Faults:

The clutch cable was frayed and busted on me 2000 miles into ownership, and the regulator and stator went out on me, causing both coils to go out. That was around 28000 miles.

General Comments:

Having grown up around Harley's, but not quite able to invest in one, the Yamaha Star was like a heavens send. Used, I got the bike for 2200$ with 15000 miles, and though I wasn't too happy that the used dealership pulled a fast one on me concerning the checklist of maintenance they claimed was completed being incomplete, I couldn't have got a better deal!

I bought the bike back in November of 2012, and come spring 2013, I joined the Renaissance Festival, touring the country wide on my humble 650 Silverado. The stock seat permits too much vibration and gets too flat and uncomfortable after only a few hours, but there are countless affordable aftermarket seats that fix that trivial problem with ease. The bike has been subjected to the weather the entire time of my ownership, and still stubbornly strides on. Stubborn as a mule. There have been times I wished for a bigger bike. But when I consider function and efficiency, reliability and cost of upkeep. The 650 star takes the money. Every time. The bike looks beautiful off the lot, too, but so too is it conveniently simple to make it your own.

The bike sounds wound at highway speeds when you have that stock exhaust, but still has plenty enough power to get out of sticky situations; top speed according to my speedometer was 90-96mph. Takes a bit of mmph after about 80mph, and has a slight but notable loss of power between 55-65mph, but then again it's about time for a carb and valve adjustment.

On a parting note, after driving my Yamaha, I have decided... no, I was convinced I will never again long for a Harley. Yamaha has a slew of bikes for whatever I could desire, and a slew of customization options with a reliability I didn't even have when I owned an automobile! Ha!

Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong with this bike since I have owned it.

General Comments:

This is a great intermediate size bike for both the beginner and the more experienced. I did not want a smaller 250cc size, and also did not want anything in the 1100-1200cc size cruiser, so the 650cc was a great compromise. I did try a lot of bikes for their weight and balance, and found that this had the best combination for me. It was not too light and not too heavy, and fit my 5'8" frame and weight just right. Agreed it doesn't have the power of the larger bikes, but for any reasonable rider you don't need it. I can keep up with the best of them (legal speeds).

You do have to be careful on the curves and try not to be too aggressive because of peg scraping. I now have adjusted my riding style so I can avoid this.

I do wish it had a sixth gear, as the RPM does seem a bit high over 60mph, but there is very little vibration. Fuel mileage is around 60 MPG with my riding style after careful monitoring of the fuel. Couldn't complain about the price as it was half of the Harleys for the same year.

Overall a great bike for the money with little maintenance issues.