New XVS 1300A Midnight Star owner

[monkeyass]

Hi there,

I've been on the forum before, but I just recently purchased a 2008 XVS 1300A Midnight Star on Tuesday the 24/03/09, it's the most amount of money I have ever spent on anything but I'm loving every minute of being on the bike.

LoL when I first went to pick up the bike I was crapping myself with the size of the bike and wondering how the hell I would be able to ride it, but I was so suprised at how easy it is to manouver and ride. I went from a XVS 125 to this, I know it's a big jump and probably not recommended but i thought If i get a 650 and then get bored with that a few months down the line then I'm just paying out more money. I will be using this to go touring and taking a pillion, when I get more used to the bike , so if there's any ride out's or planned trips I'd definately be interested.

Here are some pics of the bike (they are thumbnail links, click on them for a bigger picture):

[Stu_B]

Great choice, I have mine a while now, and love it....

I don’t suppose you have done any mod's yet, but I can recommend a few... get Jack's O2 mod first, cost is only $50 and boy does it help the low speed running, not that its bad straight out the box, with the mod it will pull much better from low speed in high gears

I'm off to Holland in a few weeks and off to the Alps in July... they are a great bike and the handling is superb fro a cruiser... I recently passed my advanced rider on mine, and its surprising how many guys on "sport bikes" struggle to keep up :-)

Enjoy it!

All the best

Stu

[Goff]

Nice bike you got there - but ditch the panniers and screen!

I recently bought a 2009 midnight star 950 - loverlee bike

[monkeyass]

Cheers I'm glad you like the bike , the reason I got this one is for the panniers and the screen for when I go touring, I checked it out and it looks like they are easily removed. The only mod I have made to the bike is attachign the cables for my heated gloves to the bike, I love my heated gloves lol.

I will look into the mod you mentioned, do you have any direct links by any chance?

I have noticed that it jumps a bit in 1st gear when riding slow sometimes I have to hold the clutch in to do slow riding.

[monkeyass]

Just found the guy, what is the mod? it just looks like a cable?

[MIG]

GREAT choice of bike !! I have one, its the dogs nadds

:-)

Yep you have to keep the clutch in slightly and slip it as it does pull alot in 1st gear, hence 'kangaroo petrol syndrome'. The bike is a little less unforgiving than a 125cc, you'll get used to it.

Don't you just love :-) it when you touch the throttle.... and it just pull's like a bat out of hell :-) !!

I don't have a screen on mine 'I'm too cool LOL !!, but read on t'internet that you get a lot of turbulance behind the screen, one way around it is to cut it down slightly. Don't know if this is applicable to you.

Where abouts you based ??

MIG

[Stu_B]

Just found the guy, what is the mod? it just looks like a cable?

The mob is exactly as you say looks just like a cable... if fact there is a resistor in the ground wire... no idea why or how it works, but trust me its the best $50 I have spent on the bike

With regards to the screen and panniers... In my opinion, leave em on panniers are way to useful not to have, and screen makes cruising at 85+ easy.

You do get buffeting from underneath the screen, this is best fixed with some Bucks Lowers... which I must say are a bit ugly, but boy they do work well....I think that was probably the second best mod I have made

The third best was drilling the exhaust... FREE... well I did need to buy a 1.25" hole saw, but I still have that so I count the mod as zero cost

Stu

[monkeyass]

Hi again,

Yeah I do love the way it pulls away from standing still and the noise it makes makes me smile every time, I don't know about drilling holes in my exhaust though, it sounds good enough to me. I'm definately interested in that mod though, what does it actually do? Does it make it run smoother or......? I haven't really noticed the wind that much to be honest, I will be more observant when I'm out on it though from now on and will look into something to fix that, but I'm not a tall person anyway.

I'm based in the midlands here, Newport in Shropshire, trying to find a group to start riding out with or some other people to meet up with, especially seen as it's coming to summer time, I definately want to trek around europe as well.

[Stu_B]

Hi again,

Yeah I do love the way it pulls away from standing still and the noise it makes makes me smile every time, I don't know about drilling holes in my exhaust though, it sounds good enough to me. I'm definately interested in that mod though, what does it actually do? Does it make it run smoother or......? I haven't really noticed the wind that much to be honest, I will be more observant when I'm out on it though from now on and will look into something to fix that, but I'm not a tall person anyway.

I'm based in the midlands here, Newport in Shropshire, trying to find a group to start riding out with or some other people to meet up with, especially seen as it's coming to summer time, I definately want to trek around europe as well.

Hi There,

The 02 mod smooths the whole ride out... so you can go MUCH slower in the gears and get a clean pull away... no jerking or snatching... how it works I have no idea, but trust me it does...

Drilling exhaust is a bit of a leap of faith, but again it makes the sound much nicer, not to loud, but much more like a big V twin... nice thing is you cant see any change... the drilling part is right inside the exaust.

With regards to riding groups IMHO you could do a whole lot worse than the Virago Star Owners Club... there are centers all over the UK, I'm sure theres one near you.... Follow the link for more info http://www.vsoc.org.uk/

I'm off to Holland Next Weekend with local club, but I belive there are guys from other sections...

With regards to wind... you are maybe much stronger than me... after an hour at 85 I need all the proctection I can get

Stu

[Rhinefield]

Hello, I'm new to this forum and am interested in Jack's O2 mod for my XVS 1300. Can anyone tell me where I can buy this kit in the UK? I live in Barnet, North London.

Thanks in advance!

Rhinefield

[Rhinefield]

Hello, I'm new to this forum and am interested in Jack's O2 mod for my XVS 1300. Can anyone tell me where I can buy this kit in the UK? I live in Barnet, North London.

Thanks in advance!

Rhinefield

[Stu_B]

Hello, I'm new to this forum and am interested in Jack's O2 mod for my XVS 1300. Can anyone tell me where I can buy this kit in the UK? I live in Barnet, North London.

Thanks in advance!

Rhinefield

You can Jacks O2 mod from Jack ... I found him on a US 1300 forum, I'm not sure if we are allowed to give links to other forums, but I'm sure a Goggle search would find it... The Mod costs $50 plus P&P, he will ship to UK no problem.

The Mod takes a few mins to fit, and comes with instuctions.... As I have said before, best $50 you will send on bike

[Rhinefield]

You can Jacks O2 mod from Jack ... I found him on a US 1300 forum, I'm not sure if we are allowed to give links to other forums, but I'm sure a Goggle search would find it... The Mod costs $50 plus P&P, he will ship to UK no problem.

The Mod takes a few mins to fit, and comes with instuctions.... As I have said before, best $50 you will send on bike

Thanks fpr your reply, but I can't find his details anywhere. Any ideas? Thanks

[Stu_B]

Thanks fpr your reply, but I can't find his details anywhere. Any ideas? Thanks

Well I hope I'm not breaking any rules...

The Forum link is http://forums.prospero.com/vstar1300

The forum is just for XVS 1300,s loads and loads of hints and tips... As I remember you simply pay pal Jack and he sends you a "cable".. There is also a section that will show you how to make your own mod, but for $50 it seemed easy just to pay.

Also check out bucks Lowers... which aren’t exactly pretty to look at, but if you have a screen really help with buffeting, I also did the screen tilt mod, which makes the screen look a bit better, and reduces buffeting to zero ( well it does when combined with the Buck's Lowers :-) )

hope that works for you...

Stu

[Rhinefield]

Well I hope I'm not breaking any rules...

The Forum link is http://forums.prospero.com/vstar1300

The forum is just for XVS 1300,s loads and loads of hints and tips... As I remember you simply pay pal Jack and he sends you a "cable".. There is also a section that will show you how to make your own mod, but for $50 it seemed easy just to pay.

Also check out bucks Lowers... which aren’t exactly pretty to look at, but if you have a screen really help with buffeting, I also did the screen tilt mod, which makes the screen look a bit better, and reduces buffeting to zero ( well it does when combined with the Buck's Lowers :-) )

hope that works for you...

Stu

Hi Stu,

You're a star! Eventually found Jack and have sent him $77 inc p+p for the mod. Hope it comes with instructions! have you put one on your bike and did it make a difference? I've just bought my '08 model 1300 and am fascinated by all the forums of all the mods to do on it. I'm thinking of drilling out the exhaust but want to know if anyone in the UK has done this as all the forums seem to be US ones. Also, all this business about changing over the stock yamaha bars to RSTD ones makes sense to me as I hate the riding position of the standard bars - my back kills me after an hour. have you changed over the bars? can you buy them in the UK? Would the Star 950 bars fit as well, as that bike is really comfortable to ride. Sorry to ask so many questions, but a fellow Star rider in the UK is a lot more "real" to chat with than another over in the US, as I don't know where to buy all the extras over here. Thanks again for your patience.

[Stu_B]

Hi Stu,

You're a star! Eventually found Jack and have sent him $77 inc p+p for the mod. Hope it comes with instructions! have you put one on your bike and did it make a difference? I've just bought my '08 model 1300 and am fascinated by all the forums of all the mods to do on it. I'm thinking of drilling out the exhaust but want to know if anyone in the UK has done this as all the forums seem to be US ones. Also, all this business about changing over the stock yamaha bars to RSTD ones makes sense to me as I hate the riding position of the standard bars - my back kills me after an hour. have you changed over the bars? can you buy them in the UK? Would the Star 950 bars fit as well, as that bike is really comfortable to ride. Sorry to ask so many questions, but a fellow Star rider in the UK is a lot more "real" to chat with than another over in the US, as I don't know where to buy all the extras over here. Thanks again for your patience.

No problem...

Yep the Mod comes complete with instructions, and a picture... its really simple to do, if you look at the exhaust you can see where the 02 sensor fits the exhaust... follow the lead up under the panel, there’s a plug and socket to connect it to the bikes ECU, simply unplug plug in the mod at both sides and away you go... much smoother and slower in all gears before the engine starts to lug...

Yep I have drilled my exhaust... to be honest found a slightly damaged one on e bay for £25 so drilled that "just in case".. its easy to do, the forum has details, only thing is I could only get a 1.25" hole saw inside my exhaust, the yank pipe may have a slightly larger bore... is yours a UK spec or an Import?... anyhow its easy to do, the hardest thing is getting an extension bar, the guy where I got the whole saw from had one which he lent me... took about 5 mins to drill out. IMHO The sound is much better, maybe not as nice as full system, but much better than stock.

Re bars... if you look on the forum there is a WKPI section at the top... in there are loads of mods and info on all sorts of things, including the bars. I think the best place to get most of the stuff is Shane at SS customs, drop him a mail and he will get you a "landed price" in the UK... mind you, you may end up paying import duty if its over £70 (I think)

I have the standard bars and find em OK... I'm 5' 11"... you bigger or smaller?... do you have a screen? if so what one...

All the best

Stu

[Rhinefield]

No problem...

Yep the Mod comes complete with instructions, and a picture... its really simple to do, if you look at the exhaust you can see where the 02 sensor fits the exhaust... follow the lead up under the panel, there’s a plug and socket to connect it to the bikes ECU, simply unplug plug in the mod at both sides and away you go... much smoother and slower in all gears before the engine starts to lug...

Yep I have drilled my exhaust... to be honest found a slightly damaged one on e bay for £25 so drilled that "just in case".. its easy to do, the forum has details, only thing is I could only get a 1.25" hole saw inside my exhaust, the yank pipe may have a slightly larger bore... is yours a UK spec or an Import?... anyhow its easy to do, the hardest thing is getting an extension bar, the guy where I got the whole saw from had one which he lent me... took about 5 mins to drill out. IMHO The sound is much better, maybe not as nice as full system, but much better than stock.

Re bars... if you look on the forum there is a WKPI section at the top... in there are loads of mods and info on all sorts of things, including the bars. I think the best place to get most of the stuff is Shane at SS customs, drop him a mail and he will get you a "landed price" in the UK... mind you, you may end up paying import duty if its over £70 (I think)

I have the standard bars and find em OK... I'm 5' 11"... you bigger or smaller?... do you have a screen? if so what one...

All the best

Stu

Hi Stu,

Thanks for all the advice! Sorry to drive you mad! I've got an imported bike I think - I'm the 2nd owner and only 500 miles on the clock ! Bit nervous about drilling the exhaust in case I drill into something I shouldn't ! I just want the louder sound as I am used to having Vance & Hines pipes on my old XVS 1100, which woke up all the neighbours! Is the new sound worth the effort, and how does it affect the performance along with Jack's O2 mod? Will I notice any smoother ride? At the moment, I'm up and down the gears and jerking all over the place at low speeds - the bike I mean! As for the handlebars I'm 5'8" and I have to lean forward which is very uncomfortable after a while. But I tried sitting on the new Midnight Star 950 and the bars are perfect for me on that bike, but no-one seems to have tried them on the 1300. If anyone has, I'd like to hear if they work etc. I keep reading all about the RSTD bars and ISO grips with weighted ends etc, but I'm not sure what an ISO grip is. I'd prefer to keep the original grips that come with the bike. Do they still fit the RSTD bars? My bike came with a Yamaha screen (worth £250 + fittings) but I immediately removed it, leaving just the fittings, so that the screen can be attached again with just 4 bolts in a couple of minutes for long journeys etc. I fitted a TomTom sat nav bracket on the handle bars and wired it into the ignition, and that works great. other than that I've not done much except read all the forums ! Any advice, links etc more than welcome ! Thanks very much again ! Dave.

[Stu_B]

Hi Stu,

Thanks for all the advice! Sorry to drive you mad! I've got an imported bike I think - I'm the 2nd owner and only 500 miles on the clock ! Bit nervous about drilling the exhaust in case I drill into something I shouldn't ! I just want the louder sound as I am used to having Vance & Hines pipes on my old XVS 1100, which woke up all the neighbours! Is the new sound worth the effort, and how does it affect the performance along with Jack's O2 mod? Will I notice any smoother ride? At the moment, I'm up and down the gears and jerking all over the place at low speeds - the bike I mean! As for the handlebars I'm 5'8" and I have to lean forward which is very uncomfortable after a while. But I tried sitting on the new Midnight Star 950 and the bars are perfect for me on that bike, but no-one seems to have tried them on the 1300. If anyone has, I'd like to hear if they work etc. I keep reading all about the RSTD bars and ISO grips with weighted ends etc, but I'm not sure what an ISO grip is. I'd prefer to keep the original grips that come with the bike. Do they still fit the RSTD bars? My bike came with a Yamaha screen (worth £250 + fittings) but I immediately removed it, leaving just the fittings, so that the screen can be attached again with just 4 bolts in a couple of minutes for long journeys etc. I fitted a TomTom sat nav bracket on the handle bars and wired it into the ignition, and that works great. other than that I've not done much except read all the forums ! Any advice, links etc more than welcome ! Thanks very much again ! Dave.

Hi Dave,

I brought mine from new its a 2008 model I have had it a year and have now got 7K mines on her, I guess you are just coming up to the first service?

.... I would be interested in knowing how wide the end of your exhaust is... as I said the biggest saw I could get down mine 1.25"... the Yanks mention being able to get 1.5", still everything is bigger and better over there :-)

Drilling is easy, you cant go wrong, if you look down the exhaust you will see a blank end about 12" down... the hole-saw will drill out a sort of old penny size metal... mine got "stuck" down the pipe... as soon as I started the bike it shot out the end :-) I'm not sure if its loud enough for you, but its better than stock and cheap as chips! I'm not sure where you are, I'm based near M3 J4, so if you want to listen to a drill bike, feel free to ride over

Jacks mod will smooth everything out, you can go at least 10MPH slower in top with no jerking, you will be amazed... well at least reasonably happy :-)

Re screen, is your a Yammy OEM... mine has six bolts, and if you take the screen off it leaves a bit of stainless on the front... is that what you get?...

Assuming you are riding screen less, I understand why you are getting tired after an hour... I don’t think I could manage 30 Mins without my arms falling off :-) I'm not sure if RSTD bars will help that much, you will sit up a bit straighter, which I would have thought would be worse than leaning forward? I got to say with the screen and lowers I drove from Netherlands back home a couple of weekends ago, about 400 Miles in a day with problems... well I was a bit stiff, but hey 400 miles is a fair old trip!

If you go down the RSTD bars I don’t think you will be able to use the standard grips, I believe the standard grips wont fit... our bar end weights are different

ISO Grips are made by KURYAKYN I think you are quite near alchemy bikes... they sell em, not cheap but v nice... this is a link to there site, in the UK http://www.alchemybikes.co.uk/productZoom.cfm

I have done the following mods

Screen (small and medium screen)

Drilled exhaust

Rear foot rest replaced

New grips

Sissy Bar

Rack

OEM panniers

Crash bars

Sebil horn ( you will want one if you hear it :-) )

Red LEDs on engine

Flashing "pace car" lights under dummy cover on LHS

Best of luck with any mods you do

Stu

[Rhinefield]

Hi Dave,

I brought mine from new its a 2008 model I have had it a year and have now got 7K mines on her, I guess you are just coming up to the first service?

.... I would be interested in knowing how wide the end of your exhaust is... as I said the biggest saw I could get down mine 1.25"... the Yanks mention being able to get 1.5", still everything is bigger and better over there :-)

Drilling is easy, you cant go wrong, if you look down the exhaust you will see a blank end about 12" down... the hole-saw will drill out a sort of old penny size metal... mine got "stuck" down the pipe... as soon as I started the bike it shot out the end :-) I'm not sure if its loud enough for you, but its better than stock and cheap as chips! I'm not sure where you are, I'm based near M3 J4, so if you want to listen to a drill bike, feel free to ride over

Jacks mod will smooth everything out, you can go at least 10MPH slower in top with no jerking, you will be amazed... well at least reasonably happy :-)

Re screen, is your a Yammy OEM... mine has six bolts, and if you take the screen off it leaves a bit of stainless on the front... is that what you get?...

Assuming you are riding screen less, I understand why you are getting tired after an hour... I don’t think I could manage 30 Mins without my arms falling off :-) I'm not sure if RSTD bars will help that much, you will sit up a bit straighter, which I would have thought would be worse than leaning forward? I got to say with the screen and lowers I drove from Netherlands back home a couple of weekends ago, about 400 Miles in a day with problems... well I was a bit stiff, but hey 400 miles is a fair old trip!

If you go down the RSTD bars I don’t think you will be able to use the standard grips, I believe the standard grips wont fit... our bar end weights are different

ISO Grips are made by KURYAKYN I think you are quite near alchemy bikes... they sell em, not cheap but v nice... this is a link to there site, in the UK http://www.alchemybikes.co.uk/productZoom.cfm

I have done the following mods

Screen (small and medium screen)

Drilled exhaust

Rear foot rest replaced

New grips

Sissy Bar

Rack

OEM panniers

Crash bars

Sebil horn ( you will want one if you hear it :-) )

Red LEDs on engine

Flashing "pace car" lights under dummy cover on LHS

Best of luck with any mods you do

Stu

Hi Stu,

I wouldn't mind seeing (and hearing) your bike as I like the sound of all the extras you've put on. Would that be possible? I live in Barnet, North London, just 10 minutes from Alchemy in Potters bar. Where do you live? Hampshire somewhere? Also I'd like to hear the drilled exhaust before I take the plunge! But I don't want to be a nuisance. I'm happy to cruise over to you, but not if you'd rather not. I wouldn't mind you drilling my exhaust if you still have the bits. Else I'll get them and bring them over to you. Or call me on 0208 449 3667 if that's easier. Either way, I don't want you to feel like I'm stalking you! I just don't know anyone else with the same bike. Thanks again, Dave.

[Stu_B]

Hi Stu,

I wouldn't mind seeing (and hearing) your bike as I like the sound of all the extras you've put on. Would that be possible? I live in Barnet, North London, just 10 minutes from Alchemy in Potters bar. Where do you live? Hampshire somewhere? Also I'd like to hear the drilled exhaust before I take the plunge! But I don't want to be a nuisance. I'm happy to cruise over to you, but not if you'd rather not. I wouldn't mind you drilling my exhaust if you still have the bits. Else I'll get them and bring them over to you. Or call me on 0208 449 3667 if that's easier. Either way, I don't want you to feel like I'm stalking you! I just don't know anyone else with the same bike. Thanks again, Dave.

Hi Dave

I'm down the M3 at junction 4a, and more than happy to meet up somewhere... I'm a member of the Virago Star Owners Club, maybe you could cruise over to the next meeting... I joined centre 12, but I think 13 is close to where you are based, I don’t know anyone from that centre, but I'm sure they are a nice bunch, and maybe there will be other xvs 1300 owners there... http://www.vsoc.org.uk/ will get you to the clubs main page then u can surf to each individual area.

Our next meet is on the 10th June in Henry, but if you want meet sooner let me know and I'm sure we can work something out....

Re drilling, I have a hole saw, but I borrowed the extension chuck from the tool shop I got the saw from... I think it might be a bit cheeky to ask again without buying anything :-) Also I wouldn’t want to drill out yours "just in case"... but trust me its a simple procedure, you don’t even need to take the exhaust off..

let me know what you think

Stu