Yamaha Moves Its "Star" Cruiser Line to Prominence as Its Own Motorcycle Brand

Yamaha has announced that its Star series cruiser motorcycles will become its own brand focusing specifically on cruiser riders. Moving into the 2006 model year, the Star Motorcycles brand will provide a clear distinction from other Yamaha motorcycle lines. However, it will not involve new dealerships. All Yamaha motorcycle dealers will be Star dealers, but they are being encouraged to focus on addressing and improving the cruiser rider's overall experience.

The first step in distinguishing the new cruiser brand has been to make Star branding more visible. Yamaha has been featuring the Star logo prominently in its advertising and other marketing materials, and says "it will become more and more familiar to customers as we move forward."

The Star brand, of course, now has its own web site, StarMotorcycles.com. The site offers a customizable web page with a Build-Your-Own feature and other handy tools for the owner or shopper. Owners can have access to an online version of the Owner's Manual for their model as well as an Online Parts Catalog, which you can use to find the parts you want and print out a list to take to the dealer's parts counter for easy ordering.

Visitors to the site will also notice that the two cruiser models that previous were not Stars—the V-Max musclebike and the Virago 250—are included there. Presumably they will be called something like the Star V-Max and the Star Virago. This Star brand may create some awkward moments with current Star models. Will you call it a Star Road Star? Obviously future models won't use "Star" as part of the model name.

Yamaha has promised at least one major all-new Star model when it makes its 2006 model announcement on June 12.

Yamaha's release says, "As a true brand, and not just a model line, Star Motorcycles has turned onto its own road. The focus is not just on creating great motorcycles, which we do, but on creating an overall Star lifestyle experience. Or, to put it another way, it's not just about the motorcycles... it's about motorcycling."

For more breaking motorcycle news, visit the home page of www.MotorcycleCruiser.com.