My brother-in-law just got a 2004 Yamaha V-star 1100 classic. I rode it around town and was not overally impressed with performance of it, at least in town compared to my 883. Could an 883 with std. 1200 conversion or factory 1200 take him in the following: Stoplight to stoplight, 50 mph roll-on and 1/4 mile ? It seems like I could take him at the very beginning, but after that it would be over for my 883 stage 1 bike. I just wanted to get anyone's thought of a 1200 Sporty vs it.

I have another brother-in-law with a 93' Magna 750 in-line four, any thoughts on that bike as well.

LeavenworthJeff
97' 883 Hugger Taxes paid

My neighbor has a Yammy 1600 Road Star. My 883 constanly embarasses him.

The magna will run away from ya unless you get some mods, they run high 12s at about 102 ish stock, I have owned a few, The 80s V65 magna (1100CC) was in the high 10s and could touch 160 mph according to some tests, mine never saw over 150 indicated, but it was pretty ragged out by the time I got it..was my first streetbike in highschool, I used to race everything on that thing :).

I have another brother-in-law with a 93' Magna 750 in-line four, any thoughts on that bike as well.


In-line four??? COOOL!

http://www.photos.indianmotorbikes.com/27-39four/for049.jpg

The magna will run away from ya unless you get some mods, they run high 12s at about 102 ish stock, I have owned a few, The 80s V65 magna (1100CC) was in the high 10s and could touch 160 mph according to some tests, mine never saw over 150 indicated, but it was pretty ragged out by the time I got it..was my first streetbike in highschool, I used to race everything on that thing :).

Wickedsprint,
I was the first one in town with an 82 Honda V45 magna 6 speed. It was advertised the worlds fastest , out of the box, 12 sec. quarter mile. However, I enjoyed bragging rights for only a few short months, as the V65 was released. It was, in fact, advertised at a 10 sec quarter mile. I kept that bike for 12 years. It was smooth running at any speed.

Billy

In-line four??? COOOL!

http://www.photos.indianmotorbikes.com/27-39four/for049.jpg

The Magnas are actually V4s, but less you make fun of the inline 4s, 90 percent of the jap bikes are inlines, here is pure work of art..998CC...180HP at 12,500 rpm from the R1 I am drooling over. Bike runs 9s at over 145 mph in the quarter box stock.


http://yamaha-motor.com/products/mcy/500/04R1_eng2_1734.jpg

Collins, yeah, they are really fun bikes, pops had the 750, I had the V65 and then got a 700 sabre in college, that V65 was pretty insane,it is amazing I did not wreck it while in high school.

It's like comparing rice to french fries...I mean American fries. oops

Collins, yeah, they are really fun bikes, pops had the 750, I had the V65 and then got a 700 sabre in college, that V65 was pretty insane,it is amazing I did not wreck it while in high school.

In 1983, my 16 year old son was canceled from my auto insurance due to an accident soon after he got his license. I felt sorry for him being without wheels, while his friends were driving. He had never rode a motorcycle, but I taught him to ride the Magna, even though Momma kept tugging my shoulder and yelling he's going to kill himself.
He promised me he would treat bike riding respectfully and, in fact, did. I worried about him having an accident every time he rode off. I just couldn't have Momma telling me "I told you so". The Magna got him through his teenage years, and he's grateful I trusted him to ride it. He came home on "leave" (USAF) last summer and couldn't wait to try out the new Sportster. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree!

Billy

To stray back to the original topic [if that is actually permitted on this forum heh heh]: the Yamaha V-star 1100 is a wimp of a bike power-wise. It is a beautiful bike in my opinion - i think the style team did a great job. At one time i seriously considered buying one.

The 1100 engine has a history going back to 1981 - the Virago 920. The Viragos were the first bikes out of Japan to compete with the Harley factory customs of the day. Check out a 1985 model sometime - 1980s cool at its best! It became 1000 [981] in 1984 then 1100 [1063] in 1986. The 1100 has only 62.5 HP but it moves. Great in the city, good for passing big trucks on windy days also. But the V-Star, with a newer version of the same engine, has barely 50 HP. Pretty bike but go it does not!

I don't care how big or how fast another bike is. The rice and "other" bikes I've ridden over the years felt too generic..no soul. Too smooth, too trouble free, almost too perfect. I like my Sportster because it has alot of attitude and soul. It makes me feel more alive and she runs like a living being not like a robot. Hard to explain but nothing else I've ridden is like my Sportster. I love it when she shakes at the light, then throbs as I roll on. I'm gettin excited now!! LOL

-Cam
04 1200C "Scoot"

Try an 03 and older if you really want some vibes..ha

Try an 03 and older if you really want some vibes..ha
Try an Ironhead :smoke

I don't care how big or how fast another bike is. The rice and "other" bikes I've ridden over the years felt too generic..no soul. Too smooth, too trouble free, almost too perfect. I like my Sportster because it has alot of attitude and soul. It makes me feel more alive and she runs like a living being not like a robot. Hard to explain but nothing else I've ridden is like my Sportster. I love it when she shakes at the light, then throbs as I roll on. I'm gettin excited now!! LOL -Cam 04 1200C "Scoot"

Hahaha ..... :laugh :laugh
Your '04 Sporty is shakin' and throbs???? :laugh :laugh
Thats a good joke ... try out a pre '04 Sporty for a good dose of the REAL sportster vibs!!!! :D :D :D
I have a Jap bike, it lacks some soul, but it is great FUN to ride. Easy to handle, lightweight, fast, lots of HP, good breaks etc etc etc. :yikes

I don't think you would have a problem against the vstar. The magna is defanitly a different story. The engines in the Magnas were also used in the Honda Interceptors during the 1980s. I don't think the newer VFR's use the same motor that is in the current Magnas now though.

I challenged a 1400 Intruder after doing the 883-1200 conversion and did a pretty good job keeping ahead of him from a stop and a roll on. I thought they were pretty quick but was proven wrong. :)

Thanks for all the replies. Alleydude and Wickedsprint are right the 93' Magna 750 has a V4 not an inline. My bad, thanks for going easy on me guys. I agree with the group here that the Yamaha 1110 classic looks nice, but when I rode it I didn't feel any connection with it. You would think that with two 37mm carbs it would do better. That Magna is another thing all together with four 25 mm carbs it has some very good throttle response. I still love my sporty and this forum/group is a part of that reason as well.

LeavenworthJeff
97' 883 Hugger Taxes paid

My buddy rides a V-star 1100 with a Max Air kit. My 883 gives him a run for his money. His V-star is really loud, but the sound is not pleasantly loud like a Harley, just noisy.
Actually, I'm sick of those V-Stars. They're typical HD clones, but they're dirt-cheap (relatively speaking), you see tons of them everywhere, but they all look the same. Boring.
Every Sporster I've seen stands out and looks unique.

I admit the 04's and newer Sportsters don't have as much vibration as the earlier models but Harley has left enough "throb" for me.

-Cam

I was in the same boat as a few of you. Before I set my heart on the '04 1200C, I was seriously considering the V-star 1100. My learner bike was a '93 virago 535. It was a decent little learner bike. But that was about it.

I definitely enjoy the sporty far more than the Yamaha. I park my bike next to several V-star classics at work. Visually you can see the difference in quality between American steel and the metric copycats. The sporty is several leagues above the metrics regarding craftsmanship and pride in ownership.

The metrics tend to have a better track record when it comes to reliability. That is partly due to the fact that us HD owners like to change out parts and tweak our bikes far more than the metric-owners. But that's half the fun...

The sporty is several leagues above the metrics regarding craftsmanship and pride in ownership.

The metrics tend to have a better track record when it comes to reliability. That is partly due to the fact that us HD owners like to change out parts and tweak our bikes far more than the metric-owners. But that's half the fun...
They do ? How many 20-30 yr old metrics do ya see out there still rippin the roads? My 74 has only one engine rebuild on it and runs great. I know a guy that has an '01 Road Star 1500, already a rust bucket, and other than some dress-up stuff and pipes, there's not much for 'em , of course they all look the same, everybody kids him alot about his Road-Slug, that POS is pretty slow for all the damned noise it makes...criminy, my old 53 Pan would have beat his slug light to light...well that's enough comparin apples and oranges out of me :smoke

I also believe that the 883 by itself should take the 1100. As other's said before the Manga is another story. I had a 96' Magna, it would run away from my brother's Buell all day long in a straight line. That's when the Buell was stock. When it got exhaust and air cleaner mods it would run me down. That's when I got a V-max.

ya know I gotta agree with 74 on this one. I am so sick and tired of hearing about metric reliability over h-d . I checked a honda shadow forum , a yamaha forum and a suzuki forum and ya know what ? there was the same post as we have on here , just different names. here is the real deal. take care of your bike and it will take care of you. ride like an idiot and you will pay and pay and pay again. my sporty is far from being my first bike and along way from being my last bike. but it will be one that I keep no matter what else I buy.

It's like comparing rice to french fries...I mean American fries. oops


Make that "Freedom Fries."

The magna will run away from ya unless you get some mods, they run high 12s at about 102 ish stock, I have owned a few, The 80s V65 magna (1100CC) was in the high 10s and could touch 160 mph according to some tests, mine never saw over 150 indicated, but it was pretty ragged out by the time I got it..was my first streetbike in highschool, I used to race everything on that thing :).


Thats BS, I smoked my friends magna on my stage 1 1200S, and we both knew how to ride.

If you smoked the magna... he let you win. I made the mistake of messing with my buddy who owns a 01 Magna, i got my ass handed to me! he laughed all the way! i could catch up to him but i never got him off the light...
On the freeway, if i pulled away from him he would catch up instantly then pass me some more. If i were to get another "cruiser" just to mess around with i would get a magna.

All bikes have problems and if the bike lasts 25-30 years you'll find out about every one of them. I think Harley riders tend to take better mechanical care of their bikes if for no other reason than they tend to be older and have owned multiple bikes. I think most new bike owners gravitate to the big four Asian brands because of their reputation for reliability and lower cost. A new bike owner is less likely to take good care of their bike or become disenchanted with bike ownership and move on in which case the bike suffers. Having said that, there are plenty of 25-30 year old Asian bikes out there in immaculate condition with very few miles on them becaue their owners lost interest. I don't think there are that many Harleys in that condition because they were ridden.

I have two 25 year old Honda's and they are very reliable bikes if you remeber to adjust the valve shims every 5K miles. Don't do that and you are asking for trouble. They also have weak charging and ignition systems and terriable starters so you know you are going to have to work on those items. They have CV carbs and as long as you remember to "don't monkey" with them they work great. Screw with them and you are in for a long period of remove carbs, adjust needles, reinstall carbs, ride and repeat until you get it dialed in again.

I'd be surprised if any Sporty can beat the V45 Magna if both were stock and running properly. Its got about about 20 hp over the sporty right out of the box.

If you smoked the magna... he let you win. I made the mistake of messing with my buddy who owns a 01 Magna, i got my ass handed to me! he laughed all the way! i could catch up to him but i never got him off the light...
I think the problem in your situation is inexperience:laugh :laugh :laugh

Having now owned both I'll chime in. A stock V-Star 1100 is an absoulte dog. Put a breather kit, 2-1 exhaust, ignition, change it over to a single carb and tune it right, and that bike comes to life. If your comparing stock bike to stock bike...the Sporty is going to eat it alive. Set up right, the 1100 will give a sporty a run for its money. There are quite a few builders out there that love that motor and make some pretty good kits for it, and you can trick it out decent.

Hey guys, hate to bust your bubble, but I ride with a local Yamaha club here in town and those 1100 Vstars will run. Jim Bradford rides one and he 'smoked' another buddy of mine on his BT, which is not stock. The guy on the BT said he was passed so fast he thought his motor quit!!! Now Jim has an aftermarket aircleaner, loud pipes, and jetting changes, just like most of the guys run. I horse around with the 1100 all the time on my stock 883. I like to get a run at him and buzz him or pass on the curves. Don't think I can beat him in a dragrace, but can probably take him on the big end.....Dew.

Isn't the vstar 1100 motor just an updated virago motor?

In 91 I bought a new 883 5 speed sporty and the pipes, se cams, and dynojet kit. I also had a 920 virago.

A friend and I [he was a lot lighter and an ex national number flat tracker] would swap them back and forth and do roll on and top end em.

Didn't matter what we did the virago would smoke the 883.

The stuttering dynojet crap modded carb was replaced with an su and they were pretty even then.

My bud thought the cammy sporty was fast and when he saw what the bone stock virago did to it he just shook his head and said sell it.

I sold both of them and didn't miss either.