Considering buying a Venture, but have concerns

[SilvrT]

Well heck, I might as well chime in here too!

 

Years ago I had an '83 Aspencade ... it had "noises" ... after a while I resigned to the fact that they were just the sounds the bike made and I learned to ignore them and enjoy the ride. Had that bike for 6 years...cried when I had to sell it.

 

Then I got an '85 Venture ... man did it have a gear whine ... right around 3000 rpm so, I just stayed away from that rpm as much as I could ... learned to ignore it when I did and enjoy the ride. Had that scoot for 6 years and loved it.

 

Then I got an '87 Venture ... no gear whine but it had other noises that bothered me...at first...then I learned to ignore them and enjoy the ride. Still have it although it's gonna be sold come spring... LOVE that bike!

 

Now I have an '06 Midnight Venture ...have only been able to put about 1500 kilometers on it since I got it ... it has a whine ... guess what? ... I'll learn to ignore it and enjoy the ride coz I just LOVE this bike!

 

Every other bike I've owned before the above had their own specific little sounds and quirks. When you first get them, it's bothersome until you realize (in most cases) that it's the nature of that particular beast...then you learn to ignore it and enjoy the ride.

 

Some times the sounds are an actual mechanical problem so you either get it fixed or sell the thing.

 

My point being I guess is, that no matter what you buy, you will probably have to learn to live with that beast's particular sounds and quirks coz they will all have something IMHO.

[N3FOL]

My 07 does not have the chirp. It does have a whine but I don't even hear it anymore. For me, the size of the bike was the most comfortable for me. It's a big machine and works well for tall guys.

 

It does work well for tall guys and for sure for shorter guys like me standing at 5'5". The handle bars on the Venture feels more comfortable compared to my old Vulcan cruiser. This bike is really built for serious riders.

[Al Bates]

Friend, this is a hard . I'm sure they're all good bikes. Just a personal choice.

 

Important:

 

Test ride them all. GL1800A, K1200LT, Venture, and the Ultra Classic.

 

Only then make your decision.

[ahoutzer]

 

If the gear noise is the same across shaft drive Yamaha's, especially the Venture family, then it probably wouldn't bother me. I put a lot of in-town and cross-country miles on my '80 XS1100 and my father's '83 Venture Royale and don't remember any bothersome noise.

 

Acoustics make a difference, too. Although your XS1100 may have a Yamaha shaft drive similar to the Royal Star Venture, the shape of your cockpit is probably different. All of that nice weather-protected space in the RSV's rider area seems to trap and amplify the noise made by its running gear. The good news that acoustics don't stop with the cockpit. Your choice of helmet and whether you install in-helmet speakers can make a big difference in what you hear. The RSV chirp never bothered me at all until I put a headset into my helmet. Then, with a narrower open space around my ears (the speakers having filled up the ear pockets in my helmet), it was bad. A different helmet or different speakers changes everything.

 

In short: 1) Your XS1100 may not be a good example of the RSV's sound; 2) If you get an RSV with sounds that bother you, there may be simple and inexpensive ways to improve it.

[Sleeperhawk]

My 05 had some whine but learned to live with it.

My 08, has no whine whatsoever and I have almost 20,000 miles on it now.

[Cerviperus]

I too wouldn't buy a bike without a test-ride. Some dealers are like that though. Luckily the Japanese dealers around here are pretty easy to work with. You just walk in, tell them what you want to ride, and they tell you to give them a few minutes while they get it ready. The closest BMW dealer to me was another story though. They didn't offer any demo rides... period. So, I decided to drive an extra hour and half to the next one, and they expected you to ride one before buying it. Yes, it was a demo bike, but it only had 90 miles on it, and the demo bikes are all serviced right at the dealership, so I had no worries.

 

Long story short, I ended up buying my bike at the dealer that let me ride one.

[Bluesman]

Er.....just what kind of 'whine' and 'chirp' are we talking about here? I mean, is it that noticeable? I'm picking up my Venture in April. I have yet to sign off on the bike totally and now you've got me second guessing this purchase. I've had a few problems with my '02 Silverado but nothing I couldn't live with. That bike served me well these past 7 years. Maybe I'll have to reconsider parting with it...........

 

Bluez

[YamaDuck]

I find that the whine seems to be different on each RSV. Some more noticeable than others. I don't know what the chirp is I've never heard it. I am very fortunate I have a couple of buddies and we all have RSV and we have all ridden each others RSV. My is a 2000 one is a 2005 and one is a 2006. All ride exactly the same but the whine is different on each one. Some more noticeable that others. Mine is the quietest of the bunch. There is nothing wrong with any of them it is just the nature of the beast. So if you have a few friends that have RSV I suggest all of you get together and ride each others RSV and see the difference in the whine. In our case the 2006 had the loudest whine. The funny thing about it though I can ride right beside his and I don't here a thing but when you get on it you hear it easily. So you don't have to be embarrassed if you are riding with your HD buddies because they can't hear it.

[Guest Kurt Leopold]

I bought a 2008 Venture end of last April 2008. Put on 7000 KM before putting it to sleep for the winter. I cant' recall any kind of a whine

[Guest tx2sturgis]

I wonder if we have any deaf/hearing impaired riders on the forum. They may enjoy the Venture more than any of us with near normal hearing.

 

Many of the V-twin choppers and bobbers have had an open primary added. Those things are noisy, but its a really cool noise. It all depends on what you perceive. Since the noise on the Venture comes and goes depending on RPM and road speed, I think thats where the main problem is. If it was steady all the time, we'd get used to it. But since its intermittent, some of us find it annoying at times, but not overly so.

[GlennTuc]

I had a GL1100 Interstate in the early 80's and really liked the bike. The new GWs don't look like a motorcycle to me, so I didn't even look at them. I was considering a HD Ultra Classic until I walked across the road to the Yama dealer and caught a glimpse of the 08 RSV I bought (what a price difference). I don't hear any bothersome noises, even when my radio was having problems (that PO'd me), but even with that, I love my RSV. I bought it in May and ride it every possible day I can. The only things that keep me off it is snow, ice and my wife. So far I have over 9600 miles on it. Buy what you are comfortable with, but I do enjoy that RSV. I would probably think twice about buying from a dealer who wouldn't let me test drive one (If you have a valid motorcycle license). The dealer I bought mine from has offered to loan me a bike to ride into town while mine was getting serviced.

 

Good Luck on your search. May rock and tar never remove the shine from your scoot or hide from your body.

 

Glenn

[raceman62race]

I bought a new 08 RSV at the end of August and I don't regret it. I had to have the rear end replaced due to a bad whine it developed at 1800 miles and had to get in touch with Yamaha to get it done.......dealer wasn't going to do anything about it. I was really impressed with Yamaha......Scoot developed an whine at 1800 miles. Took it to dealer to get it fixed. Dealer calls and said whine was part of bike and they weren't going to do anything about it. I called the Yamaha SE rep at 9:30 AM and said scoot had whine and dealer wasn't going to fix. At 2:00 PM, (same day) rep called and said he rode my bike and they were going to replace final drive. I only have about 4000 mile on bike and I don't hear anything that is annoying. Dealers are like restaurants, some are good and some are bad. I have had several scoots in the past...Suzuki VL1500, Honda V45, Yamaha XS1100, Honda CB400 just to name a few. Each one of them seem to have some sort of noise that shouldn't be there but as someone in the earlier post said.....just learn to live with it and ride.

I considered the Harley but couldn't justify spending the money. The Gold wing was nice but I REALLY didn't need all of the gadgets that they have and they were pricey as well. My Yamaha RSV has everything I need to make a long trip comfortable like a radio, good soft saddle, a built in intercom and plenty of storage plus the 5 year warranty and it is affordable. But, you are going to be the one riding it and paying for it so you need to get what fits you. All scoots are nice in their own way!