For those who don’t know, Star Motorcycles is a division of Yamaha Motor Corporation, and the brand name under which the company sells their cruiser motorcycles in the USA. Strategy is always to mimic the classic American V-Twin cruiser but at much lower prices. The Stryker gets a 1340 cc 80″ liquid cooled EFI V-Twin engine coupled to a 5-speed transmission with belt final drive. The bike rolls on a 21″ front and a 210 mm rear tire. Except this, a lot of cheap bling for a retail price of $11,690. Available in August in ImpactBblue, Candy Red AND, Matte Grey.
Looks like a dyna and a VRod all roled into 1.
Metric remains a distant 2nd choice…
I wouldn’t trade my Dyna for one of these if you gave me money to do it. They might be good quality bikes but something about them just doesn’t look right, not sure if it’s the lines or what it is. Why don’t they try to find their own direction in the cruiser segment instead of trying to copy HD cruisers???? They rock the sport bike segment with awesome machines….and the Vmax is also an awesome bike in my opinion.
+1 to 58pan. I expect better than that from Yamaha. Even thought the lower frame is parallel to the ground, the overall stance looks like somebody threw some 2″ fork tube extensions on an old Dyna.
Nice from the left. Goofy from the right. Design is a little messy. Very awkward from the seat back. A boon for aftermarket folk to fix it up. Would ride one.
I’ve ridden one, the ergos are nice and the motor’s smooth. Given the choice between one of these and a Dyna I would choose one of these. But in the real world I find them both too bland and uninspiring to actually spend money on. The Raider S from Star or a V Rod from Harley would both be better choices.
Looks bent, and out of proportion.
The metric bike makers just can’t seem to make a good looking gas tank either. None of them.
I wouldn’t run out to buy one, but I wouldn’t turn it down if given one.
Petrol tank & pipes are my only major gripes about it.
This bike would ride and handle great,and not have to have thousands of bucks spent on it like a H-D to function well.Some guys like a bike that they can just thumb the starter once to ride to work and forget about all the whizzy things in the motor.The pitched tank and fender line works to make the forks look longer and more raked than the actual set up.I think the 950 Star Bolt is a better more brutal and sparse bare-bones design.I would rather ride either Star than a dysfunctional crude horror 883 any day.
hate those hairlip fenders, among other flaws
HD’s market share is still safe. Yamaha once again is smokin’ crack
I wish they would just come out with a steel frame version of the “Roadliner”, with a “Tail Dragger” rear fender” and fat front end. The Air Cooled Roadliner engine at nearly 1900cc is a “torque monster” ( I had one) and looks right, that whole “extended” front end looks awful on this bike.
Goofy fenders and gaudy pipes ! Still like my old FXR much better!
baggerdude you are right:”Still like my old FXR much better!”.Why I can’t buy a NEW FXR and not “The Hinge Handler” Dyna I don’t know.For hard riding a Dyna is like a bad Sportster with rear wheel steering and a flat tire.This Yam would ride so much smoother in fast cruise mode it would feel like a real motorcycle.
Probably a good bike but Ugly!
Star’s a good machine. I’m not likely to wind up with one at any point, but a buddy of mine has one that he’s done some nice stuff with. Leaves my 4-speed shovel in the dust, sounds cool, looks good.
I definitely agree on front fender and pipes. Not so thrilled with the back fender either. The thing with th pipes is the angle throws off the rest of the lines of the bike, especially when combined with the fork angle.
Price and cost are two different things. These may have a lower price, but do they have a lower cost? Just check the resale value of a 2010 Dyna versus one of these. The HD’s hold their value. The metrics drop like a rock.
If I have to resort to caring what the resale is to justify the purchase then it’s obviously not worth purchasing. I buy bikes to ride. I buy stocks to resell.
These bikes generally photograph pretty well but in person the cost cutting measures stand out enormously. Ugly, poor design all around.
Resale and property value aside they are all just motorcycles. However the star motorcycles look cluttered at the very least. I wouldn’t get rid of my screaming eagle for it thats for sure.
I would not trade my bike for this one
It’s not my cup of tea, but not everything is….
I’m more of a Road Star / Roadliner / Stratoliner type of guy.
I know a lot of folks that have these & ride them like there is no tomorrow
What is one man’s garbage is another man’s treasure
I believe Billy Bartels said it best,
“There are no bad bikes nowadays, it’s just a matter of what you like and what you can afford” ….
Thanks Cyril for being fair & showing some of the “other side” of motorcycles
Guys, I think that you are missing what they are doing….They are Building a bike which is designed to compete price with the Top of the line Sportster. I think you got a Bike that will out handle and straight line and out brake any Sportster. I think that the sound of that Yamaha is a winner also. Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki are great competitors with all the V Twins. Maybe just look at it as a New Flavor of ice Cream……. tasty, sweet, great texture, but Chocolate and Vanilla are still what ice Cream means to me!
So, whats new compared to the 2013 bike? I think your 1340 cc is a type, it’s still the 80″/ 1304 engine and the same looks, new colours only?
The Road Star is still the only decent looking metric cruiser and a nice foundation for customization.
I’m not a fan of it’s looks but you can bet it will be reliable like most metric bikes. Water cooling is a great step forward as well. I’m glad I have a Honda Fury as I get both good looks and reliablity.
Since it has a radiator, I’m guessing that is the coil on the right side? Why the Hell is it so big?
I also laugh when someone says you need to spend thousands on a HD to get the “WHIZZY THINGS” out of the motor…..Funny, my FXST is a 2001 & I have NEVER had any engine work done to it. I guess I am missing those WHIZZY THINGS.
However, tell me this…why do all the Jap bikes sound like the engine is under water when people change their pipes. All these companies try real hard to make bikes look like Harley’s…Maybe they should try a different route or stick to crotch rockets, cuz their cruisers don’t cut it.
I’m just not interested in a machine that requires a car radiator for its engine. To me its just not a motorcycle and could care less about how much ‘better’ liquid cooled engines are. If I’ve got to ride something sporting a car radiator, i’ll just take my car.
If you build a kit car that ‘Looks’ like a Ferrari it will still be a ‘kit’ car. These bikes are the same thing IMHO. They will NEVER be a Harley, they just look like one. they might ride great but will never hold their value like the real thing.
FXDX805,Maybe you are right,in the same way as a V-rod looks like a Yamaha V-max and a FXR rolled into one.But I think this Yam looks like a V-max and a Virago rolled into one.
I am big fan of the RoadStar Warrior and the Raider,but this is taking a step back IMHO.
Nice second tier bike. For all the guys who have a buddy who has a cousin that had a new Harley and had nothing but trouble with it.