If the Yamaha Star Venture wasn’t enough motorcycle for you, then you will be happy to hear that Yamaha is doubling down on its massive touring lineup, with the 2018 Yamaha Star Eluder.
The concept behind the Yamaha Star Eluder is pretty simple. It takes the massive Star Venture, does away with the big touring seats, and leaves a bagger in its place.
If this kind of transformation sounds familiar, it should, as it is a page taken straight out of Honda’s playbook, which lead to the creation of the Honda Gold Wing F6B and CTX1300 bagger models.
This means that the Yamaha Star Eluder features the same 113ci (1,854cc) air-cooled v-twin engine, mammoth chassis size, and robust feature list that is found on the Venture variant as well.
It also means that delivery dates to dealers are still “TBD”, and doubt we will see the Star Eluder before late-December, as the Star Venture production has been delayed until that time.
For those interested, pricing on the 2018 Yamaha Star Elduer starts at $22,499 MSRP, which is just over $25/lbs – or roughly the market rate on salmon steaks right now (the Yamaha Star Eluder weighs 875 lbs wet).
Still, the touring market is one of the largest segments in the United States, thanks largely (no pun intended) to the efforts of Harley-Davidson and the Honda Gold Wing.
Dealing a one-two punch with the Venture and Eluder models to both those rival brands, Yamaha has an air-cooled v-twin tourer that should interest Bar & Shield riders, as well as a two-wheeled living room of a motorcycle, which will cut right to Honda’s Gold Wing family. This should be interesting to watch.
Source: Yamaha Motor USA
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