Humbucker

I was out browsing at my local Yamaha dealership this morning and they had a 2002 or 2003 Venture sitting there, I opened the door for the cassette player and noticed that there's a small hole on the right hand side, probably where you'd plug in your iPod? Once your iPod is plugged in, can you operate your volume up and down from the handlebar controller? How about skipping over to next song, is that something else that is possible using the handlebar controller? Also, how would you rate the sound quality that's on the Venture's stereo? And is it loud enough to keep up with wind noise at higher speeds? It must sound pretty good I would think, especially since there's even a pair of speakers located at the back of the bike too.

Thanks for all the feedback guys! I asked this dumb question because I've never had the chance to ride a Venture for myself. I know that the buzzing from my 1600 Classic kind of drives me nuts whenever I get out on the highway for any extended time. I wasn't sure if there were any issues with these V-4s. Thanks for setting me straight, this bike just sounds better all the time!

I have a Vulcan 1600 Classic, which has a five speed, counter-balanced V-twin engine. At highway speeds, I find that there's a fair amount of high-frequency vibes that come through the floorboards and to a lesser extent, through the hand grips too. Is this also apparent on the Venture? And do you feel that the lack of a sixth gear is a big deal? Is the engine maybe a bit busy when up to highway speeds since it only has a five speed transmission, causing any kind of noticeable buzzing/vibrating?

I currently own a Kawasaki 1600 Classic, it's not the best bike for two-up rides, it's a little bit shy on power for this purpose IMHO and the brakes and shocks aren't cutting it either. Don't get me wrong, she's been a good bike but maybe not the best thing for hauling two people comfortably. I might keep it as my own ride and get something else for two-up. I'll admit that I was kind of feeling the tug of the Harley Glides but the price is certainly up there, the reasonable side of my brain just can't come to terms with laying out that much cash for a motorcycle. They're nice bikes alright, but not that nice! And while there's a side of me that wouldn't mind being part of the big HD family out there on the road, another side of me wants to buck this idea completely because I'd probably feel like a lemming for letting social pressure influence my choice of a bike. Believe me, I've wrestled with this on and off for a couple of years but I'm now pretty sure that the non-HD side is winning this war in my head. While I've never had the chance to ride a Venture, I've got a feeling that for two-up touring, a V-4 would be better then any bike with a V-twin anyway, no matter what brand. So, I've tried to hone in on what might be the best touring bike for me, which one ticks all the boxes, or most of the boxes. The new Vulcans are out because they're V-twins, and I've read enough reviews that were less then excited about Kawasaki's newest offerings. Plus, there's not much of a dealership network for Kawasaki here right now anyways, so they're out. There's always the Goldwing but I'm not keen on the overall look of that bike, it pretty much leaves me cold in that department. Plus, it's really pricey! Even used, they're way too much money. So, that lead me to the Yamaha Royal Star Venture. Really nice looking bike, seems to be of the highest quality too. It feels quite luxurious when you sit on it. I find it a tad top-heavy but I'm six feet tall, so I should be able to get used to it. The hardbags and trunk are super high quality. Actually, it seems that the total carrying capacity of the Venture is exactly the same as the Harley Glides. So, lots of storage capacity! It also seems to look a bit better then the Harley, especially when looking at the back end, the saddlebags and trunk don't look boxy like the Harley's. Like I already said, I guess I just can't see any sense in spending a small fortune on a motorcycle when you don't have to. The Venture is a LOT of bike and luckily, doesn't come with an inflated price. It just looks to me that the Venture is probably the best deal out there for a touring bike. It's a beautiful looking bike, performs very well, is super reliable, has a great track record, lots of them around, lots of Yamaha dealers around and is priced for the common man. Hooray!!! Can you tell that I'm really impressed with these bikes?!

Thanks again guys for all your posts! I've toyed with the idea of going Stateside to get a bike but I guess I'm a bit lazy, I figure that sooner or later, there should be a sweet deal on one of these used Ventures in my area. I'm in no hurry to buy, so time is on my side. I'd like to get a fairly new one with a reasonable amount of miles on it. It's fun to look. Hell, with that being said, I think that I'll have a look at what's available in the States, if there are some crazy good bargains, I'll go through the hassle of going down to get me one. I'm in Atlantic Canada, so I'd prefer to not go a whole lot further then say, New England. Any suggestions as to where to look online for bikes in the States? Kijiji perhaps?

Hey guys, thanks for all of your posts, that's a big help! Yeah, I kind of had a gut feeling that that example that I posted wasn't a deal to write home about but it's good to know about mileage not being a huge concern on these bikes. That's good to know. Speaking of high prices on used Ventures, there's a guy in my area selling his 2008 Venture with 15,700 klms (9,755.53 miles) for $19,500 CDN (19,015.33 USD)!!! He says that he added $4,000 dollars worth of Star accessories but wow, $19,500?!!! Our local Yamaha dealer has a leftover 2009 Venture in two-tone red and black that's been sitting there for two years and it's now listed at $17,000 CND ($6,200 CND off their original price), not bad I guess but they still want to tack on another $1,000 over and above that $17,000 for freight and P.D.I, that brings it back up to $18,000. That kind of spoils it IMHO. I'll bet that they'd wave the Freight & PDI if a guy went in there waving cash around. Here's an internet pic of the color scheme of this 2009 leftover: http://www.autoevolution.com/moto-image/yamaha-royal-star-venture-2009/6914.html#image So, you can get a brand new 2009 bike for right around $17,000 with five year warranty or you can pay this other guy an extra $2,500 for his 2008 used Venture. What are people smoking these days anyways?! But, I agree that there's nothing more fun then shopping for a new bike, I've got a lot of cold winter months coming up to study the market and try to land a killer deal. That'll help pass the time.

I don't own a Venture as of yet but it has to be on the top of my list for my second bike. It's an awesome machine from what I can tell and is definately a bargain(especially used) compared to the other popular baggers out there, Harley and Goldwing. I was wondering how much mileage can you get out of these Ventures? Here's an ad posted in my area for a 2000 Venture with what seems to me to be fairly high mileage: http://halifax.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-motorcycles-street-cruisers-choppers-2000-Yamaha-Royal-Star-Venture-W0QQAdIdZ238464566 That 139450 klms is 86,650.21 miles BTW, just to clear that up. The price seems pretty decent and the bike looks to be in good shape, it's just the mileage that kind of concerns me. I know that the seller is a stand-up guy, a machinist by trade and also a motorcycle mechanic. He wheels in deals in buying used bikes, fixes them up and only sells them when they have a clean bill of health. So, I wouldn't hesitate buying a bike from him, that's a plus. But again, what about the mileage?

sarges46: "Keep those cassettes though as Yamaha still thinks there is a market for that technology!":D Too funny! It's too bad that Yamaha couldn't have just gutted that tape deck area of the dash and done something else with that space. Cassettes were basically behind the times way before 1999, when the new Venture was first released. What were they thinking? Oh well, no biggie, just hook up an iPod. "the major tech problem being a weak rear shock." What's the problem with the rear shock?If the OEM rear shock is underwhelming, can you upgrade with a good after-market shock?wes0778: So that rear brake has a pretty decent bite does it? It's good to hear what you guys think and not only going by what an eleven year old article said. Thanks!

I just read this article: http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/roadtests/touring_motorcycles_comparison/index.html "finicky handling when loaded, poor braking power." Was one comment. It looks like this article was trying out the first year that the new Ventures came out, way back in 1999. In this article, they complained quite a bit about the Venture's handling when loaded down, the other two bikes in the comparo faired better in this dept. They also complained about the brakes. Did Yamaha iron out these bugs (if they did exist) after the first year of production? Maybe part of the handling problems were due to tire issues? They bragged up the Harley's storage but from what I can tell, the Venture comes in at the exact same amount of storage capacity but more of it is found in the saddlebags and less in the trunk but it carries the same total amount as the Harley. Actually, it's better to have more of the weight low anyway.

Hey that's great, glad you found the right bike!

Thanks for your post buddy, I'll remember that whenever I get a chance to take one of these out for a demo ride! Grislom1: It's nice to get your perspective, being a former Harley owner and all, that speaks volumes! While I like Harleys overall, I'm starting to have doubts about their touring line and that's because of the engine. After giving it a lot of thought, I don't think that a V-twin is the way to go for a touring bike. I noticed how a lot of those guys do various things to their bikes in order to squeeze a bit more power out of those V-twins and I think that it's a losing battle with the heat and everything. It would be a hoot to be able to jump on a Venture right after having taken out a Harley touring bike just to compare. What do you think of a sticker price of $18,500 CAD ( $18,088.93 USD) for a leftover 2009 Venture in black & red? Our local Yamaha dealer has one sitting on their showroom floor. Maybe they'd go even lower in another month or two, I'll keep an eye on this but I was just wondering how this price compares to other regions.

steamer said: "I can't tell the difference between 1 up and 2 up when it comes to power.By the time i get into 3rd gear were doing 60mph in only a few seconds." It's great that the bike has that much power that you don't notice the extra load. I was out today with with my wife on the back of my Vulcan 1600 Classic and I'm not at all impressed with the way the bike is performing. I find that it's shy on power when taking off from a stop, it's okay without a passenger but I don't always ride solo. I would have thought that a big V-twin like this 1600cc would have more then enough grunt to haul two people but I'm underwhelmed to be honest. I thought that one thing that a big V-twin offered was stump-pulling torque, I'm not really seeing this when I'm hauling a passenger and I'm leaving a stop sign. Basically the bike seems shy on power overall. BTW, I took out some new Harley touring bikes this summer at their demo days and they seemed to be a lot more peppy then my Kawasaki but the Harleys have the same basic cubic inches. Maybe I'm losing some power through my shaft drive? Or maybe it's the way that the gears are set up? I'm not sure but the Harleys felt more powerful. Another things that my Vulcan 1600 Classic is lacking are really good brakes, comfortable seats and plusher suspension. Yeah, it's definately a cruiser and not a real tourer, this is really apparent to me now. I'm going to have to bite the bullet and get a bike specifically geared for two-up touring, the 1600 Classic just isn't cutting it for me anymore.

phertwo: The CFL game was a HUGE hit here, I wasn't there but it sure did draw a crowd. They're talking about doing it again next year. etcswjoe: I'm relieved that you said that the Venture could carry a couple of bigger folks, I had read a review where they compared the Venture against a new Kawasaki Voyager, Harley Ultra Glide and a Victory Vision I believe and they said that the Kawasaki Voyager only had a carrying capacity of appx. 375 pounds, and the Venture was a little bit better at 395 pounds. or there abouts. Apparently, the other bikes could carry more weight, the Victory Vision might have been the best in the bunch, I can't remember. This concerned me since my wife and I together would probably be a little bit over 400 pounds, and that doesn't even include luggage. Apparently, the new Goldwing hasn't got a good carrying capacity either since the bike itself is so heavy right out of the gate without people sitting on top of it. Obviously, the carrying capacity is a bit conservative and they can do better then indicated in the specs. Hopefully, I'll get to try one out for myself. There's a big motorcycle superstore in our area and they sell Yamaha. They have at least five Ventures on the floor of which four are used bikes. I'm sure that I could take one out for a spin if I ask them. They know me there as I go in often to look at all of their bikes. They have a brand new, left-over 2009 Venture in 2-tone red and black for $18,499.00 (Canadian), I'm not sure if that's a super price or not. What do you guys think? I'm thinking that if I could score a lightly used Venture at a bargain basement price (like I've seen in the past on Kijiji), I'd save so much money compared to buying a new Harley ElectraGlide, that with the money that I save, I could probably buy a second bike, maybe even an older Harley Softail, if I really want to get a Harley in my stable. Thanks to everybody for chiming in here and helping me sort through this decision process, it's kind of hard to settle on one bike when there are so many good bikes to be had these days. Talk about option anxiety! But that Venture is definately something that I have to take out for a spin and see for myself what it's all about. I want something reliable and capable of taking two people out on an extended trip and not feel all beat up when you get there. The Venture has got to have more personality then a Goldwing, so that might be the best all around bike for me. Please add anymore feedback, I'm loving it!

Hi from Atlantic Canada! Moncton, New Brunswick actually. I currently own a Kawasaki Vulcan 1600 Classic and would like to move up to a full-on touring bike for my wife and I by next summer. I've tried out various Harley touring bikes and find them quite nice but I've seen so many used late model Royal Star Ventures going pretty cheap, it's hard not to take these into consideration too. I've never had the opportunity to try one out for myself, so I'm trying to get as much info on the internet as I can find. Looks like a lot of bike for the money. I don't know if I'd go the Goldwing route, so the Venture might be the bike for me. It seems like a bike that falls somewhere between an UltraGlide and a Goldwing? Even though the Venture is only a five speed, when cruising down the highway, it doesn't cause buzzing at the handgrips or floorboards does it? Are there any negatives in dealing with the four carbs, rather then modern fuel injection? How are the brakes? Most modern large-sized touring bikes now have ABS or offer it as an option, does this cause you any concerns as it's such a big, heavy bike? Any input from you Venture owners would be greatly appreciated, thanks!