I took a demo ride with the Yamaha demo team in Murfreesboro TN 4 days ago. Temp was in the mid 80's and was a bright and sunny fall day in Tennessee.
My riding experience with Ventures covers 2 MK1's (new) 1983 burgandy and (new) 1986 Gold then 2 MK2's, 1992 and 1993. The MK2's were not new but very low mileage, 14K, barn finds about 5 years ago. On those 4 ventures saddle time equates to about 350k+ miles. Other bikes include a z1-900, Suzuki Intruder 1500, virago, XS1100, 650 twin, wing and honda 350F adding another 250K+ miles to saddle time.
OK, the test ride. The star venture is well balanced, easy to manage in traffic and seems really stable at low speeds. 5 mph+, up to legal interstate speeds, 70+. Wind management for the driver is good and I like the fairing side louvers, adjustable windscreen and the riding position. I didn’t get to play with the electronics as much as I wanted but did get to play with sport/touring mode, the windshield adjustment, GPS, cruise control and the radio played the sirrus demo channel. The cruise control worked really well. The radio sound quality seemed weak and didn’t stack up to audio quality of the radio on a Golding. It is better than the one on my Royale but it should be since mine is 24 years old. side note: I think I’ve gotten spoiled on the sound from my Sena.
Brakes and shifting were solid and predictable even with the forward controls and the clutch has a light feel and was smooth. Engine power was good. Not being familiar with the engine sounds I hit the rev limiter during acceleration a few times and teh engine was pulling strong up to that interruption. My passengers viewpoint was that it seemed windier than the Royale but the seat was comfortable. I had the windshield in full up position so I was surprised to hear it was windier for the passenger. 15-20 minutes isn’t a lot of time to develop a good feel about the extended ride comfort level though. The exhaust note sounded good, rich and full, but it Is louder than I care to listen too all day. Hard to beat the VR notes for me.
I'm 5'11' and could easily flat foot the SV at a stop. However ground clearance is less than what I’m used to and like to have when I ride. I found the floor board scrappage limits in the first left and right turns that I made. Its quickly apparent that driving/cornering the SV is not the same as the Royale. So I was forced to make cornering less aggressive and the demo ride became less enjoyable. It may be that the floorboards reduce the cornering clearance but its still reduced. After 5 minutes of riding I noticed a lot of heat on my legs as did my passenger. My Z1, 650 twin, virago, XS1100, 350F and Suzi were air cooled so the heat was expected by me but surprised my passenger. She’s only ever been on the water cooled 2 MK2's and the Goldwing. Mileage display indicated 34.7. Lots of low gear travel to get that kind of mileage.
I think anyone moving up to the tourer market for the first time or into a full featured tourer from other vtwin machines will like it a lot. it’s a contender as a replacement for my Royale but not high on the list. The price point for the TC is steep for what is offered when you look at features on a wing or features and performance of a bmw gtl premium. Also its hard to believe that there's a manual adjustment for the rear suspension given this price point.
The comment made in here about the smile factor when the throttle is cranked is spot on for my riding experience. The other part of that experience for me is being able to see corners and indulge up to my comfort level in the corners. With the VR there is plently of cornering left when my comfort level is achieved. On the SV I did not get any wow moments or find any "gotta have it" features except for being a new ride with tight plastics. However that does not take away from what the engineering of the machine or what it has to offer. Not everyone rides a touring bike like I do, open road, daily commuter, keeping up with crotch rockets (and sometimes winning to their embarrassment) . The new Star Venture is a good machine, full featured and solidly built. For me though it does not come close to providing the ride experience I have riding my VR and my passenger echo's that sentiment.
