Ontario RSV Introduction Run

[Hoytcanon]

Howdy folks, I just got back from a 3500 km trip around Northern Ontario... including 1100 km on day one. The "New to Me" 2004 Yamaha Royal Star Midnight Venture be my "Boo..." as the kids say. The bike was an absolute pleasure on the road. I was comparing the bike to previous bikes and my current Road Star XV1700. In packing, I filled the two saddle bags with gear, found a cooler that fits in the trunk and then ratchet strapped two dry bags (40 & 60 litre duffles) onto the passenger seat. Leaning back on the duffle bags rolled my body into a very comfortable position... kind of like sitting in a recliner. I carried a weeks worth of camping/fishing gear, including a three piece Fenwick spinning rod. We did a 150 km round-trip on gravel logging roads to our fishing spot... the plan was to head in Friday night after the logging trucks stopped hauling and then head out Sunday night before they were back... trust me when I say, you do NOT want to meet a logging truck on those roads while handling a street ride... almost guaranteed disaster. At any rate, we got in and set up a tent camp, it took about five minutes to land enough fish for supper and breakfast. Overnight a heat wave rolled in and highs reached 40*C plus... the horse and deer flies took that cue and went hunting human flesh... we spent most of the next day (Saturday)  soaking in the river and then spent a miserable night trying to sleep in the heat, laying on a foam mat wearing nothing but very fashionable boxer briefs and feeling the rivlettes of sweat running down my chest... around 2 or 3 am, the decision was made to get up early Sunday morning, pack up and head South and along Lake Superior to get out of the band of high Temps. After a quick breakfast of Mountain House Granola and Blueberries with water boiled in the Jet Boil, we were back on the (gravel) road. A great test for handling and whether or not the center of gravity is too high, is a good long run on Ontario logging roads, and the RSV passed with flying colors... I won't say it handled like a motocross bike, but for a heavy cruiser, it did very well on the shifting gravel. We had a very hot four hour ride to get down to the Superior shoreline where things cooled down nicely. We bumped into an unfortunate and apparently fatal highway accident just south of Marathon, but were lucky to end up next to a local who knew a route "around" the highway closure (the closure lasted for hours apparently)... well, the route around was basically a 4X4 trail that partly lead through a swampy bush and had large "Road Closed - No Passage" signs... but true to his word, we got through and around the pile-up... we thought we would take advantage of that luck and put on another 1000 km's on that day. I found the RSV to be very smooth, and it really started to purr around 3500 rpm... we stretched it out a few times and the bike really sticks to the road and loves to lean deep in the switchbacks... I had just put on a new set of Dunlop 404 Whitewalls, which I liked on my previous bike. I used the cruise control a fair amount to give my throttle hand a much appreciated break. We hit all the NorOnt Route highlights, Hwy 64, Hwy 17 Superior shoreline, Hwy 129 Dragon's Tail and the Deer Run... we had a few beer, and laughed a lot and ate alot of fish, and generally had a great time and by campfire light made plans for the next ride and a winter Snowbird run, trailering the bikes to the Souther US in January or February to break-up our miserable winters. My cousin and I swapped bikes a few times (he rides a Honda VTX 1800 N)... his bike can walk away from the RSV, but on our last night he was Googling "Yamaha Royal Star Ventures for sale." Nuff Said...

Edited July 5, 2021 by Hoytcanon

[saddlebum]

That is my Idea of a road trip as well,,. Glad you had great time even if I am a little green with envy right now, since I am currently grounded and cause I love northern Ontario. Hope to still squeeze in a few rides before summers end though. Great pics by the way.