It doesn't really sound like this is the bike for you. It's not really a semi-chopper look. The raider is. The striker kind of is. It's more of a pro street look. As you note it's air cooled. So is the raider. It's more like a muscle bike. Good luck in your search though.

 

Ok. I may be wrong with the terminology, but it does have a bit more rake than the typical Road Star cruiser line and that is the styling that appeals to me.

Thanks for the input.

 

i got mine for sale if you are going to be interested.

 

You can make the Warrior look more raked with Mortons 7 degree trees and a 21" front wheel. The Raider is more chopper like because of the more extended stock rake. Pep has a thread on here where he put 3" extensions on his front forks of the Raider he has and it looks stretched out pretty good.

 

Best looks and cornering Warrior, Best ride over 100 miles Raider, Water cooled Stryker.

 

i too was looking for something similar to you. i looked at all the bikes mentioned. I also came from a more upright sporty type bike. I had the Fazer 8.

In the end, cost, performance and comfort was how I made my decision to go Warrior.
I preferred the looks of the stryker, not the engine
i preferred the engine of the Raider - no the looks

I preferred the muscle bike looks and rarity of the warrior and the handling and a seriously competent motor.
I still find it is a very comfortable bike,

thats why I made the call. Finding a slightly used one is getting more and more difficult.

 

Thank you. Your reasons for going with the Warrior are where I'm at also, and cost is a consideration since it will be a 2nd bike and not ridden that often. The Raider and Stryker models are bit more pricey in my limited research and I am still looking at the Honda Stateline which can be found used in the mid-5's range.

 

Also consider the Warrior is not made any more and over a short period of time parts will be hard to find. They still make the Raider and the Stryker so parts will be more available. I like the Raider, but the Warrior is like one of a kind.

 

I bought the Warrior for the mean looks and big air cooled twin. I soon realized that it is a very competent handler. It is no sport bike but is truly a performance cruiser. You may find, if you decide to get one, you ride it more than you planned....

 

Welcome to the forum and good luck in your hunt. If this is to be a second less used bike I would go for not water cooled. It would be less maint. and parts from sitting longer between rides.

 

As you mentioned you can get a warrior at a very decent price. There are many owners here and have never really seen any issues with the air cooled. although you can hide the radiator of water cooled bike I find the radiator style bike ugly. Look at the Harley VROD. beautiful bike until you get to that huge ugly radiator up front. Most sport bikes or like your concours are able to hide the radiator under the body panels. You can mod the crap out of a warrior to get it to look like you want. Like gilly said you can add raked triple trees either 7 degree like his or 6 degree which are a little more subtle and do not need any fork extensions. Since you already have a concours which is a great bike for long distance riding you do not have to spend a lot of $$ to make a Warrior more comfortable. In the end it will be your decision. spend some time here and check out different bikes,. maybe go to the warrior of the month thread for the past few years and you can see the Warrior potential

 

I am smitten with my warrior, but had a chance to do some miles on a friends Honda Fury not long ago and I was quite impressed. definitely not as nimble as the warrior, but very competent, plenty powerful, lots of fun and you have that "chopper" look. it is also water cooled and shaft drive.

 

Thanks Sandy, Chris, rcoligan. Great points. Unless a great deal pops up on the Honda, I am leaning in the Warrior direction because of cost and I see some pretty good deals in my area for low mileage (less than 20K), 2005+ in the $4K range. I'm planning to make a purchase during the winter months. I have not gone through this site yet, but is there a model year that I should avoid? Maybe the earlier ones?

Thanks again.

 

Your post kinda hit home. Two months ago I used both my 09 C14 and 08 RSW as a
trade-in on a new bike. I'll be 65 this November and wanted a more comfortable MC that I can ride into my Sunset years.
The C14 was too tall in the seat and had me in a "crunched" position all the time. It was extremely fast and smooth but hard on an old mans body. A great MC. The RSW was my inter-city bar hopping noise maker... loved it! It's hard to let go of a Warrior, it was my third one since 06. Originally I traded a 02 HD Low Rider for a new Warrior.....that Warrior then got traded for the C14. right away I missed the RSW and then for a fun machine got a used RSW. (aren't they all used by now?) That RSW bought back the fire and I traded it in on a new zero mile 08 back in '12.

You will love the Warrior as your first or second bike..... I got compliments all the time and the bike was fairly fast and handled great for a "power cruiser". Someone said I hit 132 mph on the bouncing speedo one blearly afternoon.
I've been a RSW forum member for a number of years and now that I'm Warriorless I can't break the habit of viewing the website on a daily basis. This site ROCKS!...... the bikes are like blank canvas.... you will not find a better bunch of people anywhere. I especially love reading stories from our overseas members. The "blokes" from down-under really make me smile! I would love to party with you guys.... same with the other side of the Ocean.... our cousins from the UK and our friends on the Continent.
Recently the "milkmans" story has gotten the juices flowing for another adventure.

Farewell to my "closet" friends and fellow Warriors - ride safe, be happy.

Paul aka pimpdaddy

p.s. I saved the worse for last, my new ride is a '15 HD RoadGlide.
ps ps nice ride once all the BS is sorted out. I've had more issues with this bike in two months than I've had for the past ten years with the Warriors. In fact I've NEVER had to take my Warrior(s) to the Dealerships for anything other than tire mounting.
Says a lot about the Warrior.

 

Thanks Paul. Great post. I love the C14. Bought it used last winter and it's been great. I had a 1998 VFR at the same time and just sold it since both the C14 and VFR were very similar in riding style to me. Like you I wanted something to buzz around town on and the Warrior (and Honda) catch my eye. I don't keep bikes very long having started back again riding in 02 with a Suzuki Intruder, then Kaw Concours 10, then Honda Blackbird, then Honda ST1300, then Goldwing, then VFR and Concours 14. That's the main reason why I am looking towards used bikes. I'll be 59 next March and want to try a cruiser. I've looked at the big cruisers like the VTX1800, Royal Star, etc. but they are too big for around town. I'd love to go the HD route, but cost and possible maintenance issues will keep me away.

Thanks for the input. It's been helpful to know that I'm not the only "crazy" (LOL) when it comes to buying and owning bikes...

 

Warrior is also fairly light at around 650 lbs, easy 200 pounds less than a full on HD touring bike.

 

yes, with the rake on either the stryker or raider you will be limiting your driving performance IF that matters to you. I personally dont like the looks of the Honda. I find it a fake, custom.... not my cup of tea.

Aftermarket support is harder to find, but honestly these bikes don't need much to me amazing. Bars and exhaust and hands downs sexiest looking performance cruiser.
I like that people do not know what it is when they see it.
If all i was going ot do was haul ass cross country out of those 3 id go raider.

if it was looks only and cost wasent an issue id get the flat grey stryker.

Both of these bikes would feel less plants because of the skinny front tire, but they look amazing. Apparently Yamaha has done a great job of making it perform as best as it can with the larger rake and front wheel.


one plus is honestly this forum, there is a ton of knowledge kicking around here, and people are super helpful! its a bonus

 

Thank you Maddog. Great info. Leaning in the Warrior direction since I already own a good touring bike - Concours 14.

 

Hey guys I'm 62 or somewhere around there don't count anymore or else forget. I found the warrior a little uncomfortable and needed something a little more comfortable for cruising around so got this LMAO man now I have to do something with that skinny tire on the back of the FatBob

 

No training wheels required....LOL.

 

Hey Mike what coincidence. I own a warrior and a few years ago I decided to add a more touring ride to my garage, so now I have a Connie parked beside the warrior. I have the ZG1400ABS. Two great bikes.

 

Same here. Mine is an 09 ABS as well. I assume it compliments the warrior so it would be a good second bike?

 

My Connie.

Here it is.

 

Hi Mike,

I'm pretty much a silent lurker on here. But I just wanted to post and tell you that I have had two Warriors...an '03 and now an '08 Midnight. Never ever have I once had a problem with either. They have both literally been ALL over the United States...tens of thousands of miles...and it's been nothing but a blast. In all of that riding, I've seen only a couple of other Warriors but turned LOTS of heads from other riders. Warriors are beautiful, rare, and powerful enough to give you a great time both around town and long distance. (Pretty sure I'm missing only two of the lower 48 states on mine.) I have easily been able to mod the crap out of both (at least so far). I decided to sell the '03 only because I wanted a Midnight, and it was literally for sale about a day before I had six different people competing for it. And that is in South Mississippi. I'll just add that I have had ALOT to compare it to over the years, in bikes that the husband and I have bought and sold just as side fun...VROD, VTX1800, Victory, VMax, handful of HDs, and even the new Valkyrie. This one will always be my great love...simply an extension of my body. This forum has been a wonderful resource to me in making my bikes exactly what I wanted. I hope this helps. I'm probably biased, but I can't imagine this bike ever disappointing.

Best of luck!

 

Thank you WarriorGirl. Sold! Thanks for taking the time and putting so much though into the reply. I'm looking at 2 bikes in my area: 2004 with 22K miles and a 2005 Midnight with 22K miles also. The asking price on the 04 is $3900 and $4500 on the 05. The only add-ons are aftermarket pipes. So I'll probably go to look at both of them in the next few weeks. They've been for sale for awhile.

Thanks again.

Mike

 

last oil change i got, the mechanic said he just did an oil change on another warrior... the bike had 187 000 km trouble free miles on it!

 

Im on my second warrior n dnt regret it at all.I totaled my first midnight n it had about 115k miles at time of accident. It would still be GOING strong...So when it CAME TIME to replace it the ONLY bike was another midnight......... Very dependable. Ask member JoeyAlessi he has over 100k miles on his warrior u can't get any more dependable n worry free than THAT........................

 

Thanks for that endorsement. Seems like Yamaha built a bullet-proof bike. Too bad it's not made any longer.

Mike

 

If you can or want to, post pics or a link to the sell ads. We can help with the "Hey that's not stock! or It looks a little rough!" kinda stuff.

 

Thank you. Here are the 3 that I am looking at in my area:

2004 asking price: $3900:

2004 Yamaha Road Star Warrior 1700

2005 asking price: $4500:

2005 Yamaha Roadstar Warrior --Reduced$$

...and a 2006, asking price: $3900 and my first choice because of the lower mileage. I'm told by the owner that it will need tires soon, hence the lower price (a little concerned that it has a new clutch with such low miles):

Yamaha Warrior

Thanks to all for the help. It's appreciated.

Mike

 

I'd go for 2004 Yamaha Road Star Warrior 1700 . It has some after market parts and accessories.

Pegs, pipes, integrated tail light, dual scoop mod, chrome/polished fender supports, chrome bolt style clutch cover insert, pulley cover,(probably a gen cover insert too) chrome belt guard, cam cover, bars, iso grips, belly pan and a pc3. It's set up to go.

 

Thanks Rudy. Great info. Would've never know those details.

Mike

 

From the stock scoop mod on the right side I assume it also has the vbak/bak mod.

 

I like the 06 paint and the 5 spoke wheels (first year for the 5 spoke wheels ) ...The Barnett clutch is a common upgrade for the warrior so I would not concern yourself with that .... I noticed it also has Yamaha accessories "mini floorboards" and I am sure some other items not mentioned or seen in pics ...In the end it is all up to what you like the most ....

 

Thank you. It's going to be hard for me to look the other way on the 06 with low miles versus the other 2 with the low 20K. I only put on a couple of thousand miles per year and that's a huge difference for me. The C14 I have has 39K miles so between the 2 bikes, there won't be many miles year-to-year.