Going to buy another one....

[mcompton1973]

ok, so last year I ended up with a venture on a trade. '83 standard.

I let someone else work on it and now it is yard art.

I was determined to put it back on the road....but now I cant locate title which was never in my name.

So now it is my new parts bike. lol.

 

I really like the bike, the look, so I just decided I will buy another one...only this time I think I will get the Royale (cruise would be nice)

 

Questions:

1. It appears that the 83/84 were more sporty? These are the best years?

2. is there a way to verify if the 2nd gear was fixed?

3. If it has bad 2nd gear (there is one local) just how bad and expensive is it really if I do the work?

4. I am guessing with bad 2nd gear the bike isnt worth much ($500? $1000? More?)

5. Anything else I can look at or ask about to make sure I dont have issues later?

6. How many miles before I should start worrying about "high" miles?

[snyper316]

ok, so last year I ended up with a venture on a trade. '83 standard.

I let someone else work on it and now it is yard art.

I was determined to put it back on the road....but now I cant locate title which was never in my name.

So now it is my new parts bike. lol.

 

I really like the bike, the look, so I just decided I will buy another one...only this time I think I will get the Royale (cruise would be nice)

 

Questions:

1. It appears that the 83/84 were more sporty? These are the best years?

2. is there a way to verify if the 2nd gear was fixed?

3. If it has bad 2nd gear (there is one local) just how bad and expensive is it really if I do the work?

4. I am guessing with bad 2nd gear the bike isnt worth much ($500? $1000? More?)

5. Anything else I can look at or ask about to make sure I dont have issues later?

6. How many miles before I should start worrying about "high" miles?

 

I have always gotten something and put it in my name right away... However new laws and regulations do not allow me to do this. I have to take it to inspection station and get an inspection before I can even get a title put in my name..... so due to this I am sitting on a bike that I have to fix before I can register it..... top that they charge $50 a month in title penalties now and up to $400. This is what I was told by someone but haven't verified it used to be $25 a month and up to $200 max.... needless to say this bike is gonna cost me aditionally because I have to wait on parts. and until I have went thru it completely I wont know if I need anymore parts. Right now I am working on the tripple tree I lost the bearings and noone could get the part before My first 30 days is up.... Wished bearucrats would leave well enuff alone...

[CaseyJ955]

I chose to go with an 86+ and 2nd gear improvements were a big part of that. Upgraded forks and brakes, electric rather than hydraulic anti-dives and a few things I cant recall right off the top of my head, but 2nd gear, big luggage and the 1300cc were the biggies.

 

A proper 2nd gear fix is not cheap, or quick. If I had one with a bad 2nd gear I would use it for parts unless it were really pristine. I dont think I would even bother buying one with a bad 2nd gear unless I needed parts and could get it for the price of a few bags of groceries. These cool bikes are actually pretty cheap to buy with a good 2nd gear, might have to shop around some but you should be able to get something decent for the $1500-2500 range. I know in the world of Vmax a 2nd gear fix easily exceeds $1000 and there is a whole lot less to disassemble. Old bikes have a way of prying open your wallet.

 

This one is near me but just as an example https://rapidcity.craigslist.org/mcy/5999765570.html

https://denver.craigslist.org/mcy/6041299870.html

https://denver.craigslist.org/mcy/6039806850.html

 

As far as mileage I know there are a lot of Ventures and Vmax running around with well over 100k. I dont really let high mileage bother me much on Japanese vehicles, but I do adjust the price accordingly. Service history is a huge plus so you know when the valves were adjusted and that all maintenance has been done, otherwise you can budget for all that out of the offer on the bike. I have a habbit of cruising CL bike listings and I often notice decent Ventures in and under that $2000 mark.

[Flyinfool]

I have an 88 standard (Not a Royal) it came from the factory with cruise and I don't have all that other stuff for the Royal that is always breaking from old age.

 

1. The early years had a few issues that were all sorted out by the middle of 85.

 

2. There is supposed to be a mark placed on the outside of the engine case when the 2nd gear was fixed.

 

3. The second gear is not necessarily a deal killer. cowpuc has put over 300k miles on each of several MK1s all having no second gear, including a lot of mountain riding. Although even he will admit that it is a lot nicer to have 2nd gear available. Riding it with no 2nd gear does not do any additional damage to anything.

To fix 2nd gear requires a complete tear down of the engine and transmission. All of the gaskets an stuff are way more money that the actual part to fix 2nd gear. Of course if you have the engine all apart then you will want to fix all kinds of things "while you are in there" Due to all that work it is VERY expensive to have someone do it.

 

4. Value has a lot to do with condition a bike with no second gear could be worth a lot more than a bike that has a good 2nd gear.

 

5. There is a thread with most of the known issues.

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?86-Known-Problems-and-things-to-look-for

 

6. IF all maintenance was done on schedule, these bikes will easily go over 200K miles. If proper maintenance was not done it could be dead in 25K. You can usually tell by the general condition of the bike if it has had regular maintenance.

[mcompton1973]

I have a couple of the bikes you tagged in the Denver area on my list. I live near Tulsa OK, and there isnt anything around local. Denver, and Omaha/Lincoln area have a couple. Getting there would be a pain....8 hour ride back on a bike I dont know would be interesting. lol.

 

 

Are the 1300's less "sporty" or is it really just a top speed thing? I am not a sport bike guy, so it probably wont matter to me much, just trying to understand the differences.

[Flyinfool]

The 1200s are lighter by a very few pounds and may have a slight advantage in maximum acceleration. They are close enough that it may even just be the difference in rider skill.

 

But the 1300s do have all of the bugs worked out of them.

[mcompton1973]

"All the bugs worked out" would seem to win in my book.

[CaseyJ955]

This is over on venturers, someone did a nice writeup. As Flyinfool said, it's a bit of work so this might shed some light on it. http://www.venturers.org/Tech_Library/?action=article&cat_id=001006&id=250

 

I wanted bugs worked out and I do take a fair amount of trips and I saw the difference in how much crap you can put into an 86+. I went to effen Sams Club and my 89 swallowed up stupid amounts of groceries and commodities. I think it holds almost as much as my old VW Squareback . Maybe not but it holds plenty! If you dont find what you want there I'm willing to go have a look at the one here in Rapid City for you and see if its worth while. Of course when I went to buy mine I went to Sioux City and that was a fail, I found one in Mitchell and it was sort of a fluke, driving by looking for someplace to buy a good burger and there it was bigger than ****, all blue and purdy sitting in front of an obscure little powersports shop, well off the main drag. I rode her home for $2050 and before it's done I'll have another $1000 and many hours into her with fork rebuild, R6 brakes, new steering bearings, new tires, Ignitek, COPs, carb work, progressives et al.

 

In the world of Vmax guys have been known to use the Venture engine to get that extra 100cc, I understand it's a difference you can feel but I'm not sure it's that much different with the tuning of the Venture. I had always planned to install a Vmax top end on mine and I think that extra 100cc is worth a few ponies. http://www.vmaxforum.net/showthread.php?t=1801

 

I also know that some gear ratios were changed slightly in 86 but I'm not sure what that actually translated into for that top gear highway cruising rpms. I do like the look of the pre 86, the smaller luggage wouldnt work for me but it looks pretty sleek compared to the bulkier look of the 86+. My trips often end up lasting over a week and many times I have no idea where I'm even going when I leave, that extra luggage space was a must for me.

[gaj1917]

This is over on venturers, someone did a nice writeup. As Flyinfool said, it's a bit of work so this might shed some light on it. http://www.venturers.org/Tech_Library/?action=article&cat_id=001006&id=250

 

I've been down the 2nd gear failure road on my '84. Second gear started to slip at around 80,000 km (50k miles). It sure takes the shine off, so I decided to take the plunge and fix it. The above link, along with a Venture shop manual, were most helpful. You can find a description of my experiences here - http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?120493-Second-gear-repair-redux&highlight=redux

[zagger]

3. If it has bad 2nd gear (there is one local) just how bad and expensive is it really if I do the work?

 

I've done the 2nd gear repair. If you do the work, it isn't very expensive but it does require plenty of effort. I certainly can understand why a shop would charge quite a bit for the work involved. Enough years have gone by since I did the work so that I don't really remember the pain! The two little retainer thingies which have worn grooves made a nice addition to my shop mobile which contains all of the really nasty/stupid/crazy engineering failures that I've fixed. The latest addition is a brass Y plumbing fitting connected to my washing machine which recently broke in half and flooded part of the first floor of my house and part of the basement. Luckily, I don't know who was responsible for the design! The broken pieces will be added to my mobile of insanity.

zag