Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127967
Th e in crea se in torque has allo w ed taller gearing in the five-speed gearbox that also fea tu res re des ig ne d li n kage and improved shift-fork d esign. Fina l drive is a lo w-ma intenance, ex p os ed shaft, similar to what is found on the VStar 650. We we re ridin g Eu ro pea n -s pec bikes, which evidently ha ve to com p ly wi th ti ght er sou n d specs tha n u.s.bound models, makin g the bike slig htly le s s p ow er ful (5 pe rcen t d o wn , Yama ha says) a n d q u ie te r th an th e bik e w e'll see d eli ver ed in the Un ited ~S ta tes . Arou nd 60 hp is cla im ed for the Eu ro vers ion - ba sicall v no d iffe re n t ,'than the Virago' s ou tp ut - but it is the ;'a mo u n t o f th e torqu e prod uced , a n d where, that really sets it apart from the 'old Virago. A big fa t ch u nk of low-end g ru n t puts real fu n in lighting u p the rear tire . over paint lines in the st ree t, or sim ply "allow ing one to lea ve the transm ission in top gear to chug throu gh the s ma ll . tow ns in the coas tal foo thills . Ar ound"town beha vior is reason ably .ag ile, a nd the chass is had a ne u tral-en ough stee r- in g feel for m e to thin k I m ight have wa ndered into Switzerl and . On ce we brok e free of Fran ce's ve rsio n of urban sprawl, we started riding a t a d istin ctl y nonc ruiser p a ce , a nd, underthat duress, the lower of the stag gered dual exhausts wo uld hit the pavement in tight righ t-hand ers, thou gh the foo tpeg tou ch in g d o wn g ave amp le wa rn ing that you we re at the lim it of the d esign envelope . Under these conditions it was fairly easy to overw helm the sing le, h id den (for t h at h ard tail look ) sh ock, but ridden as it wi ll no d oubt be ri d den, th e V-Star has a surp rising ly su pple ride for a cru iser, offering a useful 4.4 inches of tra vel at the rear , and 5.5 in ch es from th e ne w , 41m m for k. The major com plaint with the rear shock is too littl e reb ound d amping for ou r taste. The ag ility of the bike is a little bit surpris ing conside ring the ran gy wheelbase of 64.6 inches, but the low sea t and center of grav ity , as well as w ide bars, help make th e V-Star easy to ma nage. For the for getful or lazy, self-eanceli ng turn s ig na ls a re p art of th e co n tro ls package. Comfo rt was good on our da ylong ride, wi th plent y of room for my 6-foot2 frame. T he seat was the first thing to bother, with "ho t spots" wa rming up as the foam seemed to lose its life a fte r abo ut an hour of sitting . The rem ovabl e passen ger seat wa s occu pied for a sho rt tim e by a Yama ha Eu ro pe e m p loyee, and she (na tu rally) sai d she was quite comfo rtable. The speedometer is tank-mounted, keeping it separate from the headlight, Ya ma ha says , to m ak e it e as ie r to change to a n af te rmarke t lamp, a ll part of the effo rt made to ensure th at the VS tar's s tyling is as e asy to tailo r to yo ur tast es as the other mod els in the Sta r li ne . As ever, th e re a re a w ide range of ac cesso r ies ava ilab le f ro m Yamaha t o dr e s s up yo u r custo m . Pa int qu ali ty was good, th e bik e look ing m ost menacing in all bl a ck with red pinstripes. The V-Sta r 1100 h an g s fro m th e Price/ Valu e branch of Yama ha's cru iser marketing tree, and for good reason : It sells for a good price ($7799), performs well and looks go od , making it a good . valu e. The cus tom-styled 1100 will more than likely be joined by a more classicstyled 1100,.for a pair of models like the 650 line. The Virago 1100, on wh ich the big V-Star is based, will continue at least one more year in the Uni ted States. Per haps that' s w hen ' we might see a V-Star 1100 Classic, Yama ha ? The bike sho uld be ava ilable by Ap ril i 999. At the end of the da y, it finally mad e se ns e tha t w e we re on th ose roads on this bike: The V-Star is a cruiser for people who like to ride" 0 XVS1100 V-Star Specifications 75·degre e V-twin SOHC air-cooled four-stro ke Displacement 1063cc Bore x stroke 95.0 x 75.0mm Compression ratio 8.3:1 Max power 62 hp @ 5750 rpm Max torque 63 h. -Ib, @ 2500 rpm Lubrication We t sump Carburetion (2) Mikuni BSR37 with T1'S C lutch type Multiplate wet Transmission 5-speed Final drive Shah Generator AC magneto. 320W @ 50oo rpm CHASSIS Overall length 96 .7 in. Overall width 35.2 in. Overall height .43.1 in. Seat height 27.2 in. Wheelbase 64.6 in. Ground clearance _ 5.7 in. D ry weight 575 lb. Frame type . .Double-cradle tubular steel Fuel tank capacity : 4.5 gal. S uspen sion Front .41mm telescopic forks: . 5.5 in. travel R ear .. .Hardtail-Iook Monocross single shock w / preload adjustment: 4.4 in. travel Bra kes F ront Dual 298mm discs. w/differe ntial-bore two -piston calipers R ear Single 282mm disc w/opposed-pislon caliper Fronttire 110/ 90-18 Rear tire 170/85-15 A vailable colo rs Black: red; silver/gold R etail price S7799 Engine 00 0\ 0\ ,..... -.;t< ' l-< OJ .o E OJ :> o Z 15