2005 Yamaha Road Star Midnight Cruiser reviews

Bought a 2007, Roadstar, had for 7 yrs now, take it out every chance I get. Has power, comfort, not too loud. Carburetor, wish it was fuel injected, still satisfied. Looking for a new one or get an Indian. Show less

I just picked up my 2005 Warrior Midnight and I'm in love. Limitless torque, excellent handling and the looks, in my eyes, are flawless. I picked up this 2005 with only 2700 miles, I've added about 800 miles in the past 10 days and I'm loving every minute of it. Easy to maintain, beautiful and fast, it's the best of all worlds. I've heard it described as 1/2 sport-bike and 1/2 cruiser, I think that is a perfect description. Very comfortable, lightweight, reliable, powerful, and did I mention beautiful??? Great bike, buy one and you won't be disappointed. Show less

This is the second Yamaha I have owned. I upgraded from a V-Star 1100 Custom. Both are wonderful bikes. The Road Star gives that little extra for those long rides. I have ridden all over Idaho on my bike and it is great lots of power and comfortable to ride. I have Jug Hugger pipes that makes it sound great. Show less

Well...no, not really. 'tho it has been referred to as a 'Yama-Davidson'. What a Ride! This is the smoothest ride I have ever taken on the road(been ridin' since '62). The weight distribution is superb; add to that the road hugging curves supplied by the low center of gravity. Cruising at hiway speeds is quite comfortable, although this shining Star could use a 6th gear or overdrive. Once on the open road all 102 horses kick in and '...that's some bike, Charlie!' This philly has the eye of all bikers, showing off its sleek lines and stylish complement of chrome and raven-black. Show less

I've been riding for years and started on a Hayabusa (yes my first bike). Well that got stolen and I decided to move to a cruiser. that's a huge jump, so it was important that I found a bike big enough that I didn't look silly riding (6ft5 and 250lb) and had enough power to keep me happy. I don't regret my purchase at all. I've had this bike for 2 years and love it. If it's not freezing outside, this is my primary vehicle. It has gallons of torque down low, lots more than other bikes in it's class. It may not be as fast as a V-Rod or rev as high as the others but this will be the last concern in your mind after riding. I've ridden other cruisers and this thing has handling far and above all the rest. It's light for a bike its size (600lbs) and the front end and brakes are on the money. If I had to name cons it would be the seat and warming up issue. The seat can and should be immediately replaced. Corbin makes a great one for this bike. It's not comfortable for rides longer than 45 min. Also you have to let it warm up or you're guaranteed a stall when slowing to a stop which another reviewer mentioned. Any of you sport bike riders out there thinking of moving to a cruiser - this one is it. If you want more power, the aftermarket for this bike is big. It's got lots of torque, awesome v-twin sound, draws lots of attention, has amazing throttle response, and the all black looks so wonderful in person. Go buy one and stop reading this, you'll thank me later. Show less

A lot of people are asking; Warrior or M109? The very same question I asked myself January as I lead up to making a buying decision. I asked myself 1. Will I be riding that close to the limit to appreciate the M109s extra juice? 2. What bike do I like the look of more? Which one speaks to me? 3. How much do I really want to spend? 1. I decided that while the M109 is more powerful, that the Warrior should be enough. If it wasn't I could always buy a used 600 crotch rocket to fill any sporty hunger. In the absence of a comparison I thought the design of the Warrior and weight savings would still give it the edge in the curves and fun factor. The M109 seemed to me to be a muscle cruiser rather than a sport cruiser. i.e. good in a drag, but lost in the twists don't regret my decision at all, great bike! Show less

I bought this bike last May and have ridden it as much as mother nature will allow. Not only does this bike make great power, but the looks you get will blow you away. I ride with a lot of Harleys, and they all get a little jealous when we go to the gas station and people always come up to me and not them to compliment the looks. If you don't like attention, this is not the bike for you. If you love power, torque and being watched, you won't find a better bike out there. Show less

I used to ride a Suzuki TL1000 and transitioned to the cruiser realm of motorcycles recently. I read in several magazine articles and other reviews that this bike had the characteristics of both a cruiser and a sport bike. I believe it's true to a certain degree. It definitely does not have the sport bike acceleration that I'm used to, but I'm also used to feeling torque at higher RPMs. Since the bike isn't broken in yet, I can definitely say that I'm not disappointed, feeling awesome torque at less than 2000 RPMs. The bike gives off a great hum and sounds intimidating but is not annoyingly loud (not that loud is a bad thing). Switching from a full faced helmet to a 1/4 helmet made a big difference in wind noise so I have to use earplugs (or I can keep using my full faced helmet). At idle, the bike shakes like crazy, something I'm not used to, but don't mind. At speed, the vibrating pretty much goes away. The seat is comfortable and the handlebars are set at a comfortable level. The brakes are very responsive. When shifting gears, it feels as though the clutch pedal is set a bit close to the frame so I feel like I have to exert a little effort adjusting my foot underneath the shift pedal (it doesn't help that I have short legs, either.) The seat height is lower than my TL1000 but still high enough that my feet don't rest completely flat on the ground on either side - again due to my short legs. The greatest thing about the bike is that people don't know what it is, and passers-by take a second to double take the bike and spend a moment wondering what it is. Someone complemented me on the custom work (I did absolutely nothing to the bike so all I said was 'thanks'). Overall, I'm extremely happy with my purchase and I'm glad that I chose this bike over the Suzuki Boulevard M109. I do see keeping this bike well over the 10-year mark. Show less

I bought my 2005 Warrior from great folks in Newnan Ga. in Feb. 2005, and after a fun summer and 1600 miles, I can honestly say I have absolutely no use for my old oil-dripping H-D. I can certainly see where this machine makes a great drag bike. It is very stable and pretty comfortable for what amounts to a big bruising sport bike. It has torque like you wouldn't believe. My two sons (age 18 and 22) both ride Yamaha R6 and R1 sport bikes respectively, and I must say at 47 years old, it's a great healer of mid-life crisis when they mostly get to look at the 200 rear tire on our rides. Maybe if they're good, I'll let 'em take it for a spin... Show less

I went from a 2003 HD FXDWG to the 05 Roadstar Midnight Silverado. Great riding and handling, I do not believe it is of the same quality as H-D. But what does stick out is that I paid less than a comparable equipped Harley. The headlight rattles, and when first started, it takes off a bit even with clutch pulled in (engaged). It vibrates more than a Harley, and when exiting the freeway after high speed, the brakes howl for quite a while. Also the plugs and carb are a pain in the neck to work with; it is a real chore to make modifications yourself. Overall it is a great cruising bike, well worth the buck, and looks great with lots of factory chrome. I am weaned of Harley and used to the Jap bike, rode it from AZ to Austin, TX and back, nice... However, do not buy this bike thinking you're getting Harley for less, you're getting a Yamaha, and it isn't a Harley, not by any stretch. Show less