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I was finally able to pick up my 2018 Venture from the shop after a complete rebuild of the motor which was covered under warranty. I haven't had a chance to ride it yet because of heavy rain starting as I was unloading it off the trailer, but the service tech put about 100 miles on it before changing the oil. The bike does sound good though.

I had the cam lifter failure on my 2018 Venture back on November 19th. Took it in to the dealer on December 7th for diagnostics. I spoke to my dealer on December 20th and they were writing the estimate for the warranty work and was already at $8,000.00. They have been back and forth with Yamaha trying to get the approval for the work. Yamaha keeps giving them the run around, the dealer thinks that it will eventually will be approved but know idea when. I already have three trips planned for the year on the bike so I have been looking to see if I can come across a deal to pick-up a back-up bike. I ended up finding a good deal on a 2009 Kawasaki Voyager so I pulled the trigger. Wanted something that was fuel injected so I wouldn't have to worry about the carbs if it didn't get ran a lot. This is the only picture I currently have of the bike so I figure I would at least post one.

Safe travels and prayers.

Re-reading your post, I forgot to mention that the original rear shocks were legendary for their reliability. I'm not saying that its not a good idea to have a spare, but the originals seem to last forever. It could be that your speedo drive on the front wheel might have a bad ratio for your speedometer. Perhaps one from an earlier model will fix that. That's all I got tonight. Keep us up to speed !

OK. I like your project bike, even though I'm horrified by the paint scheme you are proposing ( lol ). Bear with me here for a bit as I'm unfamiliar with the post 86 Ventures. Your original 83 brake anti-dive system was activated by hydraulic pressure . Each anti-dive valve was hooked up to the front caliper next to it. I suspect that the newer model you have is similar. One side would be electrically hooked to the handlebar brake stop light switch and the other to the foot brake stop light switch. One commenter suggested that with progressive springs, that entire system is unnecessary. I agree but short of taking your front end apart I do not know how you would check. Two other things you should know, if you haven't figured it out yet,: The front end of the 86 and up bikes used a larger diameter fork tube than the earlier bikes and it is more ridged and stronger than the earlier design. ( So you should keep it ) In addition, you do not have the original brakes on your front end but the much better calipers from one of the later Yamaha "Ninja" type bikes. Something like a YZ1000 . Some person with more knowledge will step in shortly to identify the exact model or you can wander through the hundreds of posts here to find it. Your calipers look nothing like the calipers on my 86 parts bike. If you cannot get your air suspension system running, I have a spare one. Many people here have spare parts they might donate for the cost of postage. PM me if you want it. There is one more dreary and sad thing I must inform you of. In the FACTORY MANUAL, for 83 to 85 Ventures , the intake and exhaust valve clearances are REVERSED. This means that the exhaust valves are too tight and the intakes are too loose. If you intend to keep the bike you must check this. If you doubt me, check out the used motors on e-bay. It is frequently noted the compression is low and this is why.