Church Of MO – 2005 Yamaha Royal Star Tour Deluxe

If the vast open road is calling, many bikes are well suited to take you to destinations far away. One of the bikes well suited to this task, but maybe lost in the sea of touring bikes is the V-Max-powered 2005 Yamaha Royal Star Tour Deluxe – the subject of this week’s Church of MO feature. Yamaha clearly knew it had something special in the V-Max, but it would be a shame to keep that engine from those seeking something other than a maniacal boulevard bruiser. Some people prefer the cruising lifestyle, but want the braun to let out their inner hooligan every now and again. As our own Sean Alexander discovered in 2005, the RSTD is capable of combining both worlds. Read on to see what Sean thought of the Royal Star Tour Deluxe, and don’t forget to visit the photo gallery for even more pictures.

As you examine the photos in this story, please take note of the outstanding finish on the brightwork and paint. The Tour Deluxe looks great in pictures and absolutely stunning in person. It is obvious that Yamaha’s product development people spent more than a few sleepless nights nailing-down the finish on this bike. I’m not really surprised though, as fit and finish was one of the things that helped Yamaha’s Road Star Silverado win our recent Touring Cruiser Shootout. With bikes like the R1, Silverado and Tour Deluxe, it looks like Yamaha has well and truly raised its styling game.

Even though it sounds a bit V-Maxish in that healthy V-Four sort of way and though the Tour Deluxe shares a good deal of engine architecture with the V-Max, its engine character is closer to that of a steroidally enhanced Road Star V-Twin. The 1,294cc engine sounds great and pulls like stink, right up to the point where you’d expect the V-Boost to kick-in, then the tuned-for-torque motor quickly signs-off and begs for an upshift. Is it just me, or does it make perfect sense to slap an actual V-Max motor in this thing and let it eat? It’s not like the chassis isn’t up to the task and the added weight would naturally mellow the V-Max’s hit. A bit of work with the polishing wheel and some faux finning, et viola! instant Badder-Ass Tour Deluxe. .

If you choose to chase that neighbor into the hills, you will be happy to learn that this big Yamaha is willing to play and handles quite a bit better than expected. Much of this is due to the fairly high mounting of its floorboards and good (for a cruiser) overall ground clearance. There is a hint of shaft-drive-jack, but it isn’t bothersome and can be used to slightly increase ground clearance, when you accelerate through corners. I have it on good authority, that the 700+Lb Tour Deluxe is quite happy to hack-sideways into corners, do burnouts and perform other sophomoric pranks, if its owner is as immature as the average motojournalist. I spent a good part of an exceptionally fun day, chasing Darb Retsinab through the VA countryside and the bike was happy to do anything I asked of it. True, it is wise to remember the Tour Deluxe’s weight when planning your stops, but its brakes never faded or gave a hint of protest. All in all, I would say this is a thoroughly engineered and well executed package that (much like the original Honda GL1000 Gold Wing) is capable of performing well beyond its intended role.

Neat touches abound on this bike. The quick-release windscreen and sissy bar can be mounted or removed in seconds and attach in a similar manner to Harley’s convertible accessories. However, the Yamaha attachment system seems much more solid than the Harley system and engages with a nice, positive click! Removing the windscreen and sissy bar/passenger backrest has a dramatic effect on the Tour Deluxe’s overall look, transforming the bike from comfortable cruiser to long and low boulevard blaster in a blink of an eye. The saddlebags are nicely styled and offer ample storage and a load carrying capacity of 20Lbs each. They open wide and give easy access, with positive latches that are easy to operate one-handed. As an added bonus, Yamaha includes a 5-Year Parts, Labor & Roadside Assistance Warranty on every Royal Star and Royal Star Tour Deluxe. Couple these features with the aforementioned uber-comfortable seat, good performance and best in class paint and chrome and you come up with a bike that scores high on the “Me Want one” scale.

Before you go off thinking I’m blinded by its goodness, let me add that the Tour Deluxe has three niggling traits, one is easy to fix and two are a bit tougher to rectify.

First, the stock windscreen is great for cold weather and/or rain, but it keeps the air a bit too still and leads to a stuffy cockpit on hot days. This is easily (and handsomely) fixed by buying the short windscreen from the accessory catalog and taking 10 seconds to swap it with the full height windscreen. My second complaint is the speedo which is styled like American car dashes from the 60’s and 70’s with a sweep needle that covers a broad swipe from left to right. It’s sort of neat-o, but instead of windscreen for the Tour Deluxe.using an actual needle and stepper motor, Yamaha decided to use a grey LCD display that totally ruins the retro theme and is hard to read in the daytime. This isn’t as easy to fix, but isn’t really that big of a deal either. Another complaint is the bulbous radiator shrouds that do a great job of shielding your lower legs, but block cooling airflow and look like something my cat just coughed-up.