Yamaha Motorcycle Road Tests
& Reviews
Yamaha Motorcycle Guide
Yamaha Motor Company Limited, a division of Japanese conglomerate Yamaha Corporation, has been producing motorized vehicles since 1955. Yamaha currently produces motorcycles, motorbikes, ATVs, boats, marine engines, automobile engines, personal watercraft and snowmobiles. Under the Yamaha brand, it produces sportbikes (YZF-R1, FZ1, FZ8 and others), sport tourers (FJR1300A), adventure tourers (Super Ténéré), dual-sports (WR250X, XT250 and others), dirt bikes (YZ450F, WR450F and others) and scooters (Tmax, Zuma and others). In the U.S., cruisers produced by Yamaha have been sold under the Star Motorcycles brand since 2006, including the Royal Star, Roadliner, Stratoliner, Vmax, Raider, Stryker and others. Yamaha motorcycle reviews and road tests explain why the brand has won Rider‚s Motorcycle of the Year four times: in 2006 with the FZ1, in 2003 with the FJR1300, in 1996 with the Royal Star Tour Classic and in 1993 with the GTS1000.
Retrospectove: Yamaha XV920 Virago: 1982-1983
Clement Salvadori
February 21, 2006
(This Retrospective article was published in the February 2006 issue of Rider Magazine.) STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY CLEMENT SALVADORI It had to happen. Some Japanese manufacturer was going to come out with a V-twin cruiser. The first efforts, though, were a bit strange to students of cruiser aesthetics.... Read more »
2005 Yamaha Royal Star Tour Deluxe Road Test
Ken Freund
July 30, 2004
With the cruiser market on fire and buyers gobbling up bikes almost as fast as they can be made, Yamaha has been scrambling for new models to add to its lineup. For 2005 the tuning-fork folks are rolling out the Royal Star Tour Deluxe, which can be converted from touring to cruiser duty. It’s based... Read more »
2004 Honda 599 vs 2004 Suzuki SV650 vs 2004 Yamaha FZ6 Motorcycle Comparison
Rider Contributor
February 3, 2004
When many of us started riding, there were just two kinds of motorized two-wheelers: scooters and motorcycles. Heck, even the line between street and off-road machines was pretty blurry. Things changed a little after the Japanese began selling motorcycles in this country, but it was still quite a while... Read more »
Sport Touring Comparison: 2003 BMW K1200GT ABS, 2003 BMW R1150RT ABS, 2003 Honda ST1300 ABS, 2004 Yamaha FJR1300 ABS
Bill Stermer
December 1, 2003
Sport tourers are the gold standard for distance-riding, hybrids that blend the best attributes of dressers and sportbikes. Their comfort level approaches that of dresser tourers, but without over-large fairings, permanently mounted luggage, sound systems and all that weight. Sport tourers also lean... Read more »
2003 Model Year Bike Reviews
Mark Tuttle Jr.
December 28, 2002
(This article was published in the December 2002 issue of Rider magazine.) By Mark Tuttle Jr. Hope you’re hungry! There’s a veritable feast of new motorcycle models rolling out of the kitchen for 2003. Some are here already, others are on their way to dealers across the country. Most of the manufacturers... Read more »
2003 Yamaha FJR1300 vs. Honda ST1300 Motorcycle Comparison
Rider Contributor
September 19, 2002
There’s nothing like a major sporting event to stir the blood: The World Series, Super Bowl, Stanley Cup Finals, NBA Finals, World Cup or a good prize fight. By matching the new 2003 Honda ST1300 with Yamaha’s new FJR1300, we have motorcycling’s equivalent of a good light-heavyweight... Read more »
2003 Yamaha FJR1300 Road Test
Mark Tuttle Jr.
July 10, 2002
[This 2003 Yamaha FJR1300 Road Test was originally published in the August 2002 issue of Rider magazine] Shortly after I started working here at Rider, the first sport tour I went on with the staff was a shootout of the all-new 1984 Kawasaki Ninja 900, Suzuki GS1150 and Yamaha FJ1100. Rider nicknamed... Read more »
2001 Model Year Bike Reviews
Mark Tuttle Jr.
December 1, 2000
The article The Stars of 2001 was published in the December 2000 issue of Rider magazine.) by Mark Tuttle Jr. Ready? Cue Thus Spoke Zarathustra, the theme from 2001, A Space Odyssey. Now, open the pod bay doors please, HAL—the new street motorcycle models rocketing their way to the U.S. for ’01 are... Read more »
