2004 Yamaha Roadstar Warrior...Again!
I first fell in love with the Roadstar Warrior back in 2004, so I went out and bought one. I had it for a couple years, and really dug it, but ended up selling it to get the amazing Husqvarna TE-510.
Fast forward another two years, and I found myself yearning for another street bike. I searched high and low, new and used, and eventually concluded that no other bike wet my whistle like the Warrior. I set about buying a brand new, all black Midnight edition, and that's where the trouble started.
Not much trouble, but a couple little annoying niggles that soured the deal.
First was the fact that Yamaha, in their infinite wisdom had changed the midnight edition for 2008, essentially eliminating 2/3rd's of what set it apart from the regular Warrior. They removed the raised "Warrior" logo from the tank, and eliminated the black with red pin-stripe wheels. Ooooh! Big deal. Well, for the extra $400 they wanted for the Midnight Edition over the regular Warrior, yeah, it was. Those two things and the black finish were all that was different. I wasn't about to pay $400 more for black paint in place of chrome. Remember when CHROME cost extra? What the hell?
The other niggling fact was that a new one added up to $14,500.00 by the time the dealer added his freight, setup, sales tax, and kid's dental plan to the sticker price. My local dealer, great guys all, quickly offered to knock a cool grand off the price before I even put my yarmulke on. This was offset by the fact that there were two low mile Midnight Edition Warriors on Craigslist for under $10,000.00, both stock, and both with the currently eliminated features I suddenly found I really liked. In addition, there was another '04, just like my old one, less than 20 miles away with even less miles on it than mine had had when I sold it. These points made that $14,500.00 seem pretty spendy for a version of the bike I didn't really want. Sure it had a warranty, but it also had the infamous 30% new bike depreciation as soon as I wheeled it out the door.
I decided to take a closer look at the used bikes.
It didn't take long for me to figure that the add-on aftermarket parts the local Warrior had already installed made it the pick of the litter, even though it wasn't a Midnight Edition. Krylon is cheap, and Matte Black is a pretty easy scheme to shoot.
I called the seller up, and asked if I could come down and take a look at it (the other two Midnight bikes were in Seattle, and Portland respectively, this one was closest). He said he was busy that night, but could I come the next night. That didn't work for me, as my wife was working and I'd have the kids. I hung up, and wondered if it'd still be there when the weekend came.
Compare with the picture above:
(After removing the belt guards, and re-wiring the tail lights. I also removed the passenger-bun. Note ISO grips.)
The next day, he sent me an email and said he wouldn't mind bringing it up to Olympia for me to check out. "Great!" thought I, "...except how can I barter with a guy who's willing to do such a magnanimous good deed right off the top?" I'd feel like a real lout if I made a low offer and he declined after driving 20 miles with gas at $4.50 a gallon. He was asking $9500 for it, and because it wasn't my first choice, I had thought I'd only be interested if it were a great deal, and I figured $9500 for a four year old bike wasn't a "great deal". It was close, with all the upgrades, but not quite there.
I wrote him back, and told him flat up that I appreciated his offer, but would only consider it, if he would take..(hmmm...what to offer?) $8200 cash for it.
I fully expected him to balk, and walk, but he agreed, and I ended up with an '04 Yamaha Roadstar Warrior in Cerulean Silver...Again.
The bike was exactly like my previous bike, except that it was in better condition (I had dropped my old one, and put a BIG dent in the tank). He had already added the Dynojet Power Commander III USB, a set of Samson Shorty exhausts, and a GYTR Star Racing Air Cleaner. He had relocated the license plate, as well as added a matching chin-scoop. He had also removed the stock blinkers and replaced them with some discreet LED blinkers mounted on the lever perches and on the swing arm ends accordingly. Very trick. All this and only had 3000 miles! The bike was immaculate. I bought it on the spot.
Since buying it, I have replaced the stock hand grips with a set of Kuryaken ISO grips. Much more comfortable. I have also ordered one of Churchkey's famous VBAK intake kits. This one mod can provide almost 10 extra horsepower over stock. We'll see. I don't really need MORE power, it's plenty powerful as it is, but cheap horsepower is always the goal, and unrestricted air is always a good place to start. I have also installed an LED integrated rear brake light and turn signals. Very trick. As previously mentioned, the previous owner had replaced the stock blinkers with some LED units attached to the ends of the swing arm fork. Cool, but not really very effective. I am paranoid of the idiots in spam cans, and want them to SEE me, and my blinking blinkers. The new unit does a much better job. I left the swing arm LED's in place so as well, so now I blink all over. Take that Spam can drivers!
I have a set of Morton's Executioner down-swept pipes ordered, though it takes those fella's a couple months to fill orders, so...the wait is on.
Here's what they will look like:
(from the internet, not my bike...)
They represent the single most expensive modification I plan on doing to the bike. Though I hope to recoup some of the $$$ by selling the Shorty's on EBAY.
I may eventually get some drag bars and forward controls, a tricky air shock, and God knows what else... but then again...I may not.
I also haven't entirely decided if I am going to keep the bulky side air-scoops or not after the VBAK conversion. There are a lot fo cool options once you start down that road.
I'm pretty happy with the bike. The Shorty's are a little loud for town, but sure thunder in the wooded glens and countryside. But now that I actually have my M/C Endorsement again after riding for fifteen years without it, I am a lot less worried about drawing attention to my wayward ways...
I'm happy again. Again.
