Considering a 1983 venture with sidecar this week

[Firebrick]

I'm going to look at a 1983 venture with California 2 sidecar this week. It has roughly 50k miles on her. The owner states they have put several grand in it fixing it up to near perfect. It has all the bells and whistles and supposedly everything works. Pictures look good. There is no leading link for the sidecar though. He says his bottom dollar is 3700. Seem reasonable? I may ditch the sidecar if I really like the bike but have trouble steering. I'm coming from a new Harley ultra classic which is nice, but not nice enough for the payments I'm making. Any thoughts are appreciated. He did say the transmission has been fixed I saw that was a problem on these forums.

[Kregerdoodle]

Lots of luck!! Post pics when ya get them..

[RandyR]

The earliest 1st gen ventures also had a frame cracking problem. Not sure what the serial number was that they were fixed at. Any prior to that are prone to the problem. someone here should know the serial number range?

[Firebrick]

Yes that would great to know so I can check it out. Where does it crack. Let me know the vin I need to look for if someone finds it. Thanks.

[bongobobny]

The frame problem with the '83's was at the rear shock. They fortified it on the '84 on up. It just needs some additional support welded to it to make it good. Also, the '83 temp gauge reads high. As long as it is not pinned, even if it starts to go into the red, it really is not overheating...

[coy55boy]

The frame problem with the '83's was at the rear shock. They fortified it on the '84 on up. It just needs some additional support welded to it to make it good.

 

I've got an '83 with about 5K miles. Not being a welder, where should I take it to get the work done? A bike shop or a welding shop? And what should I tell them so they can make effective repairs?

[bongobobny]

I would assume any good welding shop would do, but a shop that specializes in bikes may be the best bet. I am not sure of the exact difference as I own an '84 but I learned of the difference on this site. I believe it is listed somewhere here, or hopefully someone will chime in. If you have a good established Yamaha dealer in the area they may have the info for you, or just find an '84 on up 1st gen and compare the difference...

 

Later on this winter/spring I will have mine apart and I'll take some pictures for you then.

[Venturous Randy]

I've got an '83 with about 5K miles. Not being a welder, where should I take it to get the work done? A bike shop or a welding shop? And what should I tell them so they can make effective repairs?

 

Actually, I suspect frame breakage is pretty rare. I have noted a post I did about four years ago and I have put about 35,000 miles on my bike since I had my problem. As you can see, it is not something you can run by the welding shop and in 15 minutes you are on your way. To be done right, I think the bike needs to be turned upside down or at least laid over on it's side and that would only be if you were having rods welded in like I did and the frame was still in it's original place. Also, as you can see, my bike did not break from being rusted. I believe my problem was from spinning the bike around while on the centerstand and some less than adaquate welds from the factory. I still spin the bike around with it on the centerstand, but now I have a steel wheel mounted on one of the feet and it works very good on smooth concrete.

RandyA

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1521

[Condor]

I'm going to look at a 1983 venture with California 2 sidecar this week. It has roughly 50k miles on her. The owner states they have put several grand in it fixing it up to near perfect. It has all the bells and whistles and supposedly everything works. Pictures look good. There is no leading link for the sidecar though. He says his bottom dollar is 3700. Seem reasonable? I may ditch the sidecar if I really like the bike but have trouble steering. I'm coming from a new Harley ultra classic which is nice, but not nice enough for the payments I'm making. Any thoughts are appreciated. He did say the transmission has been fixed I saw that was a problem on these forums.

 

 

If you plan on ditching the side car, $3700 bucks is a lot of money to be spending on an '83 unless it's close to new with low miles. There are a lot of very nice '83's on the market in the low $2000 range.

[coy55boy]

Actually, I suspect frame breakage is pretty rare.

 

Thanks randya! That looks pretty ugly alright... I reckon I'll take my chances and hope it doesn't break.

 

Steve