New Star Venture

[RandyR]

As much as I dont believe air cooled engines have any place in modern motorcycling any more than carbs and points, I do like the diversity of those that do. It would seem that if someone wants a bike that looks like a Venture with an air cooled twin they have almost limitless choices. I guess I'll have to ride a 1900 and see what the love affair is all about, with all that torque it might be sweet in a bobbed bike. It just seems like we're asking a lot of it to move a half ton criuser down the highway 2up.

 

Heres one just for fun. 8 valve, twin cyl cruiser, liquid cooled, 747lb wet weight, 56mpg US, only 1699cc, 98hp@5200rmp and 115.4tq@2950rpm bone stock? Sounds like a fun engine?

it's a Triumph Thunderbird Storm and has a parallel twin rather than a V. Pretty decent HP and still respectable tq for a smaller twin. We've been batting around Vtwin vs V4, liquid vs air. I figured it deserves honorable mention given it's smaller size and formidable performance. Besides whats more retro than a parallel twin?

 

Triumph is funny. Like the 2nd Gen Venture engine with its cooling fins, Triumph goes out of its way to try and make water cooled engines look like its air cooled engines of 50 years ago. This probably makes the engines more expensive than they need to be and may lead to some strange (inefficient) design choices. The Bonneville T120 is case in point.

[CaseyJ955]

Triumph is funny. Like the 2nd Gen Venture engine with its cooling fins, Triumph goes out of its way to try and make water cooled engines look like its air cooled engines of 50 years ago. This probably makes the engines more expensive than they need to be and may lead to some strange (inefficient) design choices. The Bonneville T120 is case in point.

 

They did go out of their way to create the retro appearance. They did a pretty fine job of it. I have yet to ride a newer Bonnie or 120 to compare it to my former 69 but the resemblance is striking. I'm not sure how much it effects performance but back when I was in RAT (Riders assc of Triumph) and did some group rides the Bonnie guys had no trouble keeping up and they seemed quite well received. For those that like absurd torque there is always the Rocket III. 147tq@2500rpm, 140hp@5750rpm it's sweet. I think the RocketIII Touring is a full $10,000 cheaper than a Venture but lacks the techy options. Not created for the same buyers no doubt but if someone is in it for tq and performance it would sure be a fun demo ride.

[RandyR]

They did go out of their way to create the retro appearance. They did a pretty fine job of it. I have yet to ride a newer Bonnie or 120 to compare it to my former 69 but the resemblance is striking. I'm not sure how much it effects performance but back when I was in RAT (Riders assc of Triumph) and did some group rides the Bonnie guys had no trouble keeping up and they seemed quite well received. For those that like absurd torque there is always the Rocket III. 147tq@2500rpm, 140hp@5750rpm it's sweet. I think the RocketIII Touring is a full $10,000 cheaper than a Venture but lacks the techy options. Not created for the same buyers no doubt but if someone is in it for tq and performance it would sure be a fun demo ride.

 

Yep. I took a demo ride on a RocketIII when I was shopping for a new bike after losing my BMW K1100 to a largish mailbox. I was surprised that I could ride the RocketIII at all but on a street demo ride playing follow the leader, it was manageable. But I decided it was too much for me and I decided on the Yamaha RSTD instead.

 

I had 3 of the air cooled 'original' Triumphs over the years. A '68 650 Trophy, a '69 500 Scrambler, and a '71 650 Bonnevile. Of particular interest I also had one of the first gen of the resurrected Triumph Hinckley water cooled triples, an 855cc '2001 Thunderbird.

 

Actually, I would buy another of these if Triumph was still making them.

Edited June 12, 2017 by RandyR

[BlueSky]

There isn't anything really wrong with old tech if it works. The bottom line with an air cooled bike engine is that it will overheat in stop and go traffic in the summer and it will overheat if you ride it hard. Harley says it's okay if the oil gets to 410 degrees F. I don't think so. That is what I object to especially in an expensive touring bike. The opposed twins in the BMW and copied by Ural is a good design from an engineering standpoint as far as cooling and dynamic balancing. The 90 degree twins such as the Suzuki Vstrom are a good design too with water cooling.

[CaseyJ955]

Yep. I took a demo ride on a RocketIII when I was shopping for a new bike after losing my BMW K1100 to a largish mailbox. I was surprised that I could ride the RocketIII at all but on a street demo ride playing follow the leader, it was manageable. But I decided it was too much for me and I decided on the Yamaha RSTD instead.

 

I had 3 of the air cooled 'original' Triumphs over the years. A '68 650 Trophy, a '69 500 Scrambler, and a '71 650 Bonnevile. Of particular interest I also had one of the first gen of the resurrected Triumph Hinckley water cooled triples, an 855cc '2001 Thunderbird.

 

Actually, I would buy another of these if Triumph was still making them.

 

That is nice!! That Rocket III is a significant machine. I bought new in 00 a Sprint ST with the 955 Triple. Maybe the best bike I have ever owned. Put 80k trouble free miles on her, she didnt care if I treated her like a Goldwing or a Gixxer, those triples have awesome torque from the basement on up. I toured this bike everywhere. Having owned it my view on Triumph bikes has increased dramatically and I liked them before. It toured well, I got it with the detachable factory hard bags which were handy for those two week tours around the middle states. Truly loved this machine and would buy another Triumph without hesitation, X2 if it's a triple. I always accepted Hinkley era Triumphs as an apology for MG, Alpha, Jaguar and Triumph cars.

[CaseyJ955]

There isn't anything really wrong with old tech if it works. The bottom line with an air cooled bike engine is that it will overheat in stop and go traffic in the summer and it will overheat if you ride it hard. Harley says it's okay if the oil gets to 410 degrees F. I don't think so. That is what I object to especially in an expensive touring bike. The opposed twins in the BMW and copied by Ural is a good design from an engineering standpoint as far as cooling and dynamic balancing. The 90 degree twins such as the Suzuki Vstrom are a good design too with water cooling.

 

410 is just too damn hot. I'm a lifelong air cooled VW fan so I've seen lofty oil and head temps. If I stumbled onto a Karmann Ghia today I would snap it up so I guess I see why someone would go air cooled on nostalgia. Its more of a stretch to see manufacturers still using building vehicles using it. Heat management becomes a real issue, especially if you start trying to add displacement and performance. It's just a limiting factor no matter how you slice it. Liquid cooling just doesnt add enough wt or complexity to not use it. It's not like it can really be seen, look how well Triumph hid it on the open engine Bonnie variants. One thing about the old BMWs and Urals is the placed the cylinders where they get the best possible cooling, and equal cooling between the cylinders. I find it genius. One huge difference is the newer air cooled boxers are posting decent performance numbers and they do last quite a long time, they have gone to liquid cooling on some of the boxers which are awesome for a twin cyl. I didnt mean to hijack but it's fun to explore the different ways manufacturers deal with cooling, displacement and performance. http://www.motorcyclenews.com/news/2015/october/the-air-cooled-boxer-is-here-to-stay/

[joeke3el]

That is nice!! That Rocket III is a significant machine. I bought new in 00 a Sprint ST with the 955 Triple. Maybe the best bike I have ever owned. Put 80k trouble free miles on her, she didnt care if I treated her like a Goldwing or a Gixxer, those triples have awesome torque from the basement on up. I toured this bike everywhere. Having owned it my view on Triumph bikes has increased dramatically and I liked them before. It toured well, I got it with the detachable factory hard bags which were handy for those two week tours around the middle states. Truly loved this machine and would buy another Triumph without hesitation, X2 if it's a triple. I always accepted Hinkley era Triumphs as an apology for MG, Alpha, Jaguar and Triumph cars.

 

Since triples were brought up. Here's my '96 TBird

 

[cowpuc]

See,, like most,,, I am also an avid admirer of all scoots.. Quite frankly, I LOVE KC's Sprint and could see myself spending countless hours chasing the front wheel on it just like he mentions. I also LOVE the Triumph Rocket 3 - AWESOME machine with endless possibilities. I have owned Harley's both new (Twin Cam) and old and LOVED them all to no end. I had an 2001 88" TC that I tortured to no end, stuck a gear driven blower on it - all kinds of fun. Currently I have a standing invitation to get over and spend some time on the new "Motus" bikes = and rest assured, I AM GONNA GO FOR IT!! I met the local owner of our Motus dealership (in Grand Rapids Mi) at our Spring run - got to see one up close,, WAYYYY GORGEOUS MACHINE!! Motor is 1/2 a Chevy V-8 = VERY IMPRESSIVE.. One of the awesome things about motorcycling today is the endless choices of steeds afforded to us. Great time to be a biker I'd say..

On the other,, I am not so sure its such a great time to be a Motorcycle manufacturer.. Being a geezer kid, old n worn out with the heart of teenaged gear head, I get around to the bike shops in search of new mods with the ferver that only an obsessed maniac would have. One of the things I have noticed is the amount of new left over machines there are out there.. Makes no difference Harley or Honda. Wanna buy a new Indian? Guy in Caledonia where we went to get a tee shirt recently has left overs for CHEAP (compared to 2017 models). Our Harley shops have TONS of left overs and, its my understanding that HD has cut back on production cause things are slow.. I know our Honda/Yamaha shop has left over V-4 1300 Hondas marked down from 15ish to 7500 bucks.. Fact is, its tough out there..

Knowing that, and knowing how endless the supply of left over HD (not to speak of the flooded used market) air cooled V-Twins and clones (IMHO, anything not Harley and an air cooled V-Twin is a "clone" Harley = just chasing the market that Harley built and owns) and then the V-Twin water cooled bikes that are water cooled but designed to look air cooled, I still dont understand why on earth Mom Yam didnt take this one great opportunity to flat out turn the touring world up side down like they said they were gonna do and basically declare brand new ownership of that market = completely turn their back on the whole air cooled V-Twin market and do something crazy .

Once again IMHO, Harley owns and is benchmark in the looks - sound - paint - audio - showmanship - dealership network - price point - accessory choices - factory support - HOG gatherings (family push) AND head turning ability right out of the showroom and going against them toe to toe (especially difficult for an offshore US manufacturer like Yamaha) and expecting to match MSRP is kinda nuts if ya ask me.

The ONLY category that HD does not own is performance based IMHO.. Because of this, Harley has had to have their own "class" in racing = those old push rod motors with the necessary "fork n knife" rod design to maintain single pin cranks on a 45 degree "V" to produce that epic sound HAS its performance limitations and one would think Mom Yam would have known that and exploited it. I get the whole thought process of wanting to be above 1800cc cause it does seem like the normal V-Twin chaser is engine size orientated BUT - one has to remember that Kawasaki actually did have a 2000cc scoot (NEAT BIKE IMHO) out for a while and, quite frankly, it didnt sell worth a hoot.. HD also has a 120 inch engine in both race offering and in Street offering (buddy and I went to Harley Performance school and spent a fair amount of time on a 120R equipped Street Glide - AWESOME motor for what it is!) and the same thing - those engines are available but very few are out there on the street.. Also thinking of the Boss Hoss V-8 bikes,, I LOVE em but quite frankly - ya dont see a lot of em out CTFWin.. Nahh,, I think the age of the endless pursuit of having to have the largest V-Twin air cooled motor is closing in - probably/maybe because there are sooo many choices..

I still wish Mom Yam would have turned her back on the whole bunch of em, gone a whole new direction with that new Vmax motor, tossed on a couple turbo's to cover both extreme torque and extreme hp angles, had a factory "Ram "X"" cell phone holder built into the bikes dash for the modern day cell phone to cover all the info system needs of the modern day rider and called it good enough as far as info system needs go, gone head over heals CRAZY on using modern day metals and technology to get the bike as light as possible (my R1 is a Yamaha 1000cc scoot and it weighs under 400 pounds dry - Mom Yam could have..).. A canyon carving 200 horse, 225 foot pounds of torque V-4 Motored, 750 pound rigid aluminum framed drive shaft 6 speed fixed fairing Venture with fully adjustable Bars/foot pegs and removeable/lockable storage and GOOD LED lighting would have set the touring world on fire IMHO and, probably been the kind of bike that once test ridden - the modern day touring test riders would have gotten off, pointed back at it when talking to the Yamaha reps and said "I,, I,, I,, I cant imagine riding ANYTHING else now that I have ridden that amazing motorcycle"..

Yep,, I am still numb and dumbfounded.... A Yamaha Venture with no V-4,,,, I cant wait to greet new owners here on the site and PROMISE I will treat them with total acceptance and respect - cant wait to test ride this new one myself but - its gonna take me a long time to get use to equating a Venture with an air cooled V-Twin in it... WOW am I thick skulled..

Edited June 12, 2017 by cowpuc

[XV1100SE]

From http://www.hotrod.com/articles/engine-oil-temperature/

...A quality conventional motor oil will tolerate oil sump temperatures of up to 250 degrees, but starts breaking down over 275 degrees. The traditional approach is to try to hold oil temperatures between 230 and 260 degrees....

...

A full-synthetic oil will withstand sump temperatures in excess of 300 degrees, ...

http://www.trucktrend.com/how-to/engine/0901mt-conventional-petroleum-oil-vs-synthetic-oil/

...High oil temperature in excess of 240F will break down petroleum oils and cause oxidation, which in turn forms deposits, varnish, and increases wear....

...Heat is a major enemy of any engine. Heat produces friction, and friction produces wear, and wear reduces the life of your engine....

[Du-Rron]

... - the modern day touring test riders would have gotten off, pointed back at it when talking to the yamaha reps and said "i,, i,, i,, i cant imagine riding anything else now that i have ridden that amazing motorcycle"..

Yep,, i am still numb and dumbfounded..

 

yes yes yes exactly yes!!!!

[BlueSky]

[/font][/color]http://www.trucktrend.com/how-to/engine/0901mt-conventional-petroleum-oil-vs-synthetic-oil/

...High oil temperature in excess of 240F will break down petroleum oils and cause oxidation, which in turn forms deposits, varnish, and increases wear....

...Heat is a major enemy of any engine. Heat produces friction, and friction produces wear, and wear reduces the life of your engine....

 

It is very rare to read an article on oil that addresses the fact that "synthetic" oil today is a Group III oil and the "synthetic" oil used to be a Group IV oil. Most of these articles are written by writers and not people who really know the differences in oil. In other words be careful what you believe.

[Condor]

Speaking of motors..and I mentioned this once before.. how about a water cooled frame mounted 2400cc F.I. V6 based on the V-Max 1700cc V4. If BMW and Honda can stuff an inline 6 in theirs.. a V-six would be a piece of cake... Frame mounted fairing. Analog speedo/tach/oil/temp. LCD everything else. Bagger... That would set the bike world on it's ear. Lead instead of follow... They did with the '83VR. I guess they're more interested in selling piano's..... My 2¢

[RandyR]

Speaking of motors..and I mentioned this once before.. how about a water cooled frame mounted 2400cc F.I. V6 based on the V-Max 1700cc V4. If BMW and Honda can stuff an inline 6 in theirs.. a V-six would be a piece of cake... Frame mounted fairing. Analog speedo/tach/oil/temp. LCD everything else. Bagger... That would set the bike world on it's ear. Lead instead of follow... They did with the '83VR. I guess they're more interested in selling piano's..... My 2¢

 

I guess I'm in a minority here, but I don't think that bigger or even more hp or fastest is necessarily better. I agree with pointing at the original 1200cc Venture as an example of a near ideal production mc at the time.

 

My list of priorities for a motorcycle would rank things like, riding comfort, handling, reliability, ease of maintenance, economy of maintenance, fuel economy, etc; far ahead of bigger and faster.

 

But I realize my perfect ride might not be everyones.

[Tater]

See,, like most,,, I am also an avid admirer of all scoots.. Quite frankly, I LOVE KC's Sprint and could see myself spending countless hours chasing the front wheel on it just like he mentions. I also LOVE the Triumph Rocket 3 - AWESOME machine with endless possibilities. I have owned Harley's both new (Twin Cam) and old and LOVED them all to no end. I had an 2001 88" TC that I tortured to no end, stuck a gear driven blower on it - all kinds of fun. Currently I have a standing invitation to get over and spend some time on the new "Motus" bikes = and rest assured, I AM GONNA GO FOR IT!! I met the local owner of our Motus dealership (in Grand Rapids Mi) at our Spring run - got to see one up close,, WAYYYY GORGEOUS MACHINE!! Motor is 1/2 a Chevy V-8 = VERY IMPRESSIVE.. One of the awesome things about motorcycling today is the endless choices of steeds afforded to us. Great time to be a biker I'd say..

On the other,, I am not so sure its such a great time to be a Motorcycle manufacturer.. Being a geezer kid, old n worn out with the heart of teenaged gear head, I get around to the bike shops in search of new mods with the ferver that only an obsessed maniac would have. One of the things I have noticed is the amount of new left over machines there are out there.. Makes no difference Harley or Honda. Wanna buy a new Indian? Guy in Caledonia where we went to get a tee shirt recently has left overs for CHEAP (compared to 2017 models). Our Harley shops have TONS of left overs and, its my understanding that HD has cut back on production cause things are slow.. I know our Honda/Yamaha shop has left over V-4 1300 Hondas marked down from 15ish to 7500 bucks.. Fact is, its tough out there..

Knowing that, and knowing how endless the supply of left over HD (not to speak of the flooded used market) air cooled V-Twins and clones (IMHO, anything not Harley and an air cooled V-Twin is a "clone" Harley = just chasing the market that Harley built and owns) and then the V-Twin water cooled bikes that are water cooled but designed to look air cooled, I still dont understand why on earth Mom Yam didnt take this one great opportunity to flat out turn the touring world up side down like they said they were gonna do and basically declare brand new ownership of that market = completely turn their back on the whole air cooled V-Twin market and do something crazy .

Once again IMHO, Harley owns and is benchmark in the looks - sound - paint - audio - showmanship - dealership network - price point - accessory choices - factory support - HOG gatherings (family push) AND head turning ability right out of the showroom and going against them toe to toe (especially difficult for an offshore US manufacturer like Yamaha) and expecting to match MSRP is kinda nuts if ya ask me.

The ONLY category that HD does not own is performance based IMHO.. Because of this, Harley has had to have their own "class" in racing = those old push rod motors with the necessary "fork n knife" rod design to maintain single pin cranks on a 45 degree "V" to produce that epic sound HAS its performance limitations and one would think Mom Yam would have known that and exploited it. I get the whole thought process of wanting to be above 1800cc cause it does seem like the normal V-Twin chaser is engine size orientated BUT - one has to remember that Kawasaki actually did have a 2000cc scoot (NEAT BIKE IMHO) out for a while and, quite frankly, it didnt sell worth a hoot.. HD also has a 120 inch engine in both race offering and in Street offering (buddy and I went to Harley Performance school and spent a fair amount of time on a 120R equipped Street Glide - AWESOME motor for what it is!) and the same thing - those engines are available but very few are out there on the street.. Also thinking of the Boss Hoss V-8 bikes,, I LOVE em but quite frankly - ya dont see a lot of em out CTFWin.. Nahh,, I think the age of the endless pursuit of having to have the largest V-Twin air cooled motor is closing in - probably/maybe because there are sooo many choices..

I still wish Mom Yam would have turned her back on the whole bunch of em, gone a whole new direction with that new Vmax motor, tossed on a couple turbo's to cover both extreme torque and extreme hp angles, had a factory "Ram "X"" cell phone holder built into the bikes dash for the modern day cell phone to cover all the info system needs of the modern day rider and called it good enough as far as info system needs go, gone head over heals CRAZY on using modern day metals and technology to get the bike as light as possible (my R1 is a Yamaha 1000cc scoot and it weighs under 400 pounds dry - Mom Yam could have..).. A canyon carving 200 horse, 225 foot pounds of torque V-4 Motored, 750 pound rigid aluminum framed drive shaft 6 speed fixed fairing Venture with fully adjustable Bars/foot pegs and removeable/lockable storage and GOOD LED lighting would have set the touring world on fire IMHO and, probably been the kind of bike that once test ridden - the modern day touring test riders would have gotten off, pointed back at it when talking to the Yamaha reps and said "I,, I,, I,, I cant imagine riding ANYTHING else now that I have ridden that amazing motorcycle"..

Yep,, I am still numb and dumbfounded.... A Yamaha Venture with no V-4,,,, I cant wait to greet new owners here on the site and PROMISE I will treat them with total acceptance and respect - cant wait to test ride this new one myself but - its gonna take me a long time to get use to equating a Venture with an air cooled V-Twin in it... WOW am I thick skulled..

 

Police find missing Americade volunteer dead after bike crash in Upstate NY

http://www.syracuse.com/state/index.ssf/2017/06/police_find_missing_americade_volunteer_dead_in_upstate_ny_woods.html

 

 

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[snyper316]

Police find missing Americade volunteer dead after bike crash in Upstate NY

http://www.syracuse.com/state/index.ssf/2017/06/police_find_missing_americade_volunteer_dead_in_upstate_ny_woods.html

 

 

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O my now that's sad.

 

Sent from my LG-K371 using Tapatalk

[camos]

I guess I'm in a minority here, but I don't think that bigger or even more hp or fastest is necessarily better. I agree with pointing at the original 1200cc Venture as an example of a near ideal production mc at the time.

 

My list of priorities for a motorcycle would rank things like, riding comfort, handling, reliability, ease of maintenance, economy of maintenance, fuel economy, etc; far ahead of bigger and faster.

 

But I realize my perfect ride might not be everyones.

I'm with you Randy. When I think of how happy most of us have been with the touring capabilities of the 1200/1300 Ventures it makes me secretly smile when I see postings recommending huge displacements with massive HP and crappy mileage. To me, the one serious weakness that needed to be addressed with the Ventures was the top heavyness, not the performance. If Yamaha had done something about that then they would have sold way more Ventures than they did.

 

Nothing wrong with going a bit larger but the original 1300 V4 could have been re-designed to put out way more HP than it did. The only thing really missing was the very popular put-put of the V-Twin but that was uniquely offset by the powerful growl of the V4 without being too loud. Too bad Yamaha didn't believe in the perfection they had already created.

[Condor]

I guess I'm in a minority here, but I don't think that bigger or even more hp or fastest is necessarily better. I agree with pointing at the original 1200cc Venture as an example of a near ideal production mc at the time.

 

My list of priorities for a motorcycle would rank things like, riding comfort, handling, reliability, ease of maintenance, economy of maintenance, fuel economy, etc; far ahead of bigger and faster.

 

But I realize my perfect ride might not be everyones.

I can see where you're coming from Randy, But re-caming a V6 to give more bottom end grunt to push, and sometimes pull, around 900+lb's is more relaxing on the road then being a minimalist.... Horse power and torque are always more relaxing when racking up the miles no matter what you're riding or driving... V6 technology has been around for a number of years now. They last longer, give better fuel economy, and generally don't need fixing if taken care of. But to each his own... The 1stGen's were.. and still are.. great bikes... :-)

[RandyR]

I can see where you're coming from Randy, But re-caming a V6 to give more bottom end grunt to push, and sometimes pull, around 900+lb's is more relaxing on the road then being a minimalist.... Horse power and torque are always more relaxing when racking up the miles no matter what you're riding or driving... V6 technology has been around for a number of years now. They last longer, give better fuel economy, and generally don't need fixing if taken care of. But to each his own... The 1stGen's were.. and still are.. great bikes... :-)

 

Yeppers. You're a big boy Condor. No doubt it will take a bigger bike to keep you comfy on the road than I would need. Truth is, I really was something of a minimalist for the first 30 years I rode motorcycles. I guess that still shows. I used to laugh at the full dressers. But, the BMW K bike I had spoiled me with its windscreen, bags, and top box. Cruise control was pretty nice too. I guess I lost my taste for bugs.

[Du-Rron]

The second gen Venture has excellent build quality. For instance, every bolt hole on the bike is measured for position, drilled, and tapped by the factory most often backed up by a weld nut. The shock mount/strut linkages also have "bolt head holders" so you can tighten the nut without using two wrenchs. I can only hope Mama Yama puts this much care into Venture 3rd edition.

[CaseyJ955]

Yeppers. You're a big boy Condor. No doubt it will take a bigger bike to keep you comfy on the road than I would need. Truth is, I really was something of a minimalist for the first 30 years I rode motorcycles. I guess that still shows. I used to laugh at the full dressers. But, the BMW K bike I had spoiled me with its windscreen, bags, and top box. Cruise control was pretty nice too. I guess I lost my taste for bugs.

 

When I was in my 30s I would have laughed at myself for buying something like a Venture with all the nonsense and dead weight. Now I rather love the bike for the comfort and ability.

[cowpuc]

When I was in my 30s I would have laughed at myself for buying something like a Venture with all the nonsense and dead weight. Now I rather love the bike for the comfort and ability.

 

And now your gonna get to see just how backwards your ol buddy Puc really is Casey,, I actually started riding the MK1 Ventures when I was 32 years old on a 3 year old 84 Blonde MK1 my kids named Bee Gee (B.G. for Big Girl) - I have memories of my little girls riding out to your area during the Rally, camping in a tent on the prairie and making puppets with my hands on the wall of it with a flashlight held in my mouth to entertain the kid while Harleys were going by on their way into Sturgis.

Having ridden them steady since that time - I am in the process of wearing out my 6th one = lotta mile,, lotta really really fun miles. This number six (named Tweeksis) has the original side covers off that original scoot on her as all of our other Ventures have had thru the years - sort of a sentimental thing.. Those side covers have well over 1 million miles on em.. Been a longgggggggggg haul with no real regrets,, even the flat tires - hail storms - tornadoes over head - fuel pump failure - running out of gas - high winds so strong on the Grand Mesa that our tent almost blew into the canyon with us in it - having to roll a Venture all the way over upside down and back upright to get her back on her feet in the mountains of Utah - waking up to 6 inches of fresh snow in Yellowstone and on and on are nothing short of fantastic memories..

Now for a real twist and something I laugh at myself over,, last year I sold my V-Max (named Crud,, he was wayy cool but really tired) and I just picked up my very first,, long time desired and bucketlisted Yamaha R1 - a quaint little 1000cc scoot named Maggy who my dear wife named Tippy is all but BEGGING me to drag back out to the salt flats at the Bonneville (she was there with me and ran one of our earlier Ventures on the salt = what a hoot) to see what that little R1 has in it up in her 6th gear - tached out in 5th she is AMAZING but need more room to play in 6th..

Backward thinking, warped mind huh???

[cowpuc]

Police find missing Americade volunteer dead after bike crash in Upstate NY

http://www.syracuse.com/state/index.ssf/2017/06/police_find_missing_americade_volunteer_dead_in_upstate_ny_woods.html

 

 

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:scared::scared::scared:

 

I had not heard this = PRAYERS UP for the family of this fallen brother!! Totally horrible news!!!

[cowpuc]

When I was in my 30s I would have laughed at myself for buying something like a Venture with all the nonsense and dead weight. Now I rather love the bike for the comfort and ability.

 

Just thinking,, just to prove I aint alone in my off the wall craziness - I also personally know a guy who purchased a Venture (thinking it was an 86 or 87) brand new right off the show room floor and he and his wife took it on their Honeymoon and they are still riding it to this day!!!.. Having met him in person and actually made a video starring him (looking for it as I type for some living proof of what I am talking about) I am guessing that he may have been in his 20's when he started riding Ventures.. Definitely our kind of people my friend:

 

Well,, I cant find it - I must be turning geezer or something,, how bout chillin for a second watching this clip of the lop eared varmints at Raggies party where I met the guy with the Venture I am thinking of and I will see if I can find someone who might remember who I am thinking of,, hopefully it wasnt just another Venturemagination dream thingy I am remembering: heres a clip:

 

Hey ragtop69gs , or Carbon_One or bongobobny , or BuckShot (may have actually been Buckshots bike I am thinking of, if so Buckshot I apologize for not being able to find the video) , or Drews = anybody remember who had the gorgeous MK2 at Raggies Meet n Greet a few years ago that he bought new and did their wedding on... Coming back to me,, seems like they also had a side car for it but it wasnt on on that day?

[ragtop69gs]

You're talking about Gil !

 

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[ragtop69gs]

You aint gone crazy yet, but you are close 😁

 

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