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Yamaha Reviews

Rider's 250-class Dual-Sport Motorcycle Comparison Review

photography by the author, James Norris, Roger Eggers and Kail Wathne "Let's get small." With gas nudging five bucks a gallon, the tag line from...

Retrospective: Yamaha RD350: 1973-1975

(This Retrospective article was published in the August 2008 issue of Rider.) STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY CLEMENT SALVADORI Nicknames can be good, flattering, positive…or quite the...

2008 Star Road Star Silverado | Road Test Review

Since its introduction in 1999, Yamaha's (now the Star Motorcycles division of Yamaha) air-cooled, big-inch V-twin Road Star has been tremendously popular. Over the...

2008 Honda VTX1300T, Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Classic LT, Suzuki Boulevard C50T, Star V Star 1100 Silverado | Comparison Test Review

You're a cruiser rider, and you like to travel, too, right? So your choice in bikes is a touring cruiser, one with a windscreen,...

Rider Magazine’s 2008 Motorcycle of the Year and Best of Class

The new bikes for the 2008 model year have all been revealed, and it's time once again to name our three Best-of-Class winners. From...

Retrospective: Yamaha FZ750 Genesis: 1985-1986, 1988

(This Retrospective article was published in the June 2008 issue of Rider.) STORY AND PHOTOS BY CLEMENT SALVADORI It was the early 1980s when the Japanese...

Retrospective: Yamaha XJ900R Seca: 1983

(This Retrospective article was published in the April 2008 issue of Rider.) STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY CLEMENT SALVADORI This was a good bike at a good...

2008 Star Motorcycles Raider | Road Test Review

Ride on down to your local custom hangout on any given weekend and peruse the metric cruisers assembled there. Do a quick count of...

2007 Yamaha FZ6 – Road Test Review

(this review of the 2007 Yamaha FZ6 was originally published in the July 2007 issue of Rider] Remember the days when bikes were inexpensive and...

Retrospective: Yamaha TDM 850: 1992-1993

(This Retrospective article appeared in the May 2007 issue of Rider.) New Sports? What was a “New Sports” machine? In this case it seemed to...

2007 Yamaha V Star 1300 Tourer | Road Test Review

I must have a screw loose. I told some friends that I would meet them near the local twisties for a breakfast ride. They...

2006 BMW K1200GT vs. Yamaha FJR1300A – Comparison Review

Photography by Michael Mariant As any reader understands, the test rider has got to be objective in his evaluation of a motorcycle, to judge that...

2006 Yamaha Road Star Midnight Warrior | Road Test Review

We hear it more all the time. "I've been riding sportbikes for years, and now that I'm getting older I want to slow down...

2006 Yamaha FZ1 – Road Test Review

A lot of water has passed under the proverbial bridge in the half decade since Yamaha's first-generation FZ1 was introduced, and the world is...

2006 Honda 599, Kawasaki Ninja 650R, Suzuki SV650S and Yamaha FZ6 – Comparison Review

Photography by Rich Cox/Slide Action Look at the middleweight motorcycle class and you'll find a bunch of very serious sportbikes, adventure tourers, dual-sports, cruisers‚ and...

2006 Yamaha Roadliner S | Road Test Review

Open any magazine that covers the hyperactive world of customized cruisers (such as our sister publication Cruising Rider), and you'll see a healthy percentage...

Retrospective: Yamaha XV920 Virago: 1982-1983

(This Retrospective article was published in the February 2006 issue of Rider Magazine.) STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY CLEMENT SALVADORI It had to happen. Some Japanese manufacturer...

2005 Yamaha Royal Star Tour Deluxe | Road Test Review

With the cruiser market on fire and buyers gobbling up bikes almost as fast as they can be made, Yamaha has been scrambling for...

Sport Touring Comparison: 2003 BMW K1200GT ABS, 2003 BMW R1150RT ABS, 2003 Honda ST1300 ABS, 2004 Yamaha FJR1300 ABS

Sport tourers are the gold standard for distance-riding, hybrids that blend the best attributes of dressers and sportbikes. Their comfort level approaches that of...

2003 Model Year Bike Reviews

(This article was published in the December 2002 issue of Rider magazine.) By Mark Tuttle Jr. Hope you’re hungry! There’s a veritable feast of new motorcycle...

2003 Yamaha FJR1300 | Road Test Review

Shortly after I started working here at Rider, the first sport tour I went on with the staff was a shootout of the all-new...

2001 Model Year Bike Reviews

The article The Stars of 2001 was published in the December 2000 issue of Rider magazine.) by Mark Tuttle Jr. Ready? Cue Thus Spoke Zarathustra, the...

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