1986 Yamaha Venture Royale

[YoungWayne]

Hello everybody. New to this forum. I just found a 1986 Venture Royale on craigslist. Hasn't ran in 10 years, it looks like it has ~25,000 miles. How reliable are these bikes (assuming it was in running condition)? They are asking $1,000 and cosmetically it's beautiful (picture attached). I haven't had a motorcycle in a couple years, last thing I rode was a '99 bmw f650gs, how powerful are these bikes it looks like it has a big engine. I have some mechanical experience working on my own car, but I haven't had to dig into the engine except to change the valve cover gasket. Looking forward to any feedback and wisdom, the bike looks beautiful and I've been wanting a motorcycle project. Not sure if this is the right forum, if not please let me know I just joined!

Edited July 9, 2021 by YoungWayne

[YoungWayne]

Update: I gave them a call, he says he thinks it has 98,000 miles (he can't see too well and used a magnifying glass). The picture slightly shows the odometer and it's hard to read if that's the actual mileage. I think I'll go take a look at it. He said this is the third Venture he's had. Either way he sounds like a nice guy and hopefully he'll at least enjoy the company. 

[RDawson]

You’re in the right place to get her going. Look on the home page, scroll down to the 1st gen read only tech section, you can get acquainted with it there. They’re a blast to ride with many going well above 200,000 miles, there’s a fanatical following here that can help you through anything that may be wrong. 

[Tysons87venture]

I love mine, my grandpa left it behind 16 years ago, it sat for 15 years as my dad rode it for a year, it looks like the bike is in great shape from what I see in the picture. If it has been garage stored I expect you will have  nice bike. 

 

I had to pull off carbs and clean all the passage ways with carb cleaner, and yes it took about 3 times of removing off bike until I got it to the point it would at least stay running. It's a learning experience and there are tricks you will find. I had messed up stuff along the way and have had to replaceman parts due to learning.

I changed my tires as well as rubber that has sat that long probably not worth it. Obviously will need a new battery

 

All things you may be able to get bike for alittle less but at 1000 that could be fair if it was well maintained up until it sat

 

You will need a rad flush,  probably valve clearance adjustment, would do the valve covers at same time. this site offers so much help in doing your project, there are many good fellows on here also that are willing to help out and can give you good advice. He bike runs great and I couldnt have gotten to where I am today with it without this site, he air suspension feels nice, bike rides so smooth and for a heavier bike very easy to ride. Has lots of power too, it's to bad you can't test drive it to see how great this bike really is

[Tysons87venture]

Also this was my first sport touring, love the storage, I get 2 extra helmets in the trunk, I added 2 new speakers, sounds great going down the highway for the stock radio.

It has so much in it for it's time, and the project will be really fun and rewarding when you actually get it on the road and enjoy it.

I also had to do the brakes on mine which was a pain to bleed until I learned from this site about the system, that service manual will also be very handy as well, 

I was able to find some new parts for bike but some things I had to buy used from motorcycle salvage.

[Pasta Burner]

@YoungWayne buy it before somebody else does!  Worry about the questions and getting it running after you’ve got it in your possession.  For 1k it’s worth at least double - triple that in parts.  Not that I suggest parting it out, just saying if it came to that.

I bought an 87 last year for just under 2k and I absolutely love the bike.

[saddlebum]

30 minutes ago, Pasta Burner said:

@YoungWayne buy it before somebody else does!  Worry about the questions and getting it running after you’ve got it in your possession.  For 1k it’s worth at least double - triple that in parts.  Not that I suggest parting it out, just saying if it came to that.

I bought an 87 last year for just under 2k and I absolutely love the bike.

I am inclined to agree. If it fires up and runs reasonably well transmission and drive-line feel good don't hesitate. As a rule these engines can withstand a lot of abuse before they fail. As stated before worse case scenario you can always recoup your outlay by selling of parts. So for the most part you can't really loose.

Having said that after sitting for ten years even a good engine may be difficult to start and if it does it may run rough or have hesitation issues, until it has had a good run. Seafoam or other additive can often help here. Pay attention to how the engine sounds when you crank it over. Even it does not start you should be able to get some idea if it has good or bad compression by how the engine sounds while cranking it over. A little gas dribbled in the carbs will sometimes help getting a sitting engine to fire up. If it has a slipping clutch I would not worry as this is a relatively easy and cheap repair no reason to turn your back on this type of a deal. with it on the center stand and back wheel off the ground clutch handle pulled in rotate the back wheel while in several gears and listen for any unusual sounds, also a extremely rare occurrence  but no harm in checking.

 

Edited July 10, 2021 by saddlebum

[YoungWayne]

Thank you for the replies everyone. Lots of great info it makes me optimistic. I'll be checking it out today and maybe try to get it home

[YoungWayne]

Forgot to ask, but should I even try starting it without changing the engine oil? I read something saying to change the oil on a sitting bike and then another change not too long afterwards

[saddlebum]

As long as the oil looks ok and is not contaminated it won't hurt to start it just to see how it runs. If I wanted to be cautious  about anything I would pull the plugs and the ign module fuse so there is no spark and compression and crank it a few revolutions without the plugs so it will spin free on the starter to prime the oiling  system a bit.

[luvmy40]

I'd suggest giving each cylinder a spritz of oil through the spark plug hole before turning it over as well.  Fog them as Patch recommends. This will help keep the dry rings from scoring the cylinder wall.

[YoungWayne]

Just to update, I looked at the motorcycle and it was amazing. I paid the man his money, him and his wife were great he had lots of stories. He was about 80, could barely walk or see, he was in remission, yet he was all smiles. I got the bike towed home which was hard with flat tires and after finally getting it on the main stand at my house I'm ready to work on it once this heatwave passes. First order of business is to get new tires so I can at least roll it around and park it in the shade

Edited July 11, 2021 by YoungWayne
Need wheels

[YoungWayne]

17 hours ago, saddlebum said:

As long as the oil looks ok and is not contaminated it won't hurt to start it just to see how it runs. If I wanted to be cautious  about anything I would pull the plugs and the ign module fuse so there is no spark and compression and crank it a few revolutions without the plugs so it will spin free on the starter to prime the oiling  system a bit.

It looks like the engine doesn't have any oil, at least from what I can tell without checking the dipstick which I need to find. I'll be looking around the help section 

[saddlebum]

25 minutes ago, YoungWayne said:

It looks like the engine doesn't have any oil, at least from what I can tell without checking the dipstick which I need to find. I'll be looking around the help section 

There is no dipstick. there is a sight glass at the lower right front corner of the engine. I would try airing up the tires and get the rest of the bike in shape before buy tires 

[YoungWayne]

1 hour ago, saddlebum said:

There is no dipstick. there is a sight glass at the lower right front corner of the engine. I would try airing up the tires and get the rest of the bike in shape before buy tires 

I found the glass it's very dirty! The bike was in the sun so the tires are cracked and the front one won't hold air. Right now it's covered but in the sun and in the street so I need to get it in my shaded working area which is hard enough to get to due to a small curb.

I'm thinking out loud, but I'm not too sure what I should do first as far as getting the engine running. I'll definitely be cleaning out the carbs and putting in oil, definitely a new battery, coolant, maybe spark plugs. I've read about valves and valve clearance but not too sure how to work on that. I'll  be updating if anyone is interested, and I'll definitely be asking questions. Thank you for replying I need all the help I can get!

[saddlebum]

4 hours ago, YoungWayne said:

I found the glass it's very dirty! The bike was in the sun so the tires are cracked and the front one won't hold air. Right now it's covered but in the sun and in the street so I need to get it in my shaded working area which is hard enough to get to due to a small curb.

I'm thinking out loud, but I'm not too sure what I should do first as far as getting the engine running. I'll definitely be cleaning out the carbs and putting in oil, definitely a new battery, coolant, maybe spark plugs. I've read about valves and valve clearance but not too sure how to work on that. I'll  be updating if anyone is interested, and I'll definitely be asking questions. Thank you for replying I need all the help I can get!

  A compression check here is not a bad idea. Don't look for perfect readings at this time you just want a general idea that you at least have reasonable compression just to be sure there are no major issues. The valve clearance I would not worry to much about just yet unless there is a definite issue. Myself if an engine has not run for a while I prefer to run a few additional miles on it before setting valves, get things resettled so to speak. If the engine wont start but you have spark trickle a little bit of gas or lighter fluid down each carb (Start with about a tablespoon in each), then crank it and see if it will fire it should run for a few seconds. This will at least tell you if the engine is capable of firing up. Next move onto the carbs. Gentley with a long screw driver see if the sliders move freely a little bit of seafoam dribbled on the barrels before hand will lube them up a bit..Next I would give  the carbs a good flush or what many here like to call a hot shot with carb cleaner. you can do this without removing the carbs. No point in me going into detail here as the tech section has good info on how to do this.

Edited July 11, 2021 by saddlebum

[Tysons87venture]

I agree, see if you can get it to fire without taking carbs off right away, in my case I needed to remove as I couldnt get it to fire even with a new battery and spraying seafoam up through the drain and top of carb. it was a pain to remove but learned some tricks along the way. I used starter fluid and it definitely tried to start. If I did it over again i would have done compression test first as saddlebum had said 

There is some great tech articles that will really help you.

Also could pull seat off, 2 bolts above rear saddle covers and there is a fuel sender unit which you can carefully remove and see what he fuel looks like and if there is any rust. I used a hand fuel pump and pumped out the old fuel. I also changed my fuel filter which i believe you have to remove rear saddle bag

 

Hope you have fun with your project and love the bike as much as I do, theres lots of great help here and surely you will be up out enjoying the road one day 

[Pasta Burner]

@YoungWayne glad you got to make the purchase!  You may not feel it yet, but in a year from now you’ll be giddy when someone else joins the site having stumbled upon a diamond in the rough such as you did.  
 

I’m sure you’ll see it along the way to getting at the carbs, but just in case take a look at the air filter.  Mice made a nest out of my air filter on another bike one winter and a few had passed away in there, thank goodness I checked before sucking those little bodies into my intake.

another thing to know as you get to checking things out the CLASS is it only works with the key in the ACC position.

As for new rubber I agree with the above to get her running before investing, however if you need something so you can move it around the Shinko 777 are a great tire and won’t break the bank either.  I got mine off Amazon.

[cimmer]

In case you havent found them yet, here is a link to download a copy of the service manual for the first gen Ventures.

These will be of some assistance in figuring out where things are and how to get to them and service them.  And as always, ask us here on thing also.

Rick F.

[YoungWayne]

18 hours ago, saddlebum said:

  A compression check here is not a bad idea. Don't look for perfect readings at this time you just want a general idea that you at least have reasonable compression just to be sure there are no major issues. The valve clearance I would not worry to much about just yet unless there is a definite issue. Myself if an engine has not run for a while I prefer to run a few additional miles on it before setting valves, get things resettled so to speak. If the engine wont start but you have spark trickle a little bit of gas or lighter fluid down each carb (Start with about a tablespoon in each), then crank it and see if it will fire it should run for a few seconds. This will at least tell you if the engine is capable of firing up. Next move onto the carbs. Gentley with a long screw driver see if the sliders move freely a little bit of seafoam dribbled on the barrels before hand will lube them up a bit..Next I would give  the carbs a good flush or what many here like to call a hot shot with carb cleaner. you can do this without removing the carbs. No point in me going into detail here as the tech section has good info on how to do this.

Just to be explicit since I'm no expert, I should try this with oil in the engine correct? I will definitely be trying this when it comes around to that time. I'll check out the tech section as well thanks!

17 hours ago, Tysons87venture said:

I agree, see if you can get it to fire without taking carbs off right away, in my case I needed to remove as I couldnt get it to fire even with a new battery and spraying seafoam up through the drain and top of carb. it was a pain to remove but learned some tricks along the way. I used starter fluid and it definitely tried to start. If I did it over again i would have done compression test first as saddlebum had said 

There is some great tech articles that will really help you.

Also could pull seat off, 2 bolts above rear saddle covers and there is a fuel sender unit which you can carefully remove and see what he fuel looks like and if there is any rust. I used a hand fuel pump and pumped out the old fuel. I also changed my fuel filter which i believe you have to remove rear saddle bag

 

Hope you have fun with your project and love the bike as much as I do, theres lots of great help here and surely you will be up out enjoying the road one day 

 

14 hours ago, cimmer said:

In case you havent found them yet, here is a link to download a copy of the service manual for the first gen Ventures.

These will be of some assistance in figuring out where things are and how to get to them and service them.  And as always, ask us here on thing also.

Rick F.

Thank you, I downloaded that and I'll be reading it!

 

I'll definitely check out the air filter thank you for reminding me. It's been sitting outside in the sun hopefully no critters got in there. 

When I get a fresh battery and turn the key, is there anything I should be looking for or any lights I should be worried about? Haven't gotten to read about that yet, but potential air suspension problems have been worrying me.    

 And I just ordered the Shinko thank you! Unfortunately I think getting the front tire is a must so I can get it out of the street and into the shade.

Thank you, I will look for any rust and probably change the fuel filter as well, it doesn't seem like it has any old gas in there which I think is good so I can just put some fresh gas in there. I think I read about putting premium in an old engine that hasn't started 

Also: picture of myself helping the tow truck driver put some weight on the flat tires so he can pull it up the ramp

Edited July 12, 2021 by YoungWayne
picture

[Tysons87venture]

Bike looks great, be really careful with the plastics they will be really fragile when removing. 

For compression test I bought a gauge that screws into where the spark plug comes out of, make sure you have oil in engine while doing which you  can see from sight glass

Manual says remove all plugs and hold throttle open while trying to start the motor until the gauge in what ever cylinder/spark plug hole you choose reading hits its highest point, write down your max readings of every cylinder and compare 

[Pasta Burner]

@YoungWayne that machine looks incredible for having been outside.  As for warning lights…yep!  The center computer gauge cluster will go through a series of sensor checks each time you turn the key to ON and a red warning light will blink and the fault will stay illuminated on the display until remedied.  Changing the battery will almost certainly cause a fault as it’s looking for low fluid level, this can simply be eliminated by adding a resistor inline.  Also the kickstand down will blink until you are ready to ride and put the kickstand up.  If you put it in gear with the kickstand down it will shut off.

[YoungWayne]

17 hours ago, Tysons87venture said:

Bike looks great, be really careful with the plastics they will be really fragile when removing. 

For compression test I bought a gauge that screws into where the spark plug comes out of, make sure you have oil in engine while doing which you  can see from sight glass

Manual says remove all plugs and hold throttle open while trying to start the motor until the gauge in what ever cylinder/spark plug hole you choose reading hits its highest point, write down your max readings of every cylinder and compare 

Thank you, I will keep the plastics in mind when removing, and I just bought a compression test kit as you and many others here have suggested.

11 hours ago, Pasta Burner said:

@YoungWayne that machine looks incredible for having been outside.  As for warning lights…yep!  The center computer gauge cluster will go through a series of sensor checks each time you turn the key to ON and a red warning light will blink and the fault will stay illuminated on the display until remedied.  Changing the battery will almost certainly cause a fault as it’s looking for low fluid level, this can simply be eliminated by adding a resistor inline.  Also the kickstand down will blink until you are ready to ride and put the kickstand up.  If you put it in gear with the kickstand down it will shut off.

I want to get the before pic the previous owner showed me, it was covered in dirt. It took him 2 months slowly but surely cleaning the whole thing, he even got around to removing most of the rust from the chrome with water and aluminum foil! I'll be looking for a new battery soon, I found one recommended in the tech library.

I opened up the top and saw that there was no battery or air filter, at least I don't have to dispose of the old battery 😃 

[luvmy40]

57 minutes ago, YoungWayne said:

... at least I don't have to dispose of the old battery 😃

 But you will have to pay the core charge on the new battery!

Edited July 13, 2021 by luvmy40

[YoungWayne]

3 hours ago, luvmy40 said:

 But you will have to pay the core charge on the new battery!

Noooooooooooooo I forgot that lol