Road Star 535 self-made by Werner Koch

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Road Star 535 from Werner Koch

Too good for the bin, thought MOTORRAD editor Werner Koch, and rolled the Yamaha XV 535 Virago into his workshop for recycling. Now it’s called Road Star 535, it can do a lot more and a lot better.

It’s not a perfect motorcycle, but the little Virago is still a gold mine. For years, more precisely for eight, tens of thousands of motorcyclists – and especially women motorcyclists – have been exchanging their cash for the cute chrome chopper. The XV 535 has something, too. The solid, visually impressive inflated V2 engine with its flange-mounted, easy-care cardan drive and – here it comes – a seat so deep that even one-and-a-half-meter people put their feet flat on the asphalt can. This creates trust and security when maneuvering and prevents embarrassing accidents at traffic lights. For such friendly virtues, men and women gladly accept the handicaps typical of choppers. Loose suspension with little comfort, sluggish and indirect steering due to the flat fork, pillion comfort that isn’t, and and and. “Many customers ask for an enduro, but then prefer to try a street motorcycle and end up with the Virago. Because only on the deep seat do they feel safe enough, ”reports Yamaha dealer Edgar Walz. For a large part of the buyers it is quite sausage whether the Virago belongs to the genus of the chopper or not. So what could be more natural than to preserve the advantages of the XV 535 and to get rid of the disadvantages of rigeros. The egg-laying woolly milk sow on two wheels, so to speak. Spit on your hands and off you go. Ten commandments were right at the top of the specifications for my new Road Star 535: 0 Easy and precise steering behavior 0 Best driving stability even with two people 0 Seat height adjustable while driving 0 Height-adjustable handlebars and footrests 0 Effective and easily adjustable braking system 0 Good seating comfort for driver and front passenger 0 Clear layout , easy-care technology 0 Independent features in technology and design 0 Design is subordinate to function 0 Low-pollutant engineA pile of sketches and drawings was followed by months of manual work on the workbench and lathe. The XV 535 base mutated bit by bit into a new concept that incorporated style elements of all categories without hesitation. Classic spoked wheels and knee cushions, super sporty tires and braking systems, here a bit of street fighter, there a bit of tourer – but everything always under the motto “Form follows function”. There are plenty of examples of how quickly a useful motorcycle concept can be degraded to an unusable vehicle through exaggerated design. Not squeamish with Flex and welding machine, with the help of the UN chassis specialists from Ziemetshausen in Bavaria, the frame is trimmed to optimal values. The steering head is then 66 instead of 58 degrees steep, the wheelbase is shortened by 100 millimeters. Instead of the slim XV 535 fork, the modified, 41 millimeter thick version of the Yamaha TRX 850 the 17-inch front wheel. The long tubular swing arm is also stabilized at the rear with solid struts and equipped with 40 millimeters more spring travel via two White Power shock absorbers. The new radial tire stretches 150 millimeters wide over the 17-inch wire-spoke wheel. Because only modern radial tires allow perfect tire grip with relatively little wear and excellent driving stability. MOTORRAD designer Stefan Kraft sketched the shapes of the seat, which plastics specialist Harald Haungs modeled around the rear end. Add the knobbly Diopa handlebar fairing, a rather reshaped Harley aluminum tank, and the airy dress of the Road Star 535 was ready. The engine, however, remained unchanged, only its kitschy chrome trim on the cylinder head was colored in coarse-grain aluminum silver. The exhaust professionals from L stowed them in the artfully intertwined exhaust manifolds&W two unregulated three-way catalytic converters so that the exhaust gases leave the two stainless steel pots not only quietly, but also largely clean. And so that our Road Star does not become a uniform ready-made product, the footrests can be positioned in umpteen different positions depending on the body size using an eccentric adjustment and an intermediate adapter. The height adjustment on the slightly cranked tubular steel handlebars matches this. A lever mechanism, which is supported on a gas pressure spring with a hydraulic lock, is used to adjust the height of the bench. What sounds so complicated is built into every office chair. Only not in mine anymore, because the gas spring is now in the Road Star and has the advantage that the seat height can be continuously adjusted while driving. Even if the experienced boys with guard are now grinning maliciously, this is often an embarrassing topic for boys too. You know it: Overcrowded rest area, motorcycle fully loaded, a tight turn, and luggage, people and clutch levers roll through the astonished audience. Therefore: pull the lever and sit down.

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Road Star 535 self-made by Werner Koch

Self-made
Road Star 535 from Werner Koch

Driving report Road Star 535 (archive version) – The can is alive

So, Werner, enough of the introductory words. Now let’s see what’s in the can.

How Werner came rolling up with his converted can for the first time was something. He looked, the boy – full of the jellyfish: a lot of work, little sleep, hardly any sunlight. But a grin on the face – a grin that you normally only see on honey cake horses, or on people who are satisfied with themselves and their can. There is no doubt that he had made it. There are various reasons why I of all people was given the honor of writing this driving report: Once colleague Koch did not want to appear in the same place, because of bias and so on. It would be too embarrassing if it said: »Werner’s Road Star is a really great stove«, drawn by Werner Koch. No, no, that’s not the right thing to do. The Five-Three-Five project was to be treated ruthlessly, and that was when my name came up automatically – a guarantee for scathing reviews. Besides, I’m a so-called case. Overall length: 158 centimeters. Absolutely appropriate for the target group. After all, this recycling bike should be tailored to the body of smaller people. So then: Let’s see what our Werner has put together. Forget the XV 535, forget the chopper, and above all forget the American way of drive. The Road Star is different. Completely different. Light years from the Virago. In the saddle of reincarnation, tourist thoughts arise, sometimes also sporty ones. If the seat and handlebars are programmed for high activity, memories of an enduro can even awaken. Here the cook has brewed his very own soup, and if it weren’t for a guarantee – no one would believe that it comes out of the can. The good news for all bonsais: It’s enough. Mini, as Werner is called for inventive reasons, has kept his promise. There is actually ground under your feet. On both sides. If the bench is at its lowest level, the legs don’t even have to be fully extended to get the soles flat on the asphalt. You could put down roots. Feel good. Anyone who has never fished for the bottom in the abyss cannot imagine how good. Maneuvering, not by hand or hip work, but SITTING ON the motorcycle, forwards, backwards. Wonderful. Sure enough, the giants laugh themselves limp. But just laugh, otherwise you won’t have anything to laugh about here anyway. Why? Quite simply: Anyone measuring over 1.90 meters is too big for the Road Star. It’s a shame, isn’t it? So. Now you grieve, while we continue to have fun. With the easy-to-use handling, for example: I switched directly from a phlegmatic tourer to Minis self-made and almost threw away the good piece on the first corner. I was not prepared for that much vigor: The Road Star reacts spontaneously like a snap lock. Changes in direction and inclination can be done in no time. Stop – don’t worry, hyperactive overreactions are not to be feared. More like the one or the other penalty mandate, because at times one glows around as if one of the smocks is on fire. To make sure that the RS 535 maintains its poise at such events, our sports friend Koch gave it a couple of tightly damped spring elements provide the necessary quantum of stability. Regardless of the speed, whether tight turns, wide bends or on the straights: the machine does not get confused, uses bumps to make it a pleasure, and always stays on course. However, comfort is not the order of the day. With short, hard jolts from bridge heels, manhole covers and frostbite gawking silently from the asphalt, the fork can still do quite well, but the rear struts refuse to swallow such rubbish. How could that happen, Mini, especially you, when you yourself worked as a shock absorber for years and should know how to do it? What are you saying – a concession to the two-person business? Oh yes, I almost forgot. So, dear readers: On the Road Star you not only sit comfortably in the first row, there is also a nice spot in the back. “And if someone is sitting there,” the Mini said, “the cart should still work and not look like a soaked sock.” It doesn’t. By the way. Even with two people on board, the silver rifle thunders over potholes and other worthless things in the tar world without striking back. To conclude the chapter on chassis: the brakes are okay. Decent average. Neither too poisonous nor too lax. And if you have missed anything about the gimbal up to this point: Rest assured, you have not missed anything. Because you don’t notice anything from the drive. He does his services as unobtrusively as a thoroughly British butler. But you know that from the XV 535. The Mini has not changed anything on the cardan shaft, and the same applies to the engine. Apart from the jets, which had to be modified because of the two catalysts, everything stayed the same as before. That means: The V-twin starts flawlessly, purrs flawlessly and pulls through to some extent. Unspectacular – but not unsympathetic. He’s a very good one, this 43 hp, air-cooled twin. Can do anything with you, even starting in fifth gear. What can happen because he is constantly hired as a translator, even in urban areas. How subjective even such engine matters are, I became terrifyingly aware when Werner L&W exhaust system uncorked after experimenting with various silencer inserts and not having a satisfactory sound experience. Suddenly the Road Star started shooting as if she were King Harley himself. No, not roaring loud, but stylish, bearing. Very very nice. And later, on the road, I had the feeling of being out and about in a dashing, large-volume V-Two. This is how you can be fooled. A sound level measurement is still pending, however, so please allow me to finish with a few personal words to my friend and colleague Werner Koch: Dear Mini, you know, I don’t like to say that, but this time I have no other choice left. So, your Road Star is really a pretty great oven. A pure pleasure maker. Technically and visually. People actually turn around for it, and five times I could have sold the part on the spot. Despite the old German knee pillows, the presence of which – if you ask me – is not absolutely necessary. But that’s your thing. Just the cockpit, Werner, I don’t know. A little loveless, right? And a shift light like that – it may well be that it has its place in racing, where the optimum shift speed is important. But on the street? I’m really not sure about that. Sure, it’s funny, especially in the dark when you can play police with it. However, you sometimes give yourself a real scare: pitch black night, free motorway, nothing like home. Bury your nose behind the windshield, very close to the cockpit and … lightning – straight into the left eye. Then the blow hits you. Such a perfectly normal tachometer is nothing reprehensible. Think about it again. What would interest me now: Could you actually imagine converting your little silver can into pieces of silver? I know someone there.

Road Star 535 self-made by Werner Koch (P + FB) (archive version) – optics and chassis completely good – the better XV

Andreas Veigel, 25, came across the Honda XR via Transalp and VFR

I wouldn’t necessarily buy the Road Star because the engine is too soft for me, but I really like the look and feel. Handiness, accuracy, ergonomics (at 1.78 meters) – everything is okay. The Twin would be particularly suitable for novice drivers, simply because of the adjustment options for the chassis, which make access to the motorcycle easier. I know the XV 535 and think that the Road Star is definitely an alternative. If only because you sit on it much better.

Road Star 535 self-made by Werner Koch (P + FB) (archive version) – pure technology, super handy – I want that

Ute Stratmann, 34, out and about on a converted Honda Transalpina

I would never drive a chopper in my life, although at 1.63 meters I often have difficulties with the seat height. The Road Star suits me very well. It acquires further sympathy through the easy handling, the stable roadholding, cardan shaft, engine characteristics, sound and outfit. The bikes are particularly stylish. But what appeals to me most is the transparency of the technology. I dare to approach this motorcycle because I can see everything. 12,000 marks – and I’ll take the box with me.

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