[thumbs]

I am considering a VStar 1300 touring or maybe not. I am interested in riding all day with a bit more comfort than my sport touring bike. It was great 20 years ago but the riding position is not as good as it was. LOL

I've been looking around and it seems the V Star 1300 in one configuration or another may be the way to go for me. I am in my 60's so you get the idea that a little more comfort would be nice.

Ok I like the VStar 1300 but I like the looks of the Stryker a little better. The question is can you ride this thing all day. I'm not a iron butt rider but I do put on 3 to 4 hundred miles a day when on trips. To tell you the truth, on the show room floor the Stryker feels a bit more comfortable but that is only for a couple of minutes. How is the riding position in 5 or 6 hours? I stretch every hour and a half or so but which bike would be more comfortable?

Thanks for the help

 

[dejablu110]

Imo, the way you sit in a stryker you become part of the bike....very comfy. The vstar you sit on top of it.... Not as comfy and it seems a lot more bulky. Stryker is a lot more fun and easier to handle

 

[SmokenJoe]

Others have been on longer rides but myself maybe only 2 hrs. I also took a V Star for a test ride and the Stryker. I felt like I was on the V Star but in the Striker with a more relaxed ride. I preferred the handling better also. Did not like the wide bars for one thing on the V Star. BUT, seats can be replaced with better seating. On here some hate the stock seat and I love it.
On a side note, check out the VTX 1300 also. Great touring ride.

 

[MY LIFE]

THE Stryker as its been said here, and I stated on another thread before, becomes you. You become one with the bike. But that being said, even I have to tell you that you can only ride so long, before you will start to get sore in some areas. The solution is to add aftermarkets to compensate for that. If you ass hurts, buy a nice cushy seat and maybe add a backrest. If your legs hurt, buy some floor boards. If your hands hurt get some ISO grips. Even the 1300 will have its problems, because like people all bikes are not the same fit for everyone. That's why we have a aftermarket. That being said, your going to look so much better on the Stryker then the 1300 8)

 

[thumbs]

LOL Yeah but the problem is when I take the helmet off it doesn't matter how good I look on the bike. LOL

Anyway I'll pay more attention the the Stryker next time out. The other question is wind screen and bags. I don't go much longer than 4 days or so on the road. I also can do wash but can you get decent size bags for this thing? One bag has to carry my sleep machine. The other for all the other stuff. I try to ride as light as I can but there still is a bit of stuff. I don't camp anymore so that takes a lot of stuff away. Does anyone have picts and info for touring on a Stryker?

One last thing. What changes have been made to the Stryker over the years? I know slight changes have been made to the V Star touring bike. I would like to get a hold of a left over somewhere but need to know if the model year makes a difference. Not sure when the Stryker came out. I though it was new last year.

 

[christopher]

The longest i've ridden has been 7hrs. It sucks. But it has nothing to do with the bike. The seat is just too uncomfortable for long rides. I plan on changing my seat out for something better. Even with that said you would have to pry my Stryker away from my dead cold hands before you could get it away from me.

 

[thumbs]

If you get a chance take a look at the Air Hawk seat. Not cheap but no where near the cost of a custom seat. Also if you don't like it they will take it back in 90 days. I bought one for my bike when I got to the point where I couldn't ride more than 20 minutes without my hip joints killin me. After that, I kid you not, I am able to ride all day. Ok like I said before I stop every hour and a half or so. I think they go for about 130 for the good one that is guaranteed for five years. If you don't like it send it back. Worth a try before you drop hundreds on a seat that can only be used on one bike and it may or may not fit right anyway.

 

[middleagecrisis]

The bike just came out last year.

I sat on different bikes for at least 15 minutes because I wanted to get a better picture for comfort. Hands down, the Stryker was most comfortable.

 

[canadian stryker]

If you can, see if you can take a few bikes out for a ride, I think you will find that the Stryker is very comfortable. In Canada, Yamaha goes around to different dealers with a selection of different models for Demo Days, they may do the same in your area.

 

[immortal13]

Just look at it man.....case closed.


U can always buy a more comfy seat.

 

[thumbs]

Well because of nascar and nfl the Bike week was changed. I try to get there every year. Problem is this year I'll only be there about three days. Oh well I may be able to get a couple of rides in while I am there.

Like I said before, to me forum follows function. Within reason looks are secondary or "thirdary". The function of this bike has to be to keep up with three other guys on Goldwings all day for severial days in a row. I can do it on the bike I have now but I am looking for more comfort in the process.

Yep I would like it to look good also but after a long time in the saddle looks become less important. It it will cruise all day in comfort no problem if not it won't be much better than what I have now. I know it's all personal but if there are a bunch of guys that can stay in the saddle all day then it just might work.

 

[Mr monte]

Since my head-on car accident 3 years ago the only time I don't feel pain is when I ride my Strkyer. Got a 150 mile ride in this week! I have a Mustang seat which is more comfy & has better support than the stock seat. Also has a much better seat for the passenger which keeps the wife much happier. ;D

 

[11Stryker]

Welcome to the forum!! My wife uses the Airhawk2 on the passenger seat and loves it. I would like to try it, but would take away from the Cool Guy look that I'm trying to impose!!

 

[thumbs]

LOL I hear ya. Hey look at it this way, no one will see it when your siting on it. LOL At least your honest. At my age the only thing I care about is is it bullet proof and can I ride it all day. LOL Sounds like you should have gotten a Harley. Never saw a guy on a Harley that didn't look way cool. LOL

 

[ronin]

As far as comfort goes I would recomend changing out the stock seat, I upgraded to yamahas duel touring which gave a little more cushion, but more importantly just a little more back support. I took a 10 day trip from RI up to the finger lakes in NY then down the blue ridge to the "tail of the dragon". Longest day was 12 hours (480ish miles, and 4 hours of torrential rain), averaged 300 miles a day 8 to 10 hours on the bike. No pain, only comfort. The ride is a bit stiffer then on my old Vulcan, but handles much better. Love the riding position, new seat a must, the only thing I'm missing now is the footpeg extender kit from scoot mods.
I love this fricken bike. Great looks, awsome ride, comfortable, oh and looks awsome (deserved to be said twice).

 

[toby]

The Sryker for me was by far a better choice. A little history and description here to give you an idea of what lead to my decision and then how I feel about the bike. I am 56 years old, 150 pounds and only 5'5". And even though I am very strong and fit for my age do to constitutions work all my life and 30+ years of martial arts training, I have two blown discs in my neck pinched nerve causing pain and some loss of control in my right hand, and a bum nee. And my desires for a bike are for touring the country. So you can see for me looks are 2nd to comfort, dependability, affordability, and ease of control of the bike. So when we decided to get a new 2nd bike, after sitting on a V Star 1300 and V Star 950 I chose the 950 because it was much lighter. The 1300 felt like it would be much more work to ride especially on the mountain roads I ride and some times 2 up. Then I let my wife ride the 950 and she said it was much easier to ride than the old Virago so I had to get another new bike. Thus leading me back to, do I get another 950 or test a 1300. Dealer had a Stryker sitting next to the 1300. Wow what a difference in looks. Sat on both. No composition. The Srtyker is only 33 more pounds than the 950 and seemed even easier to get up of the stand than the 950. Stryker was so much more comfortable I didn't test ride them I just ordered a Stryker the color I wanted. The best way I can describe the difference in the two bikes that to me makes the Stryker more comfortable is that you sit down in it and fly it and the other you sit up on it and have to ride it. I have rode over 100 miles on mountain roads over 2 hrs without a break and had no problem with discomfort of any kind. Except for the suspension being a little stiff on potholes this bike to me is way more comfortable than the V Stars. I have also rode from here to San Francisco 2 up some 5 0r 6 hrs and felt I could have gone longer.

 

[11Stryker]

LOL I hear ya. Hey look at it this way, no one will see it when your siting on it. LOL At least your honest. At my age the only thing I care about is is it bullet proof and can I ride it all day. LOL Sounds like you should have gotten a Harley. Never saw a guy on a Harley that didn't look way cool. LOL

Ok fellow Old Timer! LOL No need to swear at me with HD. I can see me at 60 not caring so much about looks and more about comfort. You are sounding like my wife!, but I just need to kid myself for a few more years and enjoy the impersonation while I can!!
As far as what bike to get- The Stryker is it by far! Just get a Comort Cruise seat or Mustang. The back support is great on those. Take care friend!!

 

[roger]

Since my head-on car accident 3 years ago the only time I don't feel pain is when I ride my Strkyer. Got a 150 mile ride in this week! I have a Mustang seat which is more comfy & has better support than the stock seat. Also has a much better seat for the passenger which keeps the wife much happier. ;D

I can not agree more!!
Mr Monte that wasn't you that hit me head on three years ago was it? Seriously something happened to me 3 years ago.

 

[BryanP]

Hi Thumbs, thanks for a very interesting topic. I have a slight suspicion that when you ask a bunch of Stryker Bikers that kind of question you may just get some responses which are a tiny bit bias towards the Stryker but hey I agree with them. I have been biking for around 46 years, I'm 60 in a few weeks time, (not dirt riding) and only ventured into the cruiser world last year or so. I'm not a HD fan and in my world they are very expensive so I started with a Suzuki M50, got hooked and enjoyed it. Then when I started to feel the need for more power I looked around and sat on a few cruisers. I did not want a big capacity bike and was looking between 1100 and 1300 cc. The Stryker was my choice and I'm very happy with it, but. And here I may just differ a little, I feel that for really long rides and reasonably high speeds while the Stryker is more than capable and comfy, the sport/tourer types like the goldwing/FJR etc are better suited (for me) to that style of riding. I had the BMW K1200 RS and this was amazing for those 10 to 12 hour rides. Now that my wife has stopped riding with me and I no longer do the long tours I am more than happy to have sold the BMW and bought the Stryker. Regards from Durban RSA.

 

[strykerjan]

Bryan, I have both the V Star 1300 and the Stryker at the moment. I bought the V Star 1300 in 2011 to replace my Dragstar 1100. I wanted a Stryker then but couldn't get one in the UK. My Husband managed to import one for me and now the V Star is for sale. the 2 bikes are different how everyone has said. You sit on the V Star and in the Stryker. I have only done 38 miles so far because the weather is not good in the UK in January, but I am sure as soon as it improves I will be on it every possible opportunity. ;D