He's buying a Cavalcade

[uncledj]

A good friend of mine has been looking to buy an old school touring bike. I tried leading him to a Venture, which he was all for, but I couldn't find one close to him, and he's not willing to travel to buy one.

I happened upon a Cavalcade that's not too far from him, and for kicks I sent him a link to it, and he fell in love.

Granted, it's a nice bike, but it's not a Venture. I cautioned him that it's my feeling that, because there's not that many around, and he's not likely to do much work on it himself, that finding parts and a mechanic to work on it may be a problem.

It could be kinda cool though, since I can ride my First Gen...my cousin rides a 87 Goldwing, and with this Cavalcade in the mix, it'd be cool to have 3 old school bikes riding together. Now I think I need to talk the 4th member of our group to find an old Kawasaki Voyager.....wouldn't that be something.

At least I'll have the fastest bike out of the bunch.

[scooter45]

The Cavalcade was a great bike, but no fun to work on. I had electrical problems would only start if you turn the handlebars to the right

[Dragonslayer]

The Cavalcade was a great bike, but no fun to work on. I had electrical problems would only start if you turn the handlebars to the right

I had an ex wife like that one time, she would only start up if you tweaked her right volume knob.

[Yammer Dan]

I had an ex wife like that one time, she would only start up if you tweaked her right volume knob.

 

Dang I thought right one was station tuner!:bang head: No wonder she get upset!!!

[uncledj]

It didn't take long for this to get off topic.......

Although it does remind me of Dolly Parton watch I once had.....

It didn't keep very good time, but it sure was fun to wind...

[turtle]

I had a 1986 bought at a salvage auction with 60,000 miles just body damage. Fixed and painted body work new tires and battery. Got it running in May at end of season had another 12,000 on it. next took of to Texas mid season ended up with another 16,000 that season now near 90,000 miles knowing no history on it started to ask around about repairs hard to find anyone to work on it and everything was very time consuming. I did tear the out side covers and body work off not a lot harder than my venture . But no great support like this site. I loved riding it till I got my Venture no comparison, more power at higher rpm. less lower end torque on venture. But the Venture rides much smoother and handles much better. That's my 2 cents worth by the way paid $800 sold it 2.5 years after buying for $900.

[cecdoo]

The Calvalcade is a great bike, with a great motor and trans. There are quite a few guys online that know them inside and out. Very important to check the secondary oil and make sure its full and no metal bits in there. There is a very knowledgable guy on the Delphi forums Madura Board, his name is Rob. He can answer most any question on the Cades

 

Craig

[Godlover]

They are big bikes! They are known for having some problem with gearing but I can't remember what it was. It seemed that if it goes bad they can lock up. I bought one to flip and I had the carbs rebuilt. It the breather box boot was a bear to get back on the carbs. I worked for two days with great frustration and finally a mechanic friend came over and in two minutes had it on!! Like many said, great bikes, parts very hard to find - and the Cavalcade forum is a must!!!

[darthandy]

They are big bikes! They are known for having some problem with gearing but I can't remember what it was. It seemed that if it goes bad they can lock up. I bought one to flip and I had the carbs rebuilt. It the breather box boot was a bear to get back on the carbs. I worked for two days with great frustration and finally a mechanic friend came over and in two minutes had it on!! Like many said, great bikes, parts very hard to find - and the Cavalcade forum is a must!!!

 

The problem was a plug inside the drive gear case that could work loose allowing the oil to leak out into the outer gear case cover. You couldn't tell there was a leak as the oil was held in the outer case. The rear end could then seize up which could be disastrous especially at highway speeds as the rear wheel locked up solid. There were reports of some people being killed in a couple of such accidents. If memory serves, there was a redesigned plug that was made available which could help avoid the problem. As well, checking the fluid level before every ride helped avoid a potential problem, but that was a bit of a hassle. During a cycle world road test in 1986 (I keep my old magazines!) the testers found during one rainstorm that water was being redirected up towards the rider somehow.

 

Andy

[RedRider]

http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/mcy/4382942175.html

 

815 area code should be near you.

 

RR

[uncledj]

That's a great lookin' Venture for a great price!

I forwarded him a link to this thread, so I'm sure he'll see it.

Thanks:cool10:

[cowpuc]

The Calvalcade is a great bike, with a great motor and trans. There are quite a few guys online that know them inside and out. Very important to check the secondary oil and make sure its full and no metal bits in there. There is a very knowledgable guy on the Delphi forums Madura Board, his name is Rob. He can answer most any question on the Cades

 

Craig

 

They are big bikes! They are known for having some problem with gearing but I can't remember what it was. It seemed that if it goes bad they can lock up. I bought one to flip and I had the carbs rebuilt. It the breather box boot was a bear to get back on the carbs. I worked for two days with great frustration and finally a mechanic friend came over and in two minutes had it on!! Like many said, great bikes, parts very hard to find - and the Cavalcade forum is a must!!!

 

Ditto!!

 

Be a friend,, encourage your buddy to follow the Venture trail!! Not that those ol Cav's arent really cool - I like em - but they did have their issues like already mentioned....