suds

200km into ownership of a 1990 VR and I believe I'm staring down the bad end of a clutch slave gone bad. It's like the clutch won't disengage so when I put it into gear with the brake on , it stalls. I did replaced the fluid/bled the master however the issue is still there. Any feedback on how hard a job it is to do a rebuild or if that's even advisable. I've read opposing views on some threads here but I'm not sure what to do.

Just finalized the deal for a 1990 VR ... the only problem is that I can't pick it up until a week from now because of my work schedule

I've put an offer on the '90 but when we went to start it it wouldn't start. It seems that there's no spark. He had it running a couple of weeks ago and he's never had it not start immediately. I'm going to have to do some research to see what the possible problems are.

well, I'm not sure that's the one I'm going to buy... I'm going to look at a '90 tomorrow. I spoke with my mechanic about the '86 and he saying it's probably the clutch slave. Anyway, I'll see what the '90 looks like and then decide. Here's the '90:

I thought it looked like brake fluid...

So I took a look at the bike... it had some clear looking oil that it was leaking... seemed it may be coming from somewhere on the right side. The clutch lever was loose with no resistance whatsoever. The battery was dead but with a boost it would start and run. I never got it out for a ride because I was concerned about the clutch. When up on the centre stand in gear, the rear wheel spun when in gear - is that normal? Cosmetically it was exactly where I figured it would be based on the pictures... rough but useable. Anyone have any ideas on what the oil might be... appeared clear but definitely had an oily feel. How about the clutch lever? Any ideas?

paysaw... did you see any major issues when you saw that venture? He's saying a battery and a front tire to certify.

Reinyrooster I'm about an hour east of Toronto. I've gotta tell ya, this board seems to be used by a lot of knowledgable people who appear very willing to help point you in the right direction and it's making the decision an easy one with regards to my pending purchase. I hope to finalize the deal this weekend, I'm just finishing off my shifts at work and then I hope to be the proud owner of an '87 Venture Royale!

you got it... ya I was trying not to make it known because my wife has me on such a tight budget, this might be the only one I can get. She's not a fan of me riding but I told her, I've put it off for over 18 years to have the family and now they're all getting old enough I want to get riding. She understands but the agreement put me on such a tight budget I didn't think I'd be able to find something... then that one came along and it was like it was meant to be. I'm really hoping it works out and someone doesn't snatch it out from under me.

thanks for all the replies... done some reading already (off work sick) and the more I read, the more I'm convinced this is the bike for me. I've been warned before about the weight of moving to this class of motorcycle but I'm a pretty stout lad and I'm comfortable going into this "informed". Speaking of Harleys... almost all my buddies are on them with the exception of a couple of v-stars, a road star and a goldwing... I don't mind being in the minority. As the driver of the "crash truck" on previous bike trips I can attest to the fact that the only bikes that got loaded on the trailer were Harleys... so I'll be quite happy on a Venture if I can secure one. Thanks again, suds

Hello VR members! I have spent some time reading on your forums and it appears to be a wealth of knowledge (as well as some characters!!). I used to be heavy into the diesel car scene and frequented a board of similar quality and found it immensely helpful. I'm new to the world of riding touring motorcycles, having only ridden smaller bikes when I was young and never having a m class licence back then. :shock: I’m going to look at an ’87 Venture Royale (listed as a XVC13D by the seller) with some higher mileage (135,000km/84,000miles). It appears to have been well maintained. I’m looking to see if anyone can suggest items to check that might help with the decision (anything that is chronic for this model/year). Oh yeah, the seller advised me that the reason for selling was that he has purchased a new Goldwing. Thanks in advance for any advice/suggestions. suds