Looking at a 1991 Venture Royale

[sucram1161]

Found a 1991 Venture Royale sitting on the side of the road for sale. Has 71,000 miles on it Sign says everything works properly, Updates done,(???what would they update) fresh oil change.

 

A few questions I have.. What should I look for as thing that I might see and want to avoid the bike. How often should carbs have been cleaned/synched etc.? How often should the valves be set etc.? What is usually the life span of that particular engine? What would be a fair price? Paint Chrome and plastic all seem in nice shape for a 27 year old scoot.

[garyS-NJ]

Found a 1991 Venture Royale sitting on the side of the road for sale. Has 71,000 miles on it Sign says everything works properly, Updates done,(???what would they update) fresh oil change.

 

A few questions I have.. What should I look for as thing that I might see and want to avoid the bike. How often should carbs have been cleaned/synched etc.? How often should the valves be set etc.? What is usually the life span of that particular engine? What would be a fair price? Paint Chrome and plastic all seem in nice shape for a 27 year old scoot.

You might get another 30k or 130k. How much? Valve lash check maybe 30-40k but if it runs good, its good for now.

 

Sent from my VS987 using Tapatalk

[Patch]

My experience with a 91 was very good. There was some work to do on her as she was original when I picked her out of the crowd.

You would need a list of what has been done with regards to upgrades.

 

Patch

[sucram1161]

You might get another 30k or 130k. How much? Valve lash check maybe 30-40k but if it runs good, its good for now.

 

Sent from my VS987 using Tapatalk

 

Sign says $1900.00 not sure how good a price that is

[BlueSky]

Sign says $1900.00 not sure how good a price that is

 

If it has no issues that is a reasonable price in my opinion. Typical issues are dirty carbs that might can be cleaned up without removing them from the bike with seafoam or Gumout, noisy speedometer that needs lubing, spark plug wires that are corroded at the cap. Typical fix is to cut off a half inch or so of wire and screw it back into the cap. Make sure it is running on all four cylinders. These V4 engines run like they are missing at idle. If you can check the exhaust temps with an infrared thermometer, you will find out if a cylinder isn't running right. Carbs don't usually cause problems unless you let it sit and the gas dries up in the carbs. Another typical problem is the clutch slave cylinder leaking. These bikes have been known to run over 200k miles with reasonable care. Bottom line is that they are darn good bikes.

[bongobobny]

The carbs should be sync'ed once a year, and just run a can of seafoam to a tank of gas maybe once a month to keep them clean.

 

Suggested valve adjustment is 50,000 miles but as already mentioned, if it starts easily you should be ok for now.

 

I've heard of a case of a Venture with around 300,00 miles on it. You should normally get over 200,000 miles with normal maintenance, they are pretty much bulletproof.

 

$1900 is a fair price but not necessarily the deal of the century. Offer $1500 cash and see what happens. Cash talks, BS walks...

 

Not a clue as to what they mean by updates, I would certainly ask as to what updates were done! Check the date code on the tires, you do NOT want to use any tire, car or motorcycle (especially motorcycle) that is older than 6 years old as stated by tire manufacturers. Hydraulic fluids should be changed every 2 to 4 years, and the cooling system should be flushed every 4 - 5 years. The driveshaft splines need to be greased every time you change a rear tire. Spark plugs should be replaced about every 10,000 miles or less as these bikes are known to eat them!

 

Overall these are very dependable bikes and perhaps the most advanced touring bike for its time ever made. They are fast and handle a little bit like a sports bike. For the most part, they are very easy to work on, but if you have to rebuild the carbs they are very complicated and to do it properly cost a small fortune for replacement parts. Adjusting the valves is also a bit complicated as they use shims and require a special tool and it is easy to screw up if not done properly. It can be done without removing the engine.

 

Bottom line, if it does run and stop OK then swing a leg over and decide if it is the kind of bike for you. Warning, it is a tall and big heavy bike but they will give you years and miles of smiles!