Tell me about the Venture

 

I want an older (because I can't afford newer ;-) Yamaha Venture, or
similar, and I've found one locally.  Anyone who can tell me about this bike
would be very helpful.  I haven't gone to see it yet, and I need to know
what to ask and look for.

I assume it's liquid cooled and shaft driven, is that right?  What
displacements did they come in?  May I also assume they're carbureted inline
4's?  Anything that's a known trouble spot?

Thanks so much,

Chris

 

On Tue, 18 Jul 2006 22:20:57 GMT, CJB said:


Check out this forum:
http://www.venturerider.org/

It's *the* place to find out about Ventures.

For example, they talk about the difference between the 1st and 2nd
gen Venture:
http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t 913&highlight=difference+1st+2nd

I hope this helps.

--
"What, me worry?" - Alfred E. Neuman

 



http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t 913&highlight=difference+1st+2nd

yes on the water cool  yes on the shaft drive it is however a V-4. the early
ventures were designed from the frame out as touring bikes, they were not
just big bikes with bags and fairings. the engine is a detuned version of
the V-max motor. I loved my '86, however it is gone, I blew the head gasket
at 98,000 miles about 12 miles from home, I tried to limp it home and
overheated caused a crack in the block. I traded it for some work on another
bike, the man who got it put a motor from a 2002 V-max in it and is still
riding it 4 years later.

As to what to look for. make sure all electrical  items work correctly. the
CASS(computerized air suspension system) and the Cruise control both
suffered from connection problems. Fixable but a pain to track down. The
starter drive is weak, again fixable. other than that a joy to drive.
Multiple vents on the fairings can direct cool or warm air as needed. Built
in driver to passenger communicators (make sure you get the wires and
headsets) AM/FM tape deck and CB are nice. big trunk and lots of storage.
The handles bars are very adjustable to customize your height arm length.
The only two things I think that really enhances this road worthy bike is
floor boards for the driver and passenger instead of the pegs and a front
fork brace(both available aftermarket) I have a Canadian friend who has an
'88 model with over 230,000 miles on it and he drives from Branford Ontario
to st pete Florida every year.
The performance is awesome for such a loaded bike, I used to shame guys on
CBR and FZ 600's at the red lights here in town. I usually got around 35 MPG
here in town and around 45MPG on trips.
It is one of the few bikes I've ever owned that I could ride for three to
four hours and get off not feeling stiff or worn out. If your touring with
it 300 miles a day is no problem.

good luck I'm sure envious., but I'll get one again just before I retire.

 

On Tue, 18 Jul 2006 22:20:57 GMT, "CJB"


You don't say what year it is, and I know I will get flamed for this,
but you should remember that all the 1983, 1984 and the first 1400 or
so, (I believe 1413 to be exact) of the 1985 Models, had a 100%
failure rate with the transmissions.

You may read on various NG's and Forums that a mark was placed
somewhere on the chassis to indicate that the transmission problem had
been fixed by Yamaha under warranty, but this is not true because
Yamaha quietly corrected the problem and did not even notify their
Dealer's that there ^was^ a problem until all the Bike's that were
affected were out of warranty.

However, if this was, in fact, done under warranty, Yamaha will be
able to verify it. All you have to do is give them the Serial Number.

 



Thanks so much, guys.  I'll let you know the results of my bidding.  :-)

CJB