2018 Venture for short people

[wylbur78]

Good morning, wanted to introduce myself...

 

I've been riding since I was 4 years old :happy65:and love to be out in the open air of the wild... My current bike is a 2016 Yamaha FJR1300:7_6_2[1]: and as I do love it, my wife is not tall enough to get on it (short girl problems 4"6"). I've ridden all kinds of metrics along with several HD's, my last 2 touring style bikes were a 2014 Street Glide (rough riding, wife hated it) and a 2015 F6B (was like gliding on a cloud of air). I regret getting rid of the F6B. Myself being only 5'5" I've never been able to flat foot a Touring bike UNTIL the 2018 Venture. I sat on one yesterday evening and really thought that i would suffer the same issues as in the past, but to my surprise NOPE. I wont be ready for a new bike till later this year but this may be the biggest selling point to me and my wife. I've been Leary about going back to a V-twin because of the heat issues, but thus far it sound like this new Venture is doing quite well dissipating the heat from what I've read from several members here. I'm supposed to do a test ride this week but the weather isn't permitting it right now... So any additional info pertaining to the New Venture would be much appreciated and if there are any locals in my area, would love to meet up some time.

 

Thanks,

Will R.

[Freebird]

Will be looking forward to your report after your test ride. I love the looks of the bike but have actually heard some pretty harsh comments about the heat. I had a 2013 Road Glide Ultra for a couple of years and even after doing several modifications that were supposed to reduce the heat, it was still a scorcher.

 

As far as members in your area, I don't know what area you are in. You have Fr entered as your state. Tell me what state you are in and I can correct that for you.

Edited February 22, 2018 by Freebird

[wylbur78]

Will be looking forward to hour report after your test ride. I love the looks of the bike but have actually heard some pretty harsh comments about the heat. I had a 2013 Road Glide Ultra for a couple of years and even after doing several modifications that were supposed to reduce the heat, it was still a scorcher.

 

As far as members in your area, I don't know what area you are in. You have Fr entered as your state. Tell me what state you are in and I can correct that for you.

 

Thanks Freebird, I took care of it... Live in Texas, south side of Houston...

[videoarizona]

I finally got off my butt and went down to see the 3rd Gen in person. Was looking for this huge monster scoot. In fact it's about the same size as the 2nd gen....except lower. The salesman let me crawl all over and under the bike, answering my questions and making comments. He was good and knew the bike.

 

First impression, it has a big butt! It is very easy to get off the side stand. It is easy to hold up. I have no problem flat footing that beast....felt very comfortable sitting on her. The controls look/felt perfect for my reach and inseam. 210 pounds, 30 inch inseam, 5'10".

 

My wife commented on all the plastic. She's thinking breakage. But at least the plastic feels stronger than the 2nd Gen...though not as strong as the 1st gen. The flexing is in between the 2....but did feel better to my hands.

 

The trunk is huge. Seriously. Saddlebags are larger on outside but the opening is smaller due to the hinge mechanicals. Still...lots of room. No 12 volt for passenger...that's in the trunk. There is 12 volts for rider and USB as well.

 

Cleaning the buggies off of the all the stuff that is stuffed under the triple tree looked like a daunting task. The hole between the forks is huge. Be a nice place for a radiator but there is a ton of other stuff up in there. Eric, our salesperson, said not to worry...pressure car wash as all electronics are marine grade and can take the water pressure just fine. Hmmm. Well...that wouldn't surprise me knowing Yamaha engineering.

 

Seat felt good to me. Firm. Can't be as comfortable as the pillow seats on the 2nd Gen. Feels more like an advanced 1st Gen seat. The rider seat" back" piece does move forward to allow more room between the rider and passenger...but at the expense of room between rider crotch and gas tank. When forward, It feels like the 2nd gen...when back...it feels roomy! Wife thought maybe that little back piece lifted up rather than slide forward. That would have been a good idea Yamaha...as my back needs more support. To lift up 3 inches would help my lower back a lot. It would truly make you feel like you are sitting in the bike and not on it. Snug. But...maybe on the Mark 2 version! Glad to hear a rider back rest is coming soon.

 

There isn't much room around the engine guards for mounting highway pegs. In fact none at all in the front. Plastic would need to be trimmed out to allow a bracket there. Will be curious to see how the aftermarket solves that problem. The guards will not help the plastic in case of a fall at all. Just like the 1st Gen in that regard. Maybe Yamaha or some 3rd party will design some good looking side pieces that will act like some of the aftermarket stuff I've seen for dirt bikes. But that probably wouldn't look to cool...

 

Minor thoughts. The lower vents are not adjustable while riding. Gotta get off and reach in get them. But look and feel much stronger than the HD Ultra lower vents. The upper vents have lots of adjustment to them...so passenger/rider cooling shouldn't be a problem.

 

The dash was an easy reach for me, the hand controls felt good and easy to find...but all that a moot point if you use voice control. Windshield had impressive amount of movement. For my riding height, looked like I could vary the airflow nicely. I like the rake angle of the windshield as well. Should throw the air up and over without being a huge wind block in higher winds.

 

Overall, I'm impressed with the quality of the bike. It truly looks like a well designed and built piece of precision machinery. I will ponder what I saw and felt, then go back for another walk around. I told Eric that my buying style is one where I visit 3 to 4 times before I even ride....and then expect at least a 50 mile test ride. His eyebrows raised up at that...but the manager was standing there...and he smiled and said that could be arranged. So we shall see...

 

Would I buy it? Yep. Hands down from just walking and sitting on it...it is a very nice scoot. But...wifemate wants a travel trailer or RV so....who knows what toys I'll have this time next year.

 

OH...did like the red color, but I do prefer Yamaha's liquid silver!

 

Hope this helps...

[Mike G in SC]

I got a 29" inseam, so my RSV and my RSTD's were lowered, front and rear. I was fine on my Road Star and my Stratoliner without lowering.

 

I had good experience with the height of the 2018 Venture and Eluder in demo rides. Got a STAR friend, CD Heaton of AR, who is about 5'5", he says. He is also good with it, flat foot.

And in Redwing at STAR Days, Sherri W, who is 5 foot nothing, took a demo ride and was okay. And my friend, Steven Anderjack, SR is 6'4" and is good with them, even on the back, haha.

So, Yamaha did a good thing on seat height this time.

 

I did go sit on the 2018 Goldwing a couple weeks ago. Really sorry to say, I cannot flat foot both feet. It is rated 29.5" seat height but with the seat width, it's high for me.

I could ride it but if I got a pebble or leaves underfoot, could be a stretch......... Too bad cause I like my GW trike for two up and may have been interested in the two wheel.

(I think it's a tad higher than the previous GW's, or maybe the old seat let me sit lower. .)

 

I think the new BMW 1600B is going to be about the same as then new GW.

[Great adVENTURE]

I didn’t get to ride one but I was fortunate enough that my local dealer just got one and I did get to sit on it. I was amazed by how light it felt and the fit I had on it with the wife on board. Don’t know if I can pull the $27k trigger on it without having buyers remorse.

[Texas Tom]

I just picked up the Eluder GT, it is much lower than the 2nd Gen Venture. I am 5-9 and a 32" inseam and I am totally flatfooted with some bend in the knee with the stock seat. To get anywhere close on the 2nd Gen, I had to go to a narrower seat (Corbin Brick). This bike sits lower and the passenger foot platforms are adjustable. I would think that your wife would be able to get on and off the Eluder without issue, I can't speak for the Venture or the Venture TC due to the trunk. Seat height is the same for both bikes.

 

I would be interested to know if the bike works out for you. I was able to test ride one (they offered to let me ride both) at Houston Yamaha Motor Sports. Taylor was my salesperson. There was another salesman (possibly the sales manager) who was very knowledgeable about both bikes.

 

Good luck in your quest.

[Texas Tom]

Good morning, wanted to introduce myself...

 

So any additional info pertaining to the New Venture would be much appreciated and if there are any locals in my area, would love to meet up some time.

 

Thanks,

Will R.

 

 

I am local, in Cypress off of Fry Road about 2 miles from the Berry Center and Cy Ranch High School. My number is listed in the VR Assistance. Call me if you would like to meet up. We are new to Texas and are looking for folks to meet and share interests with.

[VentureFar]

I have over 600 miles of test ride on the Venture TC and 550 on the Eluder. Please go for as long of a test ride as the dealer will allow. It took 60miles for my butt to start hurting on the Venture. If I would have had only 50 miles to test the venture I wouldn’t have known the seat doesn’t work for me. AND at 3 hours in the saddle my neck developed a severe pain and 40 minutes later my back had a knot in it. 50 miles is the same as riding around the block on a bike that is billed as “ transcontinental”. And make darn sure you test ride when the temp is over 80 degrees. You will discover the the rear cylinder exhaust pipe heat that needs to be addressed. FYI if you practice before riding, I was able to adjust the lower vents but it isn’t the safest thing to do- kind of like reaching down to toe your shoe at 70mph. I have a full ride report coming out on ultimatemotorcycling.com this week. I will post it. If any one has questions about my Eluder and venture 500 mile each rides please ask.

VentureFar...

 

 

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