The Unofficial Motorcycle Thread!

[Amadan]

Royal Star Deluxe Deuce

Royal Star Venture

HD ElectraGlide Police Special

Unfortunately, the Venture was destroyed when a pickup pulled out, in front of us, at 55mph.

 

[DonTom]

Unfortunately, the Venture was destroyed when a pickup pulled out, in front of us, at 55mph.

IMAO, that was no big loss! But I hope nobody got seriously hurt when that happened.

I own the older first gen Yamaha Venture (1984). I heard about the 2nd Gen Venture, the RSV, when it first came out, so Tom & I went down to a motorcycle shop in Reno to take a look. After looking at it, I recall what I told Tom "I wouldn't take this bike for free".

I quickly noticed how stripped down and cheaply made it was compared to my older Venture. The RSV didn't even come with a center stand, tach, gear indicator, frame mounted fairing, removable bags, CMS (computerized Monitor System) and countless other things my older Venture has. IMO, they should have changed the name of the RSV as it is nothing like my 1984 Venture.

But the RSV is very reliable. Not much on the RSV to break!

The engine and tranny are very well designed. Tranny better than mine, but the 2nd gear issue was fixed in 1985. More than 200,000 miles of life from each is to be expected. And yeah, I now have that infamous 2nd gear issue on my 84 Venture. Happened on mine for the first time at around 65,000 miles. Slips out of 2nd gear when accelerating. But the bike had enough torque that I can keep the RPMs up just a little in first and shift to 3rd gear. Not that big of a deal.

I have also looked at the 3rd Gen Venture. That bike seems decent, but again, nothing like the other two Ventures.

IMO, the three different "Ventures" do not compare at all. But I was very disappointed when I first saw the 2nd Gen Venture.

-Don- Yuma, AZ

 

[Krazeehorse33]

Ex-Cali, here's a potential donor bike that you could flip after swapping.

1995 Yamaha XV1100 - govdeals.com

GovDeals' online marketplace provides services to government, educational, and related entities for the sale of surplus assets to the public. Auction rules may vary across sellers.

www.govdeals.com

 

[Old_Crow]

I'm conflicted, it's cool and all but...

What say you?

View attachment 164157

Had a guy tell me one time, "There's an a$$ for every seat". Wouldn't catch mine on that. That's almost worse than the Boss Hoss with the '57 Chevy bodywork. At least that one had a V-8.

 

[Ex-Calif]

Ex-Cali, here's a potential donor bike that you could flip after swapping.

1995 Yamaha XV1100 - govdeals.com

GovDeals' online marketplace provides services to government, educational, and related entities for the sale of surplus assets to the public. Auction rules may vary across sellers.

www.govdeals.com

Looks like a seizure bike. No key & salvage title. Buyers tend to be wary of salvage titles lowering the price. Plus I'd have to get it from Ohio somehow.

My kid regularly trolls FB Market and is a pretty good deal finder. We've also figured out certain toys have a lower price depending on region. Dirt bikes tend to be cheaper in FL. Jet Skis cheaper from the north.

If a flip comes along I might do it. If I can flip in a month or less and make $1k or so it's a nice supplement to my retirement income.

 

[Ex-Calif]

Here's the bike status as of Friday -

Friday Bike Status

Here's a status as of today (Sunday)

Sunday Bike Status

 

[Amadan]

IMAO, that was no big loss! But I hope nobody got seriously hurt when that happened.

I own the older first gen Yamaha Venture (1984). I heard about the 2nd Gen Venture, the RSV, when it first came out, so Tom & I went down to a motorcycle shop in Reno to take a look. After looking at it, I recall what I told Tom "I wouldn't take this bike for free".

I quickly noticed how stripped down and cheaply made it was compared to my older Venture. The RSV didn't even come with a center stand, tach, gear indicator, frame mounted fairing, removable bags, CMS (computerized Monitor System) and countless other things my older Venture has. IMO, they should have changed the name of the RSV as it is nothing like my 1984 Venture.

But the RSV is very reliable. Not much on the RSV to break!

The engine and tranny are very well designed. Tranny better than mine, but the 2nd gear issue was fixed in 1985. More than 200,000 miles of life from each is to be expected. And yeah, I now have that infamous 2nd gear issue on my 84 Venture. Happened on mine for the first time at around 65,000 miles. Slips out of 2nd gear when accelerating. But the bike had enough torque that I can keep the RPMs up just a little in first and shift to 3rd gear. Not that big of a deal.

I have also looked at the 3rd Gen Venture. That bike seems decent, but again, nothing like the other two Ventures.

IMO, the three different "Ventures" do not compare at all. But I was very disappointed when I first saw the 2nd Gen Venture.

-Don- Yuma, AZ

Basically, the 2008 Venture we had, was just like our '98 RSTD with the addition of fairing, top box, etc. Really enjoyed it & the RSTD (except for the high-end "buzzy" vibration).
Unfortunately, after the truck pulled out in front of us, it was all blood, bone, helicopters and a year+ of recovery for my wife & I. But, hey, at least my metal after-market-parts gives the TSA conniptions! LOL.

 

[DonTom]

(except for the high-end "buzzy" vibration).

All you needed to do to the RSV to fix that infamous whine and vibration is take the rear wheel off, take the hub apart, and grease the six thingies that look like thick fingers.

Item ten (the six pins) that goes into item 9 below:

-Don- Barstow, CA

 

[Ex-Calif]

No video today of the V-Star but some photos. Got the frame done and the rear gearbox done then spent the rest of the day buffing, polishing and wiring all the fiddly bits from the front end and engine.

Many of these parts will need and get paint tomorrow. There are a few big bits to work on - mufflers, foot boards and some rear end brackets etc. - then I will work the rear wheel.

One concern I have is that the color shift paint wrinkled a bit in some spots over 24 hour old black. I plan to sand and black paint the fenders and body and give them at least 3 days before applying the color shift. I will probably lay a test coat inside a fender to ensure it lays flat.

Also on the lookout for 1/8 inch pinstriping tape in silver. Preliminary looking hasn't turned up this particular width.

 

[DonTom]

except for the high-end "buzzy" vibration).

Below, is a real-life photo of the thingy with the six pins that need grease:



-Don- Barstow, CA

 

[Boat Bum]

Kinda cool

 

[DonTom]

Kinda cool

Kinda weird.

-Don- Barstow, CA

 

[DonTom]

I rode my 2023 Energica Experia from Auburn, CA to Reno, NV today. I wanted to trade my 2020 Energica Esse Esse 9 here in Reno with my Experia in Auburn. Less places to charge here in NV, so I need the bike with the longer range here in Reno.

I think today is the fastest I ever went from Auburn to Reno. I averaged faster than 70 MPH the entire way, mostly uphill. I came here nonstop. 99.0 miles/ 160 km from driveway to driveway. When I arrived, the bike says I still have fitty miles (80 km) of range left. So when I use this bike to get between my houses, I no longer have to bother with charge stations.

I think there are still less than a dozen 2023 Energica Experias in the USA at this time, but that will probably change soon.

The Experia sure is a fun bike to ride and I have not yet even tried the Sport Mode. It is way too fast for me even in the Urban Mode. The bike will probably fly out from under me if I try it in the Sport Mode.

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[Boat Bum]

Excuse my ignorance, Don, but do you shift gears on an electric bike?

 

[DonTom]

Excuse my ignorance, Don, but do you shift gears on an electric bike?

Nope. Way too much wide torque to have gears to shift. No clutch. But the Energicas do have a gear box to get the ratio perfect, but just the one gear that cannot be changed.

The Zero motorcycles do not even have that. They are a direct drive from the motor to the rear wheel with a belt. Zeros are the quietest motorcycles as there is no chain and no gears moving. Energica is higher performance but has coolant and oils to change. Coolant is for the motor inverter. Energica uses a drive chain. On electrics, you can hear the drive chain.

Zeros are the lowest maintenance motorcycles of all. Mainly, just check the belt slack once in a while. Energicas need to have oils and coolant changed every 10,000 miles / 16,000 km or so.

But none of the electric have gears to change and none have a clutch.

Riding electric is a totally different trip from the ICE bikes.

All Energicas have an electric reverse, and slow forward. Tha larger Zeros can have such added with FW that must be purchased and can be sent OTA.

All the electrics can be adjusted for the type of performance wanted. Stuff such as max torque, top speed, percent of regen, etc. and then there is a button to change to different modes.

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[Boat Bum]

Appreciate the primer.

 

[meierjn]

My son's Honda CBR 500R and my Suzuki Boulevard M109R.

 

[Reinigm]

Crashed my last one about 7 years ago. Broke my nose, but otherwise came out pretty good. Thinking about buying one of these Honda Furys.

 

[Ex-Calif]

So my kid bought an 1100 and I rode it a few times and liked it. He then bought another neglected one to flip. He got it for a song and got it running. He needed to sell it and I bought it from him for a song and a half but still way below market.

For anyone who might be wondering. The bike has been about 100% ready to just assemble but....

There is a problem with the title that I won't go into (boring story) but I will say that I am the legit owner (I have a legit BoS). My kid reached out to the seller to him but is now getting ghosted.

I've decided to by a "donor/parts " bike with a clean title and combine all the parts into one registerable bike. The good news is that I found a bike, I will get it tomorrow if all goes well, at the end of the day I will still be well below market value when done and will end up with a bunch of parts I can keep or sell on to recoup the cost of the donor bike.

 

[Old_Crow]

Looks like my new bike cover came just in time. Yes, that's hail on the poor girl. No riding this week according to the weather guessers.