2013 Yamaha Royal Star Venture S - Coolness Factor = 39.1%

[madjak30]

I thought with the V4 it might get a little break from the Harley wannabe crowd...how many Harley's come with 98Hp out of the box without a stage kit? I think it's a good looking bike, if a little vanilla. Looks super comfy & thought the V4 and liquid cooling might prove a little more durable...dunno...

I'm voting: Cool

Later.

[storysunfolding]

When the design was put out it was a fantastic bike that got alot of attention... back in the 90s. Yamaha has let their cruiser line fall off. I swear they are only putting out models because they have the machines just sitting there. However, for a top of the line model you'd expect more regular updates, EFI, and all the bells and whistles. Straight up Fail for me. There's no reason that this date of a bike should cost this much with the features put on it.

[madjak30]

FI would be a nice touch, but I don't think it's lacking in the comfort...as for the price, have you seen the price of a Goldwing? 50% more than the Venture. I know, it has way more Whiz Bang crap...but really? I want a bike to ride, not an iPad...

The Goldwing is a great bike, but the price is more than the average sedan...WTF? and you guys are complaining about the Yamaha? You have to look at comparible bikes before you launch into pricing issues...

Kawasaki Voyager..................................$19,349 USD....$21,399 CDN
Honda Goldwing.....................................$23,999 USD....$TBA CDN
Yamaha Venture S.................................$20,590 USD....$19,999 CDN
Victory Cross Country Tour......................$21,999 USD....$23,999 CDN
Harley FLHTCU Ultra Classic Electra Glide....$19,899 USD....$24,759 CDN

The prices in the States don't show much difference, but in Canada you can see my argument...the last time I checked the price of a Goldwing on the showroom floor it was over $30,000 here...if it was only a couple thousand, I would get it...but $10,000 more, nope you can keep it.

I actually like the Victory Cross Country...but that's just me...

Later.

[dr_bar]

Well, as an owner, I should be hitting the awesome button, but all I can manage is the cool.... This bike really needs an update, EFI for one, the new V-Max engine, (detuned of course) something other than a cassette deck in the dash, (many owners pull the deck and install a selection of gauges.)

With that said, I've got 80,000 km on my bike and no major issues since I bought it in 2008. My five years are up on the warranty, but my warranty had no mileage limit to it as Gummi has mentioned. This is cut and paste from yamaha's site "Exclusive Royal Star 5-year unlimited mileage warranty" I've also had minor warranty repairs done and the chrome trailer hitch sticking out the back of the bike had no affect on it. The dealer told me the only way it will affect a claim would be if the dealer believed that towing was the cause of the issue being addressed.

Warranty issues I've had;

1) My cruise control stopped working, issue solved, it was a vacuum hose that had come off.
2) The breather on the differential was seeping oil. Turns out there was a bad seal and it was replaced while in Calgary when I was visiting my daughters.
3) My CB AM FM Radio was freezing up and not allowing me to change channels, adjust volume or anything like that. $1200 fix by replacing the whole radio. No questions asked. Apparently, this issue was quite common amongst older bikes, the fix they used was much cheaper and probably would have worked on mine as well, a bit of di-electric grease in the major electrical connections for the radio....

Other than those, the Obie has been a dream...

[dr_bar]

I know, it has way more Whiz Bang "crumb"

Kawasaki Voyager..................................$19,349 USD....$21,399 CDN
Honda Goldwing.....................................$23,999 USD....$TBA CDN
Yamaha Venture S.................................$20,590 USD....$19,999 CDN
Victory Cross Country Tour......................$21,999 USD....$23,999 CDN
Harley FLHTCU Ultra Classic Electra Glide....$19,899 USD....$24,759 CDN



Later.

A couple of things, one, the Whiz Bang cr@p doesn't come stock on a Goldwing, with the Venture, what you see is what you get...

As to those prices, all I can say is WOW!!! The American prices have sure jumped up to join ours. The Venture could be had off the floor for $16,999 in the United States when I bought mine. It was because our currency was so strong that our prices came down to match theirs at that time, which is why I bought my bike for $16,900.

[Gummiente]

This is cut and paste from yamaha's site "Exclusive Royal Star 5-year unlimited mileage warranty"

From the Yamaha Canada website on pg 3-4 of the Royal Star Warranty PDF file...

"Yamaha ROYAL STAR™ Series Warranty Policy"

No mention of unlimited mileage, perhaps that is only in the US? I can't find any reference to it anywhere on the Canadian site. In fact, the only mention of mileage limitation is the 5yr/30k limit on the Emissions Control System. Maybe a call to an authourised Yamaha Canada dealer would give a definitive answer on this.


"2. This warranty does not cover the repair of damage resulting
from abuse or neglect of the ROYAL STAR. Examples of
abuse and neglect include, but are not limited to:
a) Racing, competition, modification of original parts,
abnormal strain;"

The last two words are what, reading between the lines, IMO would give Yamaha grounds to deny warranty to a sidecar or trailer equipped bike.

[NorthernPete]

Just on looks. A big meh.

Uncool.

[Gummiente]

Just on looks. A big meh.

Someone in corporate must be agreeing with you, as it is absent from the 2014 lineup on Yamaha Canada's website.

[BRUMBEAR]

I do not know if Yamaha got away from the great speedo they used to have but if they did put it back as I loved that look.

[totalmotorcycle]

I voted: uncool.

Like a few have said, it's a little to Harley-Clone looking for me and I'd either go for a real HD or even a Victory before this one. But that said, I'm not a fan of the big comfy couch rear seat, but I do like the convenience of the bags. In fact, I did find them very useful when riding the Harley-Davidson Street Glide. But just because this bike isn't my cup of tea doesn't mean it isn't any good. In fact, a Yamaha is really a very reliable brand and (if you believe the rider surveys) HD isn't. Also, this engine is a wonderful torquey motor with real top end performance. Not sure why it isn't EFI.... is this Yamaha's only big bike not to be?

Mike