Ground-Huggers NEW to me Toy.

[Huggy]

OK I'm new to the forum and I just purchased a new to me 1989 Venture Royale with 8100 Km on the clock. This bike has been sitting for the last 10 years since the PO died. I bought the bike from his brother, he's a Harley guy. It has been started on a regular basis. I paid $400 as the bike is in need of TLC from sitting there is some minor rust, exhaust has no visible damage, rust or holes . No missing parts but a couple plastic vents and such need to be replaced. seat needs to be either recovered or replaced. I plan on doing a complete restoration. I only part I need to replace is the throttle control setup. Suggestions on how to proceed with this endeavor will be greatly appreciated. I am not new to rebuilding a bike as I have a 83 Yamaha XJ750K that I have resurrected and use as a daily driver and also a 73 Suzuki GT750K that is an ongoing work in progress. This due to the HIGH price of parts for it. So wish me luck. And I'll keep you posted on my progress.

[MikeWa]

Welcome

[Snaggletooth]

Ya done real good on the price for sure. I bought my '84 from about the same situation. One owner. Passed away, then stored 9 years by son until he bought a HD. I've put over 35,000 miles on it since then and he's on his third Harley.

 

First step..... Sea Foam and fresh gas. Oil change, good battery and fresh plugs and who knows.... it might just start.

 

Mine did.

 

After that all it took was :mo money:

 

Let the fun begin!!

[Huggy]

Yep that's the plan right now the guy I got it from claims the bike had been started on a regular basis. He was keeping it for his son but the son he wants a Harley like his dad. And I thought the money pit was pretty well full when I got the XJ on the road!

[Snaggletooth]

Hey Hugger, I just noticed. You posted in the second gen section. You ain't foolin' no body. You're still one of us.

 

No harm, no foul but you may get better responses on the 1st gen side or even the watering hole.

 

You are a 1st gen, MKII model. The '83 - '85 was MKI. Anything after the MKII is well, the other guys. Ya know.... 2nd gen.

[Huggy]

Hey Hugger, I just noticed. You posted in the second gen section. You ain't foolin' no body. You're still one of us.

 

No harm, no foul but you may get better responses on the 1st gen side or even the watering hole.

 

You are a 1st gen, MKII model. The '83 - '85 was MKI. Anything after the MKII is well, the other guys. Ya know.... 2nd gen.

OK Snaggelthooth NOW I know better I'll scamper back to where I belong. Newbie mistake.

[Wizard765]

Welcome aboard and good choice in a project. Once you get in the saddle you will understand. We are not that far apart (practically neighbours) If you have any questions or need anything let me know. Get together for a ride etc...

[MiCarl]

Hey Ground-Hugger. HERE is the history link I mentioned on the XJbikes site.

 

The Mikuni down draft carburetors are a bit different than the side draft Hitachi's on your XJ. Principles are the same though. One major difference is they use an air cut-off valve to reduce popping on decel. You will need to keep carb cleaner out of their rubber diaphragms if you tear into the carbs. You will also need to partially split the rack to work on them.

 

Throttle cable set up is quite a bit different. The Venture has a push/pull instead of a single cable. Also, the cruise control complicates things. The cables from the grip go to a little box in the LH fairing where they turn a wheel. There is another wheel coupled to it that has a pair of cables going to the carburetors. There is a 5th cable going to the box from the cruise control servo. I know this sounds confusing, but it'll be obvious how it works when you get in there.

 

The carburetors pose their own challenges for remove/install.

[dacheedah]

U will be pleasantly surprised with this bike, 89 is one of my fav years. is it a venture or venture royale?? and pictures please