Motorcycle.com

Dangerous Design of Windshield

This bike is dangerous because of the windshield design. The air flow under the bottom edge of the windshield at 70mph(which is really about 63 by the gps) is forced up at your face. This causes tremendous wind buffeting and throws your helmet back on your head. Your teeth chatter and you cannot ...see the terrain on the side of the road clearly. After 15 mins of riding, you are exhausted. The problem is that they have curved the bottom edge of the windshield forward and it acts like a wing airfoil to bend the air flow up at your face. You get it from both the left and the right sides. It creates a tremendous buffeting effect on your face and head. I ended up having to have my nose cotterized because the air flow dried out my nasal arteries and the arteries cracked. Worst nose bleed of my life. Actually life threatening by the time I got to the Dr's office. Yamaha is said to be working on a fix. After looking at other blogs, (motorcyclecruser.com) I purchased some Bucks Lowers and it helped greatly to change the airflow around the windshield. Front suspension does clank and the back is not much better. If you buy this bike, be ready to buy the Bucks Lowers also. I will say that I love the fuel injection and the low center of gravity. Makes the bike handle well on the road. I will rate this bike poor on quality because of the faulty design of the windshield. I wonder what other design flaws they have not addressed besides the windshield. None that I have found so far, but the jury is still out. Oh yes, the dumbest design award goes to the helmet clip. You have to take the seat off to clip your helmet to it. What is that all about? Read Full Review

YAMAHA V STAR 1300 TOURER

IT'S THE BEST BIKE FOR THE MONEY!!!! I WILL PUT IT AGANST ANY OTHER 1300 ... Read Full Review

Good bike for the dollar

I bought this Yamaha this year and is the first bike for me in 26 years. It has not dissappointed me. The bike rides nice, has loads of power and the braking is awsome. I bought a set of lowers from Yamaha which improved the wind buffeting problem. I am not a high speed rider, so the bike certainly ...meets my expectations. But if I wanted it, this bike can out power most bikes out there. Read Full Review

This Star is a winner

I have had my 2008 V Star 1300 Tourer for two years now and just passed 21,400 miles. It is a great bike for a "mid size" bike. Plenty of power and a smooth ride. I average 46 mpg freeway and 37 city (it is the RPMs that factor into gas mileage. I would not go so far as to say that it is p...erfect, but I plan to ride this bike for many more enjoyable miles. Read Full Review

Update on Wind Buffeting

This is an update on my previous review on the design of the windshield. I finally removed the factory windshield because of the drag and the wind noise created by the lowers and installed a batwing fairing with the tall windshield. I also bought the extensions for the bottom of the fairing which ...made a real difference. I would recommend that set up or something similar for anyone considering purchasing this bike. The wind noise whistling through the factory windshield is gone and the comfort level is vastly improved. The ride is much quieter and the bike feels better in the wind. I don't feel the drag on the handlebars and the air flow is much better and I can hear the engine purr. The buffeting is gone and it is now a much improved animal. I would like to see Yamaha get on board with this, because it makes this bike a pleasure to ride. I only have about 5,000 miles on the bike to date, but now I feel like I can take her out on a longer ride without being miserable. A nice side on this, is that the gas mileage improved also. Now, if you can figure out how to make a v-twin a little smoother so your butt doesn't go numb, we would have a real winner. Read Full Review