Picked up a new Ride - 2007 V Star 1300 Touring

My wife wanted a HD and while I was not opposed to one, the cost was just too prohibitive. So I had her start looking at Metric Cruisers to find ones that she liked that would work for 2-up touring. We finally decided on the V-Star line and found a very nice 2007 1300 with the Touring package, EFI Power Commander, Custom windscreen and a custom Air Filter. 14,002 on the clock when I picked it up. The guy also tossed in a nice bag that attaches to the rear seat back.

Plans for upgrades:

Better touring seat for me with a small backrest (help with the pain I get from my dissection).
Swap out the passenger pegs for rear floorboards.
Louder Exhaust.

Eventually I want to start de-chroming some of it, go for the blacked out look.

And some pics:












This is the First Cruiser I have ever owned, before my First FZ I had only owned Dirt Bikes and only ridden a few other bikes. I have ridden my buddies Street Glide with full dresser. The ride home was good, I really like the wind protection the big screen gives, I could open up my visor at faster speeds than I can on the FZ without getting wind in my eyes, that will be nice for touring.

In September my wife and I are planning a week long ride for our 18th Wedding Anniversary, but I hope to go on a weekend trip or two before then. More updates as I get them!

Looks comfy enough! Before I started riding my own, I used to ride cupcake with John on a BMW 1200RT. We had a custom seat on it and went all the way into Canada on it....great bike.
Can't wait for your ride reports & pics from it!

Hey, congrats! I'm interested to hear your impressions of it after you get some seat time in!

I wonder if you'll end up riding the V-Star exclusively at some point. I bet you running costs are less and you certainly won't be losing any fuel economy with it; I'm seeing people averaging 45-46 MPG on Fuelly.

That bike has pretty good torque. The suspension will be a bit soft and lower relative to the FZ, but a nice change of pace nevertheless. You will need to plan corners and stopping earlier. Also be prepared for tailbone ache on long rides. I like the bags.

Have fun! You FZ1 will feel 100 lbs lighter the next time you ride it after a long cruise on the 1300.

Your garage looks like mine now:

A Gen 1 FZ1
A V Star 1300 Tourer

Check out Ultimate Seats for a replacement seat. They even have a nice rider backrest option. I looked at several brands and got the Ultimate.

The pullback on the 2007-2009 is not as far as most people like. Take a look at the RSTD Yamaha bars. They come back several more inches and don't require any cable replacements:
SS Custom Cycle - Biker Trash towards the bottom of the page

The shield will be even more impressive when you get some lowers. Most of the air on the 1300 comes from under the shield then over the tank. Memphis Shades and others have options for after market shields.

Here's a great site dedicated to the 1300 with tons of info:
https://forums.delphiforums.com/vstar1300