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 2007 model of Yamaha XVZ 1300 Royal Star Tour Deluxe.
This cruiser is specially made for the USA market. For us as a big fans of motorcycles, the ordinary XVZ 1300 Royal Star is a very nice motorcycle too, but with its 100 hp, the Tour Deluxe is a very, very powerful motorcycle for travel. Not to mention that it is a very rare V4 unit, given that everyone else, especially the Japanese and USA competitors, use V2 units.
Additionally, Tour Deluxe is equipped with cruise control, and this feature is very useful for highway travel. What we must mention is the quality of use of this motorcycle when driving around the city – there is no quality here. The name alone says that this is a tour deluxe. Also, with his 377kg it simply can not show its skills in the city. It’s just a motorcycle-shaped truck. With factory suitcases, factory-made leg protectors, visor, Mustang leather seats, a backrest for passenger and even a drivers backrest, Yamaha has tried ( this is our opinion ) to shake up the “Harley Davidson Road King”. From this story it is easy to draw a conclusion that Yamaha did its best and put it in the market where this class of motorcycles is the most represented and most used – USA (it is certainly a market where besides Harley and Indian , as domestic players, figure also very strongly: Honda with its Gold Wing line and very long tradition, Kawasaki with its powerful Vulcan line, and in some places Suzuki with the Intruder line ). Afterall, Yamaha wanted to weigh in at the heart of the touring / cruiser culture. As a result, we have an unofficial record that Road King sales have dropped significantly in the year of the release of the Tour Deluxe in the US.
It is very important to note that in addition to its basic version of the XVZ 1300 Royal Star, Yamaha has released another version in this category, the Venture, which has a special visor system with a built-in radio and an extra backpack.
We will conclude our “Yamaha XVZ 1300 Royal Star Tour Deluxe” 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 XVZ 1300 Royal Star Tour Deluxe. Produced in 2007. Through pictures and specifications, enjoy the offered model.

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