Sport touring TO Touring

[Verninator]

Hi Everyone,,

I have been lurking alittle bit, Getting onfo on reliability, comfort, Performance etc....

Anyone here gone from Sport Touring(anything) to the Venture??

 

2 years ago when I bought my ST1300, I looked at the Venture and really liked it but, it was larger than I wanted at the time and I was interested in the Sport side of riding too. So I went with ST because it was supposed to better at 2UP than some of the other Sporttouring rides, other than maybe BMW, (too much $$$ & too Much Maint.$$$ for me)

I like the power of the ST & I love the Electric Wind Screen, but the bike is a Pain the in A@# to get on and off, when riding 2UP. That is why I am back to the Venture. I will find something later to Quench my thirst for Sport/Adventure Touring later. I want the wife to enjoy riding, more than I need Speed.

 

So Please Let Opinions Fly, when you have time of course.

 

Seems like a cool group of people on this site.

 

Later Tom E. Bryceville FL aka "Verninator"

[CrazyHorse]

Hi Everyone,,

I have been lurking alittle bit, Getting onfo on reliability, comfort, Performance etc....

Anyone here gone from Sport Touring(anything) to the Venture??

 

2 years ago when I bought my ST1300, I looked at the Venture and really liked it but, it was larger than I wanted at the time and I was interested in the Sport side of riding too. So I went with ST because it was supposed to better at 2UP than some of the other Sporttouring rides, other than maybe BMW, (too much $$$ & too Much Maint.$$$ for me)

I like the power of the ST & I love the Electric Wind Screen, but the bike is a Pain the in A@# to get on and off, when riding 2UP. That is why I am back to the Venture. I will find something later to Quench my thirst for Sport/Adventure Touring later. I want the wife to enjoy riding, more than I need Speed.

 

So Please Let Opinions Fly, when you have time of course.

 

Seems like a cool group of people on this site.

 

Later Tom E. Bryceville FL aka "Verninator"

 

If you want sport touring/performance go with the Original and best Venture 1983-1993 versions. Though they are 15+ year old bikes now. If you want mosying along cruiser type go with the current Venture 1996+. Welcome to the site.

[Rick Butler]

Tom,

 

Well I can't say that I went from a sport touring to touring bike. However, the 1st generation Ventures in 83 were probably more sport than tour because they were a narrow frame bike because of the V-4, had a monoshock for rear suspension, and removeable bags and trunk. But over a short period (1986), they went to larger top loading non-removable bags which competed more with the GL1200. But they all handled much better than the GL and we all rode them like they were sport touring bikes.

 

And when I decided to move to a 2nd gen Venture in 2001 (after I totaled my 93 on a curvey Arkansas road) I hated the way the bike handled where it was a real pig in the corners. But once I got the bike home from the 1st ride to Arkansas, I started looking at changes to improve the handling to make it handle more like my 1st gen Ventures. The first change was a narrower front tire which made it turn in easier, followed by changing the rear shock links to raise the rear to level the bike. This made it turn in even quicker and easier by decreasing the rake about 1 degree as well as give the bike more ground clearance (no more dragging bike parts in the corners). Then I changed out the front springs and installed Rac Tech cartridge emulators as well as change out the monoshock for a Works 2 way adjustable shock. The last changes I made to the bike was to replace the 2 piston front calipers with 4 piston calipers with stainless lines, not to mention installing an adjustable proportioning valve to the rear caliper to make the rear 4 piston brake milder. Oh, and I changed out the heel-toe shifter with a toe shifter.

 

So in short, for around $1,500 you can make a RS Venture handle more like a sport bike which will provide you the capacity of a true touring bike (long distance carrier). In fact I felt so good about the changes I made to my 02 RSV that this year I took it to the track for a level 1 track school, and it handled just fine (see attached pictures).

 

Hope this helps in your decision,

 

Rick

[Guest tx2sturgis]

... In fact I felt so good about the changes I made to my 02 RSV that this year I took it to the track for a level 1 track school, and it handled just fine (see attached pictures).

 

I bet the other riders on sport bikes were thinking you were crazy...I'm guessing some of them asked some pointed questions afterward!

[RedRider]

In fact I felt so good about the changes I made to my 02 RSV that this year I took it to the track for a level 1 track school, and it handled just fine (see attached pictures).

 

Rick

 

Good heavens - how long did it take you to safety wire all the nuts and bolts on the Venture?

 

RR

[atlm]

Most of my previous (17) street bikes were sportbikes, with a V-Max and a few other less sporty bikes mixed in. Most of my riding was 1-up, and most of my rides were relatively short, so those fit fine. I'm a bit of a speed junky. I raced in the 80's on Honda 750's, and bought Team Valvoline's GSX-R 750 a few years ago and raced (WERA) for a while. My favorite 1-up streetbike was my highly modified '03 Z-1000.

 

In 2005 I met my wife, and that changed everything. The first time I took her near top speed on the Z-1000 was the last time she rode on it. Where (pure) sportbikes just start to get warmed up are speeds where getting caught means going to jail, and where passengers are getting windblasted so much it's just not fun for them.

 

After experimenting with another bike that was fast in the twisties but somewhat comfortable 2-up, followed by the purchase of a trailer to take us to the mountains to eliminate most freeway travel, we finally realized that we were spending about 20 minutes a ride in the serious twisties, and many hours on mild twisties and straightaways. Most of our riding friends have cruisers, and were comfortable and relaxed for the day but did the twisties a bit slower, where we spent most of the day with her not that comfortable, waiting for the high speed twisties. We tried aftermarket seats, sheepskin, beads, a Butt Buffer, and different backrest positions, but it just wasn't working.

 

This past Spring, Yamaha had demo days near us. After the first test ride on another bike, the Yamaha guy recommended we test drive the RSTD. A big, heavy, underpowered V-twin cruiser, for us? No way. But we rode it anyway, and both liked it very much. She and I couldn't believe how smooth it was for a V-twin, and how much power it had at higher revs. Then the guy told us it was a 98hp V-4. oooooohhhh. Her only complaint was that the passenger seat was really hard. So we sat on the RSV, and she loved it. At the time, it was just fun for us, since we didn't think we were in the market for a bike, so we left. A few weeks later, after a few more rides on our bike, we went back for another look.

 

In the end, we ended up comparing the Goldwing, the Harley Electra Glide Classic and Ultra, Kawasaki's new Voyager, and the Venture. The purchase was all about the passenger accomodations, and the Venture won, by far. On previous bikes, 150 miles was about where she stopped having fun. On the Venture, we recently did a 320 mile ride, and she was ready for more when we got home. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner.

 

All bikes are a compromise. The "best bike" is subjective, and dependent on the intended use. If this purchase is for your wife to enjoy riding more, I'd highly recommend test riding a Venture. Yamaha has a test ride program for the RSV and RSTD which most dealers are a part of.

 

If you're used to sport bikes and find the stock steering a bit heavy, leveling the bike makes it much more nimble. Depending on your inseam, you can either raise the rear with "leveling links" or drop the front (instructions in the VR tech section). I just did and it makes a huge difference.

[Brake Pad]

1982 Honda CBX, sport touring to a goldwing, now the Venture.

still throw it around like its a sport bike

[Verninator]

Thanks for all the cool replies & opinions, Just what I was looking for,

 

And the Track Pics were very Coool !! R. Butler

 

 

Hope to be on a Good 2-UP bike in the next few months, or when $$$ tells me its OK to do it. LOL

 

Later Tom E.