Yamaha V-Star 650 Custom Review - Best beginner cruiser?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ต.ค. 2024
- Yamaha's V-Star 650 Custom, or XVS650 has been around for a long while, so what makes it such a good option for first time riders who want a cruiser?
Here's a look at the main features and a ride on Yamaha's iconic beginner cruiser option.
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This is my first cruiser, not sure if my 84 Honda Magna V65 counted...got a sweet deal on a single owner 2009 with 6700 miles. I've put 2000 miles on it so far this season and I've got no regrets. Cheap aftermarket parts, east to wrench on and with a bit of tweaking I've got the ergonomics dialed in to fit me almost perfectly.
They're a solid machine, with that proper traditional styling which is getting rare on the newer smaller cruisers!
My baby. Love my 2013. Just a perfect bike for around town.
Just passed my class and purchased a Yamaha vstar 650 classic wont start riding til end of May very scared and excited although I passed the class. I can’t even imagine going this fast yet ☺️
Nice choice! Don't rush it, the speed comes naturally later - even if it's just cruising on the highway, all the low speed skills are the important stuff starting out.
CONGRATS 👏
GTHANG thank you 😊
I have the exact same bike in the Silverado configuration great bike not enough top end but it's very torquey
Head to the parking lot brother, practice them brakes and low speed maneuvers. Gotta learn to stop before ya can go fast! Good luck and happy cruisin!
Awesome video I been riding 20yrs and sold my gsxr to go back to a 650 vstar my last one I had 98 thousand miles on it with no issues just running Yamaha lube 20 50.plus riding 73 mph I get 230 miles to a tank.i just love these bikes
Wow that is a lot of miles, and a huge endorsement of this bike!
What year was your 650?
@@Zelgadis hi it was a 2004
Thanks for the video ! I have been away from riding about ten years due to a very severe auto accident, and decided to restart after riding since I was 8 years old. I thought I'd better start back easy with a cruiser, and decided my re-entry would be with a 2009 V-Star 650 Custom. Found a very clean one with 6,000 miles and have been very pleased with it. Great starter, Cruiser, and Mine is Dark blue with blue ghost flames from the factory. Next year probably go up a bit to the 1300 Star for some interstate cruising. Maybe even hang on to this one as haven't seen any other 09's with the blue flame paint theme. This bike is an instant classic !!! Vance-Hines pipes on it definitely let them all know I'm coming ! LoL !!!
Very nice, that sounds like it looks (and sounds) amazing! Great to hear you're getting back into it, the 1300 should be a nice step up.
Ron Ecke what tyres do u have
@@mullaway5746 Dunlop 404's, just mounted, front & rear, 0nly 10 miles on them. They replaced original Bridgestones that were dated 2009, 12 years old & although only 6k miles on them, too old to trust by me. $ 200 for the pair locally and couldn't find cheaper online. The new 404's are 3 months old according to the date code on each one. I have ridden many miles on Dunlop 404's in the past on other bikes, they are Yamaha approved for my bike, so I expect they will do fine.
I had one of these quite a few years ago. I did like the bike, but by the time I got to 40 - 45 mph I was ready for another gear - which sadly it didn't have. Oh for a 6th gear.
Yep, there's a few of the older machines that could do with that overdrive sixth!
A mate brought one, learner boy road anyway. I shook my head. 2018 bike. No fuel guage, no ABS, single front disk and drum rear, shocking lights and for a 650cc only 40hp. He loves it and has been spending about $3k on bits so far in addition to the $10800 drive away price. But my buddy loves it, its all he needs.
It's a funny thing like that really. It's not impressive looking at the spec sheet at all, although that's relatively normal for cruisers, but for the right rider they are a gem. Although that's true of many unassuming machines when I think about some of the unusual bikes I've thought were amazing.
If we enjoy owning and riding,any bike will be ok.
@@danielmcgrath9369 Yep at the end of the day, that's it. Doesn't matter if it's a 50cc moped or a brand new R1, as long as you're enjoying it, nothing else matters.
I have the xvs650 custom it was love at first sight and I found out its pros and cons afterward. Not much BHP power not particularly fast but its a cruiser so that a moot point. I have had some overtaking moments where it will go quick enough in the mid range to easily get the job done. BLAH BLAH BLAH! The most important part is wherever I take her once parked up I get at least one admirer from the grey haired elder statesman right down to a toddler with their secretly admiring dads in tow. Its not a harley thats true but it still catches eyes and i love it
Absolutely, in fact where I took the cover shot for the video, I had someone come up and tell me how good it looked and have a chat.
Nice review.i am returning to riding.thinking of this bike.
Definitely worth checking out, a nice amount of torque/power rather than what the 250s offer, but still also simple and just all about the ride.
On mine, front pipe exhaust did the exact same thing, rainbowed.
It would be a stainless header so pretty normal I think.
These things go for 8000 to 9000 even on the 2nd hand market here in Australia, most have extras added, guess they are popular, might as well get a brand new one, not much more and you get 5yr warranty
Yep, if the difference is that small, new makes a lot of sense.
Yep second hand market with a few thousand ks only about $1200 cheaper, then you need rego, tyre wear and transfer duty. They seem to hold value in the dealers anyway.
@@colinbell8250 Always worth keeping an eye on that when buying. Sometimes the second hand options aren't really that great a deal as a result, once you add that all up. I know I've been burnt before by not doing the math and thinking about all the associated costs.
Yes, yes it is.
I'm a Harley rider and my mate has just bought one of these. Get's it in a week and was sussing things out. More vid/info on the controls would have helped.
Yea I missed that area in this video unfortunately, I try and cover it now in the newer videos.
Torn between this and the Honda shadow phantom.
Understandable, they are cut from the same cloth and the Honda boasts the fuel injection on the newer ones which is nice, with a bit more performance, if a little heavier.
What is the difference between classic and custom?
Custom has the blacked out components and shorter guard/tail, where the Classic has the longer/deeper front guard and tail, plus more chrome.
Hey Kris! Looking at both this and the INT 650 after putting along on my tu250 for 6 months (want something that won't be knocked around so much in the wind, occasional longer trips on highway etc). Roughly same price - interested to know which bike you prefer, think is better etc both in terms of rideability, build quality etc. Cheers!
The Yamaha is hard to criticise having been around so long, and remaining a staple of their line-up, especially as far Yamaha reliability, but it's very much the traditional cruiser, very relaxed seating position, not really performance focused, plenty of cruiser attitude. It's a very fun machine. The Royal Enfield 650 is more the retro nakedbike, it's peppier and more performance orientated (for being LAMS), without the relaxed cruiser ergos and instead with the regular upright seating position, and I'd say sits closer to the MT-07 or SV650 than the XVS650 in the motorcycling work.
Both would benefit from some wind protection like a screen on the highway, but being bigger machines with more power should definitely be more stable and enjoyable at those speeds and in those conditions. Between the two I really think a large part would be how you see yourself riding. Traditional cruiser, or going for the more sporty edge of the Royal Enfield, with more ground clearance, lean angle available, etc.
Love my 650 Custom. But def not a bike for sustained 70mph+. Will buzz out on you at 80mph and leave you hanging for gitty-up. Perfect for around town, though. Peppy and jukey in the low-end. Bike lives for 45mph. Hope this helps.
Yeah it's between this, Suzuki S40, and the new Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650.
All good options, looks like the Super Meteor will have quite a bit more performance than the Yamaha and Suzuki.
"Drum rear disc brake" aye🤔🤔🤔
Ooops that one slipped through, good catch!
Dude.....what's wrong with drum rears? Do you realize there's not much weight on the rear of the bike in the even of braking? You can still block up the rears if you want to.
@@KainRazielMT read my comment again then slap yourself
@@archieandlittlebear8812 Mein gott
Emmm so the bike is air-cooled, did that get u any problems?
No, no issues at all with it being air-cooled, it's typical on the more traditional cruiser options.
A drum rear disc brake W T F One or the other pal
Thank Kris for the video. What do you think of the vstar compared to a Vulcan?
They're very very different machines to be honest. The V-Star is super traditional and really old school, where the Vulcan is just more modern in every way imaginable, from styling even through to performance. If I was after a more performance based starter cruiser I'd go the Vulcan for sure, if I wanted to keep it traditional the V-Star ticks all the boxes.
Kris, between the Vulcan and Honda Rebel 500, which one do you pick? Thanks.
Is this a good bike for 57 year old lady moving up from a small suzuski boulevard s40
It may be a small upgrade, although I think in many ways they both compete in the same kind of space and are roughly comparable.
Hello guys! Please let me know if buying a V-Star 650 with 12,000 miles is a good option. thanks!
That's fairly low mileage generally speaking, what year is it? The condition and service history will probably be the big factors there.
2:32 or is it disc drum brake?
Yep, a few people have pointed that out. Just a drum.
Nice bike
Throw those mirrors away & get some bar ens mirrors off ebay
Yep, those stock mirrors are definitely on the ugly side! Be a good bike to customise up a bit.
How many ks on a full tank you reckon?
How much are these going for roughly? I'm really looking into getting my motorbike license
What part of the world are you in? New they are on the pricier side, around $9k here in Australia, but they are also available on the second hand market at very affordable prices as they've been around so long with minimal changes.
@@MotoJournoKris Thanks. I would like to buy one in near future in Australia and then after few years save money and upgrade to Vmax lol.
@@midorihibiki It's a great place to start, and by the time you upgrade you'll really appreciate all that extra performance!
what a Drum rear Disk Braké ¿¿¿
Mispoke on that one, just a drum.
How does she drive with another passenger on the back
I honestly didn't give that a proper test I'm afraid!
Awesome,got an 98 Dragstar 650 as my 2nd bike now,loving it,started on a Virago 250 and now changed to this,great bike.Oh and yeah I still got the A2 license so this is perfect :)
Also I got it pretty customized with aftermarket pipes and it sounds awesome :)
th-cam.com/video/8igY68dX9Ng/w-d-xo.html here's a little vid of it I did after washing it haha
th-cam.com/video/JUz9ujAWPe4/w-d-xo.html or that one I did,next one might be a Harley in a few years but till then I'm sticking to this one :)
1st vid I see from you,was just looking to see some vids about my bike but you seem pretty aight,I subbed,love that u an aussie haha,I reckon u watch Million Dollar Bogan as well right hehe love that guy and his crazy adventures,greetings from Romania mate
@@Paul20661 That looks super clean and that would have been a great upgrade - these are such an underrated motorcycle. I hadn't seen his stuff before but looks very cool, I'll check it out!
Rather have the vulcan 900 simply because it is belt drive. I love yamaha's but this should be belt drive.
Here you can't start on the 900, only the Vulcan 650, but definitely an option if you don't have to worry about that.
Why do u need a 6th
An overdrive is nice for cruising at freeway speeds, but not strictly necessary.
I can go 90 mph in 5th
Yes I've topped my 650 off at a little over 105 before it began to struggle