1Down4Up

Motorcycle Daily reports that Yamaha is re-branding its cruiser line.

At a glitzy event held at a rather amazing Beverly Hills mansion last evening (the house is worth a story of its own), Yamaha announced the creation of "Star Motorcycles" as a stand alone brand for its cruisers.

Yamaha had this to say about Star Motorcycles in the promotional material handed out to journalists at the event:

The word "brand" is used quite often these days, but not always correctly. A brand is much more than just a name or advertising theme. A brand encompasses every way the rider interacts with the product and the company.

The Star Motorcycles brand will focus specifically on cruiser riders and provide a clear distinction from our other product lines. For Star Motorcycles, the rider's overall experience is fundamental.

Here's the link to Star Motorcycles website which, interestingly enough, is merely another page on the Yamaha website. If Yamaha truly wants Star to "provide a clear distinction from our other product lines", perhaps they should look into buying a new domain name for the marquee.

Perhaps this is a move by Yamaha to try and encroach on Harley-Davidson's market share. Is Yamaha trying to shake the stigma that is sometimes associated with foreign cruisers?

Also, I think it's interesting that the V-Max is to become part of the Star lineup. I've never really thought of the V-Max as a cruiser, even though it's billed as a power cruiser. I see it as a monster naked/standard, and in my opinion it doesn't fit into the Star lineup very well.