27th Apr 2008, 01:15
I purchased a 2007 650 Custom and have not experienced any of the problems that I have read about. The bike is fast for its size, very responsive, and yes, I thought a 6th gear would be great as my bike sounds like it is wound up tight.
A Mustang seat would be great, but I can't afford it right now.
Gas mileage is great, and I do not use fuel with ethanol.
Great bike so far.
13th May 2008, 21:39
My 2007 V-star 650 sat in the dealers for about 8 weeks before I purchased it. Bike fired up straight away. Now because of 24/7 shift work, it might only get ridden once a fortnight. Pull the choke, start the bike, push choke in, put helmet & gloves on, good to ride. Hardly any warm up period required.
Great bike. Getting better all the time with more mileage. Only faults are short clutch friction zone, which takes getting used to. Also scraping pegs on corners; need to ease off on the bends.
Very good value for money.
20th May 2008, 00:05
Well I just bought my V Star 650 a week ago. It is my first bike and it didn't take much to get used to it.
It had 0 miles on it, and now it has 120, and I love it. It feels like the more miles you put on it, it only gets better and better.
I would purchase this same bike again!! Plenty of power for the money and a good looking motorcycle! Lots of people tell me that on the road!
I would recommend this bike to anyone!!! Now one of my friends is about to purchase his bike!! A Yamaha V Star 650 Classic of course!!!
20th May 2008, 12:17
Just got my 07 650 Custom 1 1/2 week ago. I'm 5 11 and 250 lbs and the bike fits me perfectly. The more I ride it, the better I like it.
The power is plentiful for the riding I do. The seat is little sticky for long rides, but is is very comfortable.
With 69 miles on the ticker, I can't wait till I'm able to take it out for longer rides at constant freeway speeds.
The bike has great looks and feels very nimble, all in a full size cruiser size.
So far I did not experience any issues, and would highly recommend it to my friends.
25th May 2008, 21:49
I bought a 2003 V-star 650 Custom brand new. This is my first bike and I love it. It is perfect for first time riders.
29th May 2008, 19:41
I bought my 2004 V-Star 650 Custom new off the show room back in early 2004. I had really no problems with it until right about 13000 miles when the rear-end gear stripped out. I had it replaced by the dealer and it seemed to work fine for about 5000 more miles, then it went out again. I replaced it myself the second time, but now I have 23000 miles on the bike and it is out again.
I checked the price on the rear end today, and found fluctuation to be in full effect. The last time I replaced it, it was right at about 200 bucks for the whole assembly, but is now 720 bucks. I'm just wondering if this is going to continue to happen every 5000 miles from now on, or what.
3rd Jun 2008, 23:10
I just bought a brand new '08 V-Star 650 Custom 7 days ago, and have put over 250 miles on it already. I have had absolutely no problems with it. Actually, I am already planning to buy another one in the future.
As far as the people having stalling problems, I advise you read the owner's manual on how to use the choke properly. I do it as close to the manual as possible, and it only takes a minute or two to warm up (I live in Wisconsin, and temps are currently 40 to 50 degrees in the mornings when I leave for work).
The bike rides smooth, has loads of power, and is very comfortable (for me) for longer periods of riding, and I plan to make several extremely long trips with this bike, and I have no hesitation to do so.
7th Jun 2008, 09:26
I bought my 650 Yamaha Classic 2 weeks ago. I just got it out of the shop for its 500 mile break in check up. I've road off and on for almost 40 years. I've always owned Hondas.
This bike is great. It's not a big bike, but it sure looks like one, and it has plenty of power for the road.
The seat could be a little more comfortable, and it could use a 6th gear. Those are the only issues I have with it.
I'm not having the fuel problem I've been reading about; as a matter of fact I couldn't be more pleased with its engine performance.
If you're going to let it sit for more than a week, you should start it and let it run for about 5 minutes or so. I even do that for my lawn mower.
The bike is awesome for the price. I'm 51 and an experienced rider. This is a great little bike. I'll tell you more when I get some real miles on it.
16th Jun 2008, 13:36
Ethanol warning in Vstar. Carb engines with these symptoms: hard to start, poor idle, spitting & sputtering, break down under load or at speed, running lean, only runs with the choke engaged? Did you buy gas with ethanol? Did you let the engine sit for a week or more?
It seems the ethanol is the problem. It caused my vstar problems only after I let it sit for about a week. The same gas was drained and put in a lawnmower that did the same thing! READ the warnings online, boats, ATVs, lawn mowers, vintage cars, and our motorcycles are being gummed up and damaged by the water absorbing ethanol even at 10% in the fuel.
As I said, I saw it first hand in two engines on the same fuel, put in fresh fuel and the mower worked great, my V-Star is still hurting though. Carb cleaner, stabilizer, and a few tanks of non ethanol gas hopefully will help. Drain those tanks or cut off the fuel valve and run them dry if you do not have stabilizer.
21st Jun 2008, 17:27
Have had my ’07 650 Classic for 12 months and forty six hundred miles with absolutely NO problems. Starts well, runs smooth, feels solid on the road, and like a few others have said, can keep up with some bigger boys; although I’d prefer to cruise a bit slower – say 60 to 65 MPH max.
One GRIPE, a very uncomfortable seat that I am still working on. I have tried Carolina (Gel) Butt Buffer, Air Hawk, and Bead Rider. All without success for l-o-n-g rides (>100 miles). As of now I am using the seat cover, of the Air Hawk, in which I placed a 2” thick piece of foam rubber (from craft store) cut to fit and the Bead Rider stuffed in on top of the foam – within the cover, with some success. Can anyone help in this? I’m about to consider a Mustang or a Pacific Coast Star seat.
The other GRIPE is my feeling that I need a 6th gear or a higher geared 5th for lower RPM highway cruising. Yet the specs* indicate best performance at just over 5,000 RPM. So, I’m not sure if this is a problem or not…
Haven’t had any issues with fuel and I appreciate ‘reading’ about the concerns with ethanol. I haven’t used it and I’ll be sure to stay away from it… In addition, while riding, I turn off my fuel ‘valve’ about a mile from my house so that the carbs are EMPTY (bike runs out of fuel in my driveway) so as to leave them dry until my next ride.
Doc McCoy
http://www.yamahamotorcycleforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2708&highlight=chart
31st Mar 2008, 13:06
My wife's bike had the EXACT same problems. The dealer also said to use stabil and dirty carbs. I know bikes and took the thing apart myself. The main jet is a 91.3 mikuni and is way too small. I changed the main to a 110 mikuni, shimmed the pilot needles with 1 number 4 size washer from Radioshack, and set the mixture screw to 3 turns after being fully seated. Put the bike back together and balanced the carbs with a homemade manometer. The bike warms up now in about 45 seconds and is no longer jerky at any speed, and you don't need to use hardly any clutch for 1st gear. NO DYING AT STOP SIGNS anymore!!!