Yamaha 1300 Tourer - The Yamaha 1300 Tourer Fansite

Remember Yamaha wants us to say this is a Star Motorcycle. ;~]
Since perspective impacts a reviews relevance, here's where mine comes from. I've only been riding 3 years. I took the MSF's BRC, got my MC license, and bought a new '04 Honda 750 Aero in Feb '05. I put 21,000 miles on 'er in 2 years commuting to work and touring. As I became more enthusiastic about touring, it was time for something bigger. The only other 'cycle I'd ever ridden was a buddies VTX 1300S. It's a nice bike, I liked my Honda dealership, I probably would've bought Their "R" model if it was fuel injected. But I did a LOT of reading and was liking Star's FI, lighter weight (and better looking, IMHO) belt-drive, cast wheels, and what I believe to be the best looking saddle-bags on any MC ever created. So I was definitely interested in the Touring model; since bags, wind-shield, and sissy-bar would be my 1st add-ons anyway. I'd also already decided the 1100-1300cc range was plenty for solo touring and still nimble enough for around town. After a LOT of looking, I bought mine shortly after the original post (Feb.16), and after 13,000 miles here's what I think:
My Star dealership let me take a Candy Red Touring model for a test-ride. The 1st thing I did was get on a freeway entrance and noticed I was very quickly doing 90mph (still on the entrance ramp). Wow, I was used to ringing out the "little" Honda just to get 'er up to speed! The 2nd thing I noticed was the mirrors weren't even moving. On the "little" Honda anything in the mirrors is a blur at speeds over 60mph. The 3rd thing I noticed was the suspension, this baby's smooth. The 4th thing I noticed while exiting the freeway was much better brakes than I was used too. I returned to the dealership, thanked them for their hospitality and the test-ride, asked them to give me a day to think about it, and walked outta there knowing darn well I was going to buy that 'cycle...
And I did. The biggest adjustment for me was shift-point. I was shifting too soon around town and this 'cycle likes to live a bit higher in the rev range. Which also, for me, required a little more attention to throttle control. To me, adjusting to this was worth the benefits of this 'cycle.
I've heard of "noise" issues:
1. front-end "clunk" over some pot-holes or sharp bumps. Yep, I have it, sounds like crap. So I make sure I don't hear it that much!
2. clutch "clatter". Yep, I have it, mildly, but ONLY in neutral with the clutch lever released. And the ONLY time my 'cycle is running, in neutral, with the clutch lever released is for a couple minutes when I 1st start 'er. It doesn't do it until it warms up, by then I'm gone!
3. valve-train "clatter". Yep, I can hear mine a bit sometimes, tells me they're not too tight.
4. gear and/or belt "whine". I don't hear this on mine.
None of this bothers me as long as it's just a little noise and not reliability issues, and this 'cycle has always ran great with NO performance mods. I think the fact this bikes exhaust is so quiet, along with the windshield playing its additional role of sound chamber, it'd be pretty hard not to hear some mechanical "noise".
There was an ergonomic issue I needed to address. I'm 5'8" and the stock handlebar was a bit of a reach during extended riding. I went with the RSTD 'bar, which did help the reach, but now I'm not happy with my wrist-angle. So my hunt for the "perfect" 'bar continues. I've ordered Barons Nostalgia 'bar...we'll see. But I don't have a problem with the OEM seat. And my foot positioning on the floor-boards is almost perfect, my legs are short enough I don't have to clutter up those purdy Star engine guards with "hiway" pegs. The "tall" windshield was too, I trimmed it down to a "medium" and tilted it back...perfect. Now I can see over it and I think the shorter 'shield improved the looks. I added Bucks Lowers, a Star light-bar, a Star luggage rack, a Kury tail-light kit, and the afore mentioned Star engine guards. Currently I've Star chrome/rubber grips on my RSTD 'bar, but will be switching to Kury Iso's on my new Nostalgia 'bar.
After riding this 'cycle for almost a year, I REALLY like it. She's fast, dependable, a bit of a techie (for a cruiser!), a pleasure on the freeway OR in a parking lot, easy on the gasoline, and beautiful to gaze upon (so I've been told!). All-in-all, truly a pleasure to own.
A Star Motorcycle indeed!
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y7/JayDubya/IMAG0154.jpg