My New Yamaha V Star 1300

My V star XVS 1100 Silverado has been traded in and I am now the proud owner on the new 2007 Yamaha V Star 1300 or the XVS1300A Midnight Star as it is called in Europe.

While I did love my 1100 I have been having constant issues with it and just decided I had enough and couldn't be bothered trying to resolve them any longer. Which is a shame because I had spent a considerable amount of time and money upgrading it. Hopefully it will go to a better home and will be cared for by someone who is more mechanical, unlike me, I like to ride bikes not work on them.

I spent quite a bit of time deciding which bike to upgrade to as I didn't want to spend too much money on something I don't really need (I really should be buying a second car), so I set my budget at £2000. It ended up being a toss up between a used Yamaha Roadstar XVS1700, a used Kawasaki Vulcan VN1600 or a new Yamaha V Star XVS1300. I then narrowed it down to the XVS1300 and VN1600 as I wanted fuel injection and the Roadstar doesn't have this (not on pre 2007 models anyway).

I then found a shop near to where we are moving to next year (P and H Motorcycles) who had both bikes brand new for around the same price £7000 (£4500 trade in on my 1100). I also managed to bring them down £500 from their advertised price too, and they let me take a test ride on both bikes, which is quite rare. Plus I actually purchased 2 bikes from this shop in the past already so I knew they were reliable, so I was prepared to pay a bit more for my bike than I would have done elsewhere.

I actually thought the decision was going to be easy and I was actually expecting to choose the VN1600. This is because I owned a VN1600 previously, it was actually my first bike and I did like it, but as a first bike it is way too big and heavy and I was not comfortable on it, so I down sized, but having ridden an 1100 for 2 years now I knew this would no longer be an issue as I had sat on one again since.

The VN1600 they had in the shop and which I was test driving was a two tone blue and silver, a colour which neither myself or the wife liked, but apart from that it was still the same great bike I had ridden before. The Vulcan just oozes power, has plenty of torque and getting up to 60 mph is completely effortless and it is so easy to break the speed limit without even realising on this bike, so cruising on this bike really is euphoria. It did have quite noticeable vibrations at low speeds though, and the other major issue that I had before was also still there, the handlebars were too curved, causing my wrists to be twisted out far more than was comfortable, and within only a couple of minutes they had started to ache, but I thought this is just something I would have to get used to. The Vulcan is also a fair bit longer and wider than my 1100, and this of course takes some getting used to as well. Overall I was still feeling positive that the V Star would not be able to compare with the Vulcan on power, which would be its downfall.

Now it was time to ride the V Star, I wanted to like it, I want to prefer it, but I just didn't think I would as I didn't think the difference between an 1100 and a 1300 would be enough to satisfy me, was I in for a shock. When they brought the bike out and stood it next to the Vulcan, this was my first shocker, as the size difference was not as much as I had imagined, in fact to the casual onlooker you probably wouldn't even notice, which must mean that my 1100 isn't actually that much smaller either. This was the only one they had in stock and it was candy-box red, not really my first choice as I tend to go for black, but at least I didn't actually dislike it.

My second big surprise was when I started the bike, it actually had a pretty nice exhaust note, not too loud, but still a nice rumble, which I suspect is due to the fact that it is a 2-into-1 exhaust. Unlike the Harley Davidson, which is known for its deep rumble exhaust sound, the Jap bikes tend to sound very tinny and need after market exhausts if you want the big loud sound. I added after market exhausts to my 1100 and it made a huge difference, the sound was so much better and it also improved performance too, but the drawback is that it is also a lot louder while your riding too.

The third big surprise was as soon as I pulled away, wow, this bike had some serious torque, it actually pulled like a sports bike compared to what I was used to, and yes it was comparable to the Vulcan. I took it out on to the dual carriageway and got it up to 70mph, and the V Star continued to surprise, I could not believe this bike was only 200cc's more powerful than my 1100, because it felt almost as powerful as the Vulcan, in some ways more so, I would certainly say it had more torque, and I even up to 70mph did not even need to use the 5th gear which means it still has plenty more power and speed left to give. The main difference is that you can actually feel the power of the V Star as you increase speed, whereas with the Vulcan it is almost effortless, which again I suspect is due to the torque. You actually need to be quite careful when accelerating from idle on the V Star as it is very sensitive and doesn't need anywhere near as much throttle as your used to using on other cruisers. Now I'm sure if you intend to be breaking the speed limit and doing more than 70MPH then this is where the Vulcan might outshine the V Star, but cruisers are for cruising and not speeding and the only time I ever exceed 70mph is when I am over taking on the motorway, so this is a non issue for me.

The other big plus for me was the shape, size and weight, it is very close to the V star 1100, in fact it did not feel any heavier at all, so it was immediately a far more comfortable ride than the Vulcan and  it much easier on the corners and roundabouts of general about town riding.

So the winner was clear. My primary riding is about town, with very little motorway riding, and for this the V star wins hands down with its better handling, lower centre of gravity and lighter weight, but with almost as much power under the tank as the Vulcan, when I do need to take it on the motorway it is also going to accommodate me, and with a lot less vibrations too it seems. This was actually one big issue with my 1100, it didn't like going 70mph+ and when it did the vibrations were unbearable (although I think there may have been something wrong with my bike), which actually made me avoid long trips on the motorway, so perhaps now I will feel more inclined to get on the motorway, although you really do need a windshield for this, so I'm waiting for someone to come out with a quick release option so that I only need to have it attached when I need it.

01/12/2007 - I LOVE THIS BIKE

Well today I picked up my new bike, so here was the first real long distance test as I rode it the 100 miles home on the motorway. I can't say I was looking forward to the ride as I do not especially enjoy motorway riding, made worse due to my experience with the V Star 1100 as the vibrations were usually so bad at motorway speeds that I usually had to stop at least twice on this 100 mile trip just to get feeling back in my hands and give my poor back a rest. Thankfully this was no longer the case with the XVS1300, I only needed to stop once, and that was due to the cold.

The vibrations on the XVS1300 are considerably less than they were on my 1100, so much so in fact that I did not have a single problem with tingling or numbness, and that was at a pretty consistent speed of 70mph all the way. I have in fact read that Yamaha have actually added anti-vibrations features to this bike to achieve this. Some people have stated that there are ZERO vibrations, which is not true, and probably imposisble, but if you like a smooth ride as I do, I think you would be very happy.

Another nice feature is the that the controls for the LCD display are right next to the throttle, alllow you to toggle between odometer, trip1, trip2 and the clock.

The heel-toe shifter also locks at the heel position when you reach fifth gear, so you can give up on the gear counting finally :-)

So far I am extremely happy with my purchase, in fact I can officially say that I love this bike, and I feel this bike covers every requirement for my about town riding, country rides round those twisty lanes, jaunts on the motorway and stick a screen and saddlebags on this bike and it would also make a great tourer, it certainly has the power for it. I don't think I will ever be buying a bike without fuel injection again.

My only minor bugbear is the riding position, I found that I was learning forward ever so slightly, so I might need to move the handlebars back slightly to achieve the more leaned back position I am used to. I also only had red to choose from, which probably wouldn't have been my choice if they would have had the black and silver options in stock, but then I always choose black everything, so perhaps it is good that I have been forced to choose something different for a change.

I am undecided about the exhaust, while it is nice to have the loud meaty rumble of the after market exhausts, I really did enjoy how much quieter it was on the motorway compared to my 1100 with its Vance & Hines slip-ons, and on long distance rides the sound of a noisy exhaust really can become irritating. The obvious advantage to a loud exhaust is to make yourself heard, which helps to avoid accidents as car drivers can hear you coming, so the ideal solution would be an exhaust which is loud at low speeds but quiet at highway speeds. My wife did mention that couldn't hear me at coming at all on this bike.

I really cannot fault this bike so far, the only issues you can really find with this bike are those of personal preference rather than technical issues. So I rate this bike 5/5