johnny-canuck

Riding season is over for the winter here on the east coast. I actually got an extra couple of weeks in this year. Bonus!!! Then, since I wasn't riding, had to do a bunch of stuff around the house to get ready for the snow, which fortunately still hasn't arrived. My riding buddy showed up yesterday on his Wing. Grrr!!! Thanks for the input on the valves. Mine is due in the spring and I'm not sure I want to do it, but then, I don't want to mess up the warranty. I have 4 months to ponder on it I guess... Merry Christmas...

Has anyone had the 16,000 Mi (25,000 Km) Valve Clearance Check done on the new Venture/Eluder? And if so, did they need adjusted? I'm getting close... From what I've heard, on the new Venture, it is labor intensive. I've found that most things on this bike are labor intensive and therefore expensive.

Been busy lately. The weather this month has been fantabulous!!! It's like living in California instead of the East Coast of Canada. Riding almost everyday. But it looks like that has come to an end. Rain and cold weather in the forecast The brake issue worked itself out after a couple of days of riding. Not sure what was going on. I did talk to the mechanic and he has no idea. The issue I'm finding with this bike is that there are so few of them that the techs don't know much about them.

Thanks to all for the input and to cowpuc for the detailed reply. Just shows how easily things can get messed up. I'm taking it for a ride today, but will definitely be taking it back to the dealer. Even though I didn't buy the bike there, they are treating me really good. Part of the problem is that this is a relatively small city and as far as I know, there is one other TC and one Eluder in town, so they don't get a lot of practice.

Forgot. It's a 2018 Venture TC.

So, after 22,000 Kms (13,700 miles) and a bunch of canvas showing all the way round, I decided to change the rear tire. I should have changed it a bit sooner, but even so, I am impressed with the mileage I got out of the Exedra. Now to my problem. When I picked up the bike which was still sitting in the mechanic's stall, the rear brake pedal went all the way to the bottom. After a few pumps it came up but was still soft. The shop was closing so I left and figured it would come around. I rode it home, about 5 miles, and the rear brake is still soft. The front brake seems to work fine, but the rear is soft and I don't think I'm getting full braking power. I don't know why the brakes would be affected as other than take the caliper off, the brakes aren't touched. It feels like air in the line, but the lines weren't opened so no air should get in. It's pouring rain today, so I haven't got out to really try it. I'll take it out tomorrow for a run and then back to the shop on Monday if they don't improve. My question is: Has anyone had this happen to them?

Thanks, I'll give that a try. I haven't been on the bike for over a week and it will be a few more days before I do get out. Getting anxious

I had them check it when I had the service done. Said it was good. I don't have a lot of confidence in that dealership and will be taking it in to my dealer here who did all my RSV work. I'd really like to get the throttle response figured out. At 2500, if I give the throttle a good twist, it sounds like it's sucking air and there is nothing for a second or two, then it gradually increases in speed for a second, then it really takes off. I don't know if the lag is normal or not. This is my first big twin. I'm used to 4 or 6 cylinders and the immediate response. Am I expecting too much at the lower rpms??? I ran it in Touring mode for the last 3 or 4,000 Kms and it seemed to respond well, but then I was getting used to the bike. Did I mention that I really like riding this bike???

Yup. It can get up there, even in the lower gears. And it doesn't complain when you push the rpm up. But with peak torque at 2750 rpm, I expected to get good response in the 2500 to 3000 range, especially in Sport mode. I'm thinking it needs a tweak or two.

I used to be a member of this site until 2012 and just rejoined. I had a 2007 Midnight Venture and loved it. I put 100,000 Kms on it and the last I heard, it is still going with over 200,000 Kms. When it came time to get a new bike, I wanted to get away from carbs and I definitely didn't want a cassette player Got a really good deal on a 2010 Goldwing in 2011. I put over 150,000 Kms on it and decided I wanted a new ride. We had planned to ride from the East Coast of Canada (New Brunswick) to the West this spring/summer, then down into the US for the return trip. Covid changed all that and we postponed the trip until next year. Then things started to open up a bit in Canada, so we decided in late June to maybe do a one way ride as the border between the US and Canada is still closed. I don't like the new GW. Even if I did, it would be a challenge to do that long of a ride, two up, with the small storage capacity on the new model. Our new plan was to buy a bike in Western Canada and ride home. I was looking for a used 2015 to 2017 GW with low mileage but couldn't find one at a dealer, BUT, I did find a 2018 Venture TC, with 4,900 Km (3,045 mi) on it, at a reasonable price in Vancouver. Called, talked, bought... We flew out July 15 and picked up the bike July 16. We more than doubled the mileage before we left British Columbia. The mountains were just too much fun!!! 38 days and 12,000 Kms later, we are home. There is a whole lot I like about this bike, and a few things I would change, but aren't show stoppers. I find the seat gets uncomfortable after about 5 hours on the road. Then I have to stop more often. My wife finds the back seat most comfortable. The seat on the Midnight was really comfortable and 12 - 14 hour days didn't produce any pain. Not sure why the new one couldn't be the same. I think it's a crime that one spends so much money to buy a motorcycle and then has to put out more to put a good seat on it. Both the RSV and the Wing were more responsive to the throttle, but to be expected when comparing 4 and 6 cylinders to 2. Having said that, the TC has lots of get up and go and is really smooth. I just have to remember that it has 6 gears. Found myself cruising along in 5th and forgetting to shift. This bikes overall handling is better than the other two, although both the Wing and the RSV were awesome in the twisties. We rode mountain roads with tight turns and hairpins and the bike handled them with ease. The slow speed handling is awesome. First day we picked it up, we got caught in construction, and although the traffic didn't stop, it was crawling at a walking pace. We did this with both feet on the floor boards. This type of riding on the RSV was a nightmare because it was so top heavy. Wing wasn't much better. It's hard to believe that this bike weighs 960 lbs, before loading it with gear and people. And when we hit the long, straight, flat roads of the prairies, I found out where the Transcontinental name comes from. It just purred along. Forever and ever... I read that heat is a problem, but the only time I really noticed the heat was when we were stuck in slow moving traffic on really hot days. It came with the Yamaha headsets and they are very clear. Phone calls are noise free. Only issue I have is that sometimes the intercom won't shut off when the switch is released. It could be a setting somewhere as I'm still trying to figure it all out. The throttle response is great, until it gets into 5th and 6th. When I crank it when the RPM's are between 2500 and 3000, it seems to be sucking air and takes a bit to respond. If I don't open it all the way, I get a better pickup. It also seems to perform better in Tour mode than Sport and I would expect the opposite. I did have the dealer in Vancouver look at it and they did a little adjustment, but it's not much better. I'm not sure if this is normal as I'm not used to riding a twin, but I am going to have the dealer here check it out. Does anyone else find this? One other thing that bugs me, is that sometimes, when starting the bike, I have to hit the starter more than once as it won't turn over. Like it's on a compression stroke and doesn't have the omph to turn over. Another thing for the dealer. I really like this site, and remember using it a lot when I had the RSV. I've already checked out a few things since I've bought the new one and expect I will be lots in the future. Actually, now that I think about it, I did read some of the threads before I bought the bike, looking for opinions on the TC.

I haven't started looking yet, so I thought I'd save myself some time and ask. Do I have to split the fairing to get at the OD light bulb on the 2nd gen? I think it is the bulb or loose connection. It stopped working late last year just before I put it away and I forgot about it when I was getting the bike ready this spring, UNTIL I got on the highway. It doesn't work most of the time, but it does work occassionally. It's not high on the priority list but it will get done sometime... Thanks, John

I agree. Put a Bad Boy on mine. Mounted it under the hood beside the light. People hear me now:lightbulb:

This happened a couple of weeks ago. Ya just never know what is coming at ya!!!! This happened in Northern New Brunswick, Canada. LAC-BAKER - A 59-year-old man is dead following a bizarre motorcycle accident this week in Lac-Baker, near Edmundston. The Mounties said Thursday that the man died Wednesday afternoon when his bike was struck by an unattended pickup truck that rolled out of a driveway and onto Route 120. The driver of the truck apparently left his vehicle, believing it was safely parked. The truck will undergo a mechanical inspection. The victim's name has not been released.

Thanks to all for the input. Boats are fun but too slow. Airlines won't let me take the bike in first class. And I've heard horror stories of the 95 around New York city and Mom won't let me out after midnight, so I will be looking at the other options. I went through last year on a men's run but was following so I didn't take note of the route and it was busy. I don't really want to get into real heavy fast traffic two up. Thanks again.

We're heading south in July and I'd like some help on the best route from Boston to Washington, DC. I know the route from here to Boston well, and I know where I'm going after I get to Washington. I looking for a fast route from Boston to Washington, but I don't want to get in heavy traffic. We'll be traveling this area on a Sunday. Washington is pretty much the beginning of this trip and Nashville is the destination with some nice riding in between (Skyline, Blueridge, Dragon, and a bunch of other roads). Any and all help is appreciated. John