|  | Topic : is this bike ok |  |
| | | Bender | | Chaac |  |  | | Reg. Date | : | 26/09/2010 | | Posts | : | 686 | | Location | : | Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia |
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| | Posted : 10 Mar 2012 - 10:35 Post title : is this bike ok | | | Gday a mate of mine is looking to buy his first big bike after getting his licence money being short for him at the moment he cannot afford a Bird, or much else really .
he has been looking at a 1 owner 1988 YAMAHA XV1100 (Virago 1100) or Vstar with 46,000k on it
my question is has any body owned one what are like reliable etc.
any input would be appreciated.
| BENDER Four wheels move the body. Two wheels move the soul.
Thunderbird 1600, Foran exhaust,cat eliminator,Twin T Bars, K and N filter, Led Headlight, Rivco driving Lights, Viking Bags,quick release sissy Bar,.Joker oil pressure Gauge met-cruise seat Dyno Tune + more
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| | | Calveitro | | Set | | | Reg. Date | : | 09/04/2011 | | Posts | : | 196 | | Location | : | Dongara, Western Australaia, Australia |
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| | Posted : 10 Mar 2012 - 11:06 Post title : Re: is this bike ok (Re: Bender) | | |
Bender wrote:
Gday a mate of mine is looking to buy his first big bike after getting his licence money being short for him at the moment he cannot afford a Bird, or much else really .
he has been looking at a 1 owner 1988 YAMAHA XV1100 (Virago 1100) or Vstar with 46,000k on it
my question is has any body owned one what are like reliable etc.
any input would be appreciated. |
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I owned a vstar for 50,000km of enjoyable riding with a few qualifiers. Like most Jap cruisers they are strangled at birth to make Yank riders feel safe on them. Simple mods (gonzo air box) and pipe will actually give them some HP to work with. Mine had those mods, mid range cams, lowered 1.5 inches, foreward controls and drag bars. At that point it was a not so bad a bike. Dull, slow, and poor handling but OK for a cruiser.
The starter motor is a weak point. If the starter clutch hasn't been upgraded expect to pay quite a lot down the track when it fails.
In short you are buying a 50hp 270kg bike which struggles to go anywhere. Depending on what you are willing to spend the performance can be improved dramaticly. They are reliable and they will cover 1000km in a day without drama if you have them set up to suit you. They are a good tourer.
I hate to recommend them to a first time buyer. Sure they are reliable, but they are slow, overweight and poor handling. Cruisers are for the jaded. I have mine because going fast or cornering don't matter that much anymore. Why start him out that way. Get him onto something that is fun and will give him the bug for life.
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| | | Bender | | Chaac | | | | Reg. Date | : | 26/09/2010 | | Posts | : | 686 | | Location | : | Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia |
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| | Posted : 10 Mar 2012 - 11:18 Post title : Re: is this bike ok (Re: Calveitro) | | | Thanks Calveitro these are all very interesting comments you have made which I will pass on, one of the limitations on which Bike for him to buy is an old back injury, so it has to be a cruiser.
| BENDER Four wheels move the body. Two wheels move the soul.
Thunderbird 1600, Foran exhaust,cat eliminator,Twin T Bars, K and N filter, Led Headlight, Rivco driving Lights, Viking Bags,quick release sissy Bar,.Joker oil pressure Gauge met-cruise seat Dyno Tune + more
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| | | mat1600 | | Thunderbird | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 06/03/2010 | | Posts | : | 8,596 | | Location | : | Bridlington, Democratic Independant State of Yorkshire, United Kingdom |
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| | Posted : 10 Mar 2012 - 11:24 Post title : Re: is this bike ok (Re: Bender) | | | What about something like a Hornet or a Bandit600 - both as common as muck and as reliable as a donkey. Cheap to run and no fancy bits, they also run sweet and the handling is spot on. The Bandit (Susuki) is a sit up bike - I never had any bother with mine and it was the only thing I could ride when I had a bad back.
| My first natural instinct is to breathe. My second is to evade tax's.
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| | | BlueNose | | Thor | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 29/09/2009 | | Posts | : | 2,478 | | Location | : | United Kingdom |
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| | Posted : 10 Mar 2012 - 14:35 Post title : Re: | | | Triumph Bonneville America or Speedmaster would be my choice if I had a limited budget. Short pipes, air filters one or two other mods gets you a cracking bike.
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| | | davetac1 | | Thunderbird | | | Reg. Date | : | 06/09/2010 | | Posts | : | 8,379 | | Location | : | Haverhill, Ma., United States |
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| | Posted : 10 Mar 2012 - 15:01 Post title : Re: (Re: BlueNose) | | | I have a number of friends who own a V Star 1100,air cooled, shaft drive and are geting excellent service out of em.Infact,before buyin my Tbird,I was also gonna buy a brand new VStar 1100,but discovered they dropped it and replaced it with a 1300 VStar tourer with a belt drive.The problem I found with that new 1300 was,it came up way short on power compared to the older 1100 shaft drive models.So I passed on it and continued looking until I saw the T bird. Dave!!
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| | | feduke | | Thor | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 11/08/2009 | | Posts | : | 2,441 | | Location | : | Daytona Beach, Florida, United States |
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| | Posted : 10 Mar 2012 - 15:28 Post title : Re: (Re: BlueNose) | | |
BlueNose wrote:
Triumph Bonneville America or Speedmaster would be my choice if I had a limited budget. Short pipes, air filters one or two other mods gets you a cracking bike. |
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Excellent advice!
| I'm a secondhand vegetarian. Cows eat grass. I eat cows.
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| | | sprint5t | | Set | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 07/02/2011 | | Posts | : | 355 | | Location | : | Ely, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom |
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| | Posted : 10 Mar 2012 - 20:29 Post title : Re: is this bike ok (Re: Bender) | | |
.. I've had 2 viragos (535 and 1100) and I loved them, ... put them in context of the times and alternative "custom" bikes and it was a very clever design, the parts were all in proportion, it was reliable, clean, comfortable, handled well ( within it's limits) and apart from re-spraying it and adding loud pipes I didn't (need to) change anything else on it.
John
| Thread Killer Extraordinaire
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| | | Bender | | Chaac | | | | Reg. Date | : | 26/09/2010 | | Posts | : | 686 | | Location | : | Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia |
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| | Posted : 11 Mar 2012 - 06:57 Post title : Re: is this bike ok (Re: Bender) | | | Thanks every one I will pass all your input on to my mate, think he may be feeling a bit overwhelmed with looking for his first big bike,
keep em coming
| BENDER Four wheels move the body. Two wheels move the soul.
Thunderbird 1600, Foran exhaust,cat eliminator,Twin T Bars, K and N filter, Led Headlight, Rivco driving Lights, Viking Bags,quick release sissy Bar,.Joker oil pressure Gauge met-cruise seat Dyno Tune + more
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| | | Birdy68 | | Thor | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 16/07/2009 | | Posts | : | 3,352 | | Location | : | Bad Zurzach, Aargau, Switzerland |
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| | Posted : 11 Mar 2012 - 18:32 Post title : Re: (Re: feduke) | | | feduke wrote:
BlueNose wrote:
Triumph Bonneville America or Speedmaster would be my choice if I had a limited budget. Short pipes, air filters one or two other mods gets you a cracking bike. |
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Excellent advice! |
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+1
I started with a 2008 EFi Speedmaster. Great bike.
| Birdy68
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