Eluder report/UltimateMotorcycling - by our very own VR VentureFar!!

[cowpuc]

OUTSTANDING JOB VentureFar/Neil!! Thanks again for posting this up for our enjoyment and we are all looking forward to your Venture T.C. report brother!!!

 

This is a very well written, straight forward personal account of a ride report on the new Eluder and it can be found here in its entirety with some outstanding pictures:

https://ultimatemotorcycling.com/2018/02/07/2018-yamaha-star-eluder-test-death-valley-bust/

 

 

and here is short version/primer of Neils professional opinion of what life on the road with the new Eluder may be like:

2018 Yamaha Star Eluder Test | Death Valley Or Bust!

 

By

Neil Wyenn -

February 7, 2018

 

 

 

2018 Yamaha Star Eluder 500-Mile One-Day Test With The GT Option Package

 

My plan was to loop from Los Angeles to Death Valley and return putting over 500 miles on the odometer of the 2018 Yamaha Star Eluder. I wanted to see if a 200-miles-per-day rider could head off to Sturgis and put in 500-mile days. Also, I wanted to see how it compares to my Generation 2 Yamaha Royal Star Venture V4.

I started out at 7:30 a.m. with a topped off tank to get a good idea of mpg and miles per tank at various speeds.

I felt like a bad ass, as I was riding this aggressively styled 1854cc bagger. I was thinking of ripping off my shirtsleeves and getting a tattoo. I have never ridden a bagger style bike before, and I found myself with a whole body feeling of testosterone and masculinity (no offense to the ladies, but not being one, I don’t know what the equivalent is).

The Yamaha Eluder feels like it has a very low center of gravity. It is extremely easy to maneuver at slow speed. Using the friction zone from training on Ride Like A Pro, I was quickly able to U-turn in a space not much wider than my Honda XR250R dirt bike and at very slow speed. The Eluder has a 200mm wide low-profile rear tire.

The lean over roll rate is noticeably slower than my Gen 2 Venture, but I quickly remembered about throwing the outside knee against the tank to help push the motorcycle over in conjunction with countersteering. The Eluder still doesn’t weave (swerve practice on the freeway) as nimbly as the Gen 2, but by the end of the day I was getting close.

 

 

The stability of the Yamaha Star Eluder is amazing at freeway speeds. I spent time hands off the bars and the bike tracked true and straight. I don’t remember the hands off on my Gen 2’s bars with the stock front tire because I had changed it to the narrower tire for lighter handling soon after I got it, and it is definitely not a hands-off bike now.

Many have mentioned, and it has happened to me that in a high-speed turn on the Gen 2, that if you hit a bump while leaned over the bike will wallow and wiggle. The Eluder is absolutely solid in a bumpy turn and doesn’t wallow. It carves tight and wide turns very capably and predictably.

The bike is very stable and cruises comfortably at 85 mph in sixth gear. I would guess that about half of the 525 miles was at or around 85 (Note: Professional driver on a closed course. Do not attempt.)

With that cruise speed, I still averaged 32.6 mpg for the day. At 65 mph I saw about 45 mpg, and at 75 about 38 mpg. The tank holds over six gallons, so even at 85 mph you can get 180 miles between gas stops. I ran the gas gauge down to just before the red/empty line, and it filled to the brim at 5.2 gallons. As I understand the tank, that still left 1.4 gallons until sputter out.

 

 

The Eluder has a rev limiter at 4600 rpm. I have no idea what the rev limit is on the Gen 2, but I was bumping into the Star Eluder’s limiter for most of the day when starting out from a stop. Eventually, I got the hang of quickly upshifting shifting during acceleration.

When aggressively taking off, you better hold on or you will be left behind. Yamaha tells us that peak torque is at a low 2500 rpm, and what that translated to is pulling just about any of the six gears from almost any speed.

 

 

Speaking of six speeds, many times I was cruising for quite a while in fourth or fifth gear, completely forgetting there is a sixth cog. Cruise control worked great at any speed, and was a real help in 35 mph zones. At any set speed on any hill, up or down, the cruise control held exactly spot-on.

In addition to quite a bit of power, the engine puts out a lot of heat. I didn’t notice it when the air temperature was between 45 and 73 degrees, but above 73 the underside of my left thigh was cooking, though not the right side. There are lower vents on both sides, but they are inconvenient to open and close while riding. When closed the heat was very uncomfortable at any speed. Open, they did help blow some of the heat away.

 

 

Everything below the seat is warm or hot. Riding slowly in traffic at 90 to 120 degrees during the summer will really be uncomfortable on your left leg!

The seat seemed comfortable in the garage but after 200 miles I started squirming. Where is Rick Butler when you need him?

 

Want more??? Click on the link and enjoy the journey like I did!!!

Puc

 

 

 

 

[cecdoo]

Great rite up, thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks Neil!

 

Craig