Prettiest cruiser of the decade…I have the blue 2007, has 29000 miles on it as of aug 2022. I have black cobra 2into1 pipes on it and power commander. Powerful and easy to ride.
My dad has owned this exact bike since new in '07. This engine REALLY SHINES at high RPM. I own a '14 Victory XC. I just dislike the factory seat and bars on the star 1300. I would gladly purchase the Stryker 1300 that shares the same engine (for the right price) even though I'm a Victory Motorcycles addict.
Ride V-star 1300 2014 already 3 years....love this bike. time by time I'm thinking to change at Harley and time by time I'm testing Harley's different models as fat buy,breakout,fat bob,road king and street glide. to say true, I love Harleys but I don't feel better at that bikes. With my 188 sm high and 108 kg I feel even better at my V-star 1300. and second - it's a mud price at Harley bikes and then their service. so I stay with my V-star. Just one what I don't like in my bike,is high sens with gears. I mean rider have to be more attentive with gears, to make right gear in right time ,other way bike starts shake and engine makes rather strong vibrations.this was much easier at Harleys. but with a time all riders are handling it easy. max speed which I did at highway in Germany was 190 km/h.,but was really difficult to stay in a saddle of the bike,wind wanted to take me in a clouds to angels. most comfortable ride at highway is 120-130 km/h. without windshield . I ride always without, 'cos my windshield is not to high and doesn't cover my head,so at high speed windshield gives all wind blowing at my helmet and helmet starts vibrating at my head,it's dangerous,like that person looses normal visibility.so personally for me without windshield is better. other......all is good,I'm happy.
These are great bikes for the money. I am going to get another to go along with my Victory Cross Country. The emission set up does make on/off throttle jerky, but that can be overcome with riding experience. However far and away the best way to eliminate this is to send the ECU to Ivan's Performance Products for a reflash for about 350 dollars. It will completely transform this bike to ride like it should. If you in addition to the reflash add a bigger air kit and cobra slip on mufflers it will add 15 hp and close to the same torque and put a big grin on your face. Stay with the OEM muffler, then hp will be 12 to 13 more if you like it quiet like I do. For that big shield one can opt to get a Clearview Shield. They can come in several heights so you do not have to look through it, and they will be, I believe, 4 inches wider for more wind management. Also I think if you ask they will put a recurve on the shield to better lift the air over you. Super reliable bikes.
I have a 2007 and you are right, it loves the higher RPMs which is fine with me because I like them too. The only thing I don’t like is the weight. Very heavy bike for an old small man like me to push around. Thanks for the review my hillbilly friend. Read more scriptures. Nothing like God’s Word.
Love you guys videos,as well as words of wisdom.have watched about 50 of them while I've been shut in for the hurricane down here in south Georgia.how difficult is it to buy a bike out of state if I wanted to buy one from you guys?
I have a custom 650 right now and I'm loving it, but I definitely want the 1300 for big rides. I've been looking at the midnight star custom, specifically.
Bought an 1100 to flip. Aside from the goofy ass maintenance, it was a great bike. Felt really, really good on it. I’d be curious as to weather the 1300 would be a good comparison, or rather the 950?
I think i like the exhaust note of the 950 better, but more power is seldom a bad thing. The 950 doesn't seem to have that strange chirp/lag either. I rather like the larger windshield. I definitely need to look at these, the 950, and the Vulcan 900. Have a 99 Shadow 1100 now, but it's time for something newer and FI. Your videos are great and very helpful. Thank you.
I am currently stuck between the 2016 v-star 1300 with the windscreen, hard bags, and highway bars with 20k on it, or the 2020 vulcan S (ABS). Vulcan is only a few hundred dollars more with 1 mile.
I have a 1300.... Mine is a 2014 and it sounds so much meaner than yours. I LOVE V STARS. Take that shield off and experience the bike for real. I have the red....... I want the blue as my third bike.
For occasional two-up riding for extended trips, would this be a better choice than the 950? My wife and I are not the smallest people, but I am a relatively new rider.
I had one for 11 years and in my personal opinion, simply the best cruiser ever built and owned by me and also the xvs 650 dragstar classic. Simply the best. I now own a 2022 Honda rebel 1100 DCT and is the best latest bike I’ve had, 69 year old grump with extreme rheumatoid arthritis with a low seat is absolutely great, more than enough oomf to cope with for a short shit like me lol.
belt drive, great bike but is very lean stock. needs to have the ecu flashed or a fuel controller to smooth out the lag and throttle jerkyness. Don't short shift it like Sean does, it revs higher like he said.
Clutch is cable-actuated and has a medium pull weight and not a particularly long engagement zone. As Anthony's said, it is belt drive. Low speed handling is quite good, as these bikes have 34-35 degrees of lean before the floorboard feelers scrape and the bike is not overly heavy. Dislikes? With a windscreen, there is a lot of helmet buffeting unless you install lowers. Some folks don't like the factory saddle (that can be said of any motorcycle, though), and some find they get cramps between the shoulder blades with the factory bars. A set of bars off a Royal Star Tour Deluxe- or the aftermarket equivalent- takes care of that without needing new cables. Some folks whine about wanting a sixth gear, but these bikes will go over 130 from the factory, and the oversquare engine loves RPMs, so the overdrive fifth puts it right in the fat of the powerband at Interstate speed, and I regularly get around 50 MPG at 80 MPH. These things regularly go over 100,000 miles without needing anything more serious than a stator replacement. Single best value in a mid-size cruiser, so of course Yamaha stopped making them...
This will sound stupid to most of you but here goes. Can you and is it ok to engine break on a cruiser? I used to have a vlx 600 and I would engine break on it and the back tire would lose grip at times. Granted it was my first bike but the bikes after it would never happen. Bikes were ninja 250 and my current sv650. Thanks for anyone who would answer. Keep up the great content SRK
westboundNinja1 I have this bike and my rear brake needs serviced. Don’t have the extra money at this time so I’ve been downshifting and using the front brake to slow down and stop. It’s fine. I am going to get the rear brakes fixed next spring along with a new rear tire. My rear tire tread is gone. Bike has just over 11,000 miles. I just adjusted my riding style to compensate for the brake problem but the front brake is the one you have to have. I believe the front is 70 percent of the braking power compared to 30 in the rear.
Sounds like the rear tire on your VLX was old, probably hard and not sticky so no traction. You probably just needed a new tire. But it is correct what other poster said. The front tire does most of the braking.
Michael Phelps wingspan 😂 So, did you like this *better than the 950 or? Also, what's your guesstimate on full throttle for this? Please and thank you :-)
Depends on your level of experience, your size/ strength, and what you plan on doing with it. My wife's first bike is a Vulcan 900. Great nimble bike, but on the Interstate, it gets blown around and it feels pretty tapped out at 80 MPH. A few mods will help, but that engine will still only produce a max of about 63 HP at the rear tire (with pipes, CAI, and an ECU flash). My V Star 1300 makes over 70 stock at the rear tire, and with pipes, CAI, and a plug & play fuel controller I have over 90, and the bike only weighs about 80 pounds more than the Vulcan. It is very stable on the Interstate and 80 MPH feels like it is just getting started. Around town and back roads? Vulcan 900 is a great choice (so is the V Star 950, and the fit & finish is considerably nicer than the Kawi). Long hauls and high sustained speeds, especially if you might have a pillion? I don't believe it is possible to beat the V Star 1300 for the money.
I am riding a virago xv535 1992 as im on the A2 license, when i get the full A i want one of these as they re pretty fast while still giving you that beautiful looks, sound and torque. To start, i wouldnt really go sraight to thay since it weights over 300kg. Something like a sportster would be better because of the weight. I have never tried to pick my bike after a drop but i honestly dont know how i will do it 😂 and it isnt as heavy as that xvs. I know about the turning in the opposite direction or to lift it backwards, but have never tried
It's a major W in so many ways, gas mileage good too. You can easily swap the stock shield and 350-400 bucks for an ECU remap sounds reasonable. About as nice a cruiser at it's price point and not a heavy weight either. A go.
The 950 isn't more powerful then the 1100. The 1100 has nearly 10 ftlbs of torque and 10hp more than the 950. The 950 is smoother because of direct injection and looks unique with its 2 in one exhaust though and is still plenty powerful.
Seeing you ride, makes me think that maybe i rely too much on engine braking and rev matching to slow down before a stop or before a big turn... is it a preference thing? Is one way better than the other?
Preference. Pulling and holding the clutch and using all brakes will wear your pads quicker. I prefer to rev match and let the engine do some of the work myself.
You keep talking it has tons of power exactly in a moment you had to downshift while making a turn, because the bike wasn't pulling. It also has a very poor sound to it in my opinion, seems more like Suzuki GS500 than a cruiser.
Ive got a 1300 midnight star. 2008 and I really like it. It has also got a cobra slipon and the sound is amazing. Got a video here: Yamaha XVS1300A Midnight Star Cobra slipon ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-CzajJ69pbrc.html Greetings from Sweden.
I think I'm a little young to ride one of these styles of bike being that I'll be 20 next season. But I rode my friends 1300 for shits n giggs and let him ride my zx10r and I'm grabbing 1 of these next season and getting rid of my zx10r.
Super late to the party but for any extended riding, except for track days, you're on the right track imo age irrelevant. Inline fours, short wheelbase, and radically different frame/fork specs on sport bikes have their place for sure, but for everyday riding and extended rides in general this bike or a 1500 Vulcan with shaft drive are very hard to beat. Have fun, ride within reason 😊😊 Hope you got one of these.
Imo the 950, the 1100, and the 1300 are a wash in performance, each model adding hp and tq along with weight, these are not racing bikes, and will hold there on with any cruiser, even the 650 will do that, but it is my opinion these ugly belt drive systems are junk, i hate those on bikes, it's not a effing sewing maching, would it be so hard to make the 950 and 1300 shaft drive like the,650/1100, is that too much to ask. The carb /fi issue is not that big a deal, if you take care of your bike it's a non issue. Yes i'd say fi is a tad better. But not worth looking a that giant belt drive system protruding from the side of it... you'll see that mess every day. It's dumb as heck. Also imo i like the look of the 650/ 1100, and i'll take the 1100 any day. Also imo if your ok with the belt the 1300 is a great bike....
the 1100s are junk the starter clutch issues on them suck and shaft drive is pain in the ass when you have to take off your rims also 75 percent of bikes have a chain or belt its not a dumb a idea belts can last for long time if you buy a quality replacement belt plus shaft drive robs you of so much power
Leaving looks out of the equation, belt drives are lighter, have fewer moving parts, require virtually zero maintenance, and are more efficient at transmitting power, so they are far from "dumb". As for fuel injection, if you travel on roads with dramatic elevation changes, FI is far superior to carburetors. It is also better in northern climates where the bike will sit for extended periods...no varnish in the bowl, which is inevitable unless one completely flushes the fuel system. The liquid cooling on the 1300 also means the oil doesn't break down as quickly and the engine doesn't suffer in stop & go or high-load situations in hot weather. I have a Virago 1100 sitting right next to the 1300, so I am very aware of the differences, and the 1300 is a much nicer machine for long trips and going up and down the mountains here in northern Wyoming.
