• A scenic ride on your Yamaha V-Star.Having a nice motorcycle trip in the Swiss apls image by macegraphics from Fotolia.com
  
  For many people, there is nothing more exciting than hitting the open road on a motorcycle. A smooth-riding cruiser puts a driver at ease and makes the trip more exhilarating. Yamaha accomplished this with their line of V Star 1100 series bikes. The 2000 models gave customers a choice between the V Star 1100 Custom and the V Star 1100 Classic. Basic framework and engines remained the same in both, but slight alterations were included elsewhere.
  
  

Handling

• The Yamaha V-Star 1100 Classic has a larger front tire.tires 2 image by Pontus Edenberg from Fotolia.com
  
  The 2000 Yamaha 1100 Custom came standard with a 110 front tire while the Classic model mounted a 16-inch wheel with a fat 130 tire. Both maintained the 170 rear tire, but fenders were beefed up on the Custom. The wider seat and floorboards found on the Classic made for a more comfortable ride on long trips. The Custom offered foot-pegs for riders who prefer the look of a sportier bike. Yamaha offered split-tandem seats on each model. The Classic and Custom were outfitted with dual front disc brakes to improve handling and maintenance.
  
  

Appearance

• The speedometer is found on the Classic's gas tank.compteur de vitesse image by sylbohec from Fotolia.com
  
  Yamaha only had to make a few simple changes to modify the appearance of both models. The instrument panel was changed from the upright position on the Custom to a location on the Classic's teardrop gas tank. Tail light assemblies and fenders were different on both cruisers, with the Classic having a more flared look. The Custom's features were enhanced on the Classic by adding polished covers to the front forks and forward-mounted floorboards. Handlebars on the Custom were not nearly as wide, and the headlight was smaller than the chrome-shelled one found on the other model. Overall, Yamaha went with a retro design on the Classic to build the look of a much larger bike.
  
  

Dimensions

• In order for Yamaha to make handling and appearance changes to the V-star 1100 Custom, they also had to alter dimensions. The seat height of the Classic came in at 28 inches while the Custom was only 27.2 inches. Both had the same overall height, but the width differed. The Classic at 37.2 inches was much wider than the other model at 35.2-inch. The Custom is 2.3 inches shorter in length, but has 0.2 inches more ground clearance. There is a huge difference between the weights of the bikes. The Classic's massive structure weighed in at 600 pounds while the Custom was 571pounds.