Yamaha XVS 1100 Dragstar Classic

Yamaha Corporation as we know it today was created more than a hundred years ago. The primary activity was production of musical instruments, small organ,piano…

Nippon Gakki Co., later called Yamaha, was founded in 1980 by Torakusu Yamaha. As stated in introduction, the company since establishment was involved in the manufacture of musical instruments. They started with a small organ and piano, and today they are one of the largest manufacturers of equipment for musicians in the world. Logo on Yamaha gas tanks represents 3 crossed tuning forks. Just thanks to the production of these forks and pianos, craftsmen at Yamaha have gained a lot of experience in working with metals and various alloys. This experience combined with those acquired in the World War II, as well as the high demand for cheap means of transport ( which was discussed in previous histories ), led to the fact that Yamaha began production of motorcycles.

First Yamaha came out from the factory back in 1955. It is a model YA-1. Unlike the first-born of other Japanese manufacturers, this motorcycle was very serious, probably because it was a copy of the DKW. It was powered by two-stroke engine with 123 ccm, whole 5,6 HP and 9,4 Nm of torque. It is important to note that this was a real motorcycle that did not use the frame of a bicycle. Of course, such a good motorcycle was accompanied with “good” price: at a time when the wages of university-educated men was just under 11.000 yen, the YA-1 cost entire 138.000 yen. His successor, YC-1 was a bit better: thanks to the engine of his 174 ccm, power is increased to as much as 10,3 HP. In addition to higher power, the motorcycle was exceptionally looking and the price jumped to 145.000 yen. YD-1 which appeared the following year, was also a remarkable motorcycle during that time. His biggest asset was also the engine….the first of the twin-cylinder Yamaha with 247 ccm and 14,7 HP. The first copies were sold in America in 1958.

Yamaha’s first production facility outside the borders of Japan, was opened in 1966 in Siam when it launched the first model from the super-sport class. It is a model YDS-3 that developed 26 HP and a complete novelty on this model was adjusting the rear suspension. The first Yamaha enduro, DT-1, was in the production in 1968, with 246 ccm and largest front fork gap among all Japanese motorcycles. Just a year later, Yamaha has built its own race track.
The first large-volume engine, powered by four-stroke parallel twin engine with 653 ccm and 53 HP, was launched in 1970 and carried the label XS1.
Yamaha as other large motorcycle corporations, followed the trend of cruiser production. In 1981. “XV 750 Special” was produced, adorned by the first Yamaha V-twin with 748ccm, cylinders at an angle of 75 ⁰, shaft drive and attractive appearance.

Previous story has been told because we have found and bought the 2000 model of Yamaha XVS Dragstar 1100 Classic.

Yamaha corporation, with “Dragstar” model, replaced in long run the famous “Virago 1100”. With this model, the looks of the classic chopper is honored to the maximum. Our Yamaha Dragstar is the “Classic” model and unlike its twin brother “Custom”, has a wider front tire and additional 13kg. In North America it was sold as “V-Star 1100”.

High quality predecessor “Virago 1100” was deemed as reliable, strong, but ugly model. Although the foregoing assessment is the subjective perception of the majority, for “Dragstar 1100”, of course, one can not say it is ugly, but quite the opposite: when You drive it, people are turning heads and You attract lot of positive attention…..very robust, manageable and attractive motorcycle. The story about “Dragstar” is that You can go with it on a trip around the world, but also that trip will last for quite a time….This is, among other things, what constrained us to include this motorcycle to our modern classics story. It is practically impossible to destroy this motorcycle ( of course, if You perform regular maintenance and servicing ). For it there is no endurance limit. Here, we are talking about close to 300kg of pure iron, which is mechanically incredibly well coordinated. As with any cruiser of this type, the driver is exposed to the wind, which is, of course, very easy to solve by quality visor. Anything else to point out would be advantages and among them as most important – a great experience for long trips with incredible ease of driving management and position of the driver and passenger. It delivers power smoothly and efficiently with enough torque at low rpm. We will conclude our “Yamaha Dragstar 1100” story with the assessment that there is no competitor that has formed so good and high price quality ratio. Therefore, we are proud to present Yamaha XVS 1100 Dragstar Classic. Produced in 2000. Through pictures and specifications, enjoy the offered model.

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