83 venture royale

[mack]

Anyone know about this bike. Any known problems other than the usual yamaha inadequate braking systems? Reliabilty? Looking at one right now for the wifes butt. It looks cherry and only has 56K kiometers on it.

[motoman]

Braking is fine on those. The second gear issue exist with these until late 84 models. Is ALOT more entailed to remove proper shaft to make the repair too. Other than that, a top-heavy, heavy scoot with a high center of gravity. Has good power and comfort room for two-up.

[madmax-im]

Braking is fine on those. The second gear issue exist with these until late 84 models. Is ALOT more entailed to remove proper shaft to make the repair too. Other than that, a top-heavy, heavy scoot with a high center of gravity. Has good power and comfort room for two-up.

Very heavy indeed...like 900+ lbs! Thats too big for me...but if youu're a big guy you'll be fine. I've heard on early yrs there were some electricsl issues but I'm no expert on these...there is a website for them and a couple people on here(rarely) are members over there.

[mack]

heads up

Thanx for the heads up on the tranny. I'll make sure I take it for a ride. You know, the only bike I have ever ridden is my sf. This will be interesting riding a batcycle. I'd imagine it's much like trying to handle a wet sponge.

[skipper]

Mack, that bike has a big problem with the alternator wiring connection to the regulator. The connector burns, overheats the stator and possibly the rectifier. These parts aren't cheap. Look at the connector on the left side above the regulator, (three white wires) if it's burned or repaired, discount the price accordingly.

[mack]

The fix

So what's the cause. Crappy connector or something more navarious?

[skipper]

Seems to be too light a connector. Oh yea, look at the fuse panel, they are about the same quality as the XS.

[mack]

Electrical

Yamaha and their electrical issues. Have they ever made a bike that didn't have electrical problems.

[yamtom]

have a driver and a parts bike, VL but worth it

I bought a venture this year, then two more and sold one of them to my cousin. Have a parts bike now along with the driver. I am six foot five, and love the bike, however, mine has custom footboards that are wonderful. I am not nearly so comfy with the standard pegs, but if youre under six foot, they should feel ok. Like the others said, there are stator problems, mine currently has a bad stator , and that will have to be changed. Thats about three hundred if you get a good deal on the labor. The vmax guys recommend soldering wires from the stator to the RR together to eliminate the connectors. If you want, I can tell you how to check the stator, just pm me. My bike only has twenty k miles on it, I still have a fine second gear, but most of these bikes have a failed second gear in the tranny by fifty to seventy thousand miles. At the rate of miles I put on it, that should last me a lifetime before it has to be changed. Some guys have ridden without second gear, for a very long time without reports of other failures. Ive read some repair stories on the trans, one guy actually spent twenty two hundred just on parts for his trans repair. I think that it would not be worth fixing if that was a necessary outlay for everyone since the bike isnt worth a whole lot. I love the handling, I would never have thought that a bike this big could be as nice handling. I like it MUCH better than my zuki gk 11, or even my zuki m109 as far as handling is concerned among other real big heavy bikes. It is a real pig though, to push around the garage, but once the engine is running, its fine. They also have a strange speedo noise, mine started making it a month or so ago, when it got cold. They also have a hot start problem, that most people agree is a poor ground in the starter itself. There seem to be many fixes for the hot start problem, just depends on the bike. I just plan my stops to take twenty mins or more, to avoid the question of whether it will start again. The starting issue has many different fixes, all of them pretty cheap as I recall if youre doing your own labor. Lots of people also complain of the procedure for adjusting valves, it is actually considered an eight hour job, with dealers charging six hundred or more to do it. Basically you have to take the whole top of the bike off, including the carbs to get it done. Fortunately, the valve adjust interval is 26000 miles to make it less painful. Some people complain of a gear whir, that is pronounced, its got some straight cut gears in it, that cause that. Its akin to a belt driven supercharger whine in a car, but I actually like the whine. Go figure.

Its electrics are similar to the xs11s in design, except for the dashboard computer, which a fair number of people actually resolder all the joints in, to get rid of gremlins showing on the dashboard. Some have an onboard compressor, which is not reliable, and the front springs, just need to be replaced with progressives, the air seems to be failed on all of them and the stock springs are very weak, with lots of bottoming until you put the progressives in. The rear air system, seems ok on mine, most of the first gens, dont have complaints on the rear air shock, but later gens have tons of trouble with their air shock, and its big bux to change out, seven hundred dollars.

This list of problems , may seem overwhelming to you, but if you dont want that bike , I would be interested at the right price. I have a guy a few miles away thats been riding ventures since they were new, he has had about twenty of them from what he says. The first gens, twelve hundred cc,, eighty three thru eighty five, have whats really the vmax engine minus the moving carb intakes. They are very strong runners, much more so than the later thirteen hundreds which are seriously detuned. Also, I have ridden two first gen ventures with slipping clutches, my technique for finding the slipping is to run it thru first and second fairly hard, then shift to third and turn the throttle wide open, if its gonna slip, that s how its found. Very light weight riders, dont feel that so much, but I do.

There is also a reporting of gas mileage that is better, when running in fourth gear, rather than fifth, that motor does like to rev. My own personal gas mileage, is in the very very low thirties, with spirited throttling going to twenty nine mpg. All in all, I love the bike, since its so comfy for me. It has a whole other level of complication over and above the xs11, though, if you want something smaller, and simpler, stick to the eleven which I will say is prolly faster accelerating to sixty or so, the venture comes into its own at high cruising speeds. The venture forum sites are very good, not quite as mechanical orientation as the xs site, but still very very good. Both sites charge a nominal fee, which is more than worth paying for the mechanical info if nothing else. One is venture rider, and the other one you can find in a search.

[mack]

Thanx Tom

Not sure if I'm going to go through with the deal or not. I asked if the title was clear a few days ago and the guy hasn't responded so I'm a little suspicious. I won't drive a bike I haven't stripped down, checked over and rebuilt. Especially if my wifes going to be on it. All very good info Tom, I may PM you later if I do buy it. I want to get this LH completed to make room if I do go through with it. Putting the motor in the frame today. I figure about two more weeks to complete the assembly, time permitting.
Mack

[yamtom]

sounds like a plan Mack

Hi Mack,

Did you happen to see that mns on kijjii or whatever site that was. The bike looked rough, it looks to have been outside for a while at least. Only 275 dollars though, I would have bought it as a parts bike if nothing else if it were located near me. It was in Ontario, the map made it look like just across from Sarnia. I think that was listed in the classifieds here.

http://ontario.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehi...AdIdZ324449944

Take care.

[STEPPENWOLF]

If you do get the bike this is a good website.Ya gotta pay a few bucks to join.
http://www.venturerider.org/modules/Jig/index.php

[mack]

Yep

I did see that MNS but it would cost that much in gas to go down and get it. Tell the truth, my shop is getting full now. I did join the Venture forum. Just to read some threads and down load a shop manual. Figured I'd read up on them and make a informed discission.

[yamtom]

checking out venture

Mack,
Ive also heard, that , a venture with bad valves is economically beyond salvage due to the high expense, from what Ive read, most just buy a whole engine. But who knows where that would put you. I realize youre really thorough, but thought you might want to know. Ventures are very easy to carb synch, and checking the synch, would no doubt tell you if a valve or two was way off from where it should be. The synch ports are just below the diaphragm area on the carbs, sticking right out easy easy.

[tcoop]

I love riding my 83 Venture. When I got mine it was hard to start found the problem to be the TCI (corroded diodes) replaced it with an aftermarket TCI and have enjoyed the bike. Good handling at speeds but a bit of a beast going slow in a parking lot. Lots of room for two up riding and comfortable. I've only have the 2nd gear problem at high rpm's. I will probably need to fix it in the next couple of years.