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Getting up there in age and really have no need for my present touring bike which is a 1991 Honda Gold Wing, that I am the original owner, purchased new.

Thinking of going to a cruiser for just around town and rides out and around the countryside. Have been closely looking at and considering the new 2009 V Star 950.

Anybody have one of these yet ? Looking for any pro's or con's on this particular bike. Or even pro's or con's on Yamaha's in general !

i sat on one at the IMF bike show.
neat bike, low to the ground.
the 950 is a good sized motor.
make sure it fits you- seemed kinda low to me and i am 5'9.
Check the price point too, there is an 1100 and a 1300 ( which isnt selling well and ive seen them cheaper brand new, so check the price point you are willing to pay as you may get more bike for slightly more money).
Take a look at the type of riding you're doing too.
For around town and good jaunts, my 650 is fine.
for 2 up most of the time, id strongly consider thr 950 or 1100.
By the time you get to the 1300, I might be thinking of an entire bike all together...
good luck!

Social Distortion wrote:i sat on one at the IMF bike show.
neat bike, low to the ground.
the 950 is a good sized motor.
make sure it fits you- seemed kinda low to me and i am 5'9.
Check the price point too, there is an 1100 and a 1300 ( which isnt selling well and ive seen them cheaper brand new, so check the price point you are willing to pay as you may get more bike for slightly more money).
Take a look at the type of riding you're doing too.
For around town and good jaunts, my 650 is fine.
for 2 up most of the time, id strongly consider thr 950 or 1100.
By the time you get to the 1300, I might be thinking of an entire bike all together...
good luck!

Well, any new bike would be mainly for solo riding. My wife now has a problem with her neck and can not wear a helmet for very long, without her neck becoming painful and bothering her.

I learned to ride on a Triumph 650, many, many years ago. And have actually thought about getting another Triumph. I can pick up a real nice used one for about $4,800.00. Its an 03 with just over 1,000 miles.
I was thinking about getting the Triumph and keeping my Wing. Then after riding both, decide if I wanted to keep the Triumph or the Wing.

But then I came across the V-Star 950 and this bike has me really impressed. I am 5'11" and just sitting on it, the fit feels fine for me.
I hear what you are saying about some left over 1100 & 1300's. But I feel I would be almost getting back into Wing size, which I really did not want to do. Just want something to solo scoot my butt around !

Now I don't need any opinions.
Took delivery of my new V-Star 950 this past Wednesday !

Well a big and hearty to you. Hope you love it, and of course we'll all be waiting for your report on the bike.

I have also been looking at the new 2009 950Vstar. Features that I liked: a feather light throttle, a light easy-pull clutch. It has a dry weight at over 600 lbs. I particularly liked the teardrop style gas tank which is slim and features chrome accent flairs on the side. When I test rode it, it handled great on the freeway, accelerating to 100klms with no problem. The one thing I have an issue with is how wide apart the handle bars are. Because the bike is new, they do not have many after market options. I would be interested to know how comfortable the handlebars are after a few hours of riding. Congratulations on the new bike!

CC Ryder wrote:I have also been looking at the new 2009 950Vstar. Features that I liked: a feather light throttle, a light easy-pull clutch. It has a dry weight at over 600 lbs. I particularly liked the teardrop style gas tank which is slim and features chrome accent flairs on the side. When I test rode it, it handled great on the freeway, accelerating to 100klms with no problem. The one thing I have an issue with is how wide apart the handle bars are. Because the bike is new, they do not have many after market options. I would be interested to know how comfortable the handlebars are after a few hours of riding. Congratulations on the new bike!

Before purchasing the V-Star 950, I looked at just about every make and model of motorcycle that is offered for sale. BUT ! I just kept coming back to the V-Star 950, because I felt so comfortable on it. It just seemed to me that this motor cycle was manufactured for me. It fit me like a glove. I am 5' 11" tall and longest ride for me thus far was about 45 miles. Had no problem with handlebar width and do not expect any.
P.S. You could always let go of the handle bars and rest your arms !

Only problem I personally have with it, is that I have rode mostly a Gold Wing for the past 18 years. And when I took delivery of my new V-Star, I was doing 60 to 70 MPH on the interstate. Well, with no fairing or windshield, the air pressure on my chest was a surprise. Thus , right then and there I decided that I wanted and needed a windshield. But I also did not want to take away the sleek lines of this bike with a gawdy big windshield. So, after spending many hours on the internet and talking to dealers, I came up with a windshield.

I only wanted a windshield that would take the pressure from my chest, thus it would have to be about 12 to 15 inches in height. I finally came up with and ordered a SPORTECH CRUISE SERIES windshield. And I wanted a tinted one. Not all windshields come with a tinted option, but this one does. Part number that matches the V-Star 950 from Drag Specialties catalog is ( Clear # 2302-0037 ) and ( Tint # 2302-0040 ).

Good luck on your choice of bikes.

I am only 5' 6 1/2 inches tall and petite. Do you know where to look for handle bar options? Being in Canada, they do not have much available. The dealer thought that I might have to have some custom made but bumps up the cost of the bike. I am looking at the 950 Vstar cruiser.

CC Ryder wrote:I am only 5' 6 1/2 inches tall and petite. Do you know where to look for handle bar options? Being in Canada, they do not have much available. The dealer thought that I might have to have some custom made but bumps up the cost of the bike. I am looking at the 950 Vstar cruiser.

You could always look through the DRAG SPECIALTIES catalog. I am sure that they have many handle bar options. That is where I found the windshield that I will be putting on my V-Star 950

But keep in mind that one thing Yamaha did with the 2009 V-Star 950 was to add weights to the ends of the handle bars, in order to keep vibration to a minimum. Don't know if somebody could do that with a custom made handle bar.

you could still put a bar snake, or end weights on a custom set of bars, it shouldn't be that difficult.