Is the yamaha V Star 650 a good starter bike for a short person?
December 11, 2009 | Motorcycles
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Re: “Is the yamaha V Star 650 a good starter bike for a short person?”
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You want to be able to sit on a bike with both feet flat on the ground. For people who are ‘inseam challenged’ this can limit choices somewhat. You can probably do that on the VStar 650, but you won’t know for sure until you try.
As for the bike itself, it’s a fine bike. All the Japanese manufacturers are pretty good. The V-Star 650 is sometimes criticized as not having a lot of power, but it will cruise at 75 mph all day and what more do you need? Cruisers are statistically safer than sportbikes, but it’s not the bike itself, it’s how it’s ridden. Sportbikes are made to push the limits, but cruisers are made for a relaxed, laid-back riding style. Cruisers are easier to manage because the center of gravity is lower. So the 650 is not too big for a first bike.
It is a great bike to start out with. The only thing to be concerned about, do your feet reach the ground and do they set flat. If the answer is yes, have fun and ride safe
If you don’t care about engine configuration (parrallel twin, rather than V twin), I’d say look at the Kawasaki 500cc Vulcan LTD.=&h=481&w=640&sz=54&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=7scMVwU9H2P5zM:&tbnh=103&tbnw=137&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dvulcan%2BLTD%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1
The air cooled V Star is underpowered, requires frequent valve adjustment. It’s a nice looking machine but I don’t know that it will do 75 mph all day.
The liquid cooled LTD is powered by a Ninja engine. I know someone under 5′3″ who rode an LTD from S. Texas to northern Michigan.
The V Star and the Honda VLX 600. Depending on what you are looking for. If you intend to trade up in a few months or to a year? The Honda Rebel is an ideal bike. They hold value and have decent power. They are light enough to be picked up when you drop one. Trust me, you are going to drop it sooner or later. I would prefer sooner so it isn’t a new bike getting scratched. Look on Craigs list and see what you can find used. 6000 miles normally on bikes there for roughly half the price of a new one. I bought one this past summer for my wife and intend to sell it this spring and get a larger one.
Whatever you do just remember that you are invisible out there and dogs love to chase motorcycles. Sometimes they catch them. One caught me to the tune of $2800.00 to my bike and a hell of a lot more to me!