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After 23 years, I'm Back on the road

Sat, 2008-09-13 23:48 — BackOnTheRoad

I sold my Honda CB 750 23 years ago when my son was born. He is now in his last semister at UT Austin (Physics degree) and he has his own apartment. What does that mean? It means the wife and I are street-legal again. On September 11, 2008, we bought a shinny new Yamaha V Star 1300 Tourer and had it delivered. What a nice bike. I was Eager to try it out, but the engine stopped every time I put it in gear. I made a call to the sales guy and he informed me about the side-stand safety switch (The CB 750 didn't have that). Okay, now we were up and runnig and the first ride around the neighborhood was complete. I took a couple more rides around the neighborhood to try to get the feel of this much larger bike and to refresh my reflexes after 23 years without a two wheeler. Now it was time for the open road. I took it out on a local 4 lane road and got quite a surprise. At anything above 60MPH, there is substantial wind buffeting. I am only 5' 6" and I had to lean forward and down to get out of the turbulence. At first I thought it was the height of the windshield, then I thought it was the width of the shield. Checking in this forum, I found out that it is actually wind coming from under the sides of the windshield. People in this group almost unanamously recommend Bucks lowers or home-made lowers to cure this problem. Jeeze... I would have thought the Yamaha engineers would have taken a ride on this thing. Oh well, I just this minute ordered Buck's Lowers and I am hopeful that they will sove this severe problem on an otherwise terrific bike.

Stay tuned for the results.

‹ Long time reader first time writer Hello from Utah ›
Thu, 2008-09-25 18:01 — Dave

More than 33 for me

I got my 1300 in May of 2007 and it was over 33 years since I last owned a bike. My last bike was a 350 Yamaha 2 cycle street bike. Biggest bike I rode before this 1300 was a 700 Kawasaki that my nephew owned. It was a turbo charged one and very fast, but very uncomfortable to ride. I called it a "drug store cowboy bike." One you ride for a short distance then get off and hold your back in pain. This 1300 is a very comfortable ride. Some adjustments are necessary for some riders, but I'm fortunate. The handle bars are good for me and I did add Buck's Lowers about 8 months ago for comfort. All other accessories were done by me simply for appearance.

Dave

Sun, 2008-09-14 00:20 — Tipi

WELCOME!

Congrats!

After a few small changes to make the bike your own, you'll find you have a great machine.

I had the same issue with buffering. I went with HD lowers to have chrome instead of Plexiglas.

Also being 'vertically challenged' (5'7"), I can tell that the next issue you will run into to is the bars being too far a reach on any extended ride, causing neck cramps & backaches. And your right hand going numb. Look for messages on changing the bars.

You also may want to look at my website to see the changes I made.

Tipi
My 1300: The Other Woman

Thu, 2008-09-25 14:45 — BackOnTheRoad

Buck's Lowers work!

I installed the Buck's lowers and the buffeting has stopped. There is still more wind than I care for, but at least it's not jarring my head around anymore. I'm going to take your advice and change the angle of the windsheid to match the forks. I believe that might help reduce even more of the wind.

Note to any Yamaha folks that might drop in: If you make a tourer model, wouldn't you want your owners to be able to go on a tour without getting their brains turned into jello? Maybe a bit more engineering of the windscreen is warranted here. Just a thought.

Sun, 2008-09-14 17:08 — Trainman

Way to go

Enjoy youre new ride. I waited about 30 yrs and got mine last year..Ride safe..
David
Brandon,Fl