Hello everyone

[Gnester]

Well I guess the title says it all. Hello everyone! I'm new to the site but not new to motorcycles. Rode and enjoyed them for over 20 years.

However i just bought my first venture. She could be called a barn find, except she was in a guys mancave as a decoration. Well long story short shes mine now and I plan on restoring her to her 1986 glory. Hence joining this site.

I'm going to drive a few of you crazy with questions so lets go ahead and get the I'm sorrys out of the way. I do work on my own bikes but advice from more knowledgeable folks is always a good thing! As of now she still rests in peace, or I should say pieces. However in the weeks to come she's gonna roar again!

I plan on working on her daily so I'll do my best to post daily on progress and set backs. Right now shes still 100% original I plan on keeping her as close as I can to that. However a new fairing is a must purchase. She's been dropped. Not wrecked, hell she has less than 3000 miles on her. She was an inheritance to the guy I bought her from. Sitting in his man cave in sure she's been riden a million miles tho. And that's how she's been dropped. So fairing is pretty cracked and even busted in places.(by the way I'm looking for all the front fairing pieces).

Well enough rambling. Glad to be on the site and I hope to meet some of you in person.

[Yama Mama]

Welcome to our VR family. Glad you joined!

Yama Mama

[uncledj]

Welcome. You've stumbled upon the best resource available for these old gems. We've some very knowledgeable folks who can get ya an answer to virtually any question about a Venture.

With an 86, I'd say it's a First Gen, MKII.

Looking forward to your posts.

[Larry1963]

Do not worry about driving some of the folks crazy, some do not have far to go to get there others are already at the nut house. so ask away

[Venturous Randy]

Welcome.

We need some new blood around here. Most of the old blood seems to have about dried up. Don't worry about asking questions. Believe it or not, some of these old guys, when you jog their memory just right, can really come up with some pretty good information.

Randy

[Chaplain Dusty]

Welcome aboard. I was new not long ago and the information that I have been given has always panned out. It has helped my aging brain acquire some new knowledge

and most of all it's kept the bikes going. My 88' is up and running and I'm busy changing the front fork seals in my 83'. Once you get the 86' up and rolling, you will be glad

you did. They are good bikes. No smoother ride that I've ridden and powerful. Keep us posted. Lookin' forward to hearing from you.

 

Chaplain Dusty

[saddlebum]

Do not worry about driving some of the folks crazy, some do not have far to go to get there others are already at the nut house. so ask away

If your talkin crazy then I m sorry to say :backinmyday:you got a lot of ketchin up to do:banana:

But if its info your lookin for you just struck gold.

[Marcarl]

Just so you know, and I wouldn't tell anybody else this, but this site is here to hand out information,,, sometimes even the right information. Now the family thing that is happening,,, well that is just a side line, one of those things that happen along the way, not really all that important, until you run out of information and you need a reason to hang out. So along with information, we hang out now, just because some of us are two old to hang-in I guess, so we set up M&G and rallies and coffee times and such. Our bikes run so good now that we really don't need to do much work on them anymore, but because we feel kind of lonely when we aren't wrenching we go out to buy things, just so we can feel useful again.

So Welcome, and ask away.

[Flyinfool]

3,000 miles? Holy man cave find Batman.

Welcome aboard. I am sure it will not take you to long to figure out which of us are the Loony Tunes.

But then sometimes a warped mind can come up with some really great ideas on how to fix stuff.

 

Then you will really need to watch out for the @Cowpuc character as he is the Chief of the Picture Police.

 

Ol Puc will be sure to let you know that if there aint pics it didn't happen. Yes we even like pics of bare nekid bikes with all of their plastic clothes removed.

 

Speaking of plastic, remove yours gently, new plastic does not exist. Ebay will be your friend to find usable plastic. A lot of the plastic on ebay still needs some repairs. Fortunately the plastic is all ABS which is very easy to repair to better than new condition.

 

Let the fun begin......................

[bongobobny]

Well HOWDY Gnester!! You will be glad you dropped in, there's a lot of nice people here and a ton and a half of information as well!!

 

the '86 was the first year of the "improved" first generation Venture hence it is referred to as a 1st gen MK2 (mark 2) with better braking, bigger motor, bigger luggage space and a few other minor improvements. Just about any technical information can be found in the technical forums including a downloadable factory service manual. Your main issue will probably be carbs which can and will be challenging and expensive to PROPERLY rebuild. There is a DVD out there on rebuilding the carbs geared for VMax but the carbs are the same, just different jets. The ignition module is also a source of problems but there is an aftermarket module available from member Dingy made by Ignitech.

 

As far as plastic goes, Ebay is our friend, there is a lot of stuff out there, both god and bad. Finding your particular color is just a waiting game. You will also become a master of plastics repair around here as well!

 

Wait until you get it running correctly, you will have an ear to ear permanent grin pasted on your face! Bring it to one of many Meet & Eat's we put on! In June there is a big event at the site founder's place in Oberlin Ohio called Maintenance Day where we all get together, socialize and work on bikes! Later on in the summer there is a regional M&E north of Toronto Ontario, this is a first time event. Also the week before Maintenance Day there is Marcarl's Spring Fling in Bradford Ontario. In August there is a M&E in Asheville NC which is a fun time! Late in August there is a North East Regional Rally south of Buffalo NY that is growing in popularity and even has a live band perform on Saturday evening! In September there is our annual International Rally this year in West Virginia. There are other meets and Rallys thru out the year but for your location these are the closer ones. You are going to discover that the Venture is one of the finest Touring bikes ever made! The 1st generation Ventures ('83 - '93) are powerful and well handling bikes that you can get on and cruise for hours on end!

 

Onde again welcome aboard and we are all looking forward to meeting up with you in person in the future!!

[Freebird]

Gnester, welcome again but none of this matters really. Without pictures of the newly acquired bike, none of it happened.

 

[cowpuc]

to VentureRider Gnest - GLAD YOU FOUND US!! Since some of these other lop eared varmints have stole my thunder about our secret forum rules concerning our ongoing quest for 's I can only add one other warning about this place. That being the issue concerning a new member showing up with a 1st Gen Venture to restore = that is like popping a Penyata filled with 50 pounds of candy into a group of 5 year olds:big-grin-emoticon: .. We eagerly await your many questions,,,,,,, and also any 's that you can muster:cop:

 

PS.. @Freebird,,, I tried to copy the image of the flaming "VentureRider" you have placed at the header in the chat room (I LOVE that emblem!!). Wanted to use it in the first sentence above and was unsuccessful.. Wondered if there was anyway that could be made available on the site for such an application?

[Freebird]

You mean something like this?

 

 

I just added it to the smilies under the "messages" category.

[cowpuc]

You mean something like this?

 

 

I just added it to the smilies under the "messages" category.

 

Proves one again that its not WHAT you know in life it's WHO ya know

 

:vchat:vchat:vchat:vchat:vchat:vchat:vchat

 

FANTABULOUS BROTHER,, THANK YOU!!:You_Rock_Emoticon::You_Rock_Emoticon::You_Rock_Emoticon::You_Rock_Emoticon:

[Gnester]

Hey everyone. Sorry about being awal for several days. I had a break in at on of my stores and its been a pain in my rear end. Actually just got back home this afternoon. I did take sum pictures of my venture to post and as soon as I get them off my cell phone and on my computer I'll be posting.

So this afternoon the carbs came off and are soaking. We actually got her to hit and after about 15 minutes had her running. All be it popping and cracking and on half choke. But hey "we have a pulse!"

That's honestly all I've had time to do this far. Things have settled down since the break in so I plan on getting grease under my nails every night.

Thanks for all the warm welcomes and I'll post pictures ASAP!

[Chaharly]

Take your time on that restore gnester! Enjoy every step that you can, because I can guarantee you will LOVE the bike once your get her to your perfection! I bought an 88 in march, (however not my first Venture, I've owned two 83s an 85, a 92 for a short time ((dad gave it to me, but I ended up giving it back because it did more sitting than moving) and now my 88. It needed a little TLC but last summer I took it from Norfolk, NE to Ft. Bragg, CA without a single hitch. A bike older than I am and still leaving brand new Harleys in the dust!

 

Welcome to the family brother, it'll be the best $12 you've ever spent! And we love hearing your questions, because remember, if you ask them, I don't have to!

[Gnester]

Few pictures of the 86 i have.

[Gnester]

The tach isnt lieing. It was frustrating but shes running pretty fair now. I took her on a couple short rides this evening. Now its on to finding body parts. UGH!!!!

[cowpuc]

Hot diggity dog Nester,, looks like you got yourself a DANDY there my friend!! Gotta LOVE these ol Yams!!! HOKEY SPAMOKY,, dont think I have ever seen a windshield like that - gotta be an aftermarket of some sort..

You gonna paint it after collecting the body parts or you looking for that specific color? If your gonna paint it, exactly what pieces are you looking for?

[Goose68]

Nice looking bike brother. Welcome from Arkansas