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I had a flat once,, and after working in the mud and snow in my Sunday suit to change it out, discovered it was only flat at the bottom!!! Things they don't tell yah in the owners manual!!!

Hey Marcarl, I have to admit, I have rarely seen you post about something that has you scratching your head over it, so this will be an honor to add my two cents to the mix! With that being said, The guide bushings that keep the upper fork tubes in the center of the lower fork tubes will wear out just like the fork seals. In fact, if the guide bushings are excessively worn, they will cause a perfectly good set of fork seals to start leaking! Because of the "Rake" of the front fork tubes, (angle of the tubes in relation to the center line of the motorcycle frame) the guide bushing inside diameter will become "egg shaped" over time. When this condition increases to the point where the lip of the fork seal no longer contacts the upper fork tubes, leakage will result. There are usually two guide bushings in each lower fork tube, try replacing those. Earl

Best bet is to take it off and clean it up with hot water and dish detergent(Dawn) or Simple Green, Puprple power, etc. You want to take a look at the breather hose anyway.

AllBalls is almost entirely Chinese stuff, they do make steering head race/bearing sets for our bikes that is made in India, but I think thats about it. Chinese fork seals are widely known to fail prematurely regardless of how impressively they are packaged and marketed. I highly recommend discarding the AllBallz items and instead using OEM Yamaha. If it's already together then do grab a set of OEM Yamaha seals and keep them in a saddle bag with you. Trust me on this one haha.

LOL. Yes but they keep a lot of us employed fixing their 'design flaws'.

Engineers ahhh There's one of them behind every good train wreck.

Just a reminder, the bike will probably start, but won't rev or drive without the air filter and cover in place.

Had a beautiful 70 degree ride into work, and 15 miles of pouring rain coming home. Life is good God's still sovereign and let me make it home in 1 piece.. thanks Jesus 😁

This is a touring bike, 2009 Venture

What do you mean..... Canadians???? We tried, but it wouldn't turn. Found out later that both back wheels needed to be off the ground and there was only one jack. Guess it was cheaper to have a spare rather than put in 2 jacks,,,,, Americans!!!! and their engineers!!!

So why didn’t you just rotate it and put the flat spot on top? Canadians. Geeezz.

I have found a issue with after market seals ...I ordered seals for my 83 1200 from Yamaha , it seemed they would never come so found some aftermarket not to far away and they arrived quickly . They don't seal properly , now I am back to waiting for my seals from Yamaha

I only ask because yes as @Condor says he’s a mainstay member and this is the time of year when his experience and advice is invaluable and so much appreciated and anticipated. Hoping all is well. I’m still new here and haven’t met any of you in person yet, but I have a connection with a lot of y’all.

Just finished cleaning crap off rear rim,driveshaft and left hub. Installed and shimmed saddlebag guards and bags. Now waiting for rain to stop(probably tomorrow) so I can break-in tires. Been off tooo long!!!!

@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.

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.

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