Yamaha XV1600 Road Star (1602cc, Carbureted) Maintenance Schedule and Service Intervals
This is the maintenance schedule and associated service intervals for the Yamaha XV1600 Road Star (a.k.a. Wild Star), made from 1999 until 2003.
The XV1600 Road Star line of motorcycles is powered by a 1602 cc air-cooled V-twin. It has an OHV pushrod design with four valves per cylinder, is fed by a 40 Mikuni CV carb, and puts power down via a 5-speed transmission and a belt drive.
Yamaha updated the Yamaha XV1600 Road Star in 2004, increasing the capacity from 1602cc to 1670cc, but keeping carburettors. You can find the maintenance schedule for the 1670cc carburettor-fed Yamaha Road Star here.
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Yamaha XV1600A Road Star Service Intervals
The Yamaha XV1600A has 4000-mile or 6-monthly service intervals at which you should change the oil, inspect or change the spark plugs, clean the air filter, and do a longer list of periodic inspections.
Every two services, change the spark plugs, and every four services (16000 miles / 25000 km, but without a time interval), check the valve clearances.
The XV1600A has a belt final drive, so make sure you check its condition and tension regularly.
Yamaha Road Star Maintenance Schedule
Below is the maintenance schedule for the Yamaha Road Star.
Notes:
- At the end of the maintenance schedule, continue it in the pattern shown.
- Follow the earlier of time-based or distance-based intervals.
Periodic Maintenance (US, Miles)
| Miles x 1000 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 | Every |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inspection checklist — Perform (see below) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | 6 months |
| Engine oil — Replace (Yamalube 10W-40) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | 6 months |
| Oil filter — Replace | ✓ | ✓ | 12 months | |||
| Spark plugs — Check condition. Adjust gap and clean. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Spark plugs — Replace | ✓ | ✓ | 12 months | |||
| Valve clearance — Check valve clearances. Adjust if necessary. | ✓ | |||||
| Air filter — Clean. Replace if necessary. Do not clean with compressed air. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | More often if riding in dust / rain |
| Fuel filter — Replace | ✓ | |||||
| Transfer case oil — Check vehicle for leakage. | ✓ | Year | ||||
| Transfer case oil — Replace (SAE 80 API GL-4 Hypoid Gear Oil, e.g. Mobil 1 Gear Oil) | ✓ | 2 years | ||||
| Rear arm pivot bearing — Check bearing assembly for looseness. | ✓ | |||||
| Rear arm pivot bearing — Repack with lithium soap-based grease. | ✓ | 2 years | ||||
| Steering bearings — Moderately repack with lithium soap-based grease | ✓ | 2 years | ||||
| Rear suspension link pivots — Apply grease lightly (use Molybdenum disulfide grease) | ✓ | 2 years | ||||
| Brake fluid — Replace (Castrol DOT 4) | 2 years |
Inspection checklist
Perform this list of inspections at every service.
| Yamaha XV1600 Road Star — Inspection Checklist |
|---|
| Idle speed — Check and adjust engine idle speed. Adjust cable free play. |
| Fuel line — Check fuel hose for cracks or damage. Replace if necessary. |
| Exhaust system — Check for leakage. Retighten if necessary. Replace gasket(s) if necessary. |
| Brakes — Check for smooth operation and fluid leakage. Replace hoses and / or top up if necessary. |
| Clutch — Check operation and free play. Correct if necessary. |
| Steering bearings — Check bearing assembly for looseness. |
| Control and meter cable — Apply cable lubricant |
| Brake/Clutch lever pivot shaft — Lubricate (e.g. Protect all Cable Life) |
| Brake pedal and shift pedal shaft — Check operation. Lubricate |
| Sidestand pivot — Check operation. Lubricate |
| Sidestand switch — Check and clean or replace if necessary. |
| Front fork — Check operation and leakage. |
| Wheel bearings — Check bearings for smooth rotation. |
| Crankcase ventilation — Check ventilation hose for cracks or damage. Replace if necessary. |
| Evaporative emission control system (CA only) — Check control system for damage. Replace if necessary. |
Yamaha XV1600A Belt Tension / Maintenance
Yamaha recommends that every 2500 miles / 4000 km you check belt tension and adjust if necessary.
Of course, if the belt condition is poor, you need to replace the belt.
To check belt tension (a.k.a. belt slack) on the Yamaha XV1600 Road Star, you need a belt tension tool, a ruler, and some wrenches.
- Put the motorcycle on a level surface and hold it upright.
- Note the current position of the drive belt using marks near the check hole.
- Apply an upward force of 10 lbf (45 Nm), which is most easily done with a belt tension tool.
- Calculate the drive belt slack (the difference between the two positions).
The target slack should be between 0.3 and 0.5 inches, or 7.5 and 13 mm.
To adjust the slack, do the following.
- Loosen the rear wheel axle nut and the brake caliper bracket bolt.
- Loosen the drive belt puller lock-nut on each side of the swingarm.
- To tighten the drive belt (which is what you normally have to do), turn the adjusting bolt on each side of the swingarm (turning clockwise). Loosen it going the other way. Each time you tighten or loosen, move the wheel physically to make sure that it has registered the adjustment.
When you’re done, tighten the lock nuts and axle nut, and the brake caliper nut.
- Locknuts: Lightly tighten (seated + quarter turn)
- Brake caliper bracket bolt: 35 ft-lb / 48 Nm
- Axle nut: 109 ft-lb / 150 Nm
About the Yamaha XV1600 Road Star
The Yamaha Road Star, also known as the Wild Star, is the perfect excuse to leave everything behind and ride into the sunset.
Yamaha made the Road Star / WIld Star from 1999-2003 with air-cooled 1602 cc V-twin engines. The engines are all carburettor fed and put power down via a belt drive.
As such, the Yamaha XV1600 Road Star is a very low-maintenance motorcycle. The engine is very understressed, with a very mild compression ratio of 8.3:1, focusing on making peak torque — it makes a massive 99 ft-lb / 134 Nm at a low 2250 rpm.
Yamaha produced the XV1600 in a few different specs;
- Base model Yamaha Road Star / Wild Star, the cruiser
- Yamaha Road Star Silverado, with studded seat and matching saddlebags, pinstriped tires, a rear passenger rest, taller highway bars and a screen
- Midnight Star, with a more blacked out aesthetic (but still a lot of chrome)
All of these motorcycles shared the same base of the air-cooled V-twin engine with a belt final drive.
The Yamaha XV1600A Road Star is really a classic cruiser. It’s low-powered, very torquey, and quite heavy, with a curb weight over 330 kg / 700 lbs.
In true Yamaha “Star” fashion, the Yamaha Road Star XV1600 is a reliable metric cruiser. It’s easy to ride, has a smooth engine, and has handling that’s a lot simpler than its weight or riding position might suggest.
The motor has a lot of dynamic range. It makes so much torque right at idle, that you can run it in fifth gear (top gear) at any RPM you want. The engine has a large flywheel, which smooths out power pulses (it’s a very vibration-free ride) and makes it very easy to tame. The torque remains flat and generous all the way to the rev limiter at 4200 rpm.
The lack of vibes might make you think that the XV1600 has a counter balancer or rubber mounts, both of which are tricks Harley-Davidson uses in its Twin Cam motors to get smoothness. The Road Star has nothing.
Yes, the RPM range is narrow, as you’d expect for a huge cruiser. So this is a motorcycle you can expect to short shift. In fact, you barely even need first gear — you’re likely to be in second as soon as you have any forward momentum.
Braking and suspension is competent on the XV1600, even if not aggressive. You need to grip quite a bit on the brakes to get them to work; but once you do grip, they work fine.
Low-speed suspension is fine, and it corners easily, though of course you’ll drag floorboards fairly quickly, as you would on any long, heavy cruiser.
Like many Yamaha big cruiser pushrod-actuated engines. the Yamaha XV1600 Road Star has hydraulic adjusters for its valves. Traditionally, this implies no valve inspection is needed. But Yamaha does recommend a valve inspection every 16000 miles / 25000 km, in case something goes out of kilter. If it does, an adjustment is very easy to do.
Screenshots from the Manual for the Yamaha XV1600 Road Star
The above information was gleaned from the owner’s manual for the Yamaha Road Star of various kinds, including the Silverado, Wild Star, and so on.
You can download it from Yamaha’s US website here.
