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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127967
1999 Yamaha V-Star 1100 Based on the 1100 Virago. the new V-Star 1100 features a longer wheelbase and a lower seat height. 00 0'\ 0'\ ,..... ..,,; l-< By Mark Hoyer Photos by David Dewhurst aJ ..a E aJ :> o Z 14 n ce ou tsi de th e ch a os of N ice and the su rrou nd ing cities (drivin g wa s r ath er fr e e -form , much like Ital y but with less passio n and mor e menace), we hooked u p with a roa d to nowhe re into the moun tains toward a lunch stop a t the summit of a O r em ot e m ounta i n p ass above t h e Fre nc h Rivi e ra a nd th e Co te d ' Az u r. Th e sky was blu e, th e air clea n a nd cool, and the roa d a magnificen t p iece of w indi ng tarmac to which no cruiser co u ld p o ssibl y d o fair ju s tice . And ye t... Th ere I was grinning inside m y hel me t, throttle p in ned on the 1163cc, 75-degree V-twin, hammering down a lon g, bumpy straig htaway to th e next ISO-degree u p hill ben d . It seemed to me to be about the 700t h ti me I' d cla m pe d h a r d on th e dual, tw o-p isto n -ca lip er fro n t brak es to scru b off a bit of t h e s tu pi d ly h igh en tra nce spe ed for thi s kicked -out cus tom. But the brake lever was firm, the sto p pi ng power good, and the 575-pound (d ry ) XVSll00 slowed down quicker th a n one might expect, the n executed a fu ll lean turn wi tho u t a w ho le lot of un toward beh avior . We ha d been ga the r ed in Ju an les Pins for the world wide press introd uction fo r th e new V-Star 1100, a b ike billed as the stepping stone between the en try-lev el V-Sta r 650 a nd Ya ma ha 's "prem ium " li ne , ca pped o ff b y t he Ro ya l Star. An d o u t o n the ro a d it was n' t the first time we had experienced the unexpec ted . At the press confe rence, sty ling was d escribed with th e usu al vo cabulary thr own arou nd at a cru iser introd uction: Long, Lot», Large, Custom... It' s all true, bu t the n we go t d own to the nuts and bolt s of the thing, an d that's when it s ta r te d to get wei rd : Forged pistons, chrome-composit e cylinder coating , decreased reciprocati ng mass, stiffer crankcase, sharper throttle response, dual discbrakes. That was all true, too, and all part of ensuring tha t the V-Star had a high level of fu n c ti o n to complem e nt it s hi gh cruiser style. Power for the V-Star is provided by a rework ed version of the Virago engi ne, the principle aim bein g to increase lowend torqu e w hile decreasing noise a nd vibrati on . For t he inc reased low-e nd tw is t (63 ft.-lb . at 2500 rpm, Ya ma ha claim s), smaller carburetors (wit h throttle-position sensors) feed an intake system -w ith a new, larg er- volume airbox and revised cams hafts (a sing le cam per cylinde r). As for decreasing ' noise and vibra tion, the cylind er fin s hav e be en mad e thicker, the crankcases are stiffer, "s ile n t" ch ains are fitt ed, an d lig hter for ged pistons slid e insid e chrome-compo site cylinders . Th e new pi stons and cylind er coating allow tighter tolerances t hat b ot h q u ie t thi n g s d ow n a n d d ecrease o il co ns u m p tio n, w hil e th e weigh t reduction brou ght about by the us e of carburi zed con nection rod s with the new slugs has red uced reciprocating mass. Finally, the starter features a newsty le clu tch said to be more reliable than the one it replaces (a wea k point on.the old starter).