Yamaha V-Star 650 classic/ M-50 ?

[brudford]

Ready to buy can't decide,Yamaha 650 classic,likes- Air cooled engine
more chrome,has all steel fenders,comes with foot boards and heel toe
shifter.Like the simplicity of basic carburator and choke.Don't like spoked
tire/rims really don't like spokes ! MSRP 5899.00 $ Suzuki M-50,likes- bigger
800cc engine,alloy tire rims,really like.Don't like,all the plastic,fuel injection
could have problems costly to fix.Thin poor quality seat,V-star seems better.
MSRP 6899.00 $ Also the dealers here in Western PA seem to deal a little
more on the Yamaha,M-50 full retail plus don't like-it theres the door.

[richj11]

The basic response is "Supply and demand".

The reason the Suzuki dealer isn't willing to deal is there is probably a greater demand for an M50 than for the Yamaha.

Personal choice will be your deciding factor.

[Trapper]

Those 150 cubic centimeters should make you think. The M50 is a different class than the 650 IMHO. But, I've never ridden the V-star.

[chrome]

i have ridden the V-star and i can tell u the m50 is hands down a far better bike than that bike any day.IMHO!! the v-star was not a bad bike just not in the same class as the m50

[Scourge]

I'll speak up for the V-Star, since I have one. I han't ridden the M-50, so again I can only really speak to one side of the coin. If you plan on doing any extended touring, you may not want the 650. I havn't put a ton of Hwy miles on mine, but when gettin up to those speeds vibration does begin to intrude through the bars and footboards. It may be that I need to make some suspension adjustments, but I'm rarely if ever on the 65+ road ways so up till now I havn't bothered. It may just need one more gear to cruise at those speeds comfortably.

If you like the cruiser seating position and enjoy that type of riding, then it's a perfect bike for that purpose. The engine pulls strong w/ plenty of tourque. The seat is very comfortable, I'm still getting used to the heal-toe shifter, ussually I just toe it, it's what I'm familiar with. It's slung really low as well, so if you have some vertical issues it's either really nice or a bit too low slung. The frame is the same that is used for the 1100 V-Star so it certainly looks bigger than a 650. It warms up very quickly and is ready to roll with less than a minute of choke time, by the time you've gotten your lid and gloves on it's time to move.

If you prefer a more conventional posture, the M50 may be a better choice. All of your weight on this unit is on your arse. My last ride (over a decade ago) had more of a standard riding position w/ some weight being distributed through my arms and legs, not so on the V-Star, but again the seat is wide and well padded so that helps. Search through this site to check out the seat issues folks have had w/ the M50.

Like I said if your planning on any extended Hwy cruising then the 650 may not be for you. Some guys like vibration though (look at all the Harleys on the road). Hell look for some older ones and try it out for yourself. I got my 2002 for $3K. I'm sure you could find older models for even less, give it a try and if you don't like it then you can upsize without loosing your shirt on the deal.

Good luck.

[blackie1491]

I started out looking at the 650 Silverado as I was down sizing. I did not want the 1100 cc Silverado. I hit a lot of dealers, my concern was longer trips, in the travel to all the dealers I saw a C50T. Did some research decided to go with a C50SE. The FI is the reason I did not go with the VL800.
I am loving the 805cc FI. That 805cc, FI or Carb. is just what I needed.
I can only suggest you ride both. I did not do that as I did not want a second bike. So I waited till my Wing was gone.
Enjoy

[stock28]

Looked at both bikes myself in April. Really liked the looks of both bikes. They each had pluses in that catagory. I just couldn't justify the extra thousand dollars. Plus, dealers wouldn't budge on the price of the M 50. They were new and very hard to find at that time and the V Star has been around for about six years. I went with the V Star Custom and have not regreted it at all. It appears that the M 50 is a fine bike, but I'm happy with my choice. The 650 has more than enough power to cruise all day at 65 to 70 with power for passing to spare. The seat is fine and the vibration is minimal. I don't see myself needing anything bigger in the near future. I didn't buy a cruiser for speed, although it's got plenty for me. Either bike would be a fine choice.

[dragula07]

Well, I can speak for both. I had a 2000 Vstar 650 that I bought new and sold last year and I just bought an M50 a couple of months ago. Here's my thought on each:

Vstar:
Beautiful bike; Harley Fat-boy clone. I was told constantly what a nice Harley it was.
VERY comfortable seat and riding position.
VERY "buzzy" at higher speeds (55mph+). Really needs a 6th gear.
Not very quick off the line. Just too small of an engine. Don't expect to keep up with others on larger bikes.
VERY low center of gravity which makes the bike feel very stable but also VERY easy to drag the pegs and pipes in the corners.
Too small of an engine and too soft of suspension to ride comfortably when riding with an adult passenger.
Very reliable. I had NO problems of ANY sort with the bike in almost 5 years of ownership.
Has auto-cancelling turn signals which I really miss on the M50. Such a simple feature that is very aggravating not to have.
On the other hand, the Vstar has NO fuel guage or low fuel warning. The M50 has a low fuel light. The Vstar has a reserve tank. When the engine started to sputter, I just reached down and moved the lever to reserve.


M50:
I haven't had it long enough to comment on the reliability.
VERY sharp bike. Hard to be mistaken for a Harley even though a couple of people have asked me what kind of Harley it is.
I really like the lack of chrome but I have found that the black wheels show dirt VERY well. Much more so than chrome but the mag wheels are easier to clean than wire spoke.
The M50 is MUCH quicker off the line than the Vstar and pulls hills much better.
The M50 is a little "buzzy" at high speeds too but no where near as much as the Vstar was.
I LOVE, repeat LOVE, the fuel injection on the M50. Starts right up in the morning. No waiting on the choke. No backfiring while cold. Quick acceleration and throttle response.
I love the water cooling on the M50 however I have noticed that in really hot weather, while sitting at a traffic light that the electric fan on the radiator kicks on and literally blows hot air right onto the inside of my legs. This is more of a nuisance than an issue but it would have been nice if Suzuki had made some type of air deflector behind the radiator. I'd still rather have water cooling though. A cooler engine is better for longevity and dependability.
Now to my BIGGEST complaint on the M50: THE SEAT SUX!! Even though I've already done the "seat mod", I can still feel the bracket hitting my tailbone. Suzuki has already received a nice two page letter from me expressing my disappointment in this. Apparently this problem generally only affects larger riders such as myself (6'-240lbs) who ride far back on the seat.
My M50 is actually for sale right now (check the classifieds) and the seat is one reason why.


Between the two bikes though, I would still choose the M50 if it wasn't for the seat. The Fuel Injection, looks, and performance are far superior to the Vstar IMO. See if you can come up with a way to ride an M50 for a while before you buy to see if the seat is an issue to you. If you're a smaller or average size person, I suspect that you won't have any issues with it.

Sorry for the long post, but thought I would give you as much info as possible to help make your decision.

let us know what you end up with!
Drag

[jpwM50]

you know, if you replace the seat with a gel seat, the M50 is perfect.

[stp1971]

Go to www.buttbuffer.com,, they can take your factory seat and make it a gel seat,, pretty cool to look at,, I personally put a gel pad on top of my Mustang Seat and it rides alot better for me.

[blackie1491]

I had narrowed my 650 V-star to the custom in the attached images. I really liked the paint job. I has only seen it in poor quality pictures. A local dealer had one being preped, he called me in and I took a couple pictures. He acyually brought 2 in, but I told him I was not buying anyting until my Wing was back form being serviced and I sold it.
It was close. I found this version of the V-star did not look as large a bike as the classic. Tje rear fender made the bike look smaller. But the paint job looked like a custom paint.

[blackie1491]

Sorry. I keep forgetting to proof my posts.
Put it down to old age.
Bob

[tlwisner]

Check the cover story on the latest "Rider" magazine, they are very fond of the M50. If you're after the retro look, floorboards and heel toe shifter (and a thicker seat) then the C50 rocks. The fuel injection is very much a positive, mine has been flawless for about 6500 miles now. No more carbs for Tim!

My C50 does not leave me wanting for power, even last weekend 2 up and loaded (the bike, not me...) for 500 miles. Enjoyable on the curvy 2 lanes and it handles 70 mph on the freeway with some power to spare.

Go for the Suzuki!

If this is your first bike, find something used and inexpensive to learn on before you lay out bigger bucks for a new bike. It's easy to buy a decent used bike, ride it for a while, and then sell it for pretty close to what you paid for it.

[zot]

Brudford, my old lady just traded her 650 v-star classic on a C50 this spring. From experience mine and hers I believe Dragula has it down to a T.
B.T.W. Drag she's 5'8" and appr. 130-135 lbs and has the same problem as you with the seat so it doesn't have anything to do with size, just sloppy incompetent design. A Mustang seat will solve the problem.

[intimid8er]

Originally Posted by jpwM50

you know, if you replace the seat with a gel seat, the M50 is perfect.

Not necessarily.

True I improved from being able to ride for fifteen minutes to forty-five minutes, but that is still unacceptable.

I love my bike, but I agree with Dragula and I've been one hair away from listing it since I've bought it.

[tlwisner]

Originally Posted by intimid8er

True I improved from being able to ride for fifteen minutes to forty-five minutes, but that is still unacceptable.
I love my bike, but I agree with Dragula and I've been one hair away from listing it since I've bought it.

There are many options to improve OEM stock seats. Pads, inserts, outright replacements. Whatever works best for your butt.

[dragula07]

Originally Posted by jpwM50

you know, if you replace the seat with a gel seat, the M50 is perfect.

Well, that was my initial thought too but after talking to another M50 owner with the gel seat, he said it only increased his ride time by about 20-30 minutes. The problem really isn't the covering over the seat. It's the design of the seat pan itself. Even with the gel seat, some people can still feel the protrusion in the seat pan.

I figured it was my extra weight compressing the seat cushion but apparently riding position and maybe some people's "butt design" plays a factor too judging by Zot's reply. It hits me dead on my tailbone. Maybe it just affects people with long tailbone's.

Anyway, not to hi-jack this thread (there's several other seat problem threads to discuss this further at), that Vstar custom actually looks pretty good. That's the first time that I've seen that blue on the Vstar. Mine was two-tone red/burgandy. My M50 is blue which looks good with the black. I call it "The bruise" . Which is even more appropriate considering that's what it leaves on mine tailbone every time I ride it.

[blackie1491]

After going from the V-star custom to the C50, I ended up with a Blue/Black
C50SE. I am happy with the choice.
While I was taking the pictures of the Blue V-star, people kept coming up and asking if that was a CUSTOM PAINT job. From the reactions I was suprised the dealers did not have it on display.The paint and the chrome just shined in the sun.
I had the same problem with my C50 could not find one to view in a showroom. Had to come to this site and view a couple here.

[stock28]

That's the Star I have. Can't tell you how many people ask me who did the paint job. They did a great job on it and only included it in the 05 version.

[blackie1491]

I was at several Yamaha dealers. Not one had it on display. I was told it did not show up good in info sent by Yamaha. Up close the paint quality is awsome.