650 for starter / highway?

[BugCountry]

I recently bought an 07 V Star 650 custom and I have to say overall I am very pleased with it. My complaints are that I really think it needs another gear on the top end for interstate cruising and I need to put some farther forward footrests so I can stretch out on the long hauls. I just did some 500 miles of interstate driving in PA on I-76 west saturday as a test and I can't fault the bike for any of my issues. I do think I could have handled a bigger engine bike but I like the V star 650 custom because it looks slick and the price is right. Power is nice and I like that's it's a shaftie so there's no chain to lube, plus I am told that it has the biggest gas tank it its class with 5gal total including reserve. It handles very nice but since I am a little over 6'1" I get a little bit crowded by the foot pegs. Like I said, my only major complain is I really feel yamaha could have widened the gear ratios in the trans a little to give it fewer rpms on the top end but nevertheless so far I like it. This is my first legitimate bike and the first one I have ridden legally. I had an old honda that I practiced with a few years ago so I knew what to expect this time around. I thought going from a 360 to 650 would be a huge jump in power but really it isn't. I drive 25 miles to work so as soon as I get my license(on my permit now) this is going to be my daily driver... er rider.

[jstark47]

Different [four] strokes for different folks.

Haa haa, I crack myself up.

[Duane]

I just got a new 06 v-star 650 classic (had 2 miles on it) as my first street bike about a month ago and I am throughly enjoy it.

I went with it because of 3 reasons.
Pice, it was within my budget (little over 6k out the door). All the bling (wind shields, highway pegs, saddlebags) can be added later and for cheaper then buying the Silverado version. Check out my blog, its a work in progress but you can see my wishlist and links to customizing online stores. Not being a mechanic guy, I ended up buying new because of the warranty and the dealership extended warranty.

Reviews/Recommendations, I found many reviews recommending this series of bikes. I also have two friends that own v-star customs that recommended it as well. Just do some googling on V-star you'll find a lot of different reviews out there.

Look and Feel:
I'm 6'1 and it fits pretty well, I need to add some highway bars/pegs for those longer rides but all in all I'm very happy with it.

Like BugCountry said it could use a 6th gear as engine seems like its working a bit harder then it should but honestly I have no problem going 70mph at just a bit over quarter throttle. Hills require more throttle of course but again I have no problem with it keeping the speed with plenty of umph for passing.

The way I see it, this is an intro bike to cruising, the 250s are to small and the 1100s are to big so after a couple of years of riding, I'll probably upgrade to get that 6th gear but for now, this is all the power any nub needs.

[Tower18CHI]

Hell, my 30 year old 250 will do 65mph no problem. Yeah, it's turning like 7300rpms while doing it, but it's possible. It's really not geared for it though. I chew up all 6 gears below 40mph

[flynrider]

Interesting, according to the CW comparo I linked above the VLX has 30.7 HP, V* 650 has 35.3 HP, Vulcan 500 has 39.5 HP, Ninja 500 has 52.4 HP, and GS500 has 40.7 HP. All dyno measured at the rear wheel I would assume.

well the manual for my bike says mine has 45hp.

Manufacturers like to measure horsepower at the crankshaft. This leaves out all of the hp losses in the drivetrain and results in a more pleasing number. Bike mags generally put their test bikes on a dyno and measure the real horsepower delivered to the rear wheel.

[blues2cruise]

I've been riding a Vespa around NYC for a while now and recently took the MSF safety course to improve my riding skills and try out a real bike. So of course, I'm hooked and want to get a bike ASAP. I drive (in my car) either 120 miles to upstate NY or 200 miles to Boston 2 or 3 weekends a month, and would like to start doing this on a bike instead of in the car (weather permitting). So I'm torn between the excellent advice on this forum of starting small with a 250cc, or getting something with enough power to take on the highways for those distances.

Is the Yamaha V-Star 650 a good starter bike that will also handle the highways, or does it insetad fail to be either small enough to start on or big enough for I-87?

I'm 44 and not addicted to speed and danger, and riding the little 250's in the MSF course felt pretty easy and natural to me. I'm 5'8" and 150lbs, so wouldn't feel comfortable on anything too big (yet), but the V-star 650 looked interesting.

Any thoughts?

2-1/2 years ago at the tender age of a few years older than you....I learned to ride. I bought a new 650 V-Star Classic for my first bike.

I have ridden over 29,000km and gone on a few road trips with that bike. I have ridden that bike into desert country and up on some mountain highways...loaded down with gear.....

Once I got over the initial nervousness and the learning curve, the V-Star has proved to be quite good.
The only shortcomings I have noticed are if you get stuck behind a slow moving vehicle on a hill, and you lose your rpm's and some speed, it will probably not recover top speed until you crest the hill.
If you started the hill at speed, it will maintain it.....if no geezermobile gets in the way.

The first few weeks it did feel heavy, but once I got used to how to balance etc., it felt ok.
Compared to the RoadStar I test rode, the 650 feels very nimble. If you learn how to corner well, it does a fine job of twisties.

That is my .

[Duane]

The only shortcomings I have noticed are if you get stuck behind a slow moving vehicle on a hill, and you lose your rpm's and some speed, it will probably not recover top speed until you crest the hill.

I experienced this yesterday; went on my steepest freeway hill yet and got stuck behind a slowpoke going 50 in a 70mph for a few minutes. I was able to get back up to 70 after I passed him but it was very sloooow going and took damn near full throttle.

[jonnythan]

The only shortcomings I have noticed are if you get stuck behind a slow moving vehicle on a hill, and you lose your rpm's and some speed, it will probably not recover top speed until you crest the hill.

I experienced this yesterday; went on my steepest freeway hill yet and got stuck behind a slowpoke going 50 in a 70mph for a few minutes. I was able to get back up to 70 after I passed him but it was very sloooow going and took damn near full throttle.

What gear were you using to accelerate back up to 70?

When this happens to me on my Virago 535, I drop it down to 4th and that'll bring me right up to 65 or so real quick.

My bike is really luggin' in 5th gear at 50 mph, too. I usually stick to 4th until I'm over 55. Is the V-Star's gearing that much different?

[tortus]

My bike is really luggin' in 5th gear at 50 mph, too. I usually stick to 4th until I'm over 55. Is the V-Star's gearing that much different?

Typically on my v star I was in 5th once I was over 40-45mph. A need for a sixth gear is a common complaint against the bike.

[Duane]

I stayed in 5th gear.
I'm in 5th gear by the time I hit 40mph generally so I didn't think about dropping it down one. I'm not sure if dropping down to 4th would help or not, I'll test it out this weekend!