BIG NEW BAGGER HITS THE MARKET – I just roadtested the new big luxury bagger from Yamaha Motorcycles. Here are my quick impressions of the Star Venture.
Comfort, convenience and sporty performance…Yes, a big sporty tourer!
The Star Venture comes equipped with with two drive modes. The touring mode gives you a smooth throttle and power response. The sport mode, well you better hang on, it offers noticeable acceleration delivery and demands you pay attention to handling this big bike with confidence off the line and around corners.
Seats, backrest and grips come with a heated feature for comfort in colder weather. Front fairing has an electronic, adjustable windscreen of course. Air management around the bike is excellent and made easier with plenty of vents.
These types of luxury baggers are made for comfortable, long-distance two-up riding. I did not test the bike with a passenger but from all I could see, the 17-inch wide passenger seat, backrest and appropriately placed rear floorboards would provide state of the art comfort for a passenger.
The Star Venture even comes with a reverse gear for parking ease and convenience. Yamaha’s “Sure-Park” system makes for easy maneuvering even when this 963 pounder is fully loaded.
There’s a new bagger in town…the 2018 Yamaha Star Venture. You got to give it a go. Photo Credit: Yamaha Motorcycles
Dashboard infotainment system delivers everything you need.
The Star Venture’s infotainment system is full of logically organized features including GPS navigation, a communications suite, audio package, vehicle health control info, external device connectors and there’s even a CB radio option. All key features are easily readable on a 7-inch, color LCD screen and managed effortlessly from the easy touch handlebar-controlled command center. This said, there are a ton of options here and it would likely take me thousands of miles to master it all. Click here for more information.
Big dashboard of the Star Venture. Easy to read 7-inch screen. Easy access to controls.
1854cc V-Twin motor offers excellent power…126 pound-feet of power.
Yamaha has done a great job with this all newly designed 1,854cc (113ci) motor. It’s a 48 degree V-Twin that sounds really tight and smooth. In fact, it’s actually a very quiet motor given the power it puts out. Literally, little to no mechanical engine noise. Superb engineering I must say.
The engine is pushed forward through a 6-speed transmission which gear shifts real smooth and is specifically designed for long-distance touring. A compact oil-cooler directly in front of the motor, inside the down tubes, attempts to keep the Star Venture’s V-Twin engine temperature cool.
Engine exhaust sound is nice and throaty…delivered via two twin mufflers.
Yamaha has developed a really nice big V-Twin motor for the Star Venture. 1,854cc (113ci and 126 lb-ft of torque). Photo Credit: Yamaha Motorcycles
Engine air-cooling ducts…they’re huge!
The two huge vertical air-cooling ducts don’t seem to fit the otherwise cool and sporty look of this bagger. In fact, I am not a fan of ’em. While they might be successful in directing air towards cooling the engine and even parts of the rider, they are too big and bulky looking for my tastes.
Vertical air-cooling ducts straddling each side of the Star Venture’s front end…are HUGE! And, I’m not so sure they were effective in re-directing heat. This is a V-Twin afterall and it throws off quite a bit of heat.
Lots of storage space…
You can easily store two full-face helmets with lots of room to spare in the top trunk. The top trunk, saddlebags and fairing compartments hold more stuff than the new 2018 Goldwing which offers only 29.1 gallons (110 liters) of storage space according to recent press releases.
37.3 gallons (141.2 liters) of volume across the saddlebags, trunk and fairing compartments. All storage locks electronically.
My Bottom Line
All things considered, this is a very impressive long-distance tourer offering excellent, sporty handling characteristics. Acceleration is quick. The chassis is stable and very responsive. Shifting was easy no matter the gear. Comfort…may be the best seat to handlebar configuration in its class.
I was not impressed with the bike’s engine heat management set up. The engine runs hot in my opinion. In fact, it reminds me of the engine heat issue I had on my original 2004 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide.
Custom cool look-wise…the vertical air ducts are too big…they just don’t look good in my opinion. And, I’m not sure they even work as designed for air control and direction around that big V-Twin engine. But hey, I would not hold this against the Star Venture. It’s a heck of a luxury bagger for the money.
The Star Venture offers a Transcontinental Option Package that comes with special features such as LED fog lamps, additional storage compartments for the passenger and an alarmed security system and more. For an extra $2,000 you get an impressive array of additional upgrades.
My bottom line, the Yamaha Star Venture offers a lot of bagger advantages for its MSRP price range of $24,999 – $26,999. You got to try it.
The 2018 Star Venture. A good-lookin’ bagger from Yamaha Motorcycles. Suggest streamlining/downsizing the vertical air ducts up front to make next year’s model custom-cool looking. Click image for more information from Yamaha Motors. Photo Credit: Yamaha Motorcycles
Ride Safe Out There.
Thank you for reading my blog folks. — MJB
About Motorcycle Marc – I’m a motoblogger, some say a motorcycle industry influencer, ambassador and sponsor. I prefer to ride motorcycles but when I can’t ride I blog about it. Since 2009, I’ve developed a strong, dedicated following of thousands of gearheads, motorheads, biker-wannabes and 2-wheeled adventurers who love motorcycles and everything motorcycle-related. Welcome to my world – Marc J. Beaulieu (MJB)
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Thanks for the terrific post. Looks like a great big bagger.
Looks like a huge bagger. Lots of storage room. Surprised to hear the handling was so good. I need to go ride one. Thanks.
Saw this bike at my dealer. Too big. It’s damn huge. What’s with the Mad Max looking Air Ducts? Elephant-like machine in my opinion. New 2018 Goldwing looks leaner and better.
I like the report. Great write-up…I going to test ride one of these new ventures.
Nice bike. I will get either this Star Venture or the new Goldwing. Won’t pay $50,000 out the door for the Harley CVO Ultra…
Saw this Venture at the Temecula Powersports Demo Day last month. I was surprised how big and bulky the top trunk is. Looks like the trunk of a small car. Great for two up riding I guess. All else was pretty typical of the other bagger VTwins out there.
This is a really nice dresser for the money…I don’t like the big vents either but agree that for the money, this is a hell of a ride. I’ve always ridden Yamaha and really find them reliable and tough. They last forever it seems.
Good lines on the design overall but I too wonder about the air vents. Reminds me of the ugly vents on the old Buells. Big VTwin size pd-ft torque is also good.
This is a big motorcycle. Not for beginners. I agree with you on the engine air ducts. What’s up with that design? They are enormously big. They look out of place on an otherwise nice looking touring machine.
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Thank for your input Tom…Yes, air ducts do not fit the bike’s good overall design. I would not be surprised if they were narrowed by a full 1.5 inches in the coming model years. Ride Safe Out There. —MJB
Like all Japaneses bikes, you can’t go wrong with the engineering and reliability. The look is good too, your typical cruiser look, which seems to be the look many want in a bagger.
I agree, the air ducts, way too big, they don’t seem to fit the otherwise sporty looking bike.
I love big 2 up bikes, I wish I could have five….or six. Gotta plan next year’s ride. Hummmm, which bike will it be???
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Thanks for reading my blog post and your input Roch…The touring baggers on the market today are all good but only one or two brands are all-around excellent. It’s all a matter of personal taste and style at this point and of course, the size of your wallet or willingness to go into debt. All are expensive out the door…Ride Safe Out There. — MJB