Possibly buying 1983 Venture and need advice!

[vstarnitelite1]

Hey all,

 

I've been in the market for a bit for either a Venture or Goldwing. Someone in my hometown has an 1983 Venture Royale with 19,000 miles on it and is asking 1,800 bucks. He says it starts and runs fine and is at his auto dealership so he is going to drive it back to his house tomorrow to sell (about 40 miles). Sounds like an honest guy overall and he said he has owned it for only two months and intended on keeping it (just got the plates for it last week) but he is hard up for cash and has to come up with 10 grand for something to do with his business partner. He said he's had at least 25 emails on the thing. He said he just bought it 2 months ago for 2,500. Could someone tell me if this is a good deal and also could it be a bad idea to buy this? Any recommendations? I'm 5'7 and currently own a vstar 650...just looking for something me and the wife could go on longer trips and be more comfortable.

 

Thank you

[Reddog170]

Sounds like a good deal. Just look it over REAL good. If he will let you take it out where you can open it up and run it like you stole it. It seems that if there is any engine problems they will top out around 85 or so. I have had mine faster than that, but the beating my back took was nuts, never do that with a passenger. Most glitches with the MK1's are simple fixes. They did have two comon problems, frame failure where the rear shock mounts on and second gear popping out. Look for cracks around the section of the frame by the rear suspension and see how the shifting feels. If all that goes well then buy it.

My only question is if he has had that many e-mails about it then why is it not sold? Shaun

[friesman]

well it may be a good bike,most ventures at that age are stilll good bikes, but I would have to question why he would be selling quickly, it sounds a bit off.

 

At 5ft7 I would think you may have trouble riding this bike as it sits real tall and I dont think there is any way of lowering it after the air is out of the shocks. Use the class system on the lower right of the panel with the key set at acc NOT with the engine running or all the way on, and let all the air out of the front and rear shocks. If it doesnt work its another fix to do. i Am 6ft and at some intersections i have to tiptoe the bike.

A couple of things to check on the 83's are frame breaking just above the center stand, and 2nd gear will let go frequently by about 40k miles, so a ride is necessary to get it up to about 20 mph get 2nd gear and accelerate hard to see if it pops out.

 

Good luck with your search for a good machine.

 

Brian

[vstarnitelite1]

Wow, the frame breaking sounds like an issue that if it does happen, thats the end of the bike altogether...I knew about the second gear problem but the frame breaking at the rear suspension has me really concerned especially with something of that age. Yeah I wondered too why get rid of it so fast too which I'm not too sure about. I ended up getting stuck with a dirtbike when I was much younger with a broken frame, the idiots knew the weld wouldnt hold and they grinded it down then put bondo around it then covered it up with flat paint and dirt.

 

As for the height, he said a doctor owned it before (and was able to name the hospital where he worked) the doc was short and had the bike lowered. I just found another 1984 with 22 thousand miles but it would be a long haul for me for 1,500...why are these bikes so damn cheap? they look like they would be MUCH MUCH more

http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwi/mcy/2524725468.html

[friesman]

As I understand it, the frame issue is something that can be failry easily reinforced and I think ive read that Yamaha did a recall to try and fix that issue. But if its already broken it could lead to big issues quickly. However,I am not aware of it happening all that often on the ventures, but I thought it should be something you should be aware of.

I am not aware of any way to lower these bikes except by doing things like shaving the seat and lowering the air suspension all the way.

 

Brian

[flb_78]

You had better know how to do all of your own maintenance because most dealers won't touch either one of those bikes because of their age.

[SC89Venture]

What he said. And realize these are heavy bikes.

[Prairiehammer]

I am not aware of any way to lower these bikes except by doing things like shaving the seat and lowering the air suspension all the way.

 

If the frame is broken, it gets quite a bit lower.

 

[Trader]

You had better know how to do all of your own maintenance because most dealers won't touch either one of those bikes because of their age.

 

 

At least be WILLING and HAVE TIME to do all your own maintenance.

This site has a wealth of information and helpful people whose expertise you can draw on.

 

Throw in the odd Maintenance Day and you're good to go!!

 

Don't let the frame break or 2nd gear scare you off. It is not that common but it does happen. Frames can be welded.

 

Search the site...there is a thread somewhere with pics showing "punch" marks that were often used indicating if 2nd gear has been done.

[Condor]

The whole story sounds fishy to me. Be very cautious....

[paysaw]

If you become a member, I am sure one of us could help you look at this bike.It is just a visual inspection to see if you see rust at the joint.I had 2 ,83.My doner 83 had the broken frame.I sold it to a guy that I think is repairing it and putting it back on the road. The 83 is the fastest.Lots of power too.

[dingy]

I have pushed an 83 chassis about as hard as you can with no issues.

 

It is an uncommon event. It can be corrected and inspected for. It would be rare that it caused a catastrophic failure.

 

The 83 is a little unique among the early Ventures. Some small differences, but nothing that is a show stopper.

 

If you want a large bike, frame mounted fairing with standard foot pegs this is a good choice.

 

Gary