I've been without a bike for a few years and plan to get another one soon. I like the look of the Yahama Royal Star Venture but I don't know much about it. Can anyone tell me about handling at low and high speeds? What about engine life? What are the good qualities and bad?

Neb,

I own a 2005 Royal Star Tour Deluxe, which is the "bare" version of the Venture.

I ride with a pretty good size group of folks and we have I think 5 Venture riders now. They all love it.

I can tell you that the Venture (and the RSTD) are heavy bikes. They are by nature more top heavy than a traditional V-Twin. I am not very tall (5' 7") so my center of gravity might be different than yours. That said, I have found the bike to be not very nimble in the parking lot. Once you start rolling though, this bike is a dream.

I went from a V-Star 650 Classic to this bike. It was a big leap but one I am so glad I took. I do a lot more highway riding now, and this thing just chews up the miles like no one's business. Where on the 650 I would have to give some thought to passing another vehicle, this one is almost instantaneous. Even at 75 MPH it still has guts and a lot more to give.

If you have been off a bike for some time (as I was), I do not know if I would recommend jumping right onto a Venture. If you want a cruiser, take a look at the Roadstar, Stratoliner or the new V-STar 950. You can always dress it up more to your liking and any one of them would have plenty of power and comfort.

I bought mine in Jan 08 a new 07, blue.

Love the bike and the cruise control. It is a bugger in the parking lot for me, especially with two up. Seems top heavy and I am 5 ft. 11. I dropped it twice, once with damage.

Stop the bike with the handlebars straight and you should be ok. When riding single, I can whip it around real easy.

Love the bike, especially on the long haul. You can set the cruise and take a nap. (don't try this at home). Seriously, I love this bike.

Carl

[QUOTE=Neb;] Just more food for thought ,Last year mywife and I took an 1880 mi trip from souther Ill down to Florida and back on our 06 Tour Delux five other bikes we went with were riding Harley's 3 of the 5 with creaming eagle package and when we got back home they said they were very impressed with how theTour Delux ran right with them, This was our first long haul and we realy enjoyed it and were planning another trip, Yamaha Tour Delux and Venture have a five year transferable warranty. This was a big selling point for me. Good luck with your up comming purchase James

I know this thread is old, I have an 05 Tour deluxe and love it. As stated, its heavy and a bear at low speed, parking maneuvers, etc, but on the open road you cant expect anything more. If your a confident rider & dont push it cornering, you'll be just fine on it.

If you really want some input on the Venture family, check out Venturerider.org
You will get a lot of positive feedback at Venturerider.

It is a website devoted to the Yamaha Venture 1983 to present, I currently own a 1983 Venture and a 2007 V Star 1300 Tour.

Neb,

I can tell you that the Venture (and the RSTD) are heavy bikes. They are by nature more top heavy than a traditional V-Twin. I am not very tall (5' 7") so my center of gravity might be different than yours. That said, I have found the bike to be not very nimble in the parking lot. Once you start rolling though, this bike is a dream.


Changing the front tire from the stock 150 size to a 130 gives it a much lighter feeling, and the Avon Venom 130 (MT90B-16) actually has a higher load capacity than the stock size.