2004 Yamaha V Star 1100 Custom

I have owned this bike for 5 months. It replaced a 1978 Gold Wing that I had had for 12 years and 70K miles. Thought I wanted to sport/tourer, but when I test road them, I found them uncomfortable. I test drove a lot of used cruisers before I bought my 1100 V Star. Very pleased with it once I got ... rid of the stock seat (torture) and replaced with a Mustang seat (heaven). Plenty of power, fairly simple (not water cooled), shaft drive, excellent brakes and low and very nimble for a 600 lb. plus motorcycle. It looks good too with the spoked wheels. I put on highway bars and pegs to change driving positions occasionally. 45 MPH on regular fuel. The bike came with a quick release windscreen and Willie and Max small saddlebags. The Mustang seat took care of some vibration that came on after 60 mph. Can't say enough about the Mustang seat....it is a pleasure to sit on and I can ride for hours on it.

I owned one of these with the wide back tire kit it was black with lots of chrome. I bought the bike with 2800 miles on it, for $4500 and it had sat for about a year. The bike fired right up, I took it easy for about a day since I was coming off a 250 cc helix as a learning bike. After that I ... was all over on it, 15,000 miles in just over a year's time.

Styling was a great plus on this bike, black and chrome, low slung, wide back tire kit, and a nice set of saddlebags.

Performance was good, not as potent as the bigger cruisers, but more than enough for most people. Gas mileage was good too, 45 mpg with peaks up to 48, and I'm 6'2" tall and 300 lbs.

It was fairly comfortable too, although on long days of riding the stock seat would slowly become something pleasurable to something painful. And this got worse as I added more miles onto the bike.

Reliability was good, besides having some issues with tires (not a big fan of BattleAxes now) The only other issue I had was one regarding overloading the bike. After 14-15k miles of riding it and 1-2k miles with a passenger (usually well over the weight limit with the both of us) The rear shocks were worn and the rear wheel bearing was making a sound.

Overall this was a great bike to move into the cruiser market with. Great styling (it turned more heads than my father's Vulcan 1500) Good performance, and easy to ride.

This is an outstanding motorcycle. I realize everyone says that about their motorcycle, but I love this bike. It has enough v-twin torque to take my wife and gear for a week-long tour and never have a problem passing cars on the interstate. It is not overly powerful however, but lets be honest, ... if you want that much power you'd be looking for a sport-tourer, not a cruiser. One design fault, an oil filter change requires taking off the front muffler. There is no excuse for this sort of design, but it is the only thing I don't like. Styling is absolutely great, love the long, low look. Handling is completely easy and neutral although my rear end seems to step out a little every now and then, nothing major, I have come to get used to it. I don't know if it's typical on these bikes because of the shaft drive or what.