Yamaha V Star 250 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Yamaha V Star 250

Fr0stByte24

Well-known member
Anyone have any experience with a Yamaha V Star 250? Would you recommend this to a beginner female rider? My only real concern is acceleration and not having enough power to get out of a situation. A ninja 300 / R3 are also being considered but the cruiser style is more her thing (short rider). Thanks!
 
Last edited:
Dont know enough about the cruisers to say if it can do highway or not, but I hear vstar 650/honda shadows are great to learn on, and still very highway capable
 
I think you will do fine with the vstar. I am 200lbs male and I rode one for my first season. As a beginner I wasn't looking for power and performance.
 
The V-Star has enough power to get you into or out of a "situation". They are fantastic first bikes. The design has been unchanged since the late 80's or early 90's. Clearly Yamaha believes in it or they wouldn't have built it so long. It is an easy bike to build confidence on. Tell this person to get one, ride it for a season or two and they should be able to sell it for pretty much what they pay for it (as long as it isn't brand new).
 
... and she's riding along with you on your R6?
R3

-> Put a rear view camera on your ride.
 
Great! Thanks for the replies, I shall pass the message along!

... and she's riding along with you on your R6?
R3

-> Put a rear view camera on your ride.

Yep, well the goal is to keep her in front so she sets the pace and I'll just check out the scenery ;)
 
I think it'd be perfect for a new rider, male or female. It's got a super-low seat height (27-in), weighs nothing (326-lbs wet from what I read online) and is completely non-threatening. It even looks pretty good.
 
Great! Thanks for the replies, I shall pass the message along!

Yep, well the goal is to keep her in front so she sets the pace and I'll just check out the scenery ;)

That precludes her from being able to see how it should be done and what speed is appropriate for the situation, is way better if you can get them to follow to the rear and either left or right of whatever line you are riding, then follow your line very closely through corners. ... was also a consideration in best suited motorcycle style.

... done that, been there, watched the wife forget to lean on a corner and come very close to putting it into the rhubarb.

Son-in-law found it far more useful to ride behind me when he was learning too, up to that point he was riding like he didn't have a clue.
 
Last edited:
That precludes her from being able to see how it should be done and what speed is appropriate for the situation, is way better if you can get them to follow to the rear and either left or right of whatever line you are riding, then follow your line very closely through corners. ... was also a consideration in best suited motorcycle style.

... done that, been there, watched the wife forget to lean on a corner and come very close to putting it into the rhubarb.

Son-in-law found it far more useful to ride behind me when he was learning too, up to that point he was riding like he didn't have a clue.

Oh, I always thought newbies should be in the front so they don't feel the need to "keep up" and maybe my pace is too much for them even if I think I'm going "slow". You make good points though about the monkey see monkey do approach.
 
I have always had the newest rider in front. They ride their ride and you observe and give pointers at stops. Only time I lead is if going to a destination they might not be familiar with. Even then it's a good idea to point them and let the newb go ahead. They learn to ride better that way. Experienced in the back to prevent them from being crowded by cagers...cause the news tend to ride slower than traffic.
 
I adored my v-star 250, but be aware it is not highway capable and even a couple hours at 90 is pretty taxing. The r3 is highway capable and with a seat upgrade can be ridden for a pretty long time. Just my opinion having owned both.
 
Yep, well the goal is to keep her in front so she sets the pace and I'll just check out the scenery ;)

I've helped several riders get used to road riding and always found this the best method. This way they set a pace they are comfortable with. On in-town roads the speed limit is 40-60km/h so even if they're doing 10 under it won't really matter. I've always found that one of a new rider's biggest worries is stalling and having a car behind them creeping up their butt and intimidating them. With you behind them, they feel safer with you as the buffer. You can direct traffic around the two of you if they are really having trouble until they get it figured out. When you stop for a break you can give pointers. In no time at all this new rider will be doing great and have confidence.

As for the bike, let the rider pick what they like and what they feel comfortable on. It shouldn't matter if you have a sport bike and they want a cruiser. For years I had a Bandit and my Wife had a Virago 1100 as those were the bikes we each liked. There's no rule on matching or looking like you "should" be riding together. There is no legal speed you can ride on your bike that a Virago 250 can't do as well.
 
Oh, I always thought newbies should be in the front so they don't feel the need to "keep up" and maybe my pace is too much for them even if I think I'm going "slow". You make good points though about the monkey see monkey do approach.

How about do both? Start out with them in the front, then switch for a short while and then back again. Get the best of both worlds for you and the new rider.
 
Anyone have any experience with a Yamaha V Start 250? Would you recommend this to a beginner female rider? My only real concern is acceleration and not having enough power to get out of a situation. A ninja 300 / R3 are also being considered but the cruiser style is more her thing (short rider). Thanks!

Maybe look at the Honda 300 Rebel as well. When she's ready to move up the 500 Rebel or 650 Vulcan Kawasaki are pretty sweet rides too.
 
Maybe look at the Honda 300 Rebel as well. When she's ready to move up the 500 Rebel or 650 Vulcan Kawasaki are pretty sweet rides too.
I can vouch for the 300 motor in that new Rebel. My CBR300 was a champion and had no issues with a few hours at 140. Might be a little gustier with no windscreen but dam that rebel looks good IMO.
 
My wife started on a Marauder 250. Most 250 cruisers are pretty similar to each other in weight and performance.

It worked out well for her. I heard a lot of stories that she should have started out on a bigger bike (and she did progress fairly quickly to a 650) but I don't regret starting her on a 250 one bit as these bikes are SUPER light and easy to handle and build confidence on, especially for a new rider that may be struggling, or lacking confidence.

Oh, I always thought newbies should be in the front so they don't feel the need to "keep up" and maybe my pace is too much for them even if I think I'm going "slow". You make good points though about the monkey see monkey do approach.

I subscribed to the same thing and initially put my wife out front for one of her first ever street rides after she completed the MSC and we got her bike on the road. She promptly went into a sharp corner too hot, and...well, there was a "minor incident". No injuries, no damage, but frazzled her nerves a little.

I then put her behind me for a few weeks so she could play "follow the leader" and mirror my riding instead to get a better feeling for "real" riding. That worked well, and then we started switching back and forth as she built her road skills more.

She still rides behind me most of the time (since I'm the navigator on all our rides) but I will put her in front now if we are in heavy traffic (IE, coming through Toronto for example) for safety purposes - I'd rather be blocking for her vs the other way around.
 
Anyone have any experience with a Yamaha V Star 250? Would you recommend this to a beginner female rider? My only real concern is acceleration and not having enough power to get out of a situation. A ninja 300 / R3 are also being considered but the cruiser style is more her thing (short rider). Thanks!
These are awesome beginner bikes. My wife and kids learned on XV250's, I rode one with them for kicks.

They are a bit easier to handle then the sport bikes you mentioned, not quite as fast top end.

The nice thing about the little Viragos is they are extremely forgiving from a standstill so new riders are less likely to stall. Top speed with a 150lb rider is about 130KMH, compared to 160 on the R3 and Ninja 300. All are fast enough for beginners.

The nice think about Viragos is they hold their value. You can get a 4 to 20 years old with 10K or less for $2500, ride it for a 10K then sell it for the same.
 
Anyone have any experience with a Yamaha V Star 250? Would you recommend this to a beginner female rider? My only real concern is acceleration and not having enough power to get out of a situation. A ninja 300 / R3 are also being considered but the cruiser style is more her thing (short rider). Thanks!

Honda Rebel 250 might be a good choice too

Edit: didn’t read whole thread
 

Back
Top Bottom