XV1100SE

You need to start looking at the Calendar entries on here. For the past 12 years MarCarl have put on a meet 'n greet at their home. This year due to circumstances it will be hosted at Dogman's (Dave) in Grimsby. http://www.venturerider.org/forum/calendar.php?do=getinfo&e=504&day=2018-5-26&c=1 Typically a lunch and then afternoon ride. Several local members and some come up from Western NY. Address is found in post http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?136029-MarCarl-s-VentureIn-13&p=1036883#post1036883 As to local dealers...my "go to" dealer apparently is no longer a Yamaha dealer. The new dealer I've never been to although apparently they have both an SVCT and Entruder in stock. Just haven't found time in my life to "go see".....now if it were an SVCT V4...... then I'd be all over it. :-)

Hopefully our paths cross this summer. Are you going to the meet at Dogman's in Grimsby this Saturday? We have the Ontario rally in Niagara Falls July 19-22nd (think you are away then) or the WNY rally in August? By all means, if you are in the area let's meet up. Can probably arrange a group get together for lunch/dinner/coffee some time. I still haven't seen a "3rd Gen" Venture in person and looking forward to it.

Joe...I think you need to cut down on the coffee or switch to decaf. Making you way too hyper ! Believe me, this is not personal but I think you are off the mark on a few points. Any new members reading some of your comments will misunderstand why members with 1st or 2nd Gens were disappointed by the engine configuration of the SVCT. None of the 1st/2nd Gen owners need to eat crow, none of us are disappointed by sales numbers of the SVCT, and I'm sure all of us look forward to reading rider reports. We are NOT looking for negative comments to stand up and shout "I told you so". We as bikers don't care what someone rides. We might joke about Harley and Wing riders but we don't disparage them. "Ride what you want and enjoy the ride". My highlighting in red are things I take exception to, underlining are things I want to make further comment on. When the 2nd Gen's came out, there were certain things 1st Gen owners didn't like about the 2nd Gens. Styling was one, the fork mounted fairing was another. Made the Venture to "Harley" looking. There has been a lot of friendly ribbing as to which Gen is better, faster. As mentioned in some of the posts in this thread, whether it is autos or bikes, when the manufacturer makes changes, the "faithful" won't like every change made. As riders of the 1st and 2nd Gens many of the comments were geared towards updates being to the available power, updating the bells and whistles of the bike with infotainment, fuel injection, etc. Because of the success and proven reliability of the V4 liquid cooled and shaft drive most of us would have preferred that. Myself, I came from a 1999 Virago SE which was an 1100cc Vtwin but after experiencing a V4 I would not go back. It's like having a Mustang GT with 8 cylinders and then going back to a 4 cylinder. The V4 in the 1st/2nd Gen were part of the breed/heritage of the Venture model and as I think most of us would agree makes the SVCT the start of a new "breed" and should have been badged with something other than Venture. When you look at DanielM's list of criteria, I don't think anyone would disagree that the new model required updating. As he said the SVCT compared to the previous Gens is not an equal comparison. The main thing is because of the motor. Had a V4 been put in the SVCT then people would have seen the continuity of the "breed". Without the V4, it isn't the same bike. Daniel has experience on both and his comment is dead on. Consistent with people that went to the SVCT whether from GoldWing like you did, 1st/2nd Gen Venture, Harley, Victory, Indian or what have you.... comparing what is available TODAY in touring bikes (definition - comfortable all day riders with lots of storage to keep it simple) the SVCT is heads and tails above the others. The GoldWing is cramped, the Harley "shakes" constantly.... and the SVCT is completely updated. RDawson nailed it too when he said "I believe the 1800 water cooled boosted power plant would've been the Venture boom we were looking for". Couple things you have said.... Sorry....but if I wanted a Vtwin then there were several available when I got my Venture. As now when you selected the SVCT over the other touring bikes CURRENTLY available, the V4 liquid cooled shaft drive Venture was the best choice for me. "Ease in" to the new model?? Yamaha didn't brand it "Venture" to "ease" anyone out of previous models. This is their FULL touring bike current day. To Yamaha.... their full touring bike WAS the Venture and since this is their full touring bike today, they named it Venture. Simple as that. Should they have come up with a new name? Sure....but then as typical Japanese company, why spend money on registering a new name when "Venture" already belonged to them? Maybe you weren't looking for them since you were riding a GoldWing and had the "Goldwing attitude" of not waving at non-Wing riders? (sorry....joking on this - they just couldn't find the button to have the bike "wave"). Over the years I've seen many Ventures, met many owners. Are there as many as ride the Harley brand? No....but you'll find the same with the SVCT. Harley outsells the other brands in North America so you will see more Harleys than Yamaha's. It's in the numbers. You've seen one other SVCT in Ontario...there will be more but it will be like the 1st and 2nd Gens....what you look for you will see (occassionally). Following "traditions" ? Yes if they are related to heritage. Concerning technology Canadians excel at adapting to new ideas and technologies. V-twin "dominance" has nothing to do with acceptance of the SVCT or "tradition". If you think Canadians don't update to the newest techology because we "LOVE past traditions" then we'd all be living in igloos. Again....sorry... but this is not the reason Yamaha went with the V-twin. The reason there are so many v-twins being ridden is because the majority of bikes sold only come with V-twins. How many models of bikes come with more than 2 cylinders? Of those, the "more than 2 cylinder" models are a niche market. Honda doesn't put the GoldWing engine in all their bikes because the V6 is for their large format bikes. Yamaha looked at what it would cost to build a new bike around the V4 with all the bells and whistles and keep the centre of gravity low, and MAINLY to keep costs down....saw that other manufacturers like Harley were successful selling bikes that had V-twins....and went that way. Case closed. Using other logic, had they gone to a country that was primarily pedal power, they would have gone with no engine at all? As a 2nd Gen rider...I have no "resentment" what Yamaha did in going to a twin. No animosity? Resistance? Galled? Feeling angst? No. Do I wish the SVCT had a V4 liquid cooled shaft drive? YES. This has been mentioned previously but....consider this. Imagine if the SVCT had all the bells and whistles that it does, maintained the low centre of gravity AND had the liquid cooled 1800cc V4. There would be NO COMPETITION in the motorcycle world. Comparing a V4 SVCT to any V-twin would be like comparing Einstein to an ape. To Gen 1 and Gen 2 riders....the evolution of the Venture would have been to keep the DNA of the V4, liquid cooled, shaft drive....and add the technology updates that went into the SVCT. Disappointed? Yes. But I'm sure we all wish Yamaha success in the SVCT and Eluder. We all want to keep seeing rider reports and experiences and even though the SVCT has a v-twin, they are still part of the VentureRider.org family. Will there be a heat issue ? Maybe...but looking forward to reports as the summer heats up and miles get racked up on the SVCT. Hope to meet many new members at rallies and events.

Not sure what Cowpuc was suggesting.... sitting around a lake fishing (maybe we can try this with Freebird's pond at Maintenance Day ?) Myself I like the ads in the classified section. Keeps the forums cleaner and as mentioned, a periodic "purge" is easy to get rid of old ads. When I've seen posts in the forums that someone has something to sell, I don't mind seeing them... quite often there are discussions on price and certainly helps the seller (or buyer) move items. These posts usually don't get very many comments but showing up in the "New Posts" is a good thing. What I'd like : - keep the ad's separate in the Classified section - put MEMBERS "for sale/wanted" in the "New Posts" - I don't want to be directed to eBay, Craigs List, or other external sites. If I want to look there I will look there BUT I do want to support members first. - if someone does put a post in the normal sections and just says "I have an item for sale/want to buy an item" I don't take offense but Don is right....it does clutter up the forums. Putting the new ad's in the "New Posts" gives people a chance to see that some item is listed or wanted and can take the action necessary. What is the poll option for this choice?

The cruise works on air.... could be a kinked line. Also....if your brake or clutch lever are "loose" or partially "on" that would disable the system. Some people that had leather wraps/streamers on the handles had that disable the system (wind pushing back against them). Also, rear brake will disable it too. To test the levers....push forward on them and engage the cruise. If that works then adjust the levers

Hope all goes well.

June would have been a slow ramp up in production. By October there were 1100+. So...based on numbers so far, roughly 200 per month. This comes close to their target production of 2500 for the first year. Based on model builds, the 2019 model year will begin production in June of this year. 2019....hmmmm.....wonder what the changes will be. Drastic changes I'm sure....maybe a "Midnight" version? Maybe silver? Ohhhh.....that would be drastic !

I found that when I went to the Clearview windscreen on my 2nd Gen the original windshield screws would loosen over time and I periodically checked and tightened them. I went to screws that were a couple milimeters longer and no issues since. If you have an aftermarket screen, go with longer screws

Saw this posted May 16th : " Shawn got moved to the Sault Area Hospital today! He’s recovering extremely well "

Glad you weren't injured or go down. I don't recall seeing anyone post about a wind screen coming off of a 1st Gen before. Was it OEM or after market?

For those looking for manuals there is a "read only" section on this forum with 1st Gen service manuals and 2nd Gen owner and service manuals. You can also get Yamaha Owners manual downloads for bikes since 1994 from https://www.yamahamotorsports.com/motorsports/owners-manuals Found a site with 1st gen manuals (owner and service manuals) at https://www.yamahaventure.nl/xvz-1200.html From the 1st Gen owners manual found here the load limits are : Saddle bags 20lbs Travel trunk 20lbs Basic weight 736lbs Max load 432lbs Makes me think of Cowpuc with how he loads his bike. :-)

The manual states : " Do not exceed 80 mph (120km/h) when riding with the travel trunk, side cases or both installed, otherwise handling could be affected" This is their "we warned you and aren't liable" statement. They also state "Always securely close the side cases and travel trunk before riding" - kind of obvious but limits them getting sued because they "warned" owners - like the label on coffee cups that says "Hot". The warning is there because with the travel trunk and it's size it gives a large profile area high up on the bike that a strong cross wind could catch and push you across a lane. I don't get this warning because removing the trunk isn't a simple task and you would lose audio unless you mounted it somewhere else. What I like is the overall load rating of 419lbs. 20lbs per side case and trunk (60lbs). Trunk rack is limited to 20lbs (I think that's the number). I'm 200lbs so that leaves me 139lbs for a passenger (less when you take into account other things that have been added like passenger highway pegs, changing the stock air boxes to the billet ones, trunk rack, etc) or 159lbs if I don't have anything on the trunk rack. If you are heavier, then your passenger has to be lighter. The more you weigh the thinner your passenger. They also don't recommend towing a trailer but how many of us do pull trailers?

I have yet to say that I've seen any in person. I think I saw the back end of one heading the other way on the highway but can't absolutely confirm that it was an SVCT. I haven't gone to a dealer to see one...not in the market...but I might go in to get an oil filter just to say I saw the SVCT and Eluder in person.

Just an FYI.... Apex Cycle (Cambridge) - shows one SVCT and one Eluder in stock Kelly's (Hamilton) - shows one SVCT in stock Clares (Fenwick) - shows one Eluder in stock Brantford Motorcycle (Brantford) - shows one Eluder in stock

Should be able to figure out how many they build a day based on posted build dates and vin #.

"21 fast facts" - https://ultimatemotorcycling.com/2018/02/15/2018-yamaha-star-venture-review-21-fast-facts/

Came across this comparison https://ultimatemotorcycling.com/2018/03/01/iron-butt-comparison-2018-yamaha-star-venture-vs-personalized-2007-royal-star-venture/ Sorry if this has been previously posted.

I see there are issues with 12.0.6. Downloads suspended. Due to technical complications found in software version 12.0.6 for Yamaha's infotainment system on Star Venture TC and Star Eluder motorcycles, we have temporarily disabled the ability to download software updates.

Thinking that for music it should accept large formats for playing music (possibly 128GB) but for firmware updates it might be limited to 8GB as a "boot" or update drive. I'm just guessing but I can't see them limiting "music" sticks to small sizes. But for the firmware updates (from what has been posted previously) it seems the "firmware" sticks provided by Yamaha seems to be common at 8GB. I don't have a SVCT so just guessing based on what has been posted and working in computers for a few decades.

There was an update posted on May 11 : "DAY 5 Here’s a little update on my dad: Yesterday he experienced an episode of unconsciousness during physio. An emergency CT scan was done and showed no changed. He was suppose to be transferred to the Sault Ste Marie hospital, but since he experienced an episode they cancelled the transfer. He was put back on the transfer list and now we are waiting to hear if he’ll get to be closer to home pending on air ambulance and bed availability. No word yet of when a transfer might happen as the paperwork had to be restarted. Each day he’s getting stronger. He was able to use a wheelchair today and enjoyed his first meal out of bed. He is becoming a little bit more of his bubbly self and appreciates everyone’s love and support !"

Done

Sorry to hear about the loss of "Buddy".

I can see there being a card (Navigation Activate Card) having a code (license) to do the initialization of the info-tainment system. That just authorizes it to work, probably for the "zone" (location) where it is used. Might be me but I'm not clear on what the "stick" is. Is this the USB memory stick what you put the update file on? Did it come with the bike or the "Navigation Activate Card"" or do you use your own? USB memory sticks do fail. Yamaha would know this and wouldn't handcuff the owner should the USB stick fails or gets lost/reformated. "un-lock code is used, on that stick, you will be able to update from any other computer...but...you need that stick" "locked to your bike's Finger Print" Is this like what Microsoft did with Windows where when you do the install it uses your hardware configuration (some internal number based on cpu, memory, video, MAC) to "lock" the activation to your computer. Change enough hardware and you have to re-activate Windows. This would prevent someone taking the NAV system (hardware) from one bike and putting it in another. Kind of like Honda car radios where if you disconnect battery power you have to get a "code" from Honda to enable it. Is the "Yamaha Toolkit" software that you install on your computer? Do you have to enter the "Navigation Activate Card" number into the software to get it to work....essentially a software license? Sorry for the questions...just trying to get an idea of how this system works.

Can't see it being a one-time key/use. Say you sell the bike in the future....what does the new owner do? Plus...things fail. There has to be a "reset" of some kind. Plus what if your computer fails and you get a new one? Then you are dead in the water?

I posted in the other thread....what size of a file is the upgrade? If less than 3GB (some will say under 4GB) use a smaller stick (like a 2GB - as long as it is 4GB or less) and format it as FAT32. It is possible that the Info-tainment system is 32 bit operating system and if that is the case "addressing" limits it to below 4GB. You can format a 16GB but the device won't recognize it because it can't "understand" it as the addressing range is outside what it can see.