Motorcycle Forum / General / Yamaha / December 2006

We're in the same boat. Havent ridden since back in the day. I got myself a
650 and after a couple of months, wish I had gone slightly bigger.
The 650 is plenty good for 1, not too sure about 2-up riding, but I find
myself wanting a bit more power at highway speeds.

Rhatt
(you wont want to stay rural for long, the open road beckons!)

The 1100 is a lot heavier so harder to maneuver.
the 1100 also has a disk rear brake where the 650 has a drum.
I have a friend that had a 650 and has had no regrets about buying a
new 1100.
His main reason for the upgrade was 2 up riding.

My wife and I have purchased these two bikes back in June. We have the
Silverodo editions with bags and windshield. We have about 2500 miles on
them as of now. The 650 is much shorter than the 1100. The 650 fits my wife
very well,  she is 5' 2". I am 6'1" and am very cramped on her bike. The
1100 fits me well. Both bikes are comfortable, you can ride for about an
hour and a half to two hours before you need to get off and stretch. For two
up riding I would recommend the 1100 for the power and size. The passenger
seat on these bikes does seem a little small for anything but shorter rides,
but can't speak from experience.

I've had a 650 for 5 years now and have put over 25,000 miles on her in that
time. This was my first ride after a 15 year hiatus to raise a family. I
love the bike, but there are two things I've noticed, and have seen others
comment on too.

First is the passenger seat. My wife can't stand more than an hour on it.
The rear pad was not designed for comfort.

The second thing is the engine develops a strange, harmonic vibration
between 55 and 65 MPH that can cause a bit of pre-mature fatigue if you're
doing any extended highway cruising in that range.

Other than those two items I love the bike and find it great for cruising
back country roads.

My brother hadn't ridden since the late 70's until a year ago, at which
point he picked up an '04 650 Custom.  He's put on quite a few miles
commuting, cruising on the weekend, and on trips ranging up to 1500
miles.  He absolutely loves the bike and has no regrets.  By the way,
the 650 Custom weighs in at 475 lbs.

This spring I bought a new 1100 Classic, which I absolutely love and
have no regrets about.  It was a bit of a change from a Virago 535 at
400 lbs to the V Star at 600, but completely manageable.  The V Star is
balanced so well and has such a low center of gravity, that I have a
hard time believing it.  I commute to work on interstate, drive around
town to visit people and places, and on the weekends I'm hopefully
cruising through the farmland, hills, mini mountains of SE
Pennsylvania.  For me, I love the 1100.  I just knew that's what I
wanted.  I can only imagine it handles 2-up better.  My brother
occasionally takes his wife, but only for short rides; the pillion just
isn't that great.

The whole bike thing is such a personal issue; I think the only person
who can know what's right for you is... you.  I know that there are
bikes which are bigger, faster, uglier, thinner, etc..., but still, I
absolutely lust after my bike.  For me it is the absolutely coolest
monster.  But that's just for me.  I don't expect anybody else to share
my opinion, just respect it.

I don't know for sure, but I think the 650 doesn't have the oil change
issue that the 1100 has.  You know, having to remove the muffler to do
it.  Of course there are ways around that.

Good luck and have fun!

Dayton

I have a 98 650 classic.  I like it.  I like to ride the back roads and it
is powerful enough for that.  It does seem to rev high on the highway.  Hope
you find one soon.

I have a 1100 and like it but would buy the new 1300 now.  The new
1300 should be easier to do maintenance on.  I wouldn't waste my money
on a 650.  

I've spent 2 summers cruising on my 99 650 classic. With and without the
wife. For rural  two lane hiways and on the freeway every once in a while I
love it.  Enjoy