Let's talk older japanese cruisers.

Been thinking about picking up a new used bike. Never had a cruiser so I'm thinking about trying one out. Been looking at the the usual suspects online and to be honest I'm not even sure where to start other than I think I'd like a bigger(1000cc+) V twin powering it. I've never had a ride with anything other than small inline twins or inline 4's so I want something different. The only non-v twin cruiser style bike I've seen that interests me is the yamaha royal star's with the V4. Would mostly just be doing day trips and cruising around but I'm thinking about doing a longer cross country ride if the world ever gets back to normal. Would be nice to be comfortable on the 300mile ride back and forth between my apartment and my family place. I love my bandit but after a few hours on it my back hurts from being bent over.

All brands, lets say mid 1990's to late 2000's with a Bigger v twin, touring fairing would be nice but I can always put a windshield on it. My budget would be like 3 grand. Budget rules out most all H-D or victory's other than 883 sportsters and I have no interest in them.

I've always liked the sound of big Honda Shadows. The firing order seemed more interesting than the other Japanese cruiser engines.

Is it safe to say that you're not wowed by Kawasaki fit & finish?

There are a ton of cool options in that price and year range. A friend has put 200K on a Honda VTX1800 and still loves it. Not shared in the Drifter thread: I was very close to buying a VN2000 Kawasaki a week ago. Man, that 2052cc engine would be sweet to put some miles on.

Which way is your heart pulling you? Shaft drive? Prefer belt? Want water cooling or prefer air cooling?

You perfectly described the VTX1300.

I was gonna recommend a Magna but they're V4's and chain drive.

I actually like the looks of them, and the welds being ugly and paint being thin isn't a huge deal so long as they don't have fatal flaws. Your thread has been the thing to make me go hmmm about them.



Not super picky about belt vs shaft or even chain drive.

Eh Magna's are too much like what I have and I can just borrow my fathers GS850L if I want to ride on a 80's style 4 cyl uj-cruiser. Already got 2 old project bikes, don't really want a 3rd too.

They brought the Magna back in 94. Only a 750cc tho, but it's a damn fun bike. That v4 rush is a blast.

I had a Yamaha virago 750 for several years back in the early 90’s. I enjoyed my time with it.

Honda Shadow ACE 1100 has impressed some folks and looks pretty good. I've had an older Virago variant but by the time they had 1000+cc displacement they looked pretty garish, and I like Yamahas.

How old? I know this is too small, but it was a very good bike in it's day, 1982.

I have kinda pined for a Valkarie.
About $3500 around here.

If you are looking for something substantial (read: really big), you can't go wrong with a Venture. All day comfort (may want an aftermarket seat) and stone ax reliability. V4 with carbs. Easy to work on (not that it needs it much) and great 2-up. 160k miles on mine and ready to go cross country at a moments notice. '99 to '13 are all essentially the same.

You can probably find lower miles if you search long enough but, this caught my eye:

https://salem.craigslist.org/mcy/d/mount-angel-2007-kawasaki-nomad-1600cc/7215588746.html

He's in the ballpark on price. Low KBB is $2,970. You get hard bags and twin front brakes, tubeless tires a windshield and highway bar. It looks like the stock exhaust.

There are only two kinds of Japanese v-twin cruisers - Harley wannabes and not Harley wannabees. I like the Virago as a truly Japanese style. Work out the very few bugs those things can have and they'll treat you well. The newer Vulcans are absolutely stunning if you like that style.

Yep. I loved my 2002 Maggie. I bought it new and sold it in 2009 with 84000 kms on it. I only sold it because the bottom fell out financially.

2002 - 2010 Yamaha Road Star Warrior.

On FB marketplace that bikes down to 2995.

I'll be damned the prices on the few of those for sale near me aren't bad.

Thanks for the leads guys.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/778609156247901/

Seems like a hell of a lot of bike for the money.

I like the size of the handbags. I was pretty paranoid on my last road trip about people stealing out of my soft panniers when I had to go shopping or went away from the bike.

That one looks just like mine with fewer farkles and 100,000 miles less. Like any bike, there are weaknesses:

1) Stock seat. Brutal at over 200 miles. Airhawk takes it to 500-ish/day. Russell Day Long makes it an Iron Butt eater.
2) Rear shock. They last about 50-60k miles and then start leaking. Good aftermarket replacement is about $450 but there is a guy on the Venturerider.org forum that rebuilds the OEM for about $50+exchange.
3) Fuel pump. The points burn up. Mine is still fine at 160k but others see it much earlier. $30 for replacement points and an hour to replace.
4) Ignition switch. If you add significant electrical farkles it can burn out the contacts in the ignition switch. Run everything through a relay (or better yet, bypass the ignition switch contact with a relay) and it is no longer an issue.
5) Hmmm, that's about it. Great engine and solid tranny. Fantastic ergos for a bigger guy. Good tech support on the above mentioned forum.

If you have any questions, let me know. I have owned mine for 18 years and know it pretty well.

Fuel pump points?

These are outside the OP’s budget but deals can always be made. Always thought these were nice, aluminum frame and swingarm, serious brakes, 46mm fork, belt drive, reported 50-50 weight distribution for non cruiser like handling.