Valk I/S or Yamaha venture

[jrb]

I,m thinking of selling my 2000 I/S and buying a Yamaha Venture. Love the valk but am concerned about future parts availability, anybody who knows both bikes, I would appreciate your input.

[Challenger]

Sell the I/S. Where are you and how much do you want for her?

[Clark]

SINCE I WAS ASKED TO NO LONGER POST HERE I SENT YA A PM

[Grandpa Bigbuck]

I owned a 2008 Royal Star Venture and really liked the bike. I bought my Valkyrie last June and had no intention of selling the Venture, but after riding my Valkyrie for a couple of weeks decided I would never enjoy the Venture as much as the Valkyrie. So I sold it. A couple of issues with the Venture were, very bad gear whine at certain rpms. The Royal Star Venture is very top heavy but also very comfortable to ride. Good luck wth your decision.

Dave

[Mongo]

When are you going to post photos of the bike you got last week?

[NiteRiderF6]

Either bike is a good choice; but I don't see how anybody could be satisfied with 2 cylinders when they have already been exposed to the smooth power of the flat 6 engine. I agree that repair parts are getting shorter and can see your point there. If I got rid of my Valk, I'd get a Wing myself, but there are choices. Good Luck!

[Grandpa Bigbuck]

The Venture is a 4 cylinder.

[dwreefs]

      Isn't the Yamaha a four cylinder.I think they have a nice look to them especially the midnight special,
     It seems to me I checked a new one out and I thought  the  fiberglass lids on the trunk and bags seemed really wimpy .

[bigdog99]

i was hopin youd be the one to make all the hard to get stuff, you know when i get 400,000 miles i may need something. 
do neighbors get first dibs?
the last yamaha i owned i bought brand new. 78 750 special, took it to california and back. drank oil like a whale.

[BradValk48237]

I bought a 1985 Goldwing in 1994, 10 year old bike.... I rode it for 80,000 miles and 14 years..only thing I had to do to it was a stator and tires and add some chrome. In 2008 I bought a 2000 Interstate, a 9 year old bike..plan on having this one for at least as long as the wing......

That said, overall these bikes are well engineered and solid... few electronics and stuff that can go wrong.. I think that alot of people are worrying about things that may not happen, such as a hydrolock... or Ujoint... or splines...... etc.... I figure 95% of the people on this board will ride their bikes for years with out major repairs.. (Now watch- mine will take a S*&T when I start it tomorrow!!!)

I think you should keep the Valk and ride it.. if it breaks...fix it and ride it.....

Besides... The Ventures look kinda half put together... narrow pipes, odd frame, odd shaped tank, the list goes on... My 10 year old Valk whipped a brand new Venture last fall... repeatedly..... and he was complaining about running 80 MPH on the Superslab..... Said he like his bike, but after he saw and rode mine, he didnt talk so much....

Just my 2 cents.... like they say... barely worth that.

B

[NITRO]

A guy that regularly rides with the VOAI had a Valk, sold it, bought a Venture and road it to 70K+ miles and sold it, now he just bought another Valk. I think that's telling in its own right.

[Dougger]

I had a Venture for a short time. As was stated earlier, TOP HEAVY. Also I felt the engine was not very powerful.
 Sold it and bought a Valk I/S and have ridden it for the last 4 years.
A couple of years ago, we quit carrying the I/S on the back of the motorhome and left her in Florida.
Bought a Harley Ultra Classic in Michigan and last summer parked the harley and bought another I/S for Michigan. Trying to sell the Ultra.
They just ain't the same as a Valkyrie................

[DarkMeister]

Briefly had an '08 Venture before selling it and getting a 99 IS. The wife was all like "Why would you go down 9 years?" The Yamaha just didn't speak to me; we didn't bond. Can't explain it any better. Looks great and all but it just didn't grab me.
I know this sounds weird, but I'm sure some riders can relate...

[R J]

One thing to remember, is they are a SOB to get at the valves for adjustment.

Buddy of mine had a Venture, he wouldn't ride anything other than a Yama-Hopper.

When he passed away 4 years ago, his widow tried to sell his old bike.  It had like 56K on it, had just been all tuned up and ran like a champ.

NO SALE,     She still has it and her son-in-law takes it out about once a month to keep it limbered up.   She keeps lowering the price and stil no takers.  She has it priced for what KBB says it is worth.

Now, that tells me something.   People just don't like em.

I even sent word to the STAR unit that it was for sale.  Still no go.

Personally, I used to ride Yamaha Ventures, old ones, rode a new one and bought a Harley, that got traded for the Valk.    242K+ miles later, I have not looked back.   Told the wife, they would have ot pry my cold dead fingers off of the Valk and she said that was all right with her.   Got 2 kids, who would love to have the Valk, and the same 2 would like to have the Chevy Trike.   Glad I don't have to worry about who gets what when I'm under the ground in my urn.

[Tundra]

I owned a Venture and both my wife and I absolutely loved it. Yes, it's top heavy. In fact, the most top heavy bike I've ridden. You get used to that after it becomes yours. It's tough to navigate in close quarters, almost 9 foot long and heavier than the Valk. With that all said, It was a great ride, very comfortable headin down the road, for both rider and passenger. Nice looking nostalgic dash. The functionality was great, it still looks like a motorcycle and not like "tubberware" water cooled, shaft drive. Mine was virtually maintenance free, tire, brakes and fluids. Never left me stranded. I owned both and enjoyed both, nothing bad to say about either.

[#2944]

I thought I wanted a Venture a couple years ago as my I/S had almost 100K.  Rode one, NO DICE, was glad to get back on my I/S!  Bought another lower mileage I/S.

His 2001 I/S
Hers 1997 Tourer

[3fan4life]

One of my riding buddies has a 96 Royal Star Tour Classic.





It has been a very good bike for him.

It has about 60k mi and the only things that he has done is a new clutch. (and some recent crash repair  ).

He has had the bike since 2002 and rides it like he stole it.

It will run triple digits without complaint.

Because of his experience I've often said that if I had to replace my valk it would be with a Yamaha Royal Star Venture.

The Royal Star isn't as fast as the Valk,

it does a pretty good job of keeping up.

But, if I really want to run off and leave it I can without much difficulty.

If Yamaha were to ever make a 1500cc version of the Royal Star I think that it would be a really good bike.

Like I said if I had to replace my Valk a Royal Star would be at the top of the list.

But that is only if my Valk had to be replaced.

I like my "fat Lady" and as long as she lets me ride her I Will. 

[F6Dave]

The new VMax 1700 V4 motor would make a great Royal Star!  I think it makes close to 200 HP in the VMax so it would need to be detuned some, and Yamaha would have to do a redesign of the chassis to handle all that power.  I know that is not likely for such a low volume bike.  But I would buy one, since the 'new' Wing makes it look like Honda isn't serious about being #1 in motorcycles any more.

Another bike I'd consider is the Rocket III Touring.  It's very Valk like in many ways, though they were crazy to reduce the HP so much.

[Kaiser]

That has got to be one of (if not THE) biggest windshields I have ever seen on a Valk.

[2step]

Ive got a '05 Venture, very good bike, actually rides better than my valk, but I also like the valk better. The venture may go up for sale, its '05 Liquid Silver with 12,000 miles and all the goodies you can put on one. If you are interested let me know.

[hondahead]

Just sold Venture after 2 years with it, always wanted the Valk or GW, but ended up with 2 yrs of Venture. Now traded for Valkyrie I/S and ABSOLUTELY LOVE THE VALK!   Venture was comfortable but had a few weaknesses; Ate it's tires, weak radio, EXTREMELY noisy and "busy" at speed, especially long trips, top-heavy, and dealer could not solve intermettent die-out problem. On the plus side, Venture was very comfortable for driver and passenger and had nice "retro" looks, but never really loved the bike the whole time I had it. Thrilled with the Valkyrie by comparison.

[3fan4life]

That has got to be one of (if not THE) biggest windshields I have ever seen on a Valk.

Just an optical illusion, it's actually 2" shorter than stock.

[Six Guns]

Just an optical illusion, it's actually 2" shorter than stock

I think the helmet on the mirror is what is making it look like a taller windshield. Just my 2 cents....

[RainMaker]

Old comparison review.

http://www.motorcycle.com/shoot-outs/honda-valkyrie-interstate-v-yamaha-venture-15592.html