mid 1980s Venture 1200

[sprk_sprd]

Am I crazy for wanting one?  Anyone have experience with these?  I've seen a few on CL with relatively low miles (i.e. less than 50K) and seemingly in good shape.  Any advice is appreciated.

[soonerstan56]

I owned an '83 the first year of production, which was purchased in about 1990 ,with about 3500 miles on it and rode it for four years across more states than any machine I have owned since.
The V four engine on it was way ahead of everything ,including Gold Wings,in terms of performance until Honda moved past the '1500 several years later.
Mine was an early model with a weak stator and second gear issues but  Yammie took care of those in the following models.
For a "Fat Girl" the 1200 Venture will haul ass!

Stan

[mcrider007]

I had a 84 and a 89 Venture Royale and rode them a total of 96K miles.  They were very good bikes for the 80's and were the hot rods of the full dress touring bikes.  Like most bikes of that era, the suspension was not very good and the frames were wimpy and would flex if you pushed them too hard in the sweeping corners.  I think they made about 80 HP at the rear wheel and the entire bike would get very light and unstable at triple digit speeds.  Gas mileage was in the low 40s if you didn't push it too hard and the seats were pretty good.  I really liked mine and would not have bought a second one otherwise but when I traded in my 89 on a ST1100 it was a huge change.  The ST1100 had far better suspension and was a much faster and more comfortable ride.

[ksawatsky]

Awesome bikesmand a blast to ride. As has been mentioned, they were ahead of everything else out at the time.

I had an '83. The 83-85 models generally lost their 2nd gear at around 40K due to a design flaw. I just got used to double shifting mine from 1st to 3rd, but just helped a friend switch out his motor to a '91 1300 on his '83.

[APEowner]

I was service manager @ a small Yamaha dealership in the early 90s and worked on a bunch of these and I really don't remember any issues with them.  I was aware of the 2nd gear problem but I never saw one with that issue so it's not like they all failed.  I loved the sound and feel of those v4s.

[veefer800canuck]

It's basically a v-max engine without the v-boost intake system.
Most of the v-max hit rodding techniques should apply, so you could have a 145hp venture royale!

[oldenslow]

I don't think you're nuts, I love the older bikes.  Before I found an '86 Goldwing last fall, I was looking at the Venture and also the Suzuki Cavalcade (yeah, it was a dumb name).  I settled on the wing, mostly because there's "millions" of the damn things, so used parts are plentiful.

[Meemuh]

Another vote for the loss of 2nd gear.  Sounds like its not if, but when it goes.  My neighbor has one as his daily driver - he also just double shifts without any problems.

I love the look of them, though...