Yamaha XVZ 1300 V4 Classic collectable metric cruiser review (72) @standupmoto

[@jimdemetri8168]

Ive had harleys .got fed up making my mechanic rich. Swapped to a royal star 10 years ago . All ive done is service and a clutch change . Fantastic bikes ill never get of it .

[@standupmoto]

Look after her, good ones are becoming a bit rare nowadays 👍

[@jimdemetri8168]

@@standupmoto ooo i do shes showing her age now but shes 24 years old . But the engine is sweet . She probably outlast me . They really are superb bikes . Bit of a handful in town heavy and not exactly the best for tight turns. But once you know its limits its fine. Not a bike for traffic or small roads though. But if you want that you dont ride a 320kg bike do you

[@OzBloke]

Gotta tell ya. In 1997, I bought the very first new XVZ 1300 sold in Western Australia. I moved on to a Roadstar 1600 and many other bikes along the way, mainly larger bikes of the Touring and Cruiser classes. In early 2023, I was looking in the ‘rear view’ mirror of thought and wanted a Japanese Classic. Found a nice 1997 XVZ in Perth with just over 40k’s and the original owner still had it……turned out it was Ron Dawson who owned and operated A1 Motorcycles and kept this bike when he retired……so, I bought my first Royal Star off Ron and also my second virtually identical bike…….it’s in pretty good nick but I am gradually renewing what is needed to get it right …..it’s great to be on something unique and it’s still an enjoyable ride. Cheers, Paul 😎👍

[@standupmoto]

Thanks for the great story Paul, it's always awesome to hear from owners and their unique bike experiences. 👍

[@Visionery1]

It's a good-looking bike, and probably a lot more reliable than a Harley.

[@dxhamshack7905]

Really enjoyed this video. Good job.

[@standupmoto]

Thank you!👍

[@DaveChagnon-xu7li]

'05 Royal StarTour Deluxe here. Taking the place of my '82 KZ1000 for 2 up riding. The wife loves the Royal Star and it drains me less on rides. Grew up with a friend with an 87 Vmax - love the lineage.

[@19Graywulf]

Hi StandupMoto, lovely to see a modern review of the Gen1 Royal and from someone who knows just how damn good they are. They are a very underestimated and overlooked machine (apart from the USA). Couple of points.. All these V4's including the Vmax were spawned of the 1980's Venture 1200 (Yamaha's Goldwing). If you have 32mm Carbs someone (you?) has done a Gen2 carb conversion, the Gen1 have 28mm carbs. I have had a Gen2 (factory leg shields) Venture model and have a Gen1 Tour Classic still. The power/performance difference between them standard is stark 95 vs 70bhp and about 15ft lbs more torque. You've done the mods the Gen1 needs, airbox (highly restrictive) and mufflers. did you follow the USA RS riders airbox mod the (bigfoot)? Anyone owning a Gen1 it's a highly worthwhile mod (airbox&jets/mufflers), they are still a docile bike when just pootling, but open the taps and they go fairly well, as the reviewer's bike showed.

[@standupmoto]

Thanks for the info & great to hear from someone that knows these wonderful bikes, they are a hidden gem. Mine still has the gen 1 carbs but with the other mods mentioned, they are pretty rare in Aus due to the high price when new. I also have a 98 in the burgundy & white, I’ll keep my ear to the ground for a set if 32mm carbs. Cheers.

[@19Graywulf]

@@standupmoto there is info online for the conversion.. it needs a plate machining, as the carbs bolt on in a different pattern. I am actually content as is, airbox mod/jets. etc.

[@standupmoto]

@@19Graywulf Thanks for the info 👍

[@petewest5973]

Excellent Review / I have a 98 Royal star & love it - in the North West of Australia , only a metric liquid cooled with a low stressed motor can maintain temp here. It’s a real thrill to ride 4 cyl with overdrive - just nice.

[@standupmoto]

Thanks mate glad you enjoyed it, yeah they are a great ride and I agree temp isn’t an issue. They are becoming a bit rare nowadays, look after her 👍.

[@petewest5973]

@@standupmoto Thanks will look after, no chance of selling it - my number plate is 4BANGA / up until this year you could get a really good 90’s RS for 4K - recently its 8 k so guys are starting to appreciate them in OZ , thats for sure. I also have F/ Glass Batwing and panniers - that I can fit for longer rides. But for round town - strip em down they look great I reckon.

[@standupmoto]

@@petewest5973 Love that plate! I actually have two , a 96 & 98. The one you see in the video and a burgundy that I totally stripped down to paint the same colour as the red & white. Both are still mechanically great, a mate has been hassling me to sell them to him for a long time but I’m struggling to part with them.

[@petewest5973]

@@standupmoto I feel yr pain - I often think if I sold my bike - what would I buy ? Tough call - I recently painter by black RS with wine accents - its now 2 tone gun metal grey with gold accents / did this to paint the pannier and batwing at the same time so did not have that after market look / Pearl white looks great on RS too. Be sure to do a vid the on the painting process of yr 98

[@flexgaragediy]

Great video , I own a Royal star past 8 years and never think to change it !

[@standupmoto]

Yes they are a fine machine & becoming collectible 👍

[@StevenRogers-hw9dj]

I was absolutely thrilled when I heard that the Royal Star was coming out. A classic-styled big bike with a V-Max engine was exactly what I'd been wanting. Then it came out... with the engine neutered from 120 hp to a simply pathetic 74. A year later, Honda introduced the Valkyrie, with the Gold Wing's engine hot-rodded to 100 hp. I still have a Valkyrie.

[@standupmoto]

Yes I hear you for sure, she is a bit shy on the ponies but still manages to get along pretty well. The Valkyrie is a good old bike with a sweet motor also, I guess when we are talking bikes from this era it’s probably more about the riding experience but yes a bit of work has to be done if your looking for that extra grunt. There’s a guy in Goolwa (a local town on our coast) pulling 140 hp from his Royal Star & it goes like a rocket, the problem is the brakes and suspension are really not up to that type of hp. In fairness to the bike neither the brakes or suspension were never designed to handle it either, but each to his or her own I guess. Cheers and thanks for the feedback 👍.

[@StevenRogers-hw9dj]

@@standupmoto Yeah, it was the riding experience I was looking forward to with the RS, even though I don't like floorboards on a bike. I thought those might be replaceable with pegs. Anyway, it's still a great looking bike.

[@standupmoto]

@@StevenRogers-hw9dj Yes I get, I’m lucky enough to ride many bikes but sometimes a bike just fits. In my case it just happens to be my old 07 Goldwing, but to be honest I like riding anything just for the experience of riding. Tragic I know but it’s the reason I started the channel, just so as I could share & hopefully help others riders with bike choices or just share the riding experience of various machines.👍

[@anthonyfuleky3722]

I like yours ....I own a 1997 Yamaha Royal Star it's a deep black cherry with a red pinstripe a little more chrome and slightly bigger leather saddle bags with a sissy bar back rest...if I could've would have loaded a picture have had it for 10 years .....they are enjoyable to ride...and I live in the US...Toledo Ohio 👍

[@standupmoto]

Hi , yes I’ve seen that color- it looks great. Would love to see your bike, [e-mail]

[@jesusacovarrubias1390]

I definitely agree with you, mate. I own a 2010 Royal Star Venture S. I do like the simplicity of yours where mine is a full dresser.

[@standupmoto]

Cheers mate thanks, yes they are a great machine. Yes it’s easy to get too everything for sure but I’d say you would be a little warmer than me on a chilly morning.👍

[@eL_PuTiPuErKo]

got a 98 xvz13at tour classic, it roared like a beast

[@kwlambright]

I have a 97 Royal Star sitting in my garage next to my Harley ultra limited. It needs work but has made it through 20 years of ownership, made it through a divorce, raising kids. Just can’t seem to get rid of it. Will get it running again one day

[@standupmoto]

Throw the carbies in an ultrasonic cleaner, drain the fuel, change the oil, pop in a new battery & she will run like a Swiss watch 👍

[@sprezzatura8755]

​@@standupmotoI found one that has been sitting for some time. Looks like I may have to pull the carbs and ultrasonic as you said. Sometimes you get lucky but it's nice to have the entire fuel delivery system squeaky clean 😊

[@356cruzer4]

Great video. I’m also a fan of modern classic Japanese bikes that are a little offbeat. I used to have a Vulcan Drifter 1500. Keep up the great work 👍

[@standupmoto]

Cheers mate thanks, I have ridden the Vulcan 1500, it was a very nice machine. I think it was called a Nomad over here but not sure, my Kawasaki knowledge is not great. you make an interesting comment about being a fan of modern classic Japanese bikes, I also as you can see by this video I am also but it hasn’t had that many views. Maybe I need to promote it in a different way, feel free to share it if you can to try and get it out there. Thanks for your comment cheers.

[@Errol.C-nz]

Just started a look to buy one for the barn.. almost a V8 rumble.. look georgeous & live the chunky tires not a fan of lowpro hoops.. spoke wheels would be a must & more rearset running boards, low swept back bars & contoured rear seat for my money manager to stay happy.. looking forward to some summer coast road cruising.. 👍 🇳🇿🇳🇿

[@standupmoto]

Yes on the v8 rumble! Many reviewers back in the day referred to the sound as a small block Chevy, spokes would be nice also. 👍

[@RobertdddJones]

Need a video with rebuilding the slave cylinder

[@dannyhackler8879]

I own a 96 royalstar cruiser and I ride it everyday

[@rayslife4k]

Me too dude please watch me

[@Tahakamee]

What mpg do you get?

[@rayslife4k]

I love my 1997 royal star

[@GONEAL93]

I just picked up a '96 Royal Star just a couple weeks ago! Didn't quite run, so I've got the carbs off to clean so I hope that'll get her up and going. I'll have to look for that airbox mod as well. Where is a good resource for info like that?

[@standupmoto]

Same year! Yes definitely the carbs, it’ll cough & splutter terribly once old unleaded fuel turns to goo in those carbs. A complete disassembly, throw everything in an ultrasonic cleaner at high temp for a couple of hours. That should fix it, the air box mod is basically just letting more air in. 👍

[@andrewmedlock2]

Hiya buddy. Great informative video. I’m hopefully picking one of these up next week here in the UK, can I ask what throttle control you use on the bike?

[@standupmoto]

Hi Andrew, yes it’s a Break Away Products throttle lock, I like it because it has front brake lever disengage feature. The company is in Portland Oregon US, I ordered it on line . Cheers.

[@andrewmedlock2]

@@standupmoto Thanks for the quick reply, I’ll look into the availability here in the UK, or shipping from the US. 👍

[@crispernator]

gday mate used to work wih a lad that had one of these it was in the green and white colour scheme they are a big bike to man handle around i found the vulcan 1500 i had hard enough eventually sold it to much chrome to polish good video 3rd gear 100kmh not bad im stil riding my little 500x good alrounder i think take care .

[@standupmoto]

Cheers mate, thanks for that. Glad you enjoyed the video, yes there certainly is plenty of chrome to keep clean. Good to hear that 500 is treating you well, I think I read somewhere there is an update model on the way but I doubt they could change too much because they’re pretty good as they are. 👍

[@User69390]

Nice video , how much they worth there now ?

[@standupmoto]

Hi , they probably range between 5 & 10k AUD. The upper limit will see a really tidy version with a good history etc, a lot of bike for the money.

[@OneIncredibleIndia]

Hey mate ! Just curious why 1300 got liquid cooled engine but 1600 and 1900 don't have liquid cooled engine

[@standupmoto]

Yeah good question, as an owner also of a 1600 (Vtwin) which has never had any temperature issues & is air cooled but the 1300 being a V4 cooling would be an issue. I think it would be tricky to get cooling between the cylinders, of course that theory doesn’t make sense if you look at let’s say an early Honda 4 but they did have a very short stroke and passed a lot of fuel. As emissions started becoming a thing around the time this bike was released I would say manufacturers were looking how to keep the motors cooler with the leaner mixtures . Just about everything on the market nowadays apart from a few low compression bikes is liquid cooled, higher compressions combined with leaner mixtures = more heat. That’s my totally un qualified reasoning 👍

[@myfavoritecolorisrage]

That duck was wondering how to get a ride.

[@standupmoto]

👍 🦆

[@sportify4849]

I thought it has cruise control and the tank is in reality under the seat.

[@standupmoto]

Not on this model, tank is in the - if we call it standard position but I have fitted an aftermarket market throttle lock.