Venture Deal of a Lifetime Club...you have a new member today.

[VanRiver]

Well I blew another head gasket on my 1984 GL1200 GoldWing down here at our Arizona place...Not a happy camper.....I usually turn my own wrenches but being that I come down to our AZ place to vacation and not "work" I hired a guy to replace the head gaskets 2 years ago. Well I should know better and the "professional job" only lasted 600 miles on the bike. Anyway I'm frustrated with the Wing, so I parked it and found a 1986 Venture Royale on Craig's List that proceeded to follow me home.

 

I have always been jealous of the stories from my American friends about "picked up a Venture for $100" or "neighbour gave me a free Venture he had in his living room" as those deals don't seem to come my way back home in Canada. But today the Craig's List ad had no asking price and only said "make an offer". When I came to look at the bike and asked him what he really wanted for it he said "give me $250 bucks and get it out of the garage before the wife comes home and it is yours"....I said SOLD and proceeded to rent a trailer from U-haul as quickly as I could before he changed his mind. I now can join the "Venture Deal of a Lifetime Club" with the rest of you guys as my "new scoot" is a running, driving, and not too bad looking 1986 Venture Royale that lived it's entire life in the dry rust free desert. Now I have 3 1986's in the stable residing on the Tundra of Canada and the desert of AZ. My wife says I now officially have a Venture addiction and need to seek help! I thought I would turn to you guys and gals first about my so called "Addiction":bighug:

 

Thanks for all the folks here on the forum that taught me the value, mechanics, personality, and longevity of these wonderful machines from Mother Yamaha....now my GoldWing will get some rest parked in the garage while I'm cruising on the Venture and trying to calm down enough to change the head gaskets AGAIN (this time finding the real cause of the leak unlike the "professional" I paid to do it).

 

Pic of my $250 dollar purchase fresh off the trailer before I got a chance to polish her up, and of course change all the fluids before I took her for a spin around the block.

 

 

I would love to hear about other people's "Venture Deal of a Lifetime" stories.....I know there are a lot of you out there....Let's hear about it!:thumbsup2::thumbsup2::thumbsup2:

Edited December 28, 2015 by VanRiver

[XV1100SE]

Nice deal !

[etcswjoe]

Cool

[dogman]

Very nice looking bike. Congratulations on your deal.

[Flyinfool]

Great find, I am still in the club that you just left. The Just Dreaming About A Deal Of A Lifetime Club.

 

It sure looks like it is in a lot better than $250 shape.

[SilvrT]

So I guess you'll be riding this one the Kruisin Kootenays to show it off eh?

 

Great find !!

[videoarizona]

James, Great find!

 

We have to ride when I'm up in Phoenix!

David

[Yammer Dan]

:95:

[cowpuc]

WOW ZZZZZZ WOW WOW WOW VANSTER:178:,, THAT IS ABSOLUTELY AWESOME:guitarist 2:!!!!!!!!!!!! What a gorgeous scoot and a fantabulistically deal to boot!!:clap2::clap2::ice_congrats-vi6886:ice_awesome-vi46644

AMAZING STORY AND THANK YOU:You_Rock_Emoticon:FOR THE PIC!!!

 

Now, about this Deal Of A Lifetime Club.. Been a member of that elite organization for a number of years:dancefool:!! Let me explain, years ago I was playing on the internet and discovered this website called VentureRider.org. For a buck a month (or, put another way,, for 10 Michigan Pop Cans a month - our cans are worth a dime each) they were offering companionship, endless access to the best of the best high end mechanical/electrical/hydraulical advice concerning my scoot, a warm place to hang out when the Fool started messing with his White Washer, AMAZING stories and pictures of others ride experiences and on and on.. At the time, I was flat broke and unable to pay the 1200 pennies to sign up (was in the process of paying off some HUGE medical bills), a person who is a very dear friend of mine now but I had not met them at the time - PAID my initial "dues" for me (you know who you are out there - THANK YOU again!!). Thru the many years of paying my own 1200 pennies per year to keep my membership going I have met with, ridden with, ate dinner with, slept at their houses - in their front yards - had them sleep at our home, been helped by, have had the honor to help them, laughed with, cried with, took pics and videos of, had my pic taken by, ridden their bikes, shared my bikes with other members all across America - all for a dollar a month!! Thinking that makes me an official member of the Deal of a Lifetime Club

 

As far as bike deals themselves,, our current 83 Venture (Tweeks) was not quite as good of a deal as your new scoot (THAT my friend was a STEAL!!) - she was twice that amount and required a fair amount of Tweeking to get her road ready.. By the time we headed out for her maiden voyage across the country a few short years ago I think we had about 700 bucks in her.. At the time, she had under 30k miles on her - getting her above her present 300k has taking more tweeking BUT - I am still thinking I have less in her than my buddy has in the new exhaust system, tuner and LED lighting for his new V-Rod .. Tweeks is our 5th Venture that we have worn out thru the years, although NONE were quite as good of a deal as you are sitting on (THAT IS AWESOME), all of them were a grand or under scoots and all made it out to well over 200k+ miles. I am still amazed at how wonderfully under priced and over looked these scoots really are and have been able to enjoy many many carefree miles with these amazing scoots because of being blessed with memberships in the two clubs (V.D.L.C. and VR) that we are talking about

[Drews]

ATE HOTDOGS WITH

[cowpuc]

ATE HOTDOGS WITH

 

In an effort to avoid tossing the doggies () out with the doggy () bathwater on what Drew's is bringing up I cant go into full detail but I gotta say,,, ANYONE who wants to take advantage of another AMAZING opportunity to become part of the adVenture Deal Of A Lifetime Club really should make it out to one of our Greet - Meet and Eat Meats!!

That about cover what you were getting to @Drews?

[VanRiver]

Very well put as always Puc! Membership here has been a deal of a lifetime for me since day one, even brought me closer to my Dad...can't put a price on that!

 

By the way Mr. #cowpuc , I need to name my new Arizona scoot, and by golly I'm at a loss. Since you have such a talent for naming these bikes, do you have any suggestions for me?

[cowpuc]

Very well put as always Puc! Membership here has been a deal of a lifetime for me since day one, even brought me closer to my Dad...can't put a price on that!

 

By the way Mr. #cowpuc , I need to name my new Arizona scoot, and by golly I'm at a loss. Since you have such a talent for naming these bikes, do you have any suggestions for me?

 

AZZI!!!!!!!!!!

 

short for The Arizona Zippinator:bikersmilie:,, as in - perfect for zippin around the Arizona country side on one snazzi azzi of an AWESOME Yamaha MK2 Venture!!!!

 

could do another one of my FAVORITE things here Vanster,, we could have another Name That Motorcycle Thread like I did when Yammer Dan forgot to name his poor 2nd Gen and I had to take the bull by the horns (that was soooooo much fun!!!).. Get a bunch of suggestions, then run a Poll and see what wins - may be surprised at what these varmints could come up with. I do really like "Azzi" though,, short - sweet and to the point!!

GOOD ON YOU YA LOP EARED VARMINT FOR NOT LETTING THAT NEW SCOOT GO TO LONG WITHOUT A NAME - YOU ARE WELL ON THE WAY TO A VERY GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH ONE AWESOME MACHINE BROTHER!!:dancefool:

 

WOW ZZZZ WOW WOW WOW,, THAT AZZI REALLY TRULY IS ONE SNAZZI SCOOT!!:thumbsup: I WOULD RIDE THAT PUPPY TILL THE WHEELS FELL OFF, THEN PUT EM BACK ON AND START ALL OVER AGAIN!!!

[cowpuc]

Very well put as always Puc! Membership here has been a deal of a lifetime for me since day one, even brought me closer to my Dad...can't put a price on that!

 

By the way Mr. #cowpuc , I need to name my new Arizona scoot, and by golly I'm at a loss. Since you have such a talent for naming these bikes, do you have any suggestions for me?

 

I caught that VanRiver:happy34:,,,, yea,,, some things in life truly are priceless aren't they......

[Phoneman1981]

Congrats!

[VanRiver]

Puc you are a creative Genius!!!! I love the name AZZI! That is a keeper! Thanks Buddy!

 

By the power vested in me and the Governing body of Venturerider.org I now pronounce the legal naming of VIN: JYA1NL00XGA001275 to AZZI (The Arizona Zippinator). Signed, sealed, and delivered....it is done.

 

AZZI!!!!!!!!!!

 

short for The Arizona Zippinator:bikersmilie:,, as in - perfect for zippin around the Arizona country side on one snazzi azzi of an AWESOME Yamaha MK2 Venture!!!!

[mraf]

Congrats, you did not buy that bike, you stole it for that price. My name for your bike would be Scotty. Being it was so cheap.

[cowpuc]

Puc you are a creative Genius!!!! I love the name AZZI! That is a keeper! Thanks Buddy!

 

By the power vested in me and the Governing body of Venturerider.org I now pronounce the legal naming of VIN: JYA1NL00XGA001275 to AZZI (The Arizona Zippinator). Signed, sealed, and delivered....it is done.

Not so sure about the creative geniusness side of it all but you and Azzi are more then welcome Vanster - glad I could help!

 

and NOW,,,

:group cheers:

to your new family AZZI!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

May your miles be plenty, your problems be few, take care of your new owner Azzi as he does for you!!!!

[cowpuc]

OH MY GOODNESS,, just noticed your Avatar @VanRiver!!:clap2::dancefool::thumbsup:

 

Have ALWAYS loved those little CT70's!! In another lifetime (few years ago) I made a pretty good living restoring the early ones. Went thru a number of them, sold really well!! Also rode em as kids.. Here is a picture of one of my last ones with Tip and I pulling into our neighbors yard for a Hot Dog roasting block party!! What a BLAST we had!!

 

 

 

 

Sorry for the ,,, your little Honda 70 got me all

[VanRiver]

Sweet machine!! You and Tippy look great on it! Puc did you own a motorcycle shop back in the day, or was it a hobby that made you some money on the side?

 

I couldn't agree more, nothing beats ripping around the back 40 on a Honda CT70 or a z50 on a warm summer day! Got my first z50 when I was 6 years old and I'm still a big kid at heart and have collected several of them in my OLD AGE.

 

That bike in my avatar is part of my collection, I restored it a few years back for my daughter to ride.....I also have a "Hot Rod" CT70 which I upgrade to a 125cc motor, different gearing, and performance exhaust. I call it "the lean-mean-green-wheelie-machine"......can get my fat butt up to 110km. You should see the looks you get when you pass cars on the highway riding a little CT70. (Kids, don't try this at home!)

 

OH MY GOODNESS,, just noticed your Avatar @VanRiver!!:clap2::dancefool::thumbsup:

 

Have ALWAYS loved those little CT70's!! In another lifetime (few years ago) I made a pretty good living restoring the early ones. Went thru a number of them, sold really well!! Also rode em as kids.. Here is a picture of one of my last ones with Tip and I pulling into our neighbors yard for a Hot Dog roasting block party!! What a BLAST we had!!

 

 

 

 

Sorry for the ,,, your little Honda 70 got me all

[Prairiehammer]

It sure looks like it is in a lot better than $250 shape.

 

Yeah. Except for the color. The babysh*t Brown has never appealed to me.

Good for you, @VanRiver.

Sorry to hear about your addiction.

Jealous of your "AZ place". Where's 'bout?

[VanRiver]

Hi Kevin, yes I agree the Brown is not my favourite colour combo either, but beggars can't be choosers!

 

If Baby poop Brown is not your style, what is your favourite Venture colour combination from the First Gen catalog of years?

 

I'm located in Litchfield Park AZ just west of Phoenix.

 

Thanks for adding AZZI to your Database and for the new updated version of the Excel file!

 

Yeah. Except for the color. The babysh*t Brown has never appealed to me.

Good for you, @VanRiver.

Sorry to hear about your addiction.

Jealous of your "AZ place". Where's 'bout?

[Prairiehammer]

If Baby poop Brown is not your style, what is your favourite Venture colour combination from the First Gen catalog of years?

 

Number one favorite (yes FAVORITE...with NO "U":rasberry:) First Gen color (not colour)is my "black" Tuxedo, (Yamaha actually calls it "New Black Blue" with "Bluish Black Metallic"), I call it black. Rather subtle, perhaps, but a timeless color (oh, OK....colour).

Second favourite is the 1989/1990 "Blue" (Yamaha says it is "Dull Blue Cocktail" and "Dark Greyish Blue Metallic").

[cowpuc]

Sweet machine!! You and Tippy look great on it! Puc did you own a motorcycle shop back in the day, or was it a hobby that made you some money on the side?

 

I couldn't agree more, nothing beats ripping around the back 40 on a Honda CT70 or a z50 on a warm summer day! Got my first z50 when I was 6 years old and I'm still a big kid at heart and have collected several of them in my OLD AGE.

 

That bike in my avatar is part of my collection, I restored it a few years back for my daughter to ride.....I also have a "Hot Rod" CT70 which I upgrade to a 125cc motor, different gearing, and performance exhaust. I call it "the lean-mean-green-wheelie-machine"......can get my fat butt up to 110km. You should see the looks you get when you pass cars on the highway riding a little CT70. (Kids, don't try this at home!)

 

Always wanted to own/operate my own bike shop Vanster,, that started wayyyyyyy back when I was just a kid - was never right in the head, I actually remember being punished in Kindergarten for sitting around drawing pictures of choppers instead of playing in the play ground with the other little boys - I was "different" even back then. Was in Management for years, my last position before finally realizing my lifes dream of opening our shop was Plant Superintendent at a large machining operation in Grand Rapids Mi. Good job, UAW Union Shop, lots of great supervisors working for me, paid REALLY well and all that BUT - was getting older and wanting to fulfill that lifelong dream so, I did..

Had always been involved in bike restoration and the like as a hobby - knew a LOT of people (good customer base) when we stepped out. Checked into costs associated with franchising with the big guys , almost bought into Yamaha as a very close friend was closing his shop but the numbers really didnt look good. Went independent in strictly restoration (buy low, add value, sell high and expand on the middle) and did AWESOME. Had a few GREAT employees, my daughter - who is a doctor now - worked for me for years and she ended up being one of them - those years were SO MUCH FUN!! Did a TON of early Honda work including hardtail Z50's and early CT's. Lost a couple good really good clients (people with way more:mo money:then time) that I lost in 9/11 (be surprised how many of those rare little hardtail Zzzz ended up under class in offices), Chopper craze had just started though so we jumped on the Chopper craze in old school chop restores - I had come FULL CIRCLE!! It was time when there were LOTS of old Amen and Santee frames were still around, TONS of old Springers and all the other fixings.. Stuff sold as fast as we could build em - the "cookie cutter" modern chops were being sold like crazy for 50 grand and above (people went nuts trying to relive an era they had totally missed) - had found my niche in a dream from long ago PLUS, I had actually lived the early days and knew what was cool and what wasn't - proved invaluable. We also lived thru some really strange days of Japan wanting back some of the early bikes they had shipped over. Remember the early Kawi Z1's? Got hooked up with the right folks and shipped a BUNCH of that stuff off shore - GOOD MONEY!! That dried up as the bikes did. Also got involved with shipping "AMF" HD Shovels into England, not as lucrative as the Kawi's to Japan but pretty dog gone good - always amazed me with the AMF Harley deal, I lived thru the days (and rode the socks of those early Harleys) when Harley almost tanked because of AMF - NO ONE wanted em.. For some reason, the Brits LOVED em and could not get enough of em:Bunny:. CRAZY WORLD!!

 

Got messed up in a car/deer accident, ended up in a wheel chair. Got blessed with an AMAZING Neuro Surgeon who got me back in the saddle again. Insurance company messed with us, ended up owing a LOT for medical bills. Sold the business, paid the bills, kids are growed and gone, just a semi-retired maniac now

[VanRiver]

Ha Ha, My Canadian spell checker appears to be working overtime by adding as many "U's" as humanly possible......got to love the Queens English!

 

I couldn't agree with you more...you can Never go wrong with BLACK! Never goes out of style and always looks classy. Would love to see a Pic of your "Tuxedo" Venture! The blue is stunning as well, but it does have a 1980's flair about it. I personally have a preference to the "Black Cherry" and find the 1988 "Creamy White" rather interesting too.......But I would be proud to own and ride any of the many colors that Mother Yamaha created!

 

There, I deleted the U's to fit in better with my American friends! But my spell checker is not happy!

 

Number one favorite (yes FAVORITE...with NO "U":rasberry:) First Gen color (not colour)is my "black" Tuxedo, (Yamaha actually calls it "New Black Blue" with "Bluish Black Metallic"), I call it black. Rather subtle, perhaps, but a timeless color (oh, OK....colour).

Second favourite is the 1989/1990 "Blue" (Yamaha says it is "Dull Blue Cocktail" and "Dark Greyish Blue Metallic").