Mistake buying a Venture?

[nelsonrl]

Every brand bike has problems, Every brand bike has very good points. You all know what I ride and you even allow me to post here still - amazing isn't it? I have owned a car that I made the manufacturer buy back after 6 months. Guess what, I bought a different model from the same company. Will you have a problem or two? Sure, but thats just like with a mechanical device. I have never owned an RSV, but from what I read here its a fine bike with a few quirks Yamaha should address.

 

Problem with forums and email is thats its hard to see the body language people use when talking. Things are taken in a completely different way than they would have been if the conversation had been held f2f. In my humble opinion, there will be more and more posts where good natured ribbing is taken the wrong way the larger this community gets, just the nature of 5000 people in the same family getting together, things taken the wrong way, things said in jest when they should not have been said (at least at the time they were said), etc.

 

Chris (Trainwreck68) welcome to the forum, stick around, I think you will like this place.

[GigaWhiskey]

Trainwreck68, your title to this thread is enough to throw people off. Especially in a dedicated and high usage site.

 

If I jumped into a dedicated and high usage Harley or other site with "Mistake buying a Harley?" or whatever, I would expect to get roasted a 100 times worse. These guys are tame even though it can get spicy once in a while.

 

Have you read the link in a thread where a lawyer sold his bike to someone in Nigeria (supposedly) and lost the bike and his bank account? Whether the story was true or not, they roasted that dude hard.

 

So, sit back, enjoy your new ride and the new group of people that you will enjoy meeting over and over again.

 

PS. My previous post still stands.

[BuddyRich]

Welcome to the site.

Now you in it knee deep.

 

Its a great site and it seems everybody keeps coming back. In fact there's a few people who live here I Think.

[2RDLX]

Hi everyone,

Well last summer I bought a 05 turd deluxe( I say this affectionatley)with 1300 miles.This past weekend I took it on a little ride(700miles).My second day I began to hear a terrible clacking noise similar to a card in the old bicycle spokes.This noise was only heard at slow speeds 5-15mph.Not noticing any other problems and knowing of the service bulliten on greasing of the splines,I continued home.During my little ride I did also find this little whine that I believe everyone is familiar with.So now a little over half way back I start to hear another noise,this noise now worries me.As I roll thru the corners it is making growling noise:sick:.Does his mean I have made a MISTAKE? I don't believe so.

Especially after reading this thread 5 YEAR WARRANTY!!! WOO HOO:cool10:

[2RDLX]

I throughly enjoy my scoot hope to get it back soon.

[BuddyRich]

Growling noise in the corners maybe tire wear. Run your hand over the rear tire and see if it feels cupped on the edges

[2RDLX]

No cupping . Much worse . Bearings.Put scoot on cycle jack and turn rear wheel ooh baad noise.

[Trainwreck68]

Geez! I aready apoligized to FLB and I'm still getting it.

 

I'm glad my thread wasn't "Mistake getting married!?"

[Freebird]

and you just let that be a lesson to you.

[Black Owl]

Geez! I aready apoligized to FLB and I'm still getting it.

 

I'm glad my thread wasn't "Mistake getting married!?"

http://smilies.sofrayt.com/eng/lol5.gif . Man, if you think you got flamed by the guys, start a thread like that and our fair ladies here would be on you like Stink on s..t. http://smilies.sofrayt.com/eng/lol6.gif

 

Just got to remember wht my old friend Willie said, "Forgiving you is easy, but forgetting seems to take a long long time."

 

 

[V7Goose]

You asked the question so don't get upset with the answers. I hope you didn't make a mistake buying a venture, but I sure did. I believe in telling it like it is and not sugar coating things. I get amazed at the repsonses on here. Like the cure for the chirp and whine. Get loud pipes, turn the radio up loud and get ear plugs. I didn't buy my bike to get loud pipes and wear ear plugs. There is no excuse for yamaha knowing about this problem and doing nothing to correct it. My bike has been at the dealer since June 3 waiting for the factory rep to come and see why after 5 rear ends another one is gone. I go on the harley tech talk and gold wing site daily. Sure, other bikes have problems but they are usually some minor problem isolated to just a few bikes. But the venture has constant problems and yamaha ignores the problem. The last time I called yamaha on June 2, and they said they would call me back. Today is June 25 and I haven't received a call yet. But the ventures don't have problems, you just need to gease the rear end. A friend on mine bought an 04 venture new and was riding to texas and a bearing exploded in the rear end. He rented a U haul truck and brought it back to Georgia cutting his vacation short. It took three read ends before his bike got fixed. But the venture doesn't have any problems. Just turn the radio up loud, get loud pipes and ear plugs. I don't think so.

I don't doubt that YOU have had the problems you described. I am sorry for you. It should not have happened, and the manufacturer should have fixed it better.

 

But the FACT is that the vast majority of us do NOT have the problems you complain about. Even the whine afflicts only a very small percentage of these bikes, and most of those have been fixed by Yamaha (or at least made better to an acceptable level according to the owners who have reported here). I have had two RSVs (my 05 and an 07 I just sold), and both are great bikes without any of the problems you complain about. If I needed to buy a replacement bike today, the ONLY bike I personally would consider is another RSV. Just my choice. Ride Safe,

Goose

[Trainwreck68]

Oooo, Let me nip this in the bud!

 

Just kiddin' ladies, I'm happily married to the same wonderful lady for 15 yrs.

[mini-muffin]

Oooo, Let me nip this in the bud!

 

Just kiddin' ladies, I'm happily married to the same wonderful lady for 15 yrs.

Well glad you said that. We ladies were getting our fingers all set for a good workout. :rotf::rotf:

 

Now you need to get to one or the meet and eats or the rallies this year so we can meet you and the lovely lady your married to.

Then we can get her to sign up and keep you in line. :rotf::rotf:

 

Margaret

[YamaGeezer]

I don't doubt that YOU have had the problems you described. I am sorry for you. It should not have happened, and the manufacturer should have fixed it better.

 

But the FACT is that the vast majority of us do NOT have the problems you complain about. Even the whine afflicts only a very small percentage of these bikes, and most of those have been fixed by Yamaha (or at least made better to an acceptable level according to the owners who have reported here). I have had two RSVs (my 05 and an 07 I just sold), and both are great bikes without any of the problems you complain about. If I needed to buy a replacement bike today, the ONLY bike I personally would consider is another RSV. Just my choice. Ride Safe,

Goose

 

Goose - you seem like a real knowledgeable guy on these forums, but you're mistaken here. I own an '07 Midnight with a little over 5,500 miles. I bought the bike off the showroom floor. My bike has the chirp and the "grinding" noise in the rear end. In both cases, the dealership I bought the bike from says it's normal for this bike. They did grease the rear end for me at the 800 mile check-up, but the noise was back before I got to 1500 miles. I haven't been to a meet yet, but I've met two different RSV riders on the Blue Ridge Parkway, one with a 2000 Midnight, the other with a 2006. Both complained about the chirping noise and the rear end grinding. One was from Alabama, the other from NC and neither could get their dealership to fix the problems.

 

The chirp I can live with. From what I've read here, there's no real fix for it anyway. But the grinding in the rear end concerns me greatly. There is absolutely no way this grinding isn't causing some kind of damage. I do not want to get the rear end greased two or three times a year, and my dealership says it is not covered under the 5-year warranty.

 

If I weren't upside down on the finances for this bike, I'd trade it tomorrow. Until then, I'm gonna ride it and hope the rear end doesn't explode when I'm doing 70 on an Interstate.

 

Be safe!

[V7Goose]

Goose - you seem like a real knowledgeable guy on these forums, but you're mistaken here. I own an '07 Midnight with a little over 5,500 miles. I bought the bike off the showroom floor. My bike has the chirp and the "grinding" noise in the rear end. In both cases, the dealership I bought the bike from says it's normal for this bike. They did grease the rear end for me at the 800 mile check-up, but the noise was back before I got to 1500 miles. I haven't been to a meet yet, but I've met two different RSV riders on the Blue Ridge Parkway, one with a 2000 Midnight, the other with a 2006. Both complained about the chirping noise and the rear end grinding. One was from Alabama, the other from NC and neither could get their dealership to fix the problems.

 

The chirp I can live with. From what I've read here, there's no real fix for it anyway. But the grinding in the rear end concerns me greatly. There is absolutely no way this grinding isn't causing some kind of damage. I do not want to get the rear end greased two or three times a year, and my dealership says it is not covered under the 5-year warranty.

 

If I weren't upside down on the finances for this bike, I'd trade it tomorrow. Until then, I'm gonna ride it and hope the rear end doesn't explode when I'm doing 70 on an Interstate.

 

Be safe!

I understand your problems, and I understand that you have a very poor dealer. I am sorry that you have experienced this. But I stand by my statement of fact - we have over 5,000 members here, and if you were to do a detailed search of all the people complaining of your problems, I'd bet you would come up with fewer than 100 (probably far fewer). I will qualify that by stating the engine whine or chirp should only be considered if the owner feels it is objectionably loud - some minor mechanical noises or whine are typical of any motor. When riding with up to 60 other Ventures at group gatherings, I personally have NEVER noticed an objectionable whine from any of the bikes there, nor do I recall anyone there talking about the problem. If I had, I would have loved to listen to the bike just to have it for comparison.

 

Any noise in the rear end is most certainly covered by warranty, and that is enforceable by law. The manufacturer's tech service bulletin is absolute proof that it is known and covered by them. And the greasing of the drive pins (not the "splines" as you will often see mentioned incorrectly) certainly does not need to be done more than once every tire change (and actually not even that often, but it is a good practice). Of course, your problem could be something other than dry drive fingers. The same tech bulletin identifies a problem with the drive bushings not being fully seated. Again, this is a very easy item to diagnose and fix for any half way competent mechanic or service shop. I do not know if you have any other dealer options available to you, but you do yourself a terrible disservice by continuing to frequent the terrible one you mentioned.

 

I wish you luck in finding an appropriate shop to take care of your bike. If you get out this way in North Texas, I would be very happy to check that rear end for you - probably a 99% chance of an easy and permanent fix just by following the tech service bulletin.

Goose

 

Oh, just an interesting side note - my 07 RSV did not exhibit any noise from the rear in 14,000 miles, but I gave the new owner a copy of the TSB and told him to watch for it anyway. He was completely unconcerned, stating that his Honda (I think he said VTX) had had that exact same problem and Honda had the same tech service bulletin out! I will be mounting a new Avon rear tire for him when I get back from Canada in a few weeks, so I will check the drive pins and bushings for him at that time.

[spyderhead]

I am glad your bike makes no whining noise - must be that someone on the assembly line put a Harley or a Honda engine/transmission in it for fun! Wheels are round, the sky is blue usually, all men die some day . . . and Royal Star Tour Deluxes (and Ventures) WHINE!!!!! It is what they do.

[Trainwreck68]

I've put 1000 miles on my 07 since I had it at the dealer for the "chirp" and "whine". They did NO greasing, just realgined the drive shaft, and reseated the bushings on the "fingers" in the rear. That's what the technical service bulletin told them to do, appaerntly it worked so far.

 

P.S. the rear end work only took them 3 to 4 hrs. I hope some of the more dishonest dealers out there aren't just greasing rea ends and letting them go.

[GlennTuc]

Got my 08 RSV on 1 May. I've put over 3000 miles on it since then, and its smooth, quiet and a pleasure to ride. I took it to the dealer at 1000 miles to get the oil changed and a 1000 mile checkup, also a speaker problem. Other than that, I ride and enjoy. A goldwing may be smoother (?), but I don't see how in the world a HD could be.

 

Glenn

[Seaking]

If I may? I bought my 06 Midnight Venture used from a private party without knowing too much about these bikes except that my friends who have them absolutely love them. Because my bike was bought in the USA and brought into Canada by the previous owner, there NO warranty what so ever on this bike. That sucks. But would there be warranty if I were visiting the USA in my travels?

 

I notice I have that loud whine noise in certain gears and speed, mostly to do with the 'load' put on the engine.. While on CB, I was just about to ask my friend if his bike was making this loud whine noise but when he started talking, I could overhear the whining of HIS bike through the headsets. Another friend's Venture, an 07 Midnight does the same thing so I'm sorta comfortable with knowing that the amount of whine from my engine is normal.. annoying yes, but livable.. that's why ya gots the tunes to down it out lol.

 

This is an awesome bike, I almost wished it had been my first bike ; )

[friesman]

If I may? I bought my 06 Midnight Venture used from a private party without knowing too much about these bikes except that my friends who have them absolutely love them. Because my bike was bought in the USA and brought into Canada by the previous owner, there NO warranty what so ever on this bike. That sucks. But would there be warranty if I were visiting the USA in my travels?

 

I notice I have that loud whine noise in certain gears and speed, mostly to do with the 'load' put on the engine.. While on CB, I was just about to ask my friend if his bike was making this loud whine noise but when he started talking, I could overhear the whining of HIS bike through the headsets. Another friend's Venture, an 07 Midnight does the same thing so I'm sorta comfortable with knowing that the amount of whine from my engine is normal.. annoying yes, but livable.. that's why ya gots the tunes to down it out lol.

 

This is an awesome bike, I almost wished it had been my first bike ; )

 

That surprises me that the warranty isnt good on both sides of the border as it is essentially the same warranty , not like a tv where canadian sold stuff generally has a longer and slightly different warranty. I do think you should be covered in the States, but Ive been wrong on a thing or two in my time, I would call the dealer close to you amd maybe also yamaha canada, to ask them that question yourself.

But it just means you get to do a run into the states for warranty purposes , sometimes you might need an excuse for a run.... lol

 

Enjoy your ride, I am sure you will. it is a nice piece of machinery.

 

Brian:cool10:

[flb_78]

That surprises me that the warranty isnt good on both sides of the border as it is essentially the same warranty , not like a tv where canadian sold stuff generally has a longer and slightly different warranty.

 

 

That's because Canadian years are different then 'Merican years!!

 

[GlennTuc]

Canadians are Americans, North Americans.

[Guest mitch]

I sold my harley after 2 years , I paid $14.000 and the dealer offered me $6,000 with 14,000 miles on it . So much for Harley resale these guys who say you can get a lot more for a harley are nuts you only pay a lot more for them (not worth it) you should tell that nut you'll give him $5,000 for his if it is at least 2006 or newer all sound no go !!!!!

[Trainwreck68]

Nothin' is holding it's value in this economy right now. Besides, Harley's are made with 50% "metric" parts now.

 

The "die hard" Harley guys hate to hear that. I owned 2 Harley in the past 10yrs.

[Guest kozman01]

Hey guys, I won't say the Venture was a "mistake" per se, but I don't think the bike is really for me. I've had alot of issues with my 07' and my dealer has been accomidating, but being the most expensive bike I've ever owned, it's been in the shop more than anything else I've owned. As I've stated in earlier and other posts, my wife saved the Venture from a trade-in because she liked the comfort of the bike. Well, that changed last weekend, she sat on a Wing and it was over. I got what I think is a fair trade in price and a great price on the Wing. I'll be completing the sale this weekend. Now, the reason I mention this is that I've taken all my aftermarket off the bike. It's all in near new condition and all have been added to the bike in the last few months. PM or email me if your interested.

 

Beer30's "scooter hooters" Venture front/lower bra. Perfect condition and worth ALOT more than what he charged me for these things

 

Driver's backrest (firehousecustom's backrest off of ebay)

 

Levelling links from Diamond R.

 

Front/rear EBC brake pads. New still in the pack.

Edited July 4, 2008 by kozman01