Quick Ride
Quick Ride
YAMAHA V-STAR 1100 CLASSIC Fat-fender fever
NEVER LET IT BE SAID THAT Yamaha doesn’t have a cruiser for everyone. Situated amongst the Road Stars and Royal Stars, for example, is the V-Star line, which is largely oriented toward newer, less-experienced riders. The hope, of course, is that buyers will embrace the motorcycling lifestyle, and eventually upgrade to the bigger, more costly machines.
That said, the newest addition to the V-Star squad is the 1100 Classic, which is a retro-style spin on last year’s 1100 Custom. The main difference is the Classic is endowed with features such as valanced fenders instead of slightly bobbed jobs, floorboards as opposed to more plebian footpegs, and a nifty heel-toe shifter.
While the rest of the many aesthetic alterations are less obvious, they’re still noticeable when the Classic and Custom are cheek to cheek. Notice that the
cylinder finning on the Classic’s 1063cc, air-cooled, sohc V-Twin wears black paint, the conventional fork gets Royal Star-style covers, and even the revamped art-deco speedo adds extra panache to the already elegant teardrop gas tank.
Although the Classic differs from the Custom in appearance, the duo shares an almost identical ride. The newest V-Star, however, is even more user-
friendly. Take the new scoopedout saddle: Whereas you sit on the Custom, you positively sink into the Classic. Yamaha claims the Classic’s seat height is taller than the Custom’s, but it feels lower. Once settled in, riders of average height will find the reach to the redesigned wide-set handlebar and the distance to the floorboards just about perfect-neither too stretched-out, nor too cramped.
Thumb the starter button and roll on the throttle, and the V-Twin’s tractable power (50 horsepower and 56 foot-pounds of torque, so says the CW dyno) becomes apparent. Easily controllable for newbies yet still satisfying to veteran riders, the engine has enough low-end grunt to rumble happily from stoplight to stoplight. Equally important, the triple-disc brakes slow the bike without hesitation. The suspension, too, offers little to complain about, our only gripe being the same one we had with the Custom-
damping could be better. Nonetheless, the Classic is easy handling in both lowspeed and swifter backroad environments. As for the latter, it’s wise to keep in mind that the bike, with its broad floorboards, isn’t exactly teeming with cornering clearance.
It is, however, overflowing with style. And at $7999, the Classic costs just $100 more than the Custom. With this latest VStar, Yamaha seems to have covered all of its cruiser bases.
Wendy F. Black
