Yamaha Motorcycle Reviews on Cycle Insider (4,520)
Avg. Rating

I went from a V Star 650 to the V Star 950 Tourer and love my new ride. I did have to buy the wind deflector for the forks as the wind came up around the tank and hit me in the chest. Once those were installed all is great. I can't wait to get on the road.

I have owned my 1988 SRX6 Japanese model for a year now.It had done 57000k's when i bought it and only a couple of problems I've had include a leaking valve seal, so did the rope in the plug hole trick and the socket and magnet to remove valve springs and replace the seals. Only other problem was a leaking gas tank but did a POR15 seal job for that. I own a 1995 Yamaha fj1200 as well but the SRX is by far the best handling and most fun bike I have ever owned.Way better than the SR500. I've owned over 35 bikes from 1968 to 2020 and this one is just awesome. Shame they don't make them again.I love the attention it gets when I go on club rides and I've spent lotsa time and money restoring it to original. Great bike for our New Zealand roads that's for sure

The 1977 Yamaha XS360D2 was the first bike I ever purchased back in 2004 at 16 with 2900 miles on the clock. The price was 550 from a local dealer in a small town in northeast iowa. It was pretty clear it needed carb work right from the start as most of this age will by now. It was the blue one with spoke wheels, front disc, kick starter, and points ignition. Aftermarket emgo megaphone mufflers were also fitted and were plenty quiet. I wish I had the jetting skills I have now because it seemed as though it could have been a very nice little bike. All I could do was clean the carbs back then and they were stupid lean even before I fitted foam filters. Starting was always hard. I would often run the battery down to nothing (probably weak to begin with) then continue with the kick starter until it popped off. I suspect the starter was just a bit too slow, or the idle circuit was just a bit too long (lets out way up on the top side of the carbs) also often resulting in stalls on takeoff. That said, it always idled nice once running and ran well with few flat spots besides the lean top end (my own fault). Because of this fuel economy was amazing at 60mpg+ but I often struggled to do 65. I still put over 6000 miles on it in one summer and always got compliments and questions wherever I went. When you're a kid on a metric bike from the seventies everyone notices. Handling was steady enough to enable full speed back road riding if I so desired, and at 17 and stupid I often did. The bike was also very light and I only dumped it once trying to do a u-turn on crushed rock. Ah, fond memories of learning hard lessons. I didn't get burned too bad and was actually able to lift it off my leg. The engine was a parallel twin with a 180 crank and no balancer, oddly enough. Top end was SOHC, 2 valves per cylinder and tappet type adjusters (no shims required). Something about the sound drove dogs completely mad. Weirdest thing I've ever seen and I've heard others say the same thing. Shifting was always smooth with the exception of a somewhat remote feel to the clutch. This again, could also have been down to poor maintenance (cables) but it made it a bit hard to find neutral sometimes. Suspension was also pretty soft but it mattered less to me back then. All in all it was a high quality, stable, tough, little bike that would have been dead easy to maintain. Had I been as handy back then, it would probably have been a good performer too.

Had to lower it, 2nd gear slipps, super fast, not the most comfortable but I am in the wind. I hear loosing second gear is notorious on the R1. Midprocess of repairing 2nd. Biggest bike I've owned since my CBR929.

This motorcycle is extremely quick and sensitive. This bike is not comfortable. This motorcycle is very flick-able. This motorcycle has a good maintenance schedule. It is also a good looking bike in white.

Like Thor's hammer, Mjolnir; "in Norse mythology as one of the most fearsome and powerful weapons in existence" Yamaha Raider has a 'Thunderous' feel due in large part to its torque no doubt

I've been riding almost 60 years and owned everything from a Honda 50 to a Gold Wing and several Harley Ultras..... This thing is like a two-wheeled car......too big, too heavy and too ponderous in traffic. Look for something less.......

I had a great experience at Honda-Suzuki of Sanford nc the bike and the service there were more than I expected in quality I would recommend them to anyone

ive owned about 50 bikes and id put this in my top 5. i had a 2009 warrior that i sold to purchase a new 2016 hd road king. after about 3 months on the road king i went out and purchased my 2007 warrior because i missed the 09 warrior so much. i tell people the road king is like a lexus and the warrior is like a mustang. to me its the best looking bike on the road. it does everything well. i put floorboards on both of my warriors which made my riding experance much more enjoyable. if you get a chance.......buy one!

Only with mag wheels and all makes and models that look close to a heritage style

I really like the v-star 950. It handles very well and has enough power for comfortable long distance highway riding. Bought the bike in August and put about 5,500 miles on the bike. I can't wait for spring.

Bike had some aftermarket parts to include pipes, air filter and PC5 but she doesn't run worth a crap took her back to the dealer and they replaced the fouled plugs and supposedly cleaned the air filter but the bike has less than 5000 miles on her so I am a little suspect on that. Never the less the bike is just not right and don't know what else to do. I spoke with the Dyno Jet folks several times and have tried everything they told me to do and to no avail still lunges backfires and looses power before quiting .

What a solid ride, you could ride for extended periods ,or until you run out of gas. Big bike bit heavy, but she will take you there in style. Owned the bike since it was new 8 miles.put some tires on it ,lots of gas and an oil change or two. Love it!

Only had it for a month,it's ok very heavy and a little difficult at parking lot speed.ive owned big bikes before this ones different not sure if I'll keep it.

While the bike isn't fast or new it puts a smile on my face with its modified style and riding position and has more then enough torque to get me where i want to go!

This is my second one and love it. Agile when you want it to be and an all day tourer on the next. Very dependable, fast, smooth and comfortable.

been riding the bike about 3 weeks. Only negative thing I can say is that I feel some vibration at speeds above 70 mph. Also, the stand footrests tend to scrape the pavement if you lean to much on turns.

should have 6 speed tranny and a 6 gallon gas tank

Love to ride this motorcycle. It has a GPS and Bluetooth system that works great.

Have been out of riding for about 20 years and finally was able to get time to get back into it. I looked at several bike's before deciding on this one and I think I made a pretty good choice. It has a pretty comfortable ride and good gas mileage, lots of upgrades available for it. It's not to heavy and easy to control. I guess my only complaint with it, is the speedometer should be recalled. I really can't believe how bad it is. During the day it's pretty much unreadable, so you never know how fast your going, they need to replace it with a regular speedometer and get rid of the digital cr*p they put on it.

The FZ1's now span 3 generations. They have R1 engines in an upright sport bike chassis. Insurance costs are 1/4 what an R1 is which brings ownership costs into the budget level. FZ1's can be modified with R1 suspensions for track. This series of bikes have been bolted with hard luggage for touring. It is not uncommon to see an FZ1 that is street toured to reach over 200K miles with only normal maintenance performed. The dependability of the FZ1 is none other than legendary. I purchased my bike with the idea of tracking it a few times per year for skill building & using throw over bags for traveling. The center stand makes maintenance a breeze. Very few bikes these days have center stands.

I've been on a lot of bikes over the yrs. I baught the raider just to have as a bare cruiser to go with my Victory XC bagger. I was amazed by this bike. My raider has a vance hines 2 into 1, cobra fi 2000 and bam air mod. So here we go: (1) Handles like a Vic Jackpot. Feels lighter than a HD sportster. (2) Holy torque! Who cares about a 6th gear. Most fun I've had on a bike. With very few mods this bike is a beast. (3) Looks amazing! Bikers ask what it is all the time. Test ride it and you'll be shocked (4) It's cheap to own. NEED I SAY MORE! Best foreign bike out there. I'll always have a vic bagger since I ride long distances but I'll also have a raider for fun. First review on a non-US cruiser ever and it deserves it

I first was concerned with not buying a model with eps because of the size of this machine my other machine is a 99 big bear 350 2wd and is very nimble and easy to handle on All terain my need for a 4wd with a low range brought me to getting the kodiak my first impressions were very pleasing but lime Ted to field work and light use during break in period the first trip I took was 12 mile rock pile called a road in nevada better known as a boulder dash after the first five miles I located a deer for my buddy's son while they made a stock on the deer I familiarized my self with the tool kit that came with the bike spending an hour tightening loose bolts on guards and brackets as I developed a few rattles the rest of the trip was trouble free except for loosing my hat due to speed issues my day was 8 hours of rocks and I was ready for more the next trip was a little more speed intense with some serios grade changes ruts rocks and bumps didn't notice lack of eps

The FJR 1300 is a very good all around bike and handles most every command well. I found the handling very good until pushed to sport bike speeds. The weight and lack of lean angle clearance becomes an issue only if you're chasing a pack of sport bikes. The power delivery is a bit snappy/jerky off of idle. I'm told a power commander or progressive grip tames this issue. The bike makes a lot of torque everywhere which makes it easy to ride without searching for an ideal RPM. Top speed is 150 MPH give or take 5 MPH. The FJR is horribly uncomfortable due to the seat. I could only ride 150-200 miles until my can was on fire. I almost immediately replaced it with a Seth Laam seat. I can now put down 600 miles a day. I have ridden 10+ hours for 3 days in a row with a passenger through the Smokies. The 08 did not have a cruise control option. I do find my hands falling asleep after 3-4 hour. Throttle body synchronization is recommended to help with vibrations. Wind protection is great.

My first impression of pictures of this monster was wow. But then I saw the beast in person and was in stunned silence; pictures cannot do justice. It is absolutely incredible & makes my heart palpitate every time I see it. And now that I actually own one, well lets just say, its my therapy. All the reviews on this are spot on especially regarding the raw power and handling. Even stock is just fine for me with no plans in the foreseeable future for any upgrades. I cannot get enough of riding on this machine; its man and machine at its finest. Very contented and satisfying experience that keeps rewarding with every twist of the throttle. I'm not much into speed, but as some have commented, this will get you up to speed effortlessly; the fastest I have gone on this is a little over 100 mph. I am more into torque which is the very reason why I acquired this bike; it has tons of it. The torque actually scared me on my first ride; but of course I got real used to it & love it.