Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

RIDING IMPRESSION 1999 Yamaha Venture Royal Star (l eft ) The f ull- dress Venture will carry a suggested retai l price of S15 ,499. Yamaha will offer plenty of accessories for it s new long-dIstance cruiser. (Below) Comfortable leather seats are available w ith or without studs. (Right) The upper f airing, large w indscreen and lowers do an admirable job of keepi ng the elements off the rider, but when thing s get real nasty, the Venture' s hi ghoutput generating system w ill keep your heated suits cozy. Yam aha claims th e Venture weighs in at 807 pounds dry. ....... ....... l-; (l) .o 6 (l) ;> o z 18 the Royal :'ar mod els. It d elivers nice power th rou gh the gears bu t accelera tes a lit tl e laz ily w hi le cruisi ng a lo ng in overdrive (fifth gea r). The re's p lent y of power on tap to overta ke slower traffic, but it helps to click down a gear - fro m overdrive - befo re making your move. The Ventu re hums along comfortably and quietly at highway speeds, the tach needle seemingly conten t to hover around the 350D-rpm mark. The bike is also surprisingly smoo th, transmitting very little vib ra tio n to the rid er ' s ha nds and feet even a t hi gh er -th an -n ormal cru is ing speeds. Even mor e surprising is the fact that the motor is not rubber-moun ted to the frame and is as smooth as it is. Long days in the sad dle shou ld n't be a p roblem at all on the Ven ture, as the large lea th er seat pro vides plenty of back support and comfort. The hand lebars reach out to the rider, and the floor- boards are position ed rig ht where they shou ld be. The low 29.S-inch seat height makes rolling to a s top a stress-free maneuver. You' ll never forge t that you' re ha u ling arou nd an 850-plus-pound motorcycle, as this bike certainly feels heavy. Luckily, the Venture has excellent lowand high-speed stability, and coaxing it thro ug h the turns doesn't take too much muscle . Overall, it' s a good -ha nd ling mac hine, and th e suspension is fairly cus h, thou gh it' s best to avoid s ha rpedged potholes, or yo u migh t loosen a filling or two . Hau ling the big Venture in isn' t anythi ng to writ e home about, bu t th en again, the dual 298mm fro nt- an d single 320mm rear-disc brakes are asked to d o the unenviab le job of coun teracting all th at forwa rd momentum . Thankfully, they are up to the task. . I", , I J t t. There's a price to pay for tha t bea uti fu l ins trument pa nel: function . Exce pt for the speedometer, most of the digital readou ts a re s ma ll and ha rd to rea d , ' incl uding the odo, twi n tri p, fuel trip an d clock, which are all combined int o one readou t so tha t, dep ending on wha t mode yo u' re lo oki ng for, you need to press either the reset or select buttons. (We could never remember which ones d id what w hile on th e bike.) Un fortu na telv, the buttons are small and next to impossi ble to opera te w hile wearing big winter gloves - or any kind of gloves, for tha t rna tter. Even the aud io svstem is a little complicated to use. Too few bu ttons ha nd le . too many functions . It' s kind of like trying to figure ou t how to set you r digital wa tch , w hich isn 't something you want to d o w hi le cru is ing dow n th e road. However, th e butto ns that yo u' ll u se most often - such as the vo lume, pr eset a n d s tation a dj us tme n ts - a re easi ly accessible. Like the Go ld Win g' s audio system, the Ven tu re's system in cludes automa tic speed-controlled volume, and the speakers are strong eno ug h to overpower wi nd noise . As fa r as overa ll so und quality, the Venture's aud io system is go od , but it 's no t in the same leagu e as the Gold Wing's. . Yamaha claim s the Ve n tu re h as a tourin g range of more than 225 miles . For now, we'll have to take their wo rd for it. We d id, however, one day ride the Ven ture 190 miles - no ns top - a nd the warning lig h t we n t o n a t ab out 180 miles. At tha t poi n t, we we re told that .you have at least another 10 miles before having to switch to reserve, via a petcock located u nder the fue l tan k. We made it to ou r d es tination st ill on the main tank. So, how much will the Ventu re cost? Yamaha is as king $15,499, which is considerably less than the comparable 1998 Harley-Davidson Ult ra Classic Elect ra Glide mod el , which ru ns for about $18,800 . Compared to the 1998 Hon da SE ($17,399 ) and Aspencade ($14,999) Go ld Wi n g mod els , th e Ve n ture fa lls between the two bikes . Start looking for the Venture to hit showroom floors early next year. Hopefully, we'll get a chance to put more miles on the ne w Venture soo n, but fo r now, w e w ouldn't he sitate to plan a lon g jou rney on the new est member of the Royal Star famil y - perhaps a cru ise fro m Mexico to Can ad a, or from Ca lifo rnia .to Flo rida , w ould be nice . With th e Ven tu re, a tr ip ar ound town sim ply wo n' t do an ymore. n Specifications 1999 Yamaha Royal Star Venture ENGINE Type Liquid-cooled, 70·degree. DO HC. V·4 Displacement . . . . . . . 79 cobic inch Bore & Stroke 79mm x 66mm Compres sion ra ti o 10:1 Carburetion M ikuni BDSA32 (4) Valvetrain .4 valves per cylinder Ignition syst em .Digital TCI. electric start. 12v18h battery DRIVETRAIN . Clutch W et-type. multiple-disc Transmission Constant -mesh, 5-speed Primary reduction 1.775 Secondary reduction .Shaft drive Chassis/Suspension Chassis type .Double cradle. single backbone 29.2' Rake Suspension Front _ Telescopic fork Swinganm link. single shock Rear Wheel travel Front Rear Brakes Front Rear Wheels Front Rear TIres Front _ 5.51 inches .4.13 inches .Dual disc. 298mm .single disc. 320mm Cast aluminum. 16 .MT3.50 Cast aluminum. 15 M /CxMT4 .00 Tubeless 150/80-16 71H Rear Tubeless 150/ 90B 15M / C 74H O lA length . 104.5 in. OIA width 35.4 in. OIA height . 6 1.6 in. Seat height _. __ 29.5 in. Wheelb_ 6 7.1 in. a,' .d dry _ight . . _ 807 Ibs. MSRB _ $ 15.499

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