I looked the bike over, disconsolately. The way the engine churned over on the starter it sounded like the valves were clouting the pistons and the main bearings of the huge V-twin were falling apart. All that din was in direct contrast to the gleaming chrome, alloy and paint of the 1989 machine, then just a year and 7235 miles old. When the engine eventually stuttered into life, the pipes passable imitations of Goldie megas (in looks not decibels, I hasten to add), all that terrible racket was replaced by a reassuring rustle of the OHCs and valvegear. Starters were the bane of earlier Yamaha V-twins and by the sound of this one were not much better in churning over 1100cc’s worth of pistons.
Some motorcycles are so civilised that you hardly know the engine is running. Sitting very low (so low, even midgets could be accommodated) in the XV I was instantly aware that there was a big V-twin rumbling away between my knees. Not so intrusive to be named. vibration, I decided, but there was never any need for a rev counter to determine what was happening down below. A quick burst around the block to test her out, three grand lighter in my back pocket and she was all mine!
I had always been a Harley fan but a ride on one had proved most disappointing. Vintage bikers might’ve been charmed by the lack of brakes, excessive vibration and harsh ride, but not this cruiser... the XV was miles better even if it did not have the instant street credibility of the Harleys. But then I needed no help from my machinery to attract the crumpet.
Indeed, the young lady took to the pillion like a druggie to crack. The perch was plush and there was a backrest to stop her falling off. Short of leg, the pillion peg position suited her fine... there was no discernible effect on handling or performance from her additional mass, although she is on the petite side. This was not very surprising.
The XV pounds out the torque, making a maximum of sixty horses at a mere 6000rpm. Fitted with a five speed gearbox, there was such an abundance of low end power that I quite happily skipped through second and fourth, a three speed box being more than enough. Alternatively, the bike could pull off in second and then be booted up to fourth. The shaft drive cleaned up the lines of the back no end and didn’t need as much attention as expected.
The gearbox was several degrees short of slick, though, the clutch on the heavy side for my tender mitts and downchanges could slip out of gear if a certain amount of care was not maintained... it was dead easy to end up with a back wheel skipping off the road if you messed up a change when in the curves. The normally compliant transmission could turn harsh and vindictive if revs were not carefully matched to road speed.
I ended up with a locked back wheel on several occasions. When this happened in the wet, the Jap rubber went into. a wild slide that had me all but fouling my pants and the femme furiously digging me in the ribs! General handling was better than I thought it would be, especially after nearly killing myself on the unbelievable HD. The Yamaha weighs in at around 470lbs, which is certainly heavy if you have to pick her up off the ground but most of the XV's mass is low, including that of the rider, so once on the move stability feels solid.
The first time I used the twin front discs I nearly had an heart attack. Used to having to take a large handful to obtain adequate retardation (CB500/4, if you must know) I had the forks down on their stops, the front tyre approaching melt down and the wide, high bars twitching. A bit more restraint revealed the front brake as powerful and sensitive enough to avoid locking up the wheel... until 13725 miles were accomplished, when the calipers seized up, the pads were worn through to the metal and there were deep score marks in the discs. I wondered where the funny chattering noises were coming from!
A bit more care of the front brakes revealed that pads lasted about 8000 miles and the calipers needed a strip and clean every 5500 miles. The rear brake has yet to need any attention, although its action is rather dead and its power minimal; so it's not used too much.
Having achieved 25750 miles on its clock, various faults have revealed themselves, though not with the motor. That has lasted remarkably well, needing only the odd valve and carb adjustment... the starter motor still sounds doom laden each time it's used but has become no worse - I had expected it to last about 50 miles (it was a good bargaining point at the time).
Keeping the chassis all cleaned up has, by far, been the hardest task. There's a hell of a lot of chrome and alloy that needs daily attention - the silencers seem to want a rub down with Solvol hourly, these days! The chrome has escaped off the rear shocks, which is not such a surprise because all the damping has disappeared. The way the back end leaps about in bumpy bends has become very bad.
Also, the swinging arm bushes are showing signs of looseness, so much so that where before she was stable at 80mph now there is much wobbling. The tubular frame is not the strongest of structures, it looks like it has just been bent around various components to fit in with the rest of the bike rather than designed from the ground up. Consequently, any degradation of the chassis components is amplified rather than damped out.
When I bought the bike, the ride was soft, just short of soggy. Enough suspension integrity was present to stop an excess of bouncing and to perform a reasonable job of soaking up the worst of the council’s inadequacies. Over the two years I have had the bike there has been a gradual deterioration until now the forks and shocks are just plain soggy, but at the same time do little to soak up the bumps... it's just as well that the seat is so plush. As funds are tight at the moment I have just had to live with it.
Engine performance is still as good as ever. The XV was never going to be a tarmac scorcher but is surprisingly rapid up to 80mph. The limiting factor is vibration, the higher the engine is revved the worse do the vibes become. Until at the ton in top the whole bike feels like a really wicked bone shaker. The mirrors are useless, the tank thrums viciously, feet are vibrated off pegs and hands can hardly hold on to the bars... pushing the engine even higher up the rev range in lower gears really does start double vision.
The flipside is that at, say, 70mph the engine hums along contentedly with nary a sign of the destructive vibes higher up the rev range. Once into the right frame of mind, the XV can be bunged into top gear and a really relaxing ride enjoyed. In this mode I've taken the bike through Europe over a month, clocking up some 4800 miles of completely trouble free, low hassle motorcycling. The seat is so comfortable for low speed work that you curse the lack of range afforded by the 3.5 gallon fuel tank and 45mpg fuel consumption (I would not insult readers by using the term economy).
That's about the one area where the XV loses out to Harley Sportsters, although it's not really that much of a loss when you consider the American iron has only about a gallon of fuel to play with. No, having ridden the two bikes, there is no way I would want to swap my relatively civilised Japanese cruiser for an old age Harley.
And that’s the whole point of the Yamaha XV. If custom style is your game, you don’t want to spend your whole life building a special, and need something that as well as looking the business can be used day in day out as practical wheels, the XV is a hard deal to beat. I would not pay the five grand demanded for a new one, but there are nice examples in the £2500 to £3500 range... rarely are the machines furiously abused, usually they receive a massive dose of tender loving care; so there are some neat bargains to be found in the private market!
Dave Peel