650 for starter / highway?

[tropicalhotdog]

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?

[Dichotomous]

the Vstar 650 is not very powerfull, it wont be a power problem, the only problem it could be is that its heavy. riding around on a scooter probably gave you most of the non-model-specific skills to be on a 2nd bike, so if you wanna go 1100 vstar or suzi M50 or something, that would also be ok. also consider the naked bikes, they are not just sportbikes without clothes. Cruisers seem to limit your ability to ride sporty, and supersports seem to limity your ability to cruise, but a standard/naked seems to allow you to do everything. thats just my biased take.

[tortus]

To be perfectly blunt, you couldn't pay me to ride 200 miles of freeway on the V Star 650. That would be one miserable experience. The V Star has two strikes against it making it really bad on the freeway

-- no wind protection. At the very least if you go this route, get a good windshield. Otherwise it's much like someone constantly pelting softballs at you, as my friend put it.

-- no power. It's got about 40hp. At freeway speeds the engine is really pushing it (the bike needs a sixth gear IMO), and it just seems like the thing is going to fall apart at any second. It of course won't but it's not a pleasant experience.

In contrast, I've had the opportunity (heh) to own two other 650cc bikes of a very different cloth: The Ninja 650R and now the SV650S. Both bikes take the freeway like champs. Due to their fairings, windshields, sixth gear, and almost double the horsepower.

[tropicalhotdog]

Both responses are helpful - thanks. I'm not much of a fan of the looks of the Ninja or SV. I like a more classic look. The V-Star Silverado 1100 looks to be set up a bit more for highway use, but that might be more bike than I want for a first bike (I don't count my Vespa LX150, which is easier to ride than a damn bicycle).

I guess that gets back to my question of whether it's reasonable to think there is a good starter bike that's also good on the higways.

[Scoutmedic]

The 650 is a good cruiser choice. I'd look for one with a windshield or plan on getting a windshield if you're going to be doing interstate riding. The weight will actually be an assett with the truck traffic. My S50 is about 460lbs and I get tossed around by the wind quite a bit more than my friends on heavier bikes.

Be sure to sit on a bunch of different bikes at dealerships and shows to make sure and find the one with the right feel before making a final decision. Almost all of the manufacturers have a suitable cruiser for beginners. Yamaha VStars, Kawasaki Vulcans, Honda Shadows, Suzuki Boulevards, Moto Guzzi Nevadas, Harley Sportsters, etc, etc. The Suzuki's and Sportsters are on the "upper end" of the spectrum at 805 and 833 respectively.

Good Luck, Have Fun and Stay Safe Out There!

[Wrider]

My Suzuki Volusia (read: 01 version of the M50) was just fine at 75-80 MPH for extended periods. I took it about an hour one time without the windshield, but I'm a speed freak sometimes, so I was doing 85-90 the whole way (speed limit is 75 here). Without the windshield it kinda sucked, but with the windshield it was very nice and comfortable.
Wrider

[dr_bar]

This one seemed to have no problem on the highway...

I was impressed when we completed that trip (3000+ kms) and Blues didn't have a problem with the bike...

[Veda]

The milk crate mod is required for highway touring.

[gsJack]

I'd do 200 miles of freeway on a V* 650 and you wouldn't have to pay me. Only 40 HP? I've done my last 8 years and over 120k miles on a 40 HP bike, done a number of 400-500 miles days running the Interstates at an indicated 75-80 mph all day long, and run with all sorts of bikes in the mountain twisties when I got there.

If it must be a cruiser, I'd prefer something like the Vulcan 500 rather than the V* 650, but I really still prefer a standard type bike myself. I also prefer a naked bike so I can put on the amount of windshield I like; a big Plexi 2 shield for winter thru spring rains and a smaller Spitfire type for summer thru fall.

Here's a Cycle World comparo of 10 budget bikes that might be of interest to you, any of which I'd consider suitable for a "beginner bike" and most of which I'd consider riding anywhere and I'm far from a beginner, it includes the V* 650, Vulcan 500, GS500, Ninja 500, Buell Blast, etc:

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v443/ ... sOnWheels/

[Ian522]

Have you considered the Kawi Vulcan 500? Has a 6th gear and supposedly can smoke any other middleweight cruiser. Costs about a grand less than the v-star as well. But its a parallel twin...not sure if you had your heart set on a V-twin or not.