Featured Bike of the Month - October
XVS1300 Midnight Star
This bike was designed with American authenticity combined with European riding character.
"A cruiser you can enjoy on winding European roads,” says Oliver Grill, Product Planner at Yamaha Motor Europe. It sounds like a paradox, but the chassis of this big US twin powered Cruiser had some serious development to ensure a relatively sporty behaviour when cornering.
The European influence came forward in the development. In the U.S., the emphasis is much more on straight roads than in Europe, where we have so many winding roads with different surface conditions. Therefore the chassis of traditional cruisers was always undervalued. The aspect of easy handling was important to expand the enjoyment of cruising on European roads. The engineers took that up and made a really outstanding chassis in the Cruiser category.
Agile handling
The result of this effort is a riding behaviour that combines relaxed riding with excellent stability at higher speeds, with an agile handling to enjoy the winding roads.
What did Yamaha do to achieve that?
- Steel double-cradle frame with a rigid engine mounting
- Compact engine layout; the belt drive reduces the number of axles formerly needed for a shaft drive
- Weight distribution moved forward, with 48% in front and 52% in the rear for a more responsive ride and excellent straight line stability
- 41mm front fork and link type (Monocross) rear suspension for a comfortable ride
- Large 298 mm brake disks (2 in front, 1 in rear)
Places We're Going 
