2009 Yamaha V Star 1300 User Ratings

Love my bike

The vstar 1300 rides so easy . The bike has real good balance and it handles very good at low speed parking lot type driving . The tranny is a little jerkey in the low gears though so feather the clutch at these low speeds. From other reviews this is common to the 1300 . Also common is a clunk from the front suspension which can be cured by Progressive springs up front . The bike is quite quick as you get up into the gears. And in lower gears it holds its own against the competition . Tall 5th gear is a pure joy on this bike on the highway. This is my favorite thing about the bike . I can cruise the highway very comfortable. The stock seat is better than most any stock seat. I`m keeping it stock. The suspension soaks up the road imperfections pretty good. One last thing this bike is no harder to ride and handle than a Suzuki C50, I`ve had that bike. But it has a substantial bit more power. So if your looking at a 800cc size bike because you think the 1300cc Vstar is more than you can handle, I tell you it`s not . Save yourself some money and go right to the 1300 Vstar , and it hangs in there with the 1500,1600 size bikes quite nicely.

I recently purchased an 09 V Star 1300 and put about 700 miles on it so far. This is an outstanding bike in so many ways. I am very impressed with the power and smoothness of the liquid cooled, fuel injected engine. There's a muted rumble out of the stock exhaust which I think sounds good and isn't annoying. With the overdrive fifth gear, the vibration is kept to a minimum, especially at freeway speeds.

The seat is comfortably wide and flat and I have had no trouble on long rides. The bike is fairly nimble for a 700 pound cruiser. With its low center of gravity, it is very well balanced and extremely stable both around curves and pushing the speed limit on the freeway. I find the brakes to be completely adequate. I also really like the floorboards and heel-toe shifter.

The fit and finish on the bike is top quality. I like chrome and there could have been more of it. However, you can purchase any number of after-market chrome bits to dress things up if you want to. I appreciate the wide tires, which I've found to be very stable when riding over irregularities in the road surface. The styling is excellent and I've gotten numerous compliments on the bike in the short time I've owned it.

The only complaint I have (and its a minor ones) is that there's no tach or fuel gauge. I should think that this class of cruiser should have both standard. However, I ride by the seat of my pants and the bike likes to rev, so I do not feel hindered by not having a tach. As for the fuel gauge, a low fuel light comes on when there's about 1 gallon left in the tank. I have been getting anywhere from 42 to 49 miles per gallon.

The transmission produces a good clunk when shifting into first gear, but otherwise the tranny works smoothly. I understand that clunk is normal in Yamaha transmissions. There is a distinct whine from the drive train at lower speeds, but I also understand this is to be expected.

All in all, I highly recommend this motorcycle to anyone interested in a great mid-sized cruiser.