Venture Royale

[DiggerDr.]

Bought the '86. Close to immaculate. Needs tires. Good tread but old. 3 hours ride home on it. The only problem I found besides old tires was a left turn signal that sometimes required hitting several times to get it to work. Took it apart and cleaned. Works perfect now. Getting a complete check out over the winter. The FJR will continue to be the go to bike on a regular basis. The Venture will get the short trips with the missus. I will say the FJR with a V stream windshield gives me less wind noise. I sit in a quiet bubble of air on the FJR. The only thing that will replace the Feej would be another one. What a machine!

 

[yanktar]

I bought a '91 Venture Royale new in 1992. At the time the only difference between the '91 and '92 was the color and about $650, so maroon was fine with me.
It had LOTS of cool stuff built in:

AM/FM/CB/Cassette deck with a remote by the left grip connected to...

Pilot/Passenger communication with a remote for the passenger to run the CB and sound system.

Really comfortable pillion

Self-cancelling turn signals that really worked

Air-adjustable suspension

Joined brakes so the foot pedal worked the rear and one front disk

GIANT saddle bags and trunk

Big protective windshield

Torquey engine that made HP in the 90's.

I could ride it down to 15° without heated clothing (and did).

But

It was heavy with mediocre handling.

VERY unstable past 75mph

Pulling the rear wheel to change a tire took 4 or 5 hours to remove all the crap in the way in EXACTLY the right order

Comfortable but a very low "fun factor"

Compared to my '04 FJR it was disappointing. The only two things it had on the FJR were the self-cancelling TS and the huge storage. Both easily solved with an after-market TS canceller and GIVI color-matched trunk.

Sold it to some guy in Kentucky who bought if off eBay from me and arranged shipping.

 

[DiggerDr.]

This bike will only be ridden locally with the wife. It is too damn old to do any long distance rides. Wife does not like a sporty ride either. It should serve my purposes. It is in surprisingly good condition for 30 years old. I do not have the original headsets for this. If I found some in workable condition I would buy them. Otherwise I will eventually go a different route. Cassette player will probably get removed and saved. I will install a cd player in that spot. Probably a good thing I have a lot of experience with DC electrical systems. Lotta wiring on this jewel.

 

[dcarver]

My good bud had two of them things. Let me ride one and frankly, I had a blast!

 

[FJRay]

I had two of them and never a problem with either one. If I had one now I wouldn't hesitate to ride it most anywhere.

 

[fjrchooser]

I took one for a test ride back in the day at a high school friends dealership. Thought the engine ran a little rough but liked everything else, said so on my return. Turns out when they fired it up for me they left the choke engaged. Got to take another test ride now that it was properly warmed up,much smoother.

Pretty nice bike for the time but that was a long time ago..

 

[DiggerDr.]

I'm trying to decide which bike to take on the Moonshine Lunch Run. Venture with some pirate friends or the FJR with other forum members.

Well, that did not take long........FJR........It already has new tires and besides, it is my intention on meeting some of the other owners of this fine machine. Pirates will show up later. lol

 

[airboss]

I'm trying to decide which bike to take on the Moonshine Lunch Run. Venture with some pirate friends or the FJR with other forum members.
Well, that did not take long........FJR........It already has new tires and besides, it is my intention on meeting some of the other owners of this fine machine. Pirates will show up later. lol

If the weather is nice for Moonshine, plenty of pirates will show up.

If the weather is not so nice............Well we'll still be there.

 

[dcarver]

Hey wait, PIRATES love rain.

 

[Niehart]

I put more than a few miles on a Venture Royale.

 

[petey]

I had three Ventures, '83, '86 and the last one they made (blue) IIRC it was '93. Well I tell you there wasn't a Wing out there( with guys I rode with) that I didn't leave behind.

I had very little problem with any of them, replaced the stator on the '83. Great bike for the time...

 

[wheatonFJR]

Well I tell you there wasn't a Wing out there( with guys I rode with) that I didn't leave behind.

Attaboy petey!!

 

[Niehart]

I had very little problem with any of them, replaced the stator on the '83. Great bike for the time...

petey, I had to replace the stator on my '83' also. Yamaha warranty covered it but I was a long ways from nowhere when it died.

 

[petey]

I had very little problem with any of them, replaced the stator on the '83. Great bike for the time...

petey, I had to replace the stator on my '83' also. Yamaha warranty covered it but I was a long ways from nowhere when it died.

Yes, I was about 300m from home as well, just didn't shut off the bike on till I got home.