Posted: 9/23/2005 6:36:08 PM EDT
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can't go wrong with them. a LOT of the group we ride with have them. 650 will be fine for you but might be a bit light for 2up riding with fullsize adults. <power wise it would be fine just a short low frame> look around for a similar used bike about 2-3 years old. they will be 1/2 price and usually low mileage. i ended up with a suzuki c50t. bigger engine and more factory add on's for not a lot more money. pretty much any metric crusier is a pretty solid bike from a reliability standpoint. |
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I's suggest going to the 1100. It's only slightly heavier, and everyone I know who has had the 650 has either traded bigger soon after, bitched about not getting the 1100. Anything over 55mph, and the 650 gets buzzy as hell and vibrates your hands to sleep. +1 on a used. You're gonna drop it, might as well drop something that cost half as much. |
yup |
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I have a 02 650 V-star classic. I love it. I am only 5'5" 160, and my ex was 5' 2" 90 lbs and it handled us fine. My brother in law bought the 1100 V-Star silverado. It's just as good. A 650 is a great first bike and 1100 is heavier and a little harder to handle and easier to drop. I am glad I went with the 650, I dont think I need an 1100. Hope this helps Jim |
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a low mileage bike in decent shape should need VERY little work. bike shops are everywhere and they are not that costly to fix most problems. engine guards are a must in my book. better to scrtch 100 worth of chrome than the motor/frame. i also prefer a windshield if riding on the major highways or roads. rocks and crap falling off trucks hurts like hell at 60 mph+ and so do bugs and rain. i also prefer a water cooled engine. here in the south days easily push 100. the extra cooling makes a BIG difference in traffic. |
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I bought a brand new vstar 650 in 2000. It is a great bike. The shaft drive is nice and smooth. As others have said, it is a little light in power, my top speed was only about 97 mph. If hauling a passenger, it was pretty slow to get there too. It would make a great first bike though, it rides great, will do well over the speed limit and sets low to the ground. It was very reliable, I had no problems in the four years that I owned mine. |
Most drops occur when stopped and the extra weight makes it harder to lift it up before it gets to the point of no return. I bought mine 2 yrs old for $3500.00 with 3200 mi. on it, it looked brand new. Buying used is something to look into. If you are a big guy you may want an 1100. I ended up putting Vance and Hines pipes, rejetted the carb and a hypercharger for extra sound, performance and looks. I love mine even more now. If you do get a 650 don't supersize those fries 
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Torque. plain and simple. a 650 cruiser is a lot different than a 600 crotch rocket. on a cruiser, the ability to keep it in any gear at any time is nice, and for that, you need torque. go look in a cycle trader and see just how cheap a nice two year old bike with low miles can be. Unless you can't get financed anywhere else, I'd never buy a bike at a dealership. |
True this. You can drive an 1100 all day long in 1st gear and not exceed the speed limit. You can also drive it all day long in 2nd 3rd 4th or 5th gear. |
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My wife currently rides a V-Star 1100 Classic. She's only 5'-5", 130 lbs., and handles it just fine. It would not have been a good bike as her first, because she has had a few mishaps over the years. Namely, she went down on wet pavement out in Arkansas after locking the front brake at 45(+/-) mph. That was on a 750 Virago. She rode the wrecked bike home 900 miles over the following two days. Yamaha is notorious for developing a bike or engine platform, and sticking with it for many years with very few mechanical changes. Look around for a V-Star a few years old. It will basically be the same bike as a brand new one, and will be a fraction of the cost. If you look around, you should be able to find a nice 1100 for less than the cost of a new 650. These things are pretty much bullet proof. Don't worry about buying a used Yamaha with less than 20,000 miles. It will serve you well. Jump on the ISRA Forum, and read. Here's one example: '03 1100 Classic, 7300 miles, $6000 |
You want torque? The Road Star is where it's at!  I love mine, it made to cruise at 80mph, and perfect for trips. |
Water cooled bikes often have the advantage of more power from the same size engine, but there als drawbacks. If you like to fiddle with things yourself like I do, the aircooled Yamahas are simple and easy to mess with compared to the others. My first bike was a Kawasaki with a radiator, and one fine cool day, the radiator blew and sent scalding water and antifreeze down my leg. Luckily my chaps took most of the heat. IM me when you decide what bike you want to get. We have a cabin in Blue Ridge and travel up there every spring. We'll meet up and head up to Suches and Dahlonega for some great riding. When you're ready for it, Deals Gap is close by as well. |
+1 Precisely how I would describe my R*. Although it winds up a bit tighter, the 1100 V-Star will run all day long at 80+mph without a hitch. The 650 simply can't do that with ease. |
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find a local riding club or bike night. go hang out and look at the bikes. talk to the owners. Those guys are as bad if not worse than gun nuts and will be overjoyed to discuss their rides with you. their are usually 4 or 5 guys at our bike night that have or know of GOOD deals on bikes all the time. |
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I'm only 5'4'' and rode a vstar 1100 custom. I had roadhouse 2in1 pipes with fin tip and serrated heat shields. I put a mustang seat and some risors on the handlebars also. Mine was a white one. I had a virago 750 before that. I didn't wreck either one but I had a couple kickstand mishaps on the 750 where it wasn't all the way down and the bike fell over. I never had to pick up my own vstar but I picked up a friends that was just like mine and the vtar seemed easier to pick up, lower center of gravity I guess. I got the virago up to 115 and the vstar up to 110. It was, how should I say, more "exiteing" on the virago. I also got an oil filter relocation kit, for some reason every bike as a design flaw and in this model you have to loosen the pipes to get at the filter. There is an aftermarket kit to fix that. I don't think you have to do that on the 650. When I was younger me and my husband rode all over the east on a yamaha 500, people think you can't do crap on a bike smaller than a 1100 cc but that' s not really true. The vstar was easier to drive though, more comfy and all, and once you get used to it I could swerve it around as easy as a smaller bike. Just my story. You'll enjoy your bike, I enjoyed mine. |
