bike.

I really don't know anything about the Victory. I'll have to do some research.
American made?
V-Twin?
Cost compared to the V Star?
Ride quality?

Thanks for the input, I appreciate it!

[MikesOldMan]

I had a 200 650 VStar, never a problem of any kind with the exception of tightening the rear wheel spokes one time. Bought a 2003 Honda VTX 1800 in Aug. 2002 and that thing was fun, especially when there were Harleys involved! I wasted about $500 on an extended warranty on it, was never back to the dealer for anything. I have developed a bad heart, had to scale down, have another 650 VStar classic, 3500 miles, no problems of any kind so far. Son in law had an 1100 VStar, never a problem with it. He bought a new Heritage Softtail, I advised him to buy an extended warranty, if it's like most Harleys, he'll need it. That said, I rode it, six speed, fuel injected almost 1600 CC evo, smoooth, nice bike with good power, not VTX 1800 power, but good power.

[67 Lamnas]

I have a VTX1300R, wife HAD a Harley, and it broke down on her FIRST RIDE!! Had to put a new battery in the Harley every year except the last year before she sold it.

My VTX has never failed me, could have bought 2-1/2 VTXs for the price of the Harley I was looking at before I bought.......Harley's are WAYYYYYYYY overrated...

[Overkillphil]

My wife has an 04 V-Star, no problems whatsoever. I have an 02 Road Star (Midnight). Had one warrantee issue with the Road Star but Yamaha took good care of me. I ended up having 10:1 pistons put in the 1600 engine for the cost of the pistons as Yamaha had to split the case for the warrantee work and had not problem installing the pistons for me while it was apart. (Try doing that with a late model car!)

But I looked at everything before buying and frankly, bikes are pretty much all good these days whether you buy Honda, Yamaha, Harley, Suzuki etc.

I like the look of the V-Star classic vs. other Asian Harley knockoffs. It is on par with my friends Fat Boy size wise.

No matter what we buy, the stock pipes get sold on ebay!

The one big negative for me with the Asian bikes (at least in my neck of the woods) is the fact that the dealers generally suck compared to the Harley dealers. Also, there are loads of independent shops that work on Harleys while shops are practically non-existent for the Asian cruisers. While I do the maintenance, normal repairs, modifications and upgrades I would occasionally like to have a nice local shop to do things that are beyond the scope of my abiility or equipment.