2000 Yamaha Royal Star Boulevard

[BikerRSTD]

A friend is looking to upgrade from vulcan classic to cruiser so he can do long distance riding. Has concern about cornering and agility vs. Venture. Found 2000 Yamaha RS Boulevard. Any comments or recommendations? He is looking to stay under $6,000 purchase price.

[Sleeperhawk]

Not near the power of the venture. Really don't see the difference between a vulcan and boulevard, except two cylinders.

 

But if I was looking at these types of bikes, then I would consider this too:

 

http://gl1800riders.com/forums/showthread.php?t=272203

[Rick Butler]

Byron,

 

IMHO the early Royal Stars have a few deficiencies compared to the RSV. The first is the shock that is not as adjustable for a passenger (with no replacement except OEM) followed by the smaller carbs (with less HP) and lighter front springs (more front end dive on braking). They also removed the engine counter balancer to give it a little vibration like the Harleys, whose market they were originally going after.

 

Don't get me wrong, this bike is solid, but I'm not sure I would go for it if I had a passenger (with a deficient rear pillion). The later RS Tour Deluxe or Tour Classic would be a better choice. But if his budget is $6,000 or less, I think he could find a used 99 RSV for that amount.

 

But, I'm sure that you will get a better response from our RS owners.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Rick

[jfoster]

We got four in the classifieds under $7000, that's is newer than the '00. I'll sell him my 06 midnite rstd for $6700 two years left on the warranty.

[tazmocycle]

the smaller royal standards was made from 1996-2001,they had smaller 28mm carbs and single valve springs and no counter balencer in it. there's several mods to do to tjem to add power to the bike. they'll out run any harley except the v-rod and out run most v-twins around. they'll stay close to a venture in running out on the road, i've haven't had any trouble doing it for almost 10 years and 72,000 miles. i've pulled a trailer behind mine for half the time with no problems, i even out-ran a built harley while pulling my trailer with about 300lbs of weight in it, there're about 10 eye witnesses to it. i have 3 of them and a venture, and like the standard royal most of the time when riding. there's a website on delphiforums.com that was started 10yrs ago for us who had the smaller royal star because when they first came out ,most reviewers tried to ride them like harley v-twins, but they get their power in the upper rpms just like the newer ventures and 05 tour deluxes and newer. the second genration ventures were built off these standard royal but has bigger cams, carbs, lower gearing and counter balencers in them. there' many of these bike around and running fine with over 100,000 miles on them, the most is over 150,000 mles on it. i'm hosting a ralley in birmingham,al june 18-26 , if anybody wants to attend and see several of them for about 8 states.

http://forums.delphiforums.com/royalstar/messages/?listMode=1

Edited February 6, 2011 by tazmocycle

[wes0778]

For now, I'm lucky enough to have one of each. My '98 RSTC as Taz says is the same bike as the Boulevard. It is a little smaller than the RSV and IMHO handles a good bit easier than the RSV at low speeds. Since the seat height is inches lower, I can get both heels down and slightly bend my knees. Thus it is my bike of choice for running short, in town, errands. That is not to say it is not a "long rider"! I have made several 300+ mile per day trips on it, with no problems. I do have a Corbin seat for it as the stock factory seat sucks for long rides! My wife will ride with me on it, but does not like the fact it has no passenger grip rails. She much prefers the RSV!

Now again IMHO the RSV IS a better choice as a long trip machine, for a number of reasons. One being that on the RSV (or the later RSTDs for that matter) you are way better shielded from the wind. The earlier Royal Stars do not have lower fairings.

All that being said, it really depends on what your friend's expectations are for the bike.

I would suspect if he looks hard enough, he can find a nice bike for way under his $6000.00 budget.