New member

[lucky_1_chris]

Hello VR.org! I'm glad I found this site! I've been a long time member over at vtxoa.com, and I was hoping to find a similar board for the RSV.

 

I'm seriously considering trading in my trusty X for an '07 RSV. After riding an Ultra, a couple Wings, and the Venture, I think the Venture fits me perfectly.

 

I'm a little nervous about switching brands cuz I've been riding Hondas nearly 10 yrs., and I know what to expect from them. I've been performing all my own maintenance and repairs for years, but the Yamaha is a whole different ball of wax... I was hoping you guys could give me a heads up to potential and common problems to keep an eye out for with the RSV, maintenance schedules, and point me in the direction of good tech write-ups for the bike. I gotta tell ya I'm a little intimidated by the thought of dealing with 4 carbs... Any insight and advice would be very much appreciated.

 

I'm looking forward to the bike, getting to know you folks, and soaking up the knowledge from the experts around here.

 

Ride safe.

[Seaking]

Welcome and congrats on the new bike.. you're going to love it. Takes a bit getting used to but man.. it's great..

 

I went from an 1100 VSTar to the RSV, and this was the bike I was meant to have.. wow. I put 12,000 miles on it the first year, then 33,500 miles the next and only 26,000 this year.. ride much? hehe

 

A lot to learn but this is a great place to get tons of info..

 

Cheers

[Kregerdoodle]

Welcome to the Family!! Jump right in, you will find a cornicopia of info as well the best folks one could hope for. What part of TX do you live in? there are a mess of members from Texas and we have quit a few get togethers and maint. Days.

 

Again Welcome!

 

Kreg

[Sylvester]

Another "Welcome Aboard" to you. Lots of information on RSVs and TDs and VRs and Viragos and (well you get the drift) contained in this site. There are a bunch of misfits though that I felt you should know about. I would post their names but since I am the worst of them it would be futile.

 

[N3FOL]

Welcome to the forum, Lucky_1_Chris! Just like the Honda forum, there is an abundant source of technical as well as online forum help here. Sounds like you are very mechanically inclined, so owning a Venture should be just as enjoyable as your Honda bike.

 

I know it can be very frustrating, if you can't possibly get any help...this forum is excellent with a lot of members that has tickered with the bike for years.

 

Once you have acquired the bike, please post some pics.

 

Again, welcome and ride safe.

[RandyR]

Welcome Chris,

 

Don't be intimidated by the 4 carbs, they are easy to balance, and thats one of the more popular items for discussion here, along with which of several styles of carb balancers is the best.

 

Hey! we knew you were joining and there's a Technical section already in place with discussion of technical items. And then with a FAQs section which is read-only of the important items. Most of the known issues already have writeups there.

 

The search function also works fairly well for finding specific points of interest.

 

You can also flag threads of interest so you can come back to them later.

 

Looking forward to seeing you at one of our Meet & Eats somewhere down the road.

[bikenut]

Welcome

If you ever have any questions about the bike or others please post on this forum. Their is always someone that can answer your questions and get back to you right away.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

[bamico]

lucky_1_chris,

 

Welcome to the forum. As others have stated, you'll find it a very helpful resource. I can't imagine there's an issue out there that hasn't been adressed on this forum. Everyone out here has been fantastic.

 

I too was a Honda person. I've had 3... V65 Sabre, Shadow 1100 and a Shadow Ace Tourer. Thought I was a Honda purist until I came across the Yamaha RSTD in 2005. Bought it, loved it, never looked back. Traded up to a RSV last spring due to the wife wanting to ride more. Again, never looked back, loved the RSTD, love the RSV.

 

I did the same thing you did when going from the RSTD to the RSV. Tried the Ultra, Wing, Vulcan. Even rented an Ultra for a week. Tried to convince myself the Ultra was the bike (most of my friends ride HD), but could not convince myself to spend more money for less bike. Also, at 6', 195lbs, the RSV just had more room to stretch out. My wife can climb on, we ride for hours and I don't even know she's back there. On the Ultra, we were touching.

 

 

The issues I have with the bike, and you'll see them mentioned on the site:

Clutch basket whine (RSV does not have it, RSTD did), carbs vs EFI, although, never have had an issue, a cassette deck vs mp3 port, although, I've got the ipod running through the aux jack. You'll see all sorts of mods you can do to increase handling, comfort, etc.

 

Still, absolutely love the bike. I look each year at the new RSVs to see if its worth getting a new one. The 2011 is Blue/Blue, which is very close to my Blue/Black. Still w/carbs, so I guess we'll see what 2012 brings.

 

Good luck in your decision. Feel free to message me if you have any questions.

 

Ride safe.

 

Bob

[warriorhoneybee]

welcome aboard and if you have any questions someone here has two or three answers,good luck

[Brake Pad]

Welcome to the Board Chris.

[Dave77459]

Welcome aboard Chris! I think you'll find this site not only provides you with the technical help you need, but is about the friendliest group anywhere.

 

Speaking of which, what part of TX are you in? We have a pretty active group in the Houston area. We'd love to add another friend.

 

Again, welcome!

 

Dave

[Sleeperhawk]

lucky_1_chris,

 

Welcome to the forum. As others have stated, you'll find it a very helpful resource. I can't imagine there's an issue out there that hasn't been adressed on this forum. Everyone out here has been fantastic.

 

I too was a Honda person. I've had 3... V65 Sabre, Shadow 1100 and a Shadow Ace Tourer. Thought I was a Honda purist until I came across the Yamaha RSTD in 2005. Bought it, loved it, never looked back. Traded up to a RSV last spring due to the wife wanting to ride more. Again, never looked back, loved the RSTD, love the RSV.

 

I did the same thing you did when going from the RSTD to the RSV. Tried the Ultra, Wing, Vulcan. Even rented an Ultra for a week. Tried to convince myself the Ultra was the bike (most of my friends ride HD), but could not convince myself to spend more money for less bike. Also, at 6', 195lbs, the RSV just had more room to stretch out. My wife can climb on, we ride for hours and I don't even know she's back there. On the Ultra, we were touching.

 

 

The issues I have with the bike, and you'll see them mentioned on the site:

Clutch basket whine (RSV does not have it, RSTD did), carbs vs EFI, although, never have had an issue, a cassette deck vs mp3 port, although, I've got the ipod running through the aux jack. You'll see all sorts of mods you can do to increase handling, comfort, etc.

 

Still, absolutely love the bike. I look each year at the new RSVs to see if its worth getting a new one. The 2011 is Blue/Blue, which is very close to my Blue/Black. Still w/carbs, so I guess we'll see what 2012 brings.

 

Good luck in your decision. Feel free to message me if you have any questions.

 

Ride safe.

 

Bob

 

There is an MP3 port, open the cassette deck door and to the right of the slot is the MP3 port.

[lucky_1_chris]

Thanks everyone for the welcome. I stopped at the dealership again today for another test ride, and I left a deposit to get the bike off their floor. I'll be back with my wife on Friday for a final test ride with her, and if she gives the nod I'll have the bike in my garage that afternoon.

 

Here are some cellphone pics I took of the bike taken at Yamaha Suzuki of Texas in Hurst:

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j136/lucky_1_chris/Venture003.jpg

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j136/lucky_1_chris/Venture001.jpg

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j136/lucky_1_chris/Venture002.jpg

 

I noticed a couple things today that I didn't pick up on during my first test ride... A very noticeable whine in 3rd and 5th. I see that a whine in the clutch basket was mentioned in an earlier post, so this is probably what I'm hearing. Is this the nature of the beast, or something that needs to be addressed? Also, after I got back from the ride I was looking under the bike for evidence of any leaks and damage, and I noticed that the left rear jug was nowhere near as warm as the other 3. The bike warmed up for a few minutes, and I prolly rode it about 5 miles. It didn't seem like it was missing, so maybe I didn't run it long enough to get it good and warmed up. I'll get it out on the freeway on Friday and get her good and hot... It only has 6k on the clock, so I can't imagine that there'd be any major problems already.

 

Assuming that these are nothing to be really concerned about I'm ready to make a deal on the bike if mama likes the back seat... I'll post up some better pics if I bring her home and give my initial thoughts after a more substantial ride.

 

Thanks again for the welcome, well wishes, and advice.

 

Ride safe

Chris

[frogmaster]

Chris,

 

Use the FORCE Chris.....

 

Feel the Ying & Yang......

 

Don't over think it or Physch yourself out....

 

The Whine I like to call my George Jetson Spacecraft Sound (Best of all it does not sound like POTATO - POTATO - POTATO) Lol

 

These Engines are bullet proof and the cool cylinder might need some minor attention and that is EXACTLY where that 5 Year Warranty comes in. Don't let anyone tell you it is only for the Original 000000 miles purchaser (search forum).

 

I can tell you MAMA is going to Love this throne for Her inner Princess...

 

There are some 2nd Gen RSV in the Classified Section too (you can trust these guys and search all their posts to get a Bike History).

 

Lastly make sure to get to any VenturRider.org "Maintenance Day" Events Large or Small.

 

Goodluck Chris

Edited December 22, 2010 by frogmaster
spelling

[bamico]

There is an MP3 port, open the cassette deck door and to the right of the slot is the MP3 port.

 

 

Sleeperhawk is quite right.

 

I'm using the jack to tie into the Aux function. Works pretty well.

 

What I meant to say was that there wasn't an integrated mp3 hookup so that the ipod controls could be managed through the audio system.. next song, skip, ff, rew, change playlists, etc.

 

Ride safe all.

[slick97spirit]

[quote I noticed a couple things today that I didn't pick up on during my first test ride... A very noticeable whine in 3rd and 5th. I see that a whine in the clutch basket was mentioned in an earlier post, so this is probably what I'm hearing. Is this the nature of the beast, or something that needs to be addressed? Also, after I got back from the ride I was looking under the bike for evidence of any leaks and damage, and I noticed that the left rear jug was nowhere near as warm as the other 3. The bike warmed up for a few minutes, and I prolly rode it about 5 miles. It didn't seem like it was missing, so maybe I didn't run it long enough to get it good and warmed up. I'll get it out on the freeway on Friday and get her good and hot... It only has 6k on the clock, so I can't imagine that there'd be any major problems already.

 

 

It is possible that one of the plugs is not firing. But you should find out for sure as it's normally an easy fix. I say that because the bike will run like a scalded dog on 3 cylinders.

I can assure you of one thing. You'll love the bike like the rest of us do.

 

[V7Goose]

Chris, give me a call - my phone number is in my profile. I can answer all your questions, and I'd be happy to meet you at that dealer to check out the bike with you.

 

The engine whine does not affect all of these bikes, but a few of them have it so bad that ownership is miserable - you really want to be sure you feel the bike you buy is acceptable to you, since it may or may not be fixable.

 

Welcome to the group,

Goose

[gscbertrand]

I will add my welcome to an awesome site. There are down loadable work shop manuals on this site as well as schematics for some electrical mods that have done. If this bunch of wonderful people can't fix a problem then sell the bike. You will get answers the same hour that you post most of the time. You will love it here.

[trebor]

Welcome Chris, I’m a new member too. This is my first bike,’03. The

power is unreal, purchased from another with 90K miles. I’m too stupid to

know if there’s a problem. So, I’m heading down to Fulton, TX 78382

on the 22 of Jan. for MD. (check the event calendar) One of the “things”

I’m having trouble with is the turning radius, it’s as big as Texas. My

turns are now down to two lanes…Merry Xmas

[frogmaster]

Chris,

 

Today is Friday!!! What is the status? Did you call V7Goose (very kind offer)? Let us know what going down???

[lucky_1_chris]

Sorry I took so long to post an update... Unfortunately I wasn't able to get the bike. I couldn't get financing on a used bike. New was not problem, but not used.... Tried our bank, but they won't make vehicle loans for less than 10k. They offered us a personal loan at ~ 17% interest...no thanks. I'm still in the market, and by spring-ish I ought to be able to pay cash for something. I'm better off in the long run paying cash so it will all work out for the best.

 

V7Goose, thank you for your kind offer. If I try to make another deal locally I hope that I can still contact you and take you up on it.

 

Again, sorry I took so long to get back to this thread.

 

Ride safe

Chris

[BG Hawks]

Bummer with the bank. Keep up the search. I went from an 02 vstar to my venture and having the time of my life. Can't wait for spring. Keep us posted; tons of support here!

[bongobobny]

Aorry to hear the deal fell thru! The blue and black is a personal favorite of mine.

 

No one mentioned it, but the RSV carries a 5 year unlimited mileage warranty, even if you are not the first owner of the bike.

 

There are a lot of nice deals out there, you may even find a good deal on a left over new one somewhere if you are willing to travel...