2007 Yamaha V Star 1300 Tourer
Written: Dec 02 '06 (Updated May 04 '07)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Reliability: |
 |
|
| Comfort: |
|
|
| Handling And Control: |
 |
|
| Quality and Craftsmanship: |
|
|
|
Pros: Fuel injected and liquid cooled. Belt driven.
Cons: No tachometer or fuel gauge.
The Bottom Line: I recommend this bike to anyone who is upgrading for the first time after riding a smaller bike. Don't pay MSRP, or Prep and Freight. I paid $11,953.84 TOTAL.
|
|
|
| flipnotica's Full Review: 2007 Yamaha V Star 1300 Tourer |
On 11/20/2006, I traded my 2005 V Star 650 Classic in for Yamaha's brand new 2007 Yamaha V Star 1300 Tourer. This is the bike's first year in production. I chose Raven for the color. Normally I would wait a year or two before buying the 1st year model of a brand new designed vehicle, but I couldn't resist. Since I hadn't ridden a motorcycle since I was around 18, I bought the V Star 650 as a starter bike in September, 2005. I was 41. I think I made a good decision. The bike was perfect for an entry level rider and it served it's purpose very well. After 9900 miles, I was ready for something bigger and with more amenities. Yamaha proved to be my favorite choice in metric motorcycles. I favor Yamaha over Honda, Suzuki, and Kawasaki when it comes to cruisers. I have no experience with dirt or sport bikes.
Things I love
The things I love about this bike AND the main reasons I bought it are the following:
It has an 80 cubic inch (1304cc) liquid cooled, single overhead cam 60 degree V-twin engine and it is fuel injected. No longer do I have to pull out a choke for a few minutes when the engine is cold to warm it up. That was very annoying indeed. I also do not have to worry about stressing the engine when sitting in rush hour traffic in 100 degree heat during the summer.
The bike has 4 valves per cylinder which adds to the performance. It is also belt driven. I like that as well. Shaft driven models are less efficient meaning you are losing horsepower to the rear wheel. According to the owner's manual, the tank holds 4.89 gallons of fuel. Starmotorcycles.com says it holds 4.5 gallons of fuel. I think I will go by what the manual says. I have just under 600 miles on the bike and I have averaged 47 MPG which is about what my 650 was getting.
One other thing I like about this bike is the odometer. It has an analog speedometer, but it has a digital odometer/tripmeter/fuel reserve tripmeter/clock. No longer do I have to remember to turn the gas cock off of reserve and vice-versa. Also, this "Multi-function meter unit" is not on the gas tank as was the speedometer/odometer on my 2005 V Star 650 Classic. It is where it can easily be read which is on the middle of the handlebar.
I also love the 7 spoke cast wheels and matching rear pulley mount with 16 inch tires. For brakes, you have hydraulic dual disc brakes in the front and a single hydraulic disc in the rear.
Lastly, the halogen headlight is very bright and clear. The high beam is awesome. With oil and fuel, the bike weighs in at a hefty 712 lbs.
Things I don't like
No tachometer. When breaking in a bike, it would be nice to have a tachometer to see how long you are going at the same RPM. For the first 1000 miles the bike has to be broken in. No fast take offs and varying one's speed is the key here. A tachometer is much better than a speedometer for measuring this.
No fuel gauge. The only thing this bike has is a fuel LED to let you know when you are low on fuel and on reserve. My old bike didn't even have that. It is common for motorcycles not to have a tach or fuel gauge however so this is nothing new.
According to Yamaha the valves are supposed to be adjusted every 4000 miles. I have researched this and have found out by talking to motorcycle mechanics outside of Yamaha that this is not really necessary. I have been told that 8000 miles is just fine. I have also been told do do it "when I feel guilty" by another mechanic. I have been told that Yamaha does this for legal reasons. Why many motorcycles are still built this way is a mystery to me. Modern car manufacturers did away with this old technology eons ago. However, I was told by the service people where I bought the bike that one should definitely have them adjusted at 1000 miles, NOT 600 miles as recommended in the manual. The bike is not completely broken in at 600 miles.
The clock has gained a few seconds so I don't think it is very accurate. Having a clock is nice though.
On a lessor note, Starmotorcycles.com says that the taillight uses LED(s) but it does not. I called Yamaha myself and they said that was an error. There is definitely a bulb in there. No biggie. Perhaps they were planning on using LED(s) but changed their minds. That is what the rep at Yamaha told me.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 11,953.84
Condition: New
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
flipnotica
|
|
Member: Bryan
Location: Central Texas
Reviews written: 17
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
My name is Bryan and I live in a suburb of Austin.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2008 Shopping.com, Inc.