Didn't find a Goldwing, But I did get a Venture

[Cabreco]

A Christmas addition to the stable...a 1984 Venture Royale

Basically, it's in the same condition Fiona was when I bought her - Ugly & Dirty.
The good points are She runs like a champ, the carbs were recently rebuilt & synced, everything works, & it only has 13.7k Miles on her.
Fiona is my love, this heavy cruiser is for the wife & me to take long distance trips on.
The one thing I did like over the Goldwing is the Venture Royale is very agile, & the V4 has power.
I've begun the teardown & it looks like I'll be getting dirty until spring!
Here are some pix before I began.



 



It kind of looks like Fiona is giving her the EVIL EYE!

 

[TOOLS1]

Fiona is green with jealousy.
TOOLS

[rich]

Congratulations! Nice bike. It still looks somewhat sporty for a tourer.

[Cabreco]

rich wrote

Congratulations! Nice bike. It still looks somewhat sporty for a tourer.

Thanks, the sporty look comes from the trunk not being on and she's missing her "lead sled" bling.
Eventually I'll have her fully dressed like a prom queen! <lol>

[shinyribs]

Teardown?!? It looks great! Glad you found something you like.Have fun with it!

[Cabreco]

I figured I would keep you guys apprised on my progress so far on the Venture project.
When I bought her last month she was running strong. Some mechanicals like
rebuilding the slave cylinder & the air suspension solenoid & compressor but the major thing was cosmetics.
This is how I picked her up.
 


She needed some repairs but a lot of cleaning and plastic work.
One of the first things I did was buy a new seat. I found this one on EBay for $50.
The original seat had a rip by the gas fill & was covered with stick junk.
I've since read this is protectant breaking down & quite common.



I understand that when the original owner died & the bike sat for years.
A major part of my work so far has been tearing her down & cleaning, scrubbing & polishing.
When I took her apart, you could not imagine the amount of dirt I found.

 

The next thing I did was slap a trunk on her. When I bought Fiona, she came with K&G hard saddlebags & an aftermarket trunk.
Since I pulled all the bags from the Honda, I decided to recycle the trunk.

 

This is how early last week. I started the plastic welding on the fairing and other ABS parts.
BTW the hot air & iron plastic welding systems are awesome.
I repaired cracks & fabricated tabs as strong or stronger that the original.



So I've spent the last week finishing the plastic soldering, compounding & waxing. I added the GPS & MP3 as well.  
After 3 weeks solid (being retired & at home helps) and a lot of elbow grease, this is what it looks like now.










 
The only thing left will be a complete paint job. I figure I will wait until next winter to do that.
1st I want to make sure she "deserves" expense of a new look.

One major difference is weight. At 90mph the Yamaha glides on the road, You barely feel her.
Today I was riding Fiona and she felt like a dirt bike. You really don't appreciate just how nimble
the CB750 until you drive around in one of these fat ladies.  
The Yamaha may be for long trips with the wife, but Fiona is my only girl!

[shinyribs]

Looks good Cabreco! Paint job?!?! I think it looks great now.Maybe paint the trunk to match,then i'd call it done.I like the color it.I also like the black seat you have now vs. the other brown one.Looks much cleaner IMO

[Cabreco]

shinyribs wrote

Looks good Cabreco! Paint job?!?! I think it looks great now.Maybe paint the trunk to match,then I'd call it done.I like the color it.I also like the black seat you have now vs. the other brown one.Looks much cleaner IMO

Thanks,
Although the paint looks ok she really lacks the high gloss shine of clearcoat.
I was thinking of the same color scheme but adding a hint of gold flake to the gold and pearl to the beige.
Then shooting 8 or 10 coats of clear over the pinstriping.

Fiona warned me - "It better not be green!" lol!

[sgtslag]

The Venture is built for touring, two-up, and she will perform that role, splendidly.  Fiona, on the other hand, is more of a fence straddler:  a bit large, and a little clumsy, in town; big enough to tour, two-up, on highways, but not powerful enough for Interstates.  I had a 1983 Kawasaki 440 LTD, which my wife, and one of my sons, learned to ride on.  I encouraged them strongly, to ride the 440 for their first year, before riding anything else.  They both thanked me, later, for insisting on the one year limited to the 440.  My son graduated to a Yamaha 600 rocket, and my wife graduated to our CB750K.  Both of them did well, but each of the bikes handled very differently.

The 440 was amazingly nimble, and agile, in town, but a bit scary at 68-70 MPH, its max., wide open in 6th gear.  The CB750K rode much nicer, heavier, far more power, more stable, but nowhere near as nimble.  Then we bought the Voyager touring machine (the poor man's Gold Wing -- no, not really, but it sold for thousands less, and it performed exceptionally well in its class).  Our Voyager has tremendous power, wonderful comfort, roominess, and storage, all beyond what the CB750K had, but it is much heavier, and more of a handful in town -- not bad, but not as easy as the other bikes.

Each bike has its own niche.  Each performs well within its niche.  Sold the 440 because it never got street time anymore -- sold it to a High School Senior, as his first bike.  Perfect deal for everyone.  The CB750K is now sitting, being largely ignored, as we ride two-up, 95% of the time, and then we nearly always hit the highways, for 2+ hours, usually day trips, or weekend trips, with a couple of longer tours each season.  We wear chaps, armored jackets, neck balaclava's, gloves, earplugs, and modular helmets, every ride.  That means we are loathe to ride to the store, or for an errand, or any other short trip:  takes 5-10 minutes to gear up/down, not worth the hassle for short trips.  I've gone down three separate times, and my gear saved me each time -- riding without gear is not an option for me.

Enjoy each bike for its intended purpose.  The Venture is a sweet touring machine.  You will both find great pleasure with it.  Touring is our greatest pastime.  Tour riders seem to attract a lot of attention, loads of folks seem to want to talk with you, when they see you pull up.  I think most folks who approach us on tours, secretly wish they could tour themselves (and I encourage them to do so, when I can).  Touring offers the greatest experience of "freedom" that we have found yet.  Welcome to the ranks!  Cheers!

[Cabreco]

Made a few changes by adding parts from the donor bike. A new backrest for me (cuz I'm old)



I also swapped out the trunk to the OEM one with a luggage rack. Aside from being much bigger & creating a nice wraparound backrest for my wife,
this trunk is removable like the saddlebags (they even have handles) so they act as luggage on trips!



I still have so much chrome bling to transfer over from the parts bike (and of course wiring running lights).
Tomorrow rear chrome fender & lights.

[Lucky 1]

The cool thing about the Venture is that it has hydraulic valve lifters.
No adjustments needed.

[Cabreco]

The Venture has a lot of cool features, especially considering this is a 28 year old bike.
I put in another 6 hours non stop today. Put on the rear light bar, the chrome slave & master side covers, different highway pegs, the front fender rails and the air dam. I have been cutting off connectors from the donor bike so that all this blink can come off without cutting wires. She's gonna light up like a Christmas tree!

[shinyribs]

Cabreco,you got the ultimate cruisin' machine. A back rest and a windshield...i'd probably fall asleep on something that comfy

[Cabreco]

shinyribs wrote

Cabreco,you got the ultimate cruisin' machine. A back rest and a windshield...i'd probably fall asleep on something that comfy

Don't forget cruise control & a heated seat!

[shinyribs]

sigh...now you're just showing off!It's like a two-wheeled Caddy...er,Towncar for the MO boys

[LukeM]

Just as it doesn't end up like this:

Bit too gaudy for my taste, but someone out there likes it. :-)

Luke

[shinyribs]

The one on the left looks like a peacock

[Cabreco]

Ok, I am finished (at least for THIS season) Painted the blackouts on the side covers & dyed the backrests to match. It only took me 2 months!

Total cost of the bike so far $2,095.



Now for the RIDE!

[LukeM]

Very nice....let me repeat: VERY nice. There's something about the style of those early 80s machines.  Not all swoopy and stuff like the newest GLs. You can still see some mechanical stuff, not too much bling, and I'm betting it makes a nice rumble as you ride it.

I had the luxury of riding a friend's newly acquired 2006 GL1800, fully dressed up.  Sounded more like a car than a MC.  Quite a change from my Shadow and its opened up exhaust and rumble.

Enjoy it, and remember:

Let's be careful out there.
Luke M

[Cabreco]

LukeM wrote

Very nice....let me repeat: VERY nice. There's something about the style of those early 80s machines.  Not all swoopy and stuff like the newest GLs. You can still see some mechanical stuff, not too much bling, and I'm betting it makes a nice rumble as you ride it.

Luke, this thing runs like a dream. (she only has 14K odd miles on her) The V4 has a throaty low rumble without being overpowering, plus this thing is fast. The only thing loud on her is the horn & the stereo.

I looked at the Goldwings (up to the 1500) and the biggest issue I found was that they are high in the saddle. The Venture has a low seat, like a hardtail and the air ride system makes the ride height adjustable.

The best thing is at this cost, I was able to find out if my wife liked touring for a reasonable price.
Once we put a few years on her I will splurge for a trike or a Can Am Spyder.