YAMAHA XVS650 DRAGSTAR (1997 - 2007) Review

Version: Custom

Year: 1999

Annual servicing cost: £10

I still love this bike. I bought it new in 1999 at exactly the same time as my Fireblade. I only bought it to take my kids for rides and found I really enjoyed it. It has not done huge miles but after nearly 23 years the finish remains excellent and it is still on its original battery and never lives in a battery tender. It is a relaxed ride for chugging around on a sunny day on winding roads. It handles well but does run out of ground clearance. Despite the MCN review the brakes are very good and as it is a long raked out machine the rear brake is much more important and does a great job. It is different to a sportsbike where the rear is useless. Shaft drive is excellent too.

Buying experience: Bought from DO all those years ago as a parallel import. Was great value and worth about the same now!

Version: 2014 Custom

Year: 2014

Annual servicing cost: £200

Reliable, gets you from point A to B without fuss. Nice-looking if you like cruisers. "Easy chair" seating position takes getting used to if you ride standards or sportbikes.

Buying experience: Bought as a 'new held-over' from a dealership for a very good price (1800 below MSRP).

Year: 2011

Annual servicing cost: £1,000

Overall the v-star 650 custom is a very good bike that has a full frame. It handles well and has a very good suspension. It's worst feature is to much plastic.

Buying experience: I bought form a dealer for $5,999.00 in 2012 with 0 miles.

Year: 2004

Still missing this bike after selling it to get a Triumph T-Bird 1600. Hard to say goodbye to a bike that never gave me any sort of headache in more than 5 years. Reliable as they come and powerful enough to have some fun on twisty roads on Sunday mornings, provided your rider companions ride similar bikes.

I have a '99 model having passed my main bike test last year. I love the looks and the seat is very comfortable. It has plenty of acceleration and is fine on big corners. The low weight and seat make it easy to stop and get your feet down. However, you will need to do this because at very slow manoeuvring speeds it's a little awkward. Beware making a sharp turn at very slow speed because the bike becomes unbalanced and tends to fall over. Other than that, the handling is fine. Not a fan of the foot pegs - they are too far forwards, so am changing them for boards. On long trips they become uncomfortable. Also, there is little equipment in the way of fuel gauge or gear indicator, so it's pretty old school. One other annoying feature - the oil. There's no dipstick, though I think you can get them as an extra, and the viewing port is right under the engine, gets covered in muck and you can't see anything in it anyway. So, yeah, that isn't very good. Otherwise, it's comfy, it looks great, it has decent power and its fun to ride.

ive had a 97 xvs650 for a couple of years and have covered thousands of miles, most 2 up with plenty of luggage, apart from the rectifier having to be replaced there has not been one day when it hasnt started 1st time, and the highway hawk slash cuts give it a brilliant thumping tone...overall a highly recomended bike..

my birthday treat last year a brand new classic. Hit the big 6 - 0 and thought I needed to minimise the risk as reaction time goes south from now on. The Dragstar classic ticks all the boxes. I can still enjoy a bit of speed, but shouldn't flip it doing wheelies. Then seats 3-4 hour rating (without a break) and all in all very pleased. Oh it looks gorgeous, get lots of comments and its fun to ride. Still living the dream!

A great ride and very reliable. Not the most exciting ride but it does the job and really looks the part!