1999 Venture

[trandeod]

I have a chance at a 1999 Venture with 12,000 miles at a good price. Do any of you know of any bad news of the 99's? Thanks.

[99silver]

I may be a bit partial, BUY IT !!!!!!!!!!

Bad news is , I'm sure it's out of warranty.

Great bike if the price is right, however the one problem you might have is the fuel may have gotten stale at some point but if it runs a few cans of Seafoam could clean it out. Not sure want you are refering to as a good price but 12K on the clock is not even broke in.

[Guest scarylarry]

Tommy I run to Gatlinburg a lot there is a yammy dealer off 40 close to Crossville.

Do they offer good deals and are they are to deal with, I always wanted to stopped in but never took the time..

[trandeod]

Tommy I run to Gatlinburg a lot there is a yammy dealer off 40 close to Crossville.

 

Do they offer good deals and are they are to deal with, I always wanted to stopped in but never took the time..

 

I haven't done any dealing with them in about 2 years. I had a Venture and they serviced it and did a good job. The mechanic is Roy, they call him "Rapid Roy" but he's good. The owner passed away and his wife now runs the company so I don't know how they are doing. A riding buddy of mine bought a 1100 Star but got it in your neck of the woods (Sloans) said he got a better deal. I'm picking up this 99 from an older guy here in Florida. He had to quit riding so he gave me a good deal. Rade safe. Tom

[Guest scarylarry]

That is where I bought mine, had other deals in hand so they knew either deal then or I walk, Sloans can be good till the service time comes and then that is where my problem started..

I'm headed to Gatlinburg in a few weeks if I have time I will stop this time, the cycle dealer in Kodak is sure proud of his bikes, stop in there once and saw the price tag on afew and walk out...

[Steel Horse Cowboy]

I too am partial to a 99. If you bypass it, pass it this way.

 

C.R.

[BigBoi]

Get it! '99s are a GREAT ride at almost any price.

[gibvel]

Check the trunk for cracks. They did an upgrade to the trunk with steel plates and rubber plates in later models to correct this.

 

If the trunk isn't cracked you can purchase the parts for next to nothing from Partshark.com and install them to keep the cracks from happening.

 

I posted numbers etc. in another thread. I'll try to find it an post the link.

 

Here you go:

 

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showpost.php?p=363477&postcount=3

[V7Goose]

Unless you do your own work, expect to pay considerably more.

 

Any bike that old which has only been run about 1,000 miles a year has done a LOT of sitting and rotting. At a minimum, I would absolutely pull the carbs and do a good inspection and cleaning - not too hard, but a couple of hundred bucks at a dealer (and I wouldn't really trust them to fully inspect and clean everything unless there was a specific problem they had to fix). Hard to tell what other "minor" issues will need to be dealt with.

 

The bigger worry for me would be for possible internal corrosion on bearings, gear faces, etc. Lots of condensation and oil acids have been at work on that bike over the years. It may not be evident now, but even if it runs great, I would not expect it to last as long as it would if it already had 100,000 miles on it.

 

The bike does not have any particular weaknesses other than the cracking trunk and antennas falling off, but that kind of abuse can destroy any machine. Good luck,

Goose

[bongobobny]

Along with what Goose said. plan on flushing the brake system and hope you don't have too much crystalization in the master and slave systems. Same deal for the clutch system. Absolute must is to replace both tires unless both are less than 6 years old. A complete cooling system flush is also important.

 

Low mileage bikes have their own set of problems. Although they don't have the wear of a higher mileage bike, as Goose pointed out, acids have been at work internally especially if the oil wasn't changed regularly and it wasn't run for an extended (months to years) period of time. We are not trying to scare you away from the bike, just warn you of possible issues you may encounter. Be prepared for a lot of PM needed on the bike...

[trandeod]

Unless you do your own work, expect to pay considerably more.

 

Any bike that old which has only been run about 1,000 miles a year has done a LOT of sitting and rotting. At a minimum, I would absolutely pull the carbs and do a good inspection and cleaning - not too hard, but a couple of hundred bucks at a dealer (and I wouldn't really trust them to fully inspect and clean everything unless there was a specific problem they had to fix). Hard to tell what other "minor" issues will need to be dealt with.

 

The bigger worry for me would be for possible internal corrosion on bearings, gear faces, etc. Lots of condensation and oil acids have been at work on that bike over the years. It may not be evident now, but even if it runs great, I would not expect it to last as long as it would if it already had 100,000 miles on it.

 

The bike does not have any particular weaknesses other than the cracking trunk and antennas falling off, but that kind of abuse can destroy any machine. Good luck,

Goose

 

Appreciate your advice and opinion Goose, you're a valuable asset to this forum. We all owe you a big thanks. I bought that Venture for about half of NADA retail. The previous owner was an elderly gentleman who's knees didn't work so well anymore and he was getting afraid to ride. He had recently replaced both tires, battery and rear brake cylinder. The radio, CB, etc didn't work but a fuse fixed that. The right front cylinder was cool to the touch until I added Seafoam to 6 gal of Chevron. It has quit missing on that front cyl and the pipe heats up rapidly, but still hard to start and I have to choke it about 5 minutes to get it to smooth out. There's still work to do and to watch out for what you guys have advised me to watch for. Many thanks guys, Tom.

[V7Goose]

Glad you got the bike for a good price. Having to replace a brake master or slave is absolutely a common result of leaving a machine to sit and age instead of regular use - good for you that at least one was taken care of before you took ownership. Hopefully the others will keep working.

 

Hard starting and needing lots of choke is a prime symptom of clogged primary jets. If the jets are only partially clogged (all the pipes are heating up fine at idle AND you have at least 10" Hg vacuum on all cylinders), then repeated use of a fuel treatment like Seafoam or 44K will probably eventually clean them out. But it is going to take a long time and many tanks of treated fuel to finish the job. I strongly recommend you pull the carbs and do a good manual inspection and cleaning.

 

Hope you have a long and enjoyable relationship with that machine!

Goose

[Guest Tinman]

I just bought a 99 rsv, but it had about 55,000 miles on it. Runs like a top. The original owner put avons and a leveling kit in it, and it handles well. I am still a bit shakey at low speeds, but that will come in time, i'm sure. I really like the bike. If the one you are looking at is in good shape, it will provide you with years of service. Trust the Goose!!! Brakes, oil, and clutch may need to be worked over.

[trandeod]

I just bought a 99 rsv, but it had about 55,000 miles on it. Runs like a top. The original owner put avons and a leveling kit in it, and it handles well. I am still a bit shakey at low speeds, but that will come in time, i'm sure. I really like the bike. If the one you are looking at is in good shape, it will provide you with years of service. Trust the Goose!!! Brakes, oil, and clutch may need to be worked over.

 

 

It's seems to be smoothing out daily so with any luck the seafoam will clean those carbs out. Wish I could get it into the trunk of my car, I'm going to Ft. Worth next week to see my daughter and I could just drop by Goose's and get him to work his magic on it. When I give it the gas it goes good enough but keeps reving for about 5 secs when I clutch it and start to upshift. Maybe Goose will have a fix for that symptom. Enjoy your 99 as well.

[V7Goose]

It's seems to be smoothing out daily so with any luck the seafoam will clean those carbs out. Wish I could get it into the trunk of my car, I'm going to Ft. Worth next week to see my daughter and I could just drop by Goose's and get him to work his magic on it. When I give it the gas it goes good enough but keeps reving for about 5 secs when I clutch it and start to upshift. Maybe Goose will have a fix for that symptom. Enjoy your 99 as well.

What, you too much of a wuss to RIDE that bike down here? Shame on you. ;-)

 

I think a delay in dropping the revs like you describe is because you are probably running more off your main jets than the pilot jets (that is why I mentioned the amount of vacuum it should pull at idle). I've seen that before, but not on a bike that I had here where I could work on it, so I don't have a definitive answer for you.

 

I'd be happy to look at it for you, but I guess you'll have to find a real man to ride it down here first.

Goose

[Rich99]

Seems like a few months ago, there was another 99 on sale with only a couple of thousand mile on it. I'm at 104,000 on mine, and it's still doing a great job. It's hard trying to make up your mine knowing there could be trouble with such low mileage on a bike. Got my fall off antenna's replaced with 2003 antenna's under warranty, but since the bike hasn't really been used, just treat them well, and they should stay on for a few years. Good luck in whatever you decide.

[trandeod]

What, you too much of a wuss to RIDE that bike down here? Shame on you. ;-)

 

I think a delay in dropping the revs like you describe is because you are probably running more off your main jets than the pilot jets (that is why I mentioned the amount of vacuum it should pull at idle). I've seen that before, but not on a bike that I had here where I could work on it, so I don't have a definitive answer for you.

 

I'd be happy to look at it for you, but I guess you'll have to find a real man to ride it down here first.

Goose

 

I've ridden out to Southlake several times but I always waited till it's above freezing. Last time I rode out there it was 108 deg...That's just too much for my 68 yr old frame....!! Maybe by the time it warms up the carbs will have cured themselves and we can hook up and just ride. I rode with the Blue Knights and Sherrif's Posse on one trip out there. By the way, a great big thanks for your Patriot Rider work. I had the opportunity to meet a lot of them in Nashville at a funeral for one of our EOD Techs that was taken out by an IED. The demonstrators were there at that service but so were a 100 or so Patriot Riders and there were zero demonstrations....GREAT JOB> Thanks.

[rlyons]

I bought my 2000 this year with only 6,000 miles on it. The only parts I had to change were the original tires and I replaced all the wheel bearings at the same time. Of course I changed all the fluids also. It has gave me no trouble at all. The previous owner had already replaced the battery when I got it. I worried a little at first but it has turned out to be a great bike so you should be ok.