This nameplate was introduced for the 2008 North American market as Yamaha’s answer to the big-displacement custom-cruiser segment. It debuted as a factory-built cruiser with a highly individualized “chopper” look, but it was engineered to ride like a modern production motorcycle rather than a one-off custom. Yamaha positioned it as a premium performance cruiser with strong visual presence, neutral handling, and a distinctly muscular character.
The model grew out of Yamaha’s existing large V-twin cruiser family and shared its basic mechanical foundation with the XV1900A Roadliner, but it was reshaped into a far more dramatic machine with a lower, longer stance and bespoke styling cues. That made it stand apart from more traditional Star Motorcycles cruisers of the era, and it quickly became one of Yamaha’s most recognizable heavyweight customs in the U.S. market.
Over its run, the nameplate was associated with several closely related versions, including “S” variants and California-spec examples, but these were evolutions within the same continuous production line rather than separate generations or revived nameplate returns. The model remained on sale through the 2017 model year and then disappeared from Yamaha’s U.S. motorcycle lineup. Because it was not brought back under the same name after that run, it is best treated as a single, continuous production period from 2008 through 2017.
Among enthusiasts, it is remembered as one of Yamaha’s most distinctive modern cruisers: a factory custom with heavy visual drama, a large-bore V-twin identity, and a clear focus on standing apart from the more conventional cruiser field.