road tested a 2007 Venture

[racinchef]

Decided it might be fun to try out another bike and see how it was. I had road tested a 2005 Venture about a year or two ago, but since then I have owned a 2000 Honda Valkyrie Standard and my 2000 Nomad 1500. I was very surprised that the Venture seemed lacking in power. Granted the RSV has a 1300 cc engine, but it is a V4 so it should have plenty of poop. Two other things were a too tall windshield that you look through instead of over and slight buzzing in the handlebars at +70 mph. Other than that it was a very nice bike. Excellent handling and ride, but I prefer my Nomad over the Venture on the highway. The Nomad is just so good at highway speeds. The electronic cruise control was nice, but on this bike it seemed to vary by as much as 5 mph.

I rode one Venture Royalle a couple years ago. I wouldn't say it was lacking in power, but you did have to wind it up more and if you wanted to pass on the freeway it was best to kick it down a gear. It was OK off the line but you couldn't just drop the clutch in and hop off the line like a Nomad. Again you had to wind the engine up a bit to get 'er going.

[racinchef]

Yamaha had two different Ventures; the Venture Royale in the 80's and then the Royal Star Venture that came out in the late 90's and is still in production, but then you already knew that, right?
I am acquainted with V-4's having owned a '97 Royal Star that was set up like an RSTC. The guy I bought if from had done a stage 3 to it including a power commander type gizmo for carbureted bkes. The bike absolutely screamed. When I got on the highway on ramp I'd wind it out through the gears and be doing about a buck by the time I merged onto the interstate. I traded it in on the Valkyrie though. The way the gearing was the pipes were too loud to my liking in 4th gear on state highways. That, plus I could not find a heavy duty shock to replace the OEM with and I couldn't find anyone to rebuild it.

[dantama]

I'd like one with the Vmax engine, not the detuned one :)

[blowndodge]

Dan, that new V-Max ought to be something!!!

[racinchef]

Well, I went on the Delphi forum for Venture and Tour Deluxe and they are of the consensus that I really didn't get the revs up high enough to turn her loose. Will have to keep that in mind if I ever get another ride on a V-4

[oldbikers]

I had a roadstar which of coarse it was a v-twin but I found that you had to down shift it if running 50 and wanted to pass but the bad thing if you got on it in any of the lower gears you would hit the rev limiter before you could get ready to shift. But I would think the v4 would take off in any gear I know my Honda Magna would.

[mncruiser]

Originally Posted by Blowndodge "Darksider"

Dan, that new V-Max ought to be something!!!

Don't remember the number but the horsepower it will develope sure would be fun to experiment with!

Originally Posted by mncruiser

Don't remember the number but the horsepower it will develope sure would be fun to experiment with!

200HP V-Max!

[bobzinger]

Yep that new injected 1679cc V4 would go nice in a cruiser.

[markusmaximus]

My neighbor owns a Royal Venture (2006?) and came by to check out my Nomad right after I purchased it this year. He was enthralled to say the least and even commented that he never really considered a Nomad. He was surprised how nimble the Nad was for its size. Although he would never admit it, I could see in his face a hint of jealousy. I'm happy.

[ponch]

You mean you never hit the rev limiter on the Nomad? :)

Originally Posted by racinchef

Well, I went on the Delphi forum for Venture and Tour Deluxe and they are of the consensus that I really didn't get the revs up high enough to turn her loose. Will have to keep that in mind if I ever get another ride on a V-4

I used to own a Magna with the V4 as well - you have to wind it a lot more to get the HP's out of it. When I purchased my Nomad, the other bike I was considering was the Royal Star Tour Deluxe. Great bike, but the TD and it's brother the Venture are HEAVY!!!! I think you feel every pound of those bikes. The TD was not as nimble at slow speeds as the Nomad. That played a lot into my decision.