2003 Yamaha V Star Custom Cruiser reviews

I own a 2003 V Star Custom and I have 5100 miles on it. I bought the bike new as a left over. The bike is all I need. It has good pick and handles good. I live in New England and it handles the mountain roads very well, you need to shift more. The back tire is one of the biggest, even the new Harley Sportster has a smaller tire. Bike is great at 55 to 60, you can do this all day long. The negative so far has been a replacement of the fork seals at 3,000 miles at a cost of $225, the 500 mile check up which includes valve adjustment came to $310. The maintenance schedule call for valve adjustment every 4,000 miles. I tried to have Yamaha pick up some of the cost of the fork seals as I told them that they were either put in wrong at the factory or the seals themselves were bad, no luck. If the bike truly needs valve adjustment every 4,000 mles this is going to be an expensive bike to own. I have retired and plan to do a lot more riding. The dealer here gets about $200 to adjust the valves. Love the bike but I have owned other bikes where the valve adjustments were every 10,000 miles. They were not V twins. I am going to listen carefully to the valves and see if I can go to 7,000. To date I have spent over $500 dollars and have 5,100 miles on the bike and if I do the valves it will go up to $725. This seems a little high. I should have checked the maintenance schedule before I purchased the bike. I have some good manuals. I am thinking of adjusting the valves myself, this could be a bad idea. Have fun out there. Show less

I am excited to say I got my 2003 v-star custom with only 310 miles on it last week and before I even had my license. Thank- goodness I passed the BRC. don't have much to report on it. But when I first sat on it I knew it was the one for me..plus the color was perfect....I got the purple. Had to keep it in the star family. My better half has a 2005 tour deluxe that could out do a harley in looks and value any day... Be safe. Show less

I bought a 2003 650 custom with 1600 miles on it. The dealer had done the tune up. She rides very well, nice sound and comfortable. The longer rides tend to leave my rear end a little sore. I have yet to get used to the foot peg placement which I find a little awkward but all in all it is comfortable. Once the wife gets her motorcycle safety course completed I think she will get this bike and I'll move up to an 1100 but I will be staying with the V Star family. Show less

I bought a 2003 V-Star in August 2003. I traded in my Suzuki Marauder 800 and have not regretted it a single bit. There are those that complain about the speed, or lack of, on the V. If that is the case, buy a Warrior! My V-Star carried my wife and myself home from Little Rock at speeds of 75-85 miles per hour the whole trip and never missed a beat and this is about a 100-mile trip. If you're looking for a reliable cruiser, and that's what it is, a CRUISER, you can't go wrong with the V. Show less

There really isn't much I can say that experiencing for yourself won't tell you. I compared a lot of different bikes and finally chose the 1100 XVS custom.When we traded up from our 750 it's like day and night. just like the shoe says you just gotta do it." Show less

I have owned my 650 Custom for almost 6 months and 4600 miles. I may want a larger cc bike, but I don't know why except for ego. I want to ride an 1100 or 1300 just to see what the difference in ride might be. On Sat. & Sunday I rode from S. West GA. to N.C., 890 miles round trip. Travelled secondary roads 50% and interstates 50%. The bike performed very well at all speeds, including 80 mph on some stretches of interstates. Averaged for the trip 46 mpg. No mechanical problems, just a small amount of air loss in the tires. Oil level was the same as when I left. Yes, I want a Harley and I will own one in the near future. But for the money, this is a great great bike. I would recommend it very highly to anyone 5' to 5'9" tall, less than 200 lbs, or just getting into biking like I did last May. 5 stars all the way. Happy Safe Riding Show less

My husband bought me a Yamaha 650 Vstar Custom as a gift, I am a beginner and have only been riding for about two months, I make a lot of mistakes and this bike has been so forgiving of me, In practicing for the skills test to obtain my class CM license, I tried using a smaller bike and found that I was able to ride the test course better on my Vstar, so took and passed the test on it, I would highly recommend any woman looking for a beginner bike to consider the Vstar, Show less

My wife said to me, "I want a bike to ride to work." Imagine my surprise when I heard this, but I took it to heart and the search was on. I researched each bike that I felt was going to be appropriate for her and after it was all said and done, I was a V-Star groupie. They are absolutely wonderful to ride. Low seat height, long wheel base, easy, smooth flowing clutch system and plenty of horsepower to move a big guy like me around town. The V-Star rides so smoothly you forget you are going 60-75mph. The air-cooled V-twin is low maintenance, easy on the gas mileage as well, 45 around town, 55 on the road. I cruised up the canyon and it loves the curves and the pavement tremendously. Nothing could compare to a V-Star, either the sport custom or the smooth lines of the classic. I preferred the sporty custom, in two tone purple and pewter. Absolutely gorgeous. You will love the ride. "Guaranteed" Show less

I bought this bike for lots of reasons, price, shaft drive, looks (chopper appearance), ease of handling for a new rider, and the Yamaha superior brand. But the most important reason was that it fit. I am 5'7" tall & 165 lbs, and this bike is absolutly the perfect fit for me. In my humble and inexperienced opinion, I would recommend this bike highly. I now have over 5000 miles in 5 months & couldn't be happier. I also like the 50+ mpg. Laid the bike down recently however, forgot to lower the kickstand and tried to get off the bike. Fell over on me while car operators were looking on. So much for the great bad biker. Safe riding Show less

I have been riding for 29 years. My dad bought my first bike when I was 11 years old and I have had many since then. The decision to buy the Yamaha 650 custom was based on looks and price. I appreciated the custom chopper appearance rather than the "fat boy" look of the classic. The price was affordable for me, a selling point with my wife and that's always a plus! I wasn't disappointed when I rode the bike home. I am 5'8" and 220lbs and the bike hauls my teenage daugther and me around with no problem. I try to ride it to work as often as I can, which is a 70 mile round trip. The trip is mostly highway riding and 70-75 mph is no problem...very smooth. In fact, it's diificult to keep it below 70 on the highway, mostly because it is smoother at 70 than 65 mph. It would be nice if the 5th gear was a bit lower but it's not that bad. Who needs to go 100mph anyway? that's just a quick way to jail and you can't ride your bike there. Hey, it's a great bike...buy one! Show less