royal star engines

[jeffdownes11]

Hi, I am a new member and my name is Jeff, I am from Manchester, England but live in Thailand in the winter and have the pleasure of owning a Royal Star over here. The problem I have is that one or the conrods broke and one piece went through the crankcase and the other into the cylinder wall so you can imagine the mess, oh, and it bent the crankshaft as well. I have sourced a second hand engine in the States but before shipping it over I need to make sure it will fit in my bike. Mine is a 1997 model but the engine is off a 2005, can anybody help me here or has had similar experience with this problem, thanks

 

Jeff

[msshearin]

very rare sir, these motors are usually bulletproof 100 to 200,000 miles is normal with no problems........

[PGunn]

I don't believe it would be a direct bolt in. There are 2 generations of the Venture (Gen 1 and Gen 2). You have the Gen 1 and I believe you would need a Gen 1 moter to do a direct bolt in. Check out this guy on EBay he is good on his prices and carries a lot for all kinds of bike parts. The link will take you to the engine style for your bike.

 

http://stores.ebay.com/PinWall-Cycle-Parts-Inc/Venture-1983-1993-/_i.html?_nkw=engine&_fsub=3669172014&_sid=12458664

[Flyinfool]

Hmmmmm

I am not sure what you really have. Yami stopped making the 1st gem in 93 and did not start the 2nd gen till 99 (at least in the USA). A picture of the bike will help us determine exactly what you have and what you need.

[Stanman]

I don't believe it would be a direct bolt in. There are 2 generations of the Venture (Gen 1 and Gen 2). You have the Gen 1 and I believe you would need a Gen 1 moter to do a direct bolt in. Check out this guy on EBay he is good on his prices and carries a lot for all kinds of bike parts. The link will take you to the engine style for your bike.

 

http://stores.ebay.com/PinWall-Cycle-Parts-Inc/Venture-1983-1993-/_i.html?_nkw=engine&_fsub=3669172014&_sid=12458664

 

 

But I believe he said his machine is a 1997. Does that not make it a Gen 2?

[etcswjoe]

Which Royal Star do you have? Tour Deluxe Maybe?

Edited November 6, 2012 by etcswjoe

[Freebird]

He has a first gen Royal Star.

[StarFan]

He has a first gen Royal Star.

 

The Old Canary is right !

 

Yamaha started production of the Royal Star in 1996 and the last prod.year was 2001. In 1999 they added the Venture that is still being produced. The Second Gen Royal Star (not the Venture) was then updated and came from the factory in 2005.

 

He has a Tour Deluxe/Boulevard/Tour Classic with 28mm Mikuni carbs and smaller cams. Apart from that the engine is pretty much the same. The carbs might though sit a little higher though. With the right attitude I think that this is not such a problematic thing to do.

 

But why not find an engine from the 1996 to 2001 models. That would be a direct swap.

[M61A1MECH]

The 2005 motor is not a direct replacement for the motor that came with the 1997 Royal Star.

Anything 2005 and up will be the same as a Royal Star Venture motor reguardless if it came out of a 2005 Royal Star Venture or a 2005 Tour Deluxe. The New 2005 and up Tour Deluxe is nothing more than a stripped down Royal Star Venture.

 

That being said, the Royal Star Venture motors (1999 to 2013) have been fitted into the original (1996 to 2001) standard type Royal Star frames.

 

There is fellow over on the Delphi forums named Hank that did it some years ago, others have done it also. Takes some fiddiling around but it can be done.

 

Check the Delphi forums for Royal Star or V-4 forums, and ask around about the engine swap.

[jeffdownes11]

Hi, many thanks for all your input, I will try to give more info about the bike.I bought the bike in Thailand and I believe the model is a boulevard, the registration book in Thailand only gives the year of import.When I was back in England I ordered a part from the main Yamaha dealer and gave him the frame and engine numbers and the guy put them through the computer and told me it was manufactured in 1997.The frame No. is JYA4NKE0XVA024536 and engine 4NK-024191.I do have the choice of a 1999 or 2005 engine at similar costs but for obvious reasons would prefer the later model.Many thanks.

 

Jeff

[StarFan]

Hi, many thanks for all your input, I will try to give more info about the bike.I bought the bike in Thailand and I believe the model is a boulevard, the registration book in Thailand only gives the year of import.When I was back in England I ordered a part from the main Yamaha dealer and gave him the frame and engine numbers and the guy put them through the computer and told me it was manufactured in 1997.The frame No. is JYA4NKE0XVA024536 and engine 4NK-024191.I do have the choice of a 1999 or 2005 engine at similar costs but for obvious reasons would prefer the later model.Many thanks.

 

Jeff

 

Jeff - no more info is actually needed.

You have a 1997 Royal Star for sure by the Vin number.

 

You can determine the year of production by the 10th. number/letter in the Vin. 1993(P), 1994®, 1995(S), 1996(T), 1997(V), 1998(W), 1999(X), 2000(Y), 2001(1), 2002(2), 2003(3), 2004(4), 2005(5), 2006(6), 2007(7), 2008(8)

Yours has the 10th letter "V" so it is without doubt a 1997

 

And also - on my 1998 Royal Stars as well as on my 2000 Venture there is a sticker that tells you what month and what year the bike rolled off the assembly line. For example on mine it says 02/98 meaning February 1998. The sticker (if I remember right) is located on the front frame tubing that run up along either side of the radiator, height should pretty close to the underside of the gastank but can vary a little.

 

Regarding a replacement engine then it does not matter if you have a Tour Classic, Tour Delux or a Boulevard since all the model types share the same motor. All you need to know is that you have a 1996 to 2001 Royal Star that you need a replacement motor for. Any motor from 1996 to 2001 from these bikes should be a bolt on fit (excluding the Venture).

 

PinWall Cycles do not always list all of their available motors on the website since they have a very fast turnover. I have quite often gotten a part from them that I have not found on eBay, just by calling them. If you want me to, I can call them and check if they have a 1996 to 2001 engine available with known miles (they have some listed with unknown miles - personally I would not buy a motor with unknown miles). Contacting them by email will give you zero results - they even state so themself on their website.

 

Let me know Jeff if I can be of any help and I am here for you.

 

Friendly regards,

 

Jonas

[skydoc_17]

Hey Jeff,

Jonas, (and others) are correct. The later model RSV motor is NOT a direct bolt on fit for your bike. The larger Carbs. on the RSV motor is why the RSV has a pair of "outrigger" type air boxes located behind the lower fairings of the RSV. Your bike does not have this air box set up. If you want to basically "bolt a motor in, and go", so to speak, then you will need to find the earlier model RSTC type motor with the smaller Carb. set.

On a personal note, Jonas has a few of the Tour Classic type bikes which would be the same as yours, and would be an EXCELLENT source for information and help with this project.

Combined with the fact that he is on your side of the "pond" makes this collaboration all the better. You will not find a more trustworthy man than Jonas, as I have met him personally. And his knowledge of the exact same type of motorcycle you have is beyond reproach.

Rebuilding your present motor is out of the question from a cost standpoint, the parts would be way to expensive. I WOULD pull the Water Pump, Starter Clutch, Starter Motor, and Carb. Set from the old motor to keep as spares. Because of the wet climate you currently live in, I would suggest Poly Bagging these parts for future use. On a final note, the only known reason for throwing a Con. Rod Bearing in a Yamaha V4 engine would be caused by overheating due to a "suspect" coolant system. ONLY use distilled water when refilling the coolant system. The correct coolant mixture for a steel sleeved, aluminum block motorcycle engine is 60% Anti-freeze to 40% Distilled water. By filling a bucket with WATER, THEN adding the Anti-Freeze to the water, THEN stirring forcefully, you are encapsulating the water molecule with the Anti-Freeze molecule, which gives the best results. VERIFY that your radiator fan is coming on at the proper time. (If at ALL!) To protect your new motor investment, purchase a new radiator cap, and add 2 ounces of a coolant stop leak to your fresh coolant change. (I use the Barr's liquid stop leak) It would be "optimistic" at best to expect every O'Ring and every seal to NOT let a single drop of coolant escape on a 16 year old motorcycle! I would venture to say that you spend a fair amount of time in traffic, which puts the coolant system on a motorcycle to the test regularly.

Be sure to check back in and let us know how this project is progressing, and good luck with this project!

Earl

[jeffdownes11]

Hi, thanks again for your input. I think it would be wiser to go for the 2009 engine with the the proven miles that would fit in without any issues, it could be a problem getting carb and ignition parts in Thailand as these bikes are a bit rare over here.Once again,thank you for all your input,you have probably saved me a lot of heartache in this matter and it is an absolute pleasure to deal with people who know what they are talking about, these forums are spot on.

 

Jeff

[Freebird]

I assume that was a typo and you meant 1999 engine. If so, you are probably taking the best route. The newer engine would certainly have more HP but if making it fit and finding parts over there to help is an issue, the '99 would be your best bet.

 

Now this is all based on the assumption that the '99 engine is the Royal Star engine and NOT the 1999 Royal Star Venture engine. If the '99 is the RSV engine then we are back to the original problem of it not being a direct bolt in replacement.

[StarFan]

Now this is all based on the assumption that the '99 engine is the Royal Star engine and NOT the 1999 Royal Star Venture engine. If the '99 is the RSV engine then we are back to the original problem of it not being a direct bolt in replacement.[/QUOTE]

 

Jeff.

 

Gotta be sure of what engine you are looking at. Now I am not sure if that engine you are talking about is on eBay but I do suspect so. I went over all the Royal Stars engines listed there and there is no 1999 Royal Star motor listed that will fit your bike. A couple of 1996 engines with unknown miles but no 1999. The 1999 motors listed are all from the Royal Star Venture. Now like has been pointed out that motor will not fit as a direct bolt on to your bike.

Just to be on the safe side, just give us some info/link/eBay item number on where we can have a look at the motor in question and we will give you our thoughts of what it is. Would hate to see you end up with the wrong motor in Thailand.

And - if you need me to call PinWall Cycles then just send me a line

 

All the best,

 

Jonas

[RandyR]

Just a thought. If Jeff bought a newer style engine from Royal Star Venture or 2005-2009 Tour Deluxe engine with the bigger carbs, could he swap the heads and carb set from his current Royal Star and be good to go?

[frankd]

I seem to remember that during the first couple of years, the engines didn't have the counter-balancer. Yammie did this because the engines didn't have as much horsepower (different cams and smaller carbs) as the First Gens. or V-Maxs and they didn't spin as fast. I don't know if they had overspeed protection like the 2nd Gens. do.

 

Frank D.

[Pegasus1300]

They all have rev limiters in them. Yamaha took out the counterbalancers in the Royal Stars (1996-2001) to give them more of a "Harleyesque" feel.Motors were detuned and given the high top gears for the same reason.Very faulty market researce:rotf:

[scott kozemzak]

Hello - i have a 2006 royal star venture with a seized motor. I found a great used motor from a 1999 royal star venture for a reasonable price with low miles. I am thinking that the 99 should be a direct, easy, plug and play motor for my 2006. Is that correct? Help would be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance, Scott.

[Freebird]

You are 100% correct. They are all the same from 1999 to the last model made.

[Flyinfool]

If that low mile inexpensive motor is local Make sure that it at least turns over before you buy. If the motor is out of the bike you can connect jumper cables from your car battery to the starter motor to see if it turns over without any weird noises.