83 xvz 1200 road test good read

[hell yea]

http://yeoldecycleshoppe.wordpress.com/2012/11/28/1983-yamaha-venture-xvz12tk-road-test/#jp-carousel-3039

[Venturous Randy]

You have to ask yourself, if the early Venture was that good compared to the Goldwing, why was it not more sucessful? I guess advertising and promotion can beat superority.

RandyA

[cowpuc]

I personally would buy one brand new today if they were still available, they were (and still are) an amazing bike, even compared to whats available now in EFI - I would still go with a good old 83 (of course, it wouldnt come home till the 2nd gear shim was replaced and stator updated)..

Randy, being an avid biker, working in bike shops back then and having lived thru that whole era, I can tell you that a lot of the Gen 1's failure on the market was associated with the years leading to the introduction of the Gen 1. Honda worked very hard stealing market from HD (and the Europeans) in the late 60's/thru 70's. Honda's intro of the CB750 and its durability broke into the touring/chopper/serious biking world big time.. Honda managed to attain "cult" status early in the game while Yam/Kaw/Suzuki fought for scraps.. By the time the Gen 1 came out - lots of guys had RAN from AMF/HD and become Honda riders (especially the custom guys building on newer platforms).. I was part of that movement.. Honda simply became known as the best of the best and everyone knew it - once people accepted that LOTS of folks closed the mental door of even shopping - "cult".

Open mindedness doesnt sit well with "cult" dynamics.. I had a buddy riding a wing back in the day, comparing notes with him about the Gen 1's,,, the yam was torqeyier, faster, smoother, easier to work on, way better MPG, more comfy and loved the twisties.. His reply after spending a couple days on my bike,, yea but mine is a Honda!!

If you wanna really good taste of "cultiness", take a trip to Strugis during the rally this year. Dont get me wrong, I LOVE Harley's BUT, HD's come back from the AMF days and what you will see out there defines "cult" development/thinking/buying!!

[hell yea]

they were never even sold hear in oz

[Peder_y2k]

It was road review articles such as this that helped me choose the Venture way back then, and still ride one today. It was good enough for me then, and still good today. I wouldn't change if I could. The bike is still perfect for those two up mountain all-day rides that my lady and I enjoy so much.

-Pete, in Tacoma WA USA

[greg_in_london]

They were only imported to the UK for one year.

 

There was a story going round (that sounded far fetched to me) that Honda threatened to sue for design infringements for putting a radio on a bike and Yamaha backed down and stopped importing the Venture.

[hell yea]

cool save it

[Guest tx2sturgis]

$5599?

 

Archie bunker and Edith sang it best: "...thossssse weeeeere the daaaaayyyyssss"