Yamaha XVZ 1300 A Royal Star Venture

The Royal Star is a massive, retro-styled touring cruiser powered by a larger, detuned version of the 1198cc V-Max engine. The V-4 engine, which makes 104kW (140bhp) in the V-Max, produces around half that figure in the Royal Star. Yamaha has altered the engine's carburation and timing to move the power further down the rev range: the peak torque figure of 82ft lb is produced at just 3500rpm. Having said that, the Royal Star is incredibly heavy, at 328kg (7231b), limiting its dynamic appeal. Beefy fork shrouds, extensive chrome-plating and spoked wheels are all authentic cruiser-style. Its touring abilities are further helped by the low-maintenance shaft drive and 18-litre (4 gal) fuel tank.

Yamaha has been riding the crest of the cruiser market since the mid-1970s, when it jumped in with both feet and introduced its then-revolutionary line of "Specials," the cruiser-styled versions of its existing streetbikes.
In the early 1980s, it was the first Japanese firm to enter the previously a 11 -American realm, when it rolled out the Virago, a V-twin cruiser. The new Royal Star is the logical evolution of that trend, though it might have arrived five years ago but for some shifts in the market that took planners by surprise.

In one way or another, the Royal Star has been in the works since 1988. The concept solidified in 1991 after countless
hours of research, after-hours BS sessions, cocktail-napkin sketches and, we're sure, plenty of tedious meetings. The story actually starts with the motorcycle boom of the 1960s and 70s. "People in motion" is how one popular song described the baby-boom generation, and the Japanese motorcycle makers arrived on the scene just in time to help them move, introducing them to motorcycling with products that fit both their expectations for quality and their budgets. Sales peaked in '73, but stayed strong for another eight years.

The party ended in 1982, just when the motorcycle makers were stocking up on extra refreshments. Motorcycle sales suddenly slumped, probably because maturing motorcyclists drifted away to raise families or concentrate on their careers.

Nobody saw it coming, and the large stocks of new bikes kept prices at rock bottom; it also made the Japanese pull back from developing new products. Meanwhile, a restructured, aggressive Harley-Davidson emerged with a product that appealed to the leading edge of that baby-boom generation.

"The Japanese built the motorcycle market," declares Yamaha's Ed Burke. The ball got dropped, he says, when "we devalued Japanese motorcycles." Now, however, he sees that baby-boom customer coming back to the market. With kids growing (or grown) up and careers under control, that fortysomething rider who started with a DT-1, CB350 or KZ650 has come back to motorcycling. Sure, says Burke, he has come back in part to capture elements of his youth; but Burke has surveyed that group of riders who last bought bikes back in 1981. "Seventy percent of them rate motorcycling as the number one leisure activity," he reports.
The trick was building a motorcycle in which this re-entry rider is interested. It isn't a sportbike, it isn't simply a touring bike, and for many it isn't a Harley-Davidson. But it better be fun and it has to be good. These are not first-time buyers, and they are pretty sophisticated about machinery.

Notes Burke: "It's the healthiest, wealthiest, most active generation ever." They now have the affluence—and the time—to come back to their favorite leisure pastime. By the late '80s, it was obvious that they were doing precisely that, but not for the high-tech sportbikes or the off-road bikes of their youth; they were buying cruisers, mostly Harleys, although all kinds of cruisers were being gobbled up. The Viragos, for example, are breaking new records every year. The Japanese, still reeling from their mistakes of the early 1980s, were slow to provide cutting-edge bikes for this new market.

The Royal Star, like the Specials and the Viragos, is at the forefront of this burgeoning market segment (along with Honda's A.C.E. Shadow and the Kawasaki VN800 Vulcan). Burke has been at work on the project since '88, when it became clear that real demand was there. As with Yamaha's earlier cruisers, the other Japanese manufacturers are hot on his heels. There is a base of seven to 10 million motorcyclists and former motorcyclists out there, many of them potential buyers for this latest generation of hardware.

Because they are experienced riders, they are also knowledgeable. Many of them are motorheads, looking for machines they can customize and express themselves through. It's also a generation that's grown up with refined machinery; this buyer wants reliability and a full measure of performance. But he also expects roominess, comfort, and probably a place for his wife or girlfriend. He has mostly outgrown aggressive riding.

That's who the Royal Star was built to please. "Elemental design" is how Burke describes the construction of the Royal Star—each piece is an element. Sure it blends with the other components to form a pleasing whole, but it's also ripe for replacement. You can pluck off the tank and slip in an after-market item. Ditto the two-piece seat, fenders, pipes, etc. The frame and underpinnings are designed to look good when exposed by reconfigured outer pieces, and there are plenty of hooks for accessory components. For example, the bike is wired for spotlights.

Yamaha itself will offer over 100 customizing pieces created by the American aftermarket, which it's doing its best to woo and support. Burke frowns when he talks about earlier years when the Japanese OEMs tried to compete with and block the aftermarket rather than recognizing that third-party products were a key to individualizing motorcycles, which actually stimulated sales. This assemblage-of-pieces design is the antithesis of bikes like the Yamaha GTS1000, where components were all melded together.

The only thing to discourage you from customizing the Royal Star will be the quality of the original parts. We're talking heavy metal here, with plastic employed only where it's essential. You get loads of chrome and polished aluminum. Yamaha has even made liberal use of stainless steel. The aftermarket is going to have to stretch to maintain this quality level when building bolt-ons.
Don't expect second-rate technology inside, either.

The big 1300cc V-4 that drives the Star is completely redesigned externally, providing the heavily finned look of an air-cooled machine. Internally, though, it's a much-modified, tried-and-true V-MaxA/enture Royale mill. It's been tweaked to provide unmatched torque while retaining most of that breathtaking power that made the V-Max so much fun. Five speeds, orchestrated with a heel-and-toe shifter above the left floorboard, and a shaft drive deliver the power. The ratios provide a relaxed cadence, about 2700 rpm at 65 mph. Three big brake discs with four-piston calipers should provide plenty of stoppage. The rotors are widely spaced, giving the front end a distinctive look.

The long wheelbase provides plenty of room to bring along a friend, because Yamaha envisions the Royal Star as the centerpiece of a motorcycling lifestyle that has become increasingly social. Older riders bring wives or dates, and Yamaha sees younger riders becoming attracted to cruisers because, as Burke says, "it's where the girls are." Comfort was a prime consideration. "We built it to ride," says Burke.

The seat is low and wide, and suggests long rides. Big, wind-cheating windshields are sure to be a popular addition when riders get out on the highway. Burke himself got to take the final prototype for a 4000-mile jaunt when it was delivered and was quite pleased. "I knew we had what we were looking for," he muses.

A big wave of cruisers is suddenly breaking upon us and the Royal Star stretches both the limits and the expectations for this resurgent genre. Though a shortsighted few will charge that it's for Harley-wannabes, the bike's character quickly brushes that aspersion aside. More accurately, the Yamaha Royal Star will appeal to Harley-don't-wannabes, because this bike reaches far beyond the limited landscape of Harley-style knock-offs and promises a world of brave new cruisers. rm

Source Motorcyclist 1996