Yamaha Stratoliner

[Brown Angel]

Thinking of buying a Statoliner and will totally bag her and Rooster Fairing her dress all up. Anybody have one here?

[Raider58]

Thinking of buying a Statoliner and will totally bag her and Rooster Fairing her dress all up. Anybody have one here?

No but I have a raider and love it.

[cowpuc]

Funny you should ask Angel.. My Nephew, who I call "Cartwheel" (he is one of the kids who I required to ride the woods with me for a year before I would help him in purchasing his first streetbike - got the name because he had a tendency of doing cartwheels on the dirtbike) bought a brand new one their first year out..

I spoke with CW just last week inquiring about his bike.. I had a chance at grabbing a CHEAP Raider (3 grand but needed work) and wanted some input into how his bike was doing (Raider has same drive train)..

Johns Strat has almost 70k on it, upgraded to a programmable tuner, pipes, seats, windshield.. He and his wife do a fair amount of touring on it.. He said it gets excellent mpg (mid/high 40's unless you hammer on it). Has yet to replace the drive belt.. I have also spent a fair amount of time on it and can promise ya,, it RUNS STRONG!! Has an amazing torque curve.. Is surprisingly smooth for a V-Twin..

The only weak point that he commented on was the like to eat rear tires (makes sense).. I think he said the stock tire disappeared at 4k,, cant remember what his running now but he is running something that he has almost doubled that...

CW is a very big guy and the Strat fits him to a tee.. It is a BIG bike with a BIG sound and BIG heart!!

Oh yea,, I asked him about "gearing" for his bike.. I had spoken to several Strat riders over the years and everyone wants a 6th gear.. According to CW,, there is a Harley rear sprocket that will fit the Strat so you can toss some gearing at it.. Apparently, all ya have to do is open the bolt holes up on the HD pulley a little and it lines right up...

[Ace]

I have an '09 Stratoliner and let me tell you it is a beast! The bike just has massive power but is well mannered. Things I don't like about it are the smallish fuel tank and just like cowpuc said, it eats tires. The best so far that I have done is with a 200 series Michelin commander II and I only got 6000 miles and it was completely bald. Front tires don't last much longer. Not a bunch of tire brands to choose from if you go with the stock sizes.

[Dragonslayer]

Bump

[ACE50]

Thinking of buying a Statoliner and will totally bag her and Rooster Fairing her dress all up. Anybody have one here?

 

Always wanted a Stratoliner Deluxe. Probably only Vtwin I'd go back to.

[Dragonslayer]

Bump

[Mike G in SC]

Had one, 2006 Strat S. Pretty, black & cherry.

Owned it one year, did not care for the ride.

Never felt like it was my bike. Kept it about a year.

Sold it same weekend I got my 2009 RSV.

 

My neighbor bought it from me. He loves it.

Fit's him better.

[Brown Angel]

Funny you should ask Angel.. My Nephew, who I call "Cartwheel" (he is one of the kids who I required to ride the woods with me for a year before I would help him in purchasing his first streetbike - got the name because he had a tendency of doing cartwheels on the dirtbike) bought a brand new one their first year out..

I spoke with CW just last week inquiring about his bike.. I had a chance at grabbing a CHEAP Raider (3 grand but needed work) and wanted some input into how his bike was doing (Raider has same drive train)..

Johns Strat has almost 70k on it, upgraded to a programmable tuner, pipes, seats, windshield.. He and his wife do a fair amount of touring on it.. He said it gets excellent mpg (mid/high 40's unless you hammer on it). Has yet to replace the drive belt.. I have also spent a fair amount of time on it and can promise ya,, it RUNS STRONG!! Has an amazing torque curve.. Is surprisingly smooth for a V-Twin..

The only weak point that he commented on was the like to eat rear tires (makes sense).. I think he said the stock tire disappeared at 4k,, cant remember what his running now but he is running something that he has almost doubled that...

CW is a very big guy and the Strat fits him to a tee.. It is a BIG bike with a BIG sound and BIG heart!!

Oh yea,, I asked him about "gearing" for his bike.. I had spoken to several Strat riders over the years and everyone wants a 6th gear.. According to CW,, there is a Harley rear sprocket that will fit the Strat so you can toss some gearing at it.. Apparently, all ya have to do is open the bolt holes up on the HD pulley a little and it lines right up...

Very cool, this will help me when I go to find one.

[stardbog]

Hey Angel, I do have Strat since 2008 it was 2006 floor model at Chicago dealership, it was only 150 miles on clock when I got it. Great bike and almost 8 years old now, but still kick ass. Yamaha did great homework designing that machine. Very comfortable ride out of box. Plenty of power, but totally different animal comparing to RSV. There is no knowing problems with bike since 2006 model having issue with loosing front pulley bolt. Easy fix to secure bolt.Other than that is just great sound of V-Twin and still largest V-Twin engine on the market since '06.

 

My only con's is gas tank size and once reserve kick on ... there is only 25 miles left. not big deal get use to to beast, just wish there is extra gallon.

Some Harley guys complain there is not 6th gear on start, but 5th is real overdrive. Have done Iron Butt on strat, and few 6-7-800 miles day rides with no problem.it could be converted in to naked cruiser is few seconds with no tools but key. ( detachable windshield, saddlebags and backrest).

 

Go with Avons Cobra's tires and you will be happy. DO NOTY INSTALL CAR TIRE. been there and didn't like. Getting 13000 miles on set of Avon Cobra 72. Its little wider than stock, but there is plenty of room to be installed. Yes first set of dunlop's last me about 4000 miles.

 

Go for start you will not be disappointed. Batwing has some sweet setups for strat. or go wit deluxe model. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact me. My cell # is listed in my profile.

 

Good luck.

Edited April 4, 2014 by stardbog

[cowpuc]

Hey Starbog,, couple quick questions (yea, right..)..

How many miles on your Strat? Have you ever replaced the belt on it? I have helped with a couple HD rear belt replacements and not fun - really not a roadside job - mainly cause the Primarys got to come apart.. Isnt the Strat belt access under a little cover of its own so belt replacement is easier??

Also, how difficult do you find your oil changes? Any harder than any other bike? Is the crankcase oil separate from the tranny or do they use the same oil..

 

They are gorgeous bikes!!!

 

Thanks

Puc

[stardbog]

Hey Cowpuc, changing a belt on start is not road side work, but not sure it could be done on any bike without major tools. you need lift to remove rear wheel. front pulley is easy accessible under front cover. Still running stock belt. have about 40 K on bike. For oil change there is 3 oil drain plugs under block. and once you get right technology oil change is easy. For oil change I use lift to put brick under rear wheel and kickstand and than pull out lift. Nothing special. Take 5 qt and is right on money. There is not 2 separate tanks, but there is 2 oil pumps. I would recommend full synthetic oil just cuz is air cooled/ there is oil cooler to. Last week I have perfect oil change. start at 8 am 2- trips to auto zone 6 pack of beer and bunch of neighbors are supervising work and drink beer. it was all done by 1PM :doh:. well is done by me and I did clean bike at same time. So is PERFECT oil change :missing tooth:

I heard about changing pulleys and belt with different # of tooth give you few extra ponies, but not my cup of tea. My start is pretty stock setup, and bike is just great out of box. There is bunch of gear heads doing mods on bike and one of best resources are start forum on delphi

http://forums.delphiforums.com/n/main.asp?webtag=starroadliner&nav=start&prettyurl=%2Fstarroadliner&gid=830332819

and sister site

linerwicki.com or something

Edited April 4, 2014 by stardbog

[djh3]

That will probably be the "next" Venture. So you will be a forward thinking visionary.

[Ace]

" Is the crankcase oil separate from the tranny or do they use the same oil.. "

 

Cowpuc,

 

Crankcase oil is separate from the engine oil, it holds around 1/2 quart of gear oil (would need to consult my service manual to verify exact amount). The way Yamaha says to change it is to pull exhaust off to get to fill and level plugs but most strat riders have devised ways to get around this so the exhaust doesn't need to be pulled.

[BratmanXj]

I heard about changing pulleys and belt with different # of tooth give you few extra ponies, but not my cup of tea. My start is pretty stock setup, and bike is just great out of box. There is bunch of gear heads doing mods on bike

 

Most the of Star big-twins have a jack-shaft to take the trans output on the right to belt drive on the left. These are the notorious failure points where the spines blow out on the belt pulley side. Common to swap a different tooth belt pulley, aftermarket to more acceleration or machine a Road Star pulley down for more "highway"

 

I did the Highway-mod on an RS Warrior a few years back when a buddy blew the splines...I know own the bike. With 1700cc the bike isn't lacking for acceleration and your down 400rpm at 70mph.

[stardbog]

" Is the crankcase oil separate from the tranny or do they use the same oil.. "

 

Cowpuc,

 

Crankcase oil is separate from the engine oil, it holds around 1/2 quart of gear oil (would need to consult my service manual to verify exact amount). The way Yamaha says to change it is to pull exhaust off to get to fill and level plugs but most strat riders have devised ways to get around this so the exhaust doesn't need to be pulled.

 

Ace you are right. there is gear oil, I forget about that. I did change myself at first 600 miles service. and after that, just to be safe again at 3000 mile service. However, there is no need to remove exhaust with a little knowledge. I use old style hand oil pump and did couple refills get 'em filled up. Its a same as venture there is 2 plugs one on top one on bottom, once oil level fill up top plug that os right level. I did use AmsOil Synthetic marine grade gear oil, so next recommendation is at 70K miles.