great white
Initiate snu snu!
Hi all. I'm a somewhat older gent (50) and popped a disc in my back on a search and rescue mission a long time ago. It's gotten more "insistent" as the years have rolled on and that has moved me towards a more upright style bike. Something with a good deal of comfort.
I have tried posting this build on a couple "touring" forums, but they all seem to be more interested in buying new, arguing about car tires, eating hot dogs and hanging chrome farkles or lights off their bikes than working on them. I'm just a bit "out of step" with that mentality. I still regularly grind peg feelers when I ride and it doesn't scare me, I love it!
Now I enjoy a good long ride like anyone else, but I'm a wrencher too! I pretty much can't leave anything stock and generally have no tolerance for hanging things off a bike that just add weight with no real benefit. So, I sorta didn't fit in on those forums. You gents seem to like "off beat" stuff, So I'll try hanging my internet hat here for a while. 8)
So while I enjoy bombing around on the 1985 VF750F Interceptor:
and the ratty FJ1200 I picked up for a song this year (850 bucks):
My back has entered a new phase that's just hard to ride them for very long. So enter the 1983 Yamaha Venture:
I went with the Venture for a couple reasons:
1. This 83 had only 32,000 kms on it.
2. Original owner and garage kept.
3. It was only 2,000 (spankin' price around these parts)
4. the Wife said "go get it if you want it"
5. It was kind of the touring bike "hot rod" compared to it's contemporaries.
6. I'm a Yamaha guy at heart (old two stroke racer, rd350/400's)
7. Did I mention the Wife said "go get it if you want it".
I bought it off a guy in PEI, which is 3 provinces away (I'm in NS), from a Kijiji add. Guy seemed honest and wanted his bike to go to a good home. He was asking 2650, but knocked 650 off right on the phone. Here's the pic from the addy:
Looked good, good price and would fit the bill for my deteriorating bod. The missus also said she would ride on it with me (something she gave up a long time ago, she started riding on an R6 before I had even met her and it scared her off bikes) which was nice for a weekend "date" or overnight getaway. He chucked in a super nice high quality cover and a couple open face helmets (helmets went in the trash right away as they were as old as the bike, not my style anyways). He had all the original documentation, right down to the Yamaha warranty card!
I didn't beat the guy up on price any more than he had already dropped. 650 was a decent drop on his price, He seemed like an honest guy and I'm pretty much a straight shooter. I saw no point in pissing him off for a couple bucks. He was already being very fair in my opinion. I passed him 20 one hundred's, We shook hands and parted friends.
The missus had told me to get it if I wanted it since we had moved into a house with a 1+ car garage and I had sold off all my car projects. I didn't particularly want the house we're in because of the small garage, but she wanted the pool/hot tub and such. We were also under a time crunch and needed a place fast. Price was right, so I compromised and she knows it. She understands I need something to tinker with or I'll just go nuts. She also knew I'd drive her nuts in the process, so she was protecting herself as much as letting me get what I wanted!
;D
I also had a long running want add on kijiji for a 1984 FJ1100, since that was my high school lust bike that I had never managed to buy. A guy called me and he had an 89 FJ1200. Well, it's not the exact model I wanted, but he was asking a grand and it's pretty close to what I wanted. It was close enough to cross off that item on my bucket list: own the FJ I wanted in High school. Good thing was 89 was the model year they updated a lot of things on the chassis. The guy dropped to 850 when I talked to him on the phone and it was a done deal. Wife said sure, as she knew how much it meant to me and we'd be out the door with two bikes I wanted for less than 3 grand. Funny thing was, the guy was also in PEI about 20 mins away from where the Venture was.
As I looked at it the guy started pointing out things that were still good on it and how easy it would probably be to get it back on the road (probably worried I was going to try and haggle him lower). I thought his price was already fair and as I said I'm pretty much a straight shooter. I pulled the 850 bucks out of my pocket and said deal. He got a surprised look on his face and just said thank you very much. We shook hands and parted friends.
I had a borrowed flatbed steel trailer and the Missus came with me for company on the drive. We strapped 'em down and headed for home. We stopped overnight in Amherst as it was dark and late when we got there. The missus was happy to stop and so was I, it had been a long day. We got up early the next day and we were home in 3-odd hours with two bikes:
The Venture was ready to go "as is" so plates went on and I rode it happily all summer:
I had to frig with the carbs a bit as the diaphragms had come off the slides and the spark plug caps had corroded internally to the point where it missed. Easily sorted out and pulled like a freight train once fixed.
It was big, roomy and pretty fast for such a big bike. The 1200 V4 made for stump pulling torque, very satisfying on the highway. I'm familiar with V4's and like they way they work. Packaging is a nightmare, but they have nice broad, flat torque curves. It even was somewhat capable when the road got twisty, at least on long open sweepers. Switchbacks would show it for the big cruiser it was. Even so, it was the right choice for a main bike for me at this point in my life.
The FJ needed some work, but I got it ride-able and enjoyed it for what it was:
Even as ratty as it was, it was still hellaciously fast. Whacking the throttle open above about 5 grand usually resulted in your lungs being crushed against the back of your rib cage or a detached retina! Rolling on the throttle in any gear above 1500 rom resulted in a huge wave of torque that would just thrust us forward. It was intoxicating!
It made the Venture feel heavy and slow by comparison. It even made my much modified 85 Interceptor feel slow. If this is what it was like clapped out and old, I can’t wait to get it restored! I just can’t ride it very long before I absolutely have to get off.
The Venture was great for long distance (5-6 hours at a time) and just zippy enough to be great around town. At just shy of 100 hp at the crank and around 700lbs it handled very well, considering what it was and what it was meant for.
But that little voice in the back of my head kept naggin me. “Moditius” is the clinical name I believe.
I kept telling myself: it’s a low mileage bike – don’t mess with it. It's cherry- don't mess with it. It runs great- don’t mess with it. It’s comfortable – don’t mess with it. Just ride it- don't mess with it. The FJ is the project bike, not the Venture- don’t mess with it.
Well, I put up a good fight but my "Moditus" won. I started collecting parts.
Don’t judge me, it’s a sickness!
It went on all summer, watching ebay or buying stuff locally when I found a screamin’ deal in either spot. Rather than go through a lot of stories, I’ll just list where I am in the parts collection. Lots of VMax parts as they interchange with the Venture:
Vmax heads (complete)
Vboost (complete minus the controller)
Ignitech with Vboost control (digital and laptop programmable spark box just in case you don't know what that is)
1986 parts bike, gives me- forks to run R1 calipers, bigger side boxes, updated dash and wiring harness, cruise control, and a few other bits/spare parts
85 Rear trunk (same as the larger 86 trunks, but removable with the key instead of unbolting it)
Coil on plug set and harness
R1 mufflers
So I can switch to modern radials: ZX7 rear wheel (to machine to shaft drive), R6 front wheel
I was going to put on the 86 air suspension, but have switched to a ZG 1400 Concours shock (which I will rebuild to external reservoir to give it comp damping adjustments, already has rebound and remote preload) and cartridge emulators for the front forks. I never liked adjusting suspension by air.
These years are susceptible to the infamous Yamaha second gear issue, so I’m dropping in a complete 2002 royal star venture transmission.
A Vmax rear differential is going it (one tooth lower than a Venture drive). Combined with the 2002 trans, 1-3 will be a bit lower (more acceleration) 4th will be the same (cruising town), and 5th will be a deep overdrive for relaxed highway burning.
I’m hoping to get around 100 RWHP, but we’ll see how it goes.
There are a few things more, like USB charge ports and an iphone 6 holder, but that’s about it for now.
Color will be the 83 Stock “new ruby red” and most of the chrome will probably go black. Should look mean. 8)
The 85 trunk went on mid riding season as I could use the extra storage and it was just a matter of bolting on the different rack:
First thing once it was laid up for winter (and a major back event that nearly crippled me) was to swap the rear subframe to mount the 86 boxes:
Those stock mufflers just won’t do on a bike like this, so I started on mounting the R1 muffs:
Looks good. Dropped 8 lbs off the bike. The pipes and muffs are titanium, so can’t weld them (not at home at least). But a 1 ¾ pipe slips right in them and they nearly point directly at the stock collector. Making a pipe to join them is easy stuff and the stock Venture clamps fit just right at the joints. They should handle the V4 fine, as they flow enough for a 160HP R1. Should sound pretty mean too. Quiet, but mean. I’m not a subscriber to the "loud pipes save lives" mentality. Walk softly and carry a big stick is my motto.
That done, time to start working on the next hardest piece: the rear wheel. Some fitting and centering to see if it would fit:
I know what you’re thinking: center of the rear subframe isn’t center of the bike. I had dropped a line to the floor from the center of the steering head and the center between the swingarm pivots. Then snapped a line and transferred that point up to the subframe for easy reference. That way I could easily drop the bob for the bike centerline and not worry about moving the bike around the shop and off the snapped line on the floor. Looks like the tire will be about 7MM off center to fit. The stock tire was off 3MM anyways. I can live with 7MM. The BMW k bikes can run nearly twice that as oem spec.
While I was at it, I made the rear luggage rack center bar removable:
The Venture is a major PITA to change a rear tire on for clearance of getting it out while on the center stand, this will let me just roll it out the back after a few trim pieces are removed.
I machined the center out of the grungy 86 wheel on the lathe:
It’s pretty much a “drop fit” on the ZX7 wheel:
Still working on that one, but it’s coming along nicely.
Dropped the r6 wheel on the front because it was easy and to get a look at it:
Not bad at all! Rotors line up with the calipers, but I’ll have to drop the fender (stock front is an 18 incher with a taller tire) and make some kind of filler for the space between the fender and fork brace (installed brace mid season). The bearing sizes are wrong and there’s no cable drive for the speedo, but those are easy fixes on the lathe for a lazy weekend afternoon. It doesn't match the 3 spoke rear wheel, but that doesn't really matter as the rear rim isn't visible once the side boxes are on. It allowed me to find a rear rim with a big enough center to accept the Venture spline drive without worrying about matching rims. It also saved me some cash as I could buy rims that popped up at bargain basement prices without having to worry about matching. The 6 spoke front rim looks better on the Venture than a 3 spoke would anyways, IMHO.
And that’s about where it currently stands. Lots of work done, lots of work to do. But, another 4-odd months of winter should get me there.
If you're still reading, thanks for sticking with me. I know it was a long post, but it's all catch up. Posts should be normal length from now on.
8)
I have tried posting this build on a couple "touring" forums, but they all seem to be more interested in buying new, arguing about car tires, eating hot dogs and hanging chrome farkles or lights off their bikes than working on them. I'm just a bit "out of step" with that mentality. I still regularly grind peg feelers when I ride and it doesn't scare me, I love it!
Now I enjoy a good long ride like anyone else, but I'm a wrencher too! I pretty much can't leave anything stock and generally have no tolerance for hanging things off a bike that just add weight with no real benefit. So, I sorta didn't fit in on those forums. You gents seem to like "off beat" stuff, So I'll try hanging my internet hat here for a while. 8)
So while I enjoy bombing around on the 1985 VF750F Interceptor:
and the ratty FJ1200 I picked up for a song this year (850 bucks):
My back has entered a new phase that's just hard to ride them for very long. So enter the 1983 Yamaha Venture:
I went with the Venture for a couple reasons:
1. This 83 had only 32,000 kms on it.
2. Original owner and garage kept.
3. It was only 2,000 (spankin' price around these parts)
4. the Wife said "go get it if you want it"
5. It was kind of the touring bike "hot rod" compared to it's contemporaries.
6. I'm a Yamaha guy at heart (old two stroke racer, rd350/400's)
7. Did I mention the Wife said "go get it if you want it".
I bought it off a guy in PEI, which is 3 provinces away (I'm in NS), from a Kijiji add. Guy seemed honest and wanted his bike to go to a good home. He was asking 2650, but knocked 650 off right on the phone. Here's the pic from the addy:
Looked good, good price and would fit the bill for my deteriorating bod. The missus also said she would ride on it with me (something she gave up a long time ago, she started riding on an R6 before I had even met her and it scared her off bikes) which was nice for a weekend "date" or overnight getaway. He chucked in a super nice high quality cover and a couple open face helmets (helmets went in the trash right away as they were as old as the bike, not my style anyways). He had all the original documentation, right down to the Yamaha warranty card!
I didn't beat the guy up on price any more than he had already dropped. 650 was a decent drop on his price, He seemed like an honest guy and I'm pretty much a straight shooter. I saw no point in pissing him off for a couple bucks. He was already being very fair in my opinion. I passed him 20 one hundred's, We shook hands and parted friends.
The missus had told me to get it if I wanted it since we had moved into a house with a 1+ car garage and I had sold off all my car projects. I didn't particularly want the house we're in because of the small garage, but she wanted the pool/hot tub and such. We were also under a time crunch and needed a place fast. Price was right, so I compromised and she knows it. She understands I need something to tinker with or I'll just go nuts. She also knew I'd drive her nuts in the process, so she was protecting herself as much as letting me get what I wanted!
;D
I also had a long running want add on kijiji for a 1984 FJ1100, since that was my high school lust bike that I had never managed to buy. A guy called me and he had an 89 FJ1200. Well, it's not the exact model I wanted, but he was asking a grand and it's pretty close to what I wanted. It was close enough to cross off that item on my bucket list: own the FJ I wanted in High school. Good thing was 89 was the model year they updated a lot of things on the chassis. The guy dropped to 850 when I talked to him on the phone and it was a done deal. Wife said sure, as she knew how much it meant to me and we'd be out the door with two bikes I wanted for less than 3 grand. Funny thing was, the guy was also in PEI about 20 mins away from where the Venture was.
As I looked at it the guy started pointing out things that were still good on it and how easy it would probably be to get it back on the road (probably worried I was going to try and haggle him lower). I thought his price was already fair and as I said I'm pretty much a straight shooter. I pulled the 850 bucks out of my pocket and said deal. He got a surprised look on his face and just said thank you very much. We shook hands and parted friends.
I had a borrowed flatbed steel trailer and the Missus came with me for company on the drive. We strapped 'em down and headed for home. We stopped overnight in Amherst as it was dark and late when we got there. The missus was happy to stop and so was I, it had been a long day. We got up early the next day and we were home in 3-odd hours with two bikes:
The Venture was ready to go "as is" so plates went on and I rode it happily all summer:
I had to frig with the carbs a bit as the diaphragms had come off the slides and the spark plug caps had corroded internally to the point where it missed. Easily sorted out and pulled like a freight train once fixed.
It was big, roomy and pretty fast for such a big bike. The 1200 V4 made for stump pulling torque, very satisfying on the highway. I'm familiar with V4's and like they way they work. Packaging is a nightmare, but they have nice broad, flat torque curves. It even was somewhat capable when the road got twisty, at least on long open sweepers. Switchbacks would show it for the big cruiser it was. Even so, it was the right choice for a main bike for me at this point in my life.
The FJ needed some work, but I got it ride-able and enjoyed it for what it was:
Even as ratty as it was, it was still hellaciously fast. Whacking the throttle open above about 5 grand usually resulted in your lungs being crushed against the back of your rib cage or a detached retina! Rolling on the throttle in any gear above 1500 rom resulted in a huge wave of torque that would just thrust us forward. It was intoxicating!
It made the Venture feel heavy and slow by comparison. It even made my much modified 85 Interceptor feel slow. If this is what it was like clapped out and old, I can’t wait to get it restored! I just can’t ride it very long before I absolutely have to get off.
The Venture was great for long distance (5-6 hours at a time) and just zippy enough to be great around town. At just shy of 100 hp at the crank and around 700lbs it handled very well, considering what it was and what it was meant for.
But that little voice in the back of my head kept naggin me. “Moditius” is the clinical name I believe.
I kept telling myself: it’s a low mileage bike – don’t mess with it. It's cherry- don't mess with it. It runs great- don’t mess with it. It’s comfortable – don’t mess with it. Just ride it- don't mess with it. The FJ is the project bike, not the Venture- don’t mess with it.
Well, I put up a good fight but my "Moditus" won. I started collecting parts.
Don’t judge me, it’s a sickness!
It went on all summer, watching ebay or buying stuff locally when I found a screamin’ deal in either spot. Rather than go through a lot of stories, I’ll just list where I am in the parts collection. Lots of VMax parts as they interchange with the Venture:
Vmax heads (complete)
Vboost (complete minus the controller)
Ignitech with Vboost control (digital and laptop programmable spark box just in case you don't know what that is)
1986 parts bike, gives me- forks to run R1 calipers, bigger side boxes, updated dash and wiring harness, cruise control, and a few other bits/spare parts
85 Rear trunk (same as the larger 86 trunks, but removable with the key instead of unbolting it)
Coil on plug set and harness
R1 mufflers
So I can switch to modern radials: ZX7 rear wheel (to machine to shaft drive), R6 front wheel
I was going to put on the 86 air suspension, but have switched to a ZG 1400 Concours shock (which I will rebuild to external reservoir to give it comp damping adjustments, already has rebound and remote preload) and cartridge emulators for the front forks. I never liked adjusting suspension by air.
These years are susceptible to the infamous Yamaha second gear issue, so I’m dropping in a complete 2002 royal star venture transmission.
A Vmax rear differential is going it (one tooth lower than a Venture drive). Combined with the 2002 trans, 1-3 will be a bit lower (more acceleration) 4th will be the same (cruising town), and 5th will be a deep overdrive for relaxed highway burning.
I’m hoping to get around 100 RWHP, but we’ll see how it goes.
There are a few things more, like USB charge ports and an iphone 6 holder, but that’s about it for now.
Color will be the 83 Stock “new ruby red” and most of the chrome will probably go black. Should look mean. 8)
The 85 trunk went on mid riding season as I could use the extra storage and it was just a matter of bolting on the different rack:
First thing once it was laid up for winter (and a major back event that nearly crippled me) was to swap the rear subframe to mount the 86 boxes:
Those stock mufflers just won’t do on a bike like this, so I started on mounting the R1 muffs:
Looks good. Dropped 8 lbs off the bike. The pipes and muffs are titanium, so can’t weld them (not at home at least). But a 1 ¾ pipe slips right in them and they nearly point directly at the stock collector. Making a pipe to join them is easy stuff and the stock Venture clamps fit just right at the joints. They should handle the V4 fine, as they flow enough for a 160HP R1. Should sound pretty mean too. Quiet, but mean. I’m not a subscriber to the "loud pipes save lives" mentality. Walk softly and carry a big stick is my motto.
That done, time to start working on the next hardest piece: the rear wheel. Some fitting and centering to see if it would fit:
I know what you’re thinking: center of the rear subframe isn’t center of the bike. I had dropped a line to the floor from the center of the steering head and the center between the swingarm pivots. Then snapped a line and transferred that point up to the subframe for easy reference. That way I could easily drop the bob for the bike centerline and not worry about moving the bike around the shop and off the snapped line on the floor. Looks like the tire will be about 7MM off center to fit. The stock tire was off 3MM anyways. I can live with 7MM. The BMW k bikes can run nearly twice that as oem spec.
While I was at it, I made the rear luggage rack center bar removable:
The Venture is a major PITA to change a rear tire on for clearance of getting it out while on the center stand, this will let me just roll it out the back after a few trim pieces are removed.
I machined the center out of the grungy 86 wheel on the lathe:
It’s pretty much a “drop fit” on the ZX7 wheel:
Still working on that one, but it’s coming along nicely.
Dropped the r6 wheel on the front because it was easy and to get a look at it:
Not bad at all! Rotors line up with the calipers, but I’ll have to drop the fender (stock front is an 18 incher with a taller tire) and make some kind of filler for the space between the fender and fork brace (installed brace mid season). The bearing sizes are wrong and there’s no cable drive for the speedo, but those are easy fixes on the lathe for a lazy weekend afternoon. It doesn't match the 3 spoke rear wheel, but that doesn't really matter as the rear rim isn't visible once the side boxes are on. It allowed me to find a rear rim with a big enough center to accept the Venture spline drive without worrying about matching rims. It also saved me some cash as I could buy rims that popped up at bargain basement prices without having to worry about matching. The 6 spoke front rim looks better on the Venture than a 3 spoke would anyways, IMHO.
And that’s about where it currently stands. Lots of work done, lots of work to do. But, another 4-odd months of winter should get me there.
If you're still reading, thanks for sticking with me. I know it was a long post, but it's all catch up. Posts should be normal length from now on.
8)
