2018 Goldwing vs 2018 Yamaha Star Venture

[VStarRider]

Just back from a pit stop at the local Yamaha dealer.

I have wanted to test ride a Star Venture TC, and they, again, do not have one. The owner told me they can only get one if they order through a pre-sale. Also, another thing I did not know, is that there was not a 2019 model for this bike. Apparently, it was such a poor seller as a 2018, that they stopped production until they could clear out 2018 inventory. It will be back as a 2020 model.

The owner did a dealer search for me across New York State. There are three 2018 TCs for sale - one in Buffalo, one in Syracuse, one in Elmira. She suggested I go to Americade in Lake George to do a demo ride next week.

She said that Yamaha is very disappointed and surprised with the response to this bike. I am not sure how many of us are; the V-twin bagger/touring market is only so big, and its primary consumers get a year older every year, and 75% percent of their business is already owned by HD and Indian.

[Joflewbyu2]

Surprise it it is a poor seller. Let’s see, it is overweight and under powered to begin with. No shaft drive, no liquid cooling. Plus it is over priced. Very similar to a Harley but without the following and the comradely. I will take a HD Touring bike any day of the week over the Star if I wanted a big V Twin. I guess Yamaha was not thinking when the other metric manufacturers stop producing large V Twins due to poor sales. No Kawasaki Vulcan 2000, no Suzuki C109, no Honda 1800 V Twin. These bikes were too big for the average market buyer.

Just back from a pit stop at the local Yamaha dealer.

I have wanted to test ride a Star Venture TC, and they, again, do not have one. The owner told me they can only get one if they order through a pre-sale. Also, another thing I did not know, is that there was not a 2019 model for this bike. Apparently, it was such a poor seller as a 2018, that they stopped production until they could clear out 2018 inventory. It will be back as a 2020 model.

The owner did a dealer search for me across New York State. There are three 2018 TCs for sale - one in Buffalo, one in Syracuse, one in Elmira. She suggested I go to Americade in Lake George to do a demo ride next week.

She said that Yamaha is very disappointed and surprised with the response to this bike. I am not sure how many of us are; the V-twin bagger/touring market is only so big, and its primary consumers get a year older every year, and 75% percent of their business is already owned by HD and Indian.

[VStarRider]

Surprise it it is a poor seller. Let’s see, it is overweight and under powered to begin with. No shaft drive, no liquid cooling. Plus it is over priced. Very similar to a Harley but without the following and the comradely. I will take a HD Touring bike any day of the week over the Star if I wanted a big V Twin. I guess Yamaha was not thinking when the other metric manufacturers stop producing large V Twins due to poor sales. No Kawasaki Vulcan 2000, no Suzuki C109, no Honda 1800 V Twin. These bikes were too big for the average market buyer.

Yep, I think that is what is going on. The bike has a lot of attributes ... tons of storage, great infotainment, top notch build quality and hardware ... but ... its a dying segment of the market that they all of a sudden decided to compete in. It's similar to Toyota or Nissan trying to make a big splash in personal luxury cars in 2019 when that market died out in the early 90s.

If the Star had a liquid cooled V4 or even a liquid cooled twin, it would at least partially tap into the BMW and Wing markets, arguably ... though I do not profess to be a marketing guru on bikes.

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Meanwhile, I sat on a new Wing and once again feel like it fits me like a glove. It will likely be my next bike. Drives me nuts that it makes that much sense.