2018 Yamaha Star Venture

[Nice Goat]

Yamaha is unveiling a new touring machine on Monday at 6:00pm Central.  The unveiling will be streamed live from Americade in Lake George, New York. 

You can see it at this website: https://www.yamahamotorsports.com/transcontinental-touring

They are calling it an "transcontinental tourer" with hints that it will have fuel injection, reverse gear, bluetooth audio, built in GPS, ABS, etc.

Will it bear the "Venture" name or will it be something different?  Is Yamaha declaring war on the GoldWing?

I can't wait to see it!

[springer]

 They are bringing it out under the Star sub-brand so I think it will be a  cruiser type touring bike.   

[huffy]

The unwrap has happened !



Comes out for sale in September 
Star venture

[Nice Goat]

The 2018 Yamaha Star Big Juicy Sexy Venture Royale With Cheese

[polarissalesman]

I like it, loaded with options, and sounds great too....   https://www.shopyamaha.com/journey-further this is a link to it. What do you think?

[polarissalesman]

here is a better view   https://www.yamahamotorsports.com/transcontinental-touring/models/2018/star-venture/view360/6

[Campbell92]

I am a sucker for a vintage bike. We currently have a 1983 Yamaha Venture that I am trying hard to not buy since I am 25 and should be driving a sport bike or adventure bike.....oh stereotypes. This new bike though ;D ;D ;D I am excited. Yamaha redesigned the Venture of yester-year and added a ton of new well needed updates. Kind of reminds me of how Dodge took the Challenger, made it modern, but kept it cool.

Yamaha did a good job at keeping it cool (or even hot in the winter). A  1,854cc V-twin touring/cruiser with heated everything, reverse, speakers, luggage to carry enough to do a moon mission, sleek design, 5 year warranty, and the list goes on. Yamaha, in my opinion, has always been a good company to keep things ahead of the curve. I am sure they have made a good one!

I am 25 and this thing has me drooling. Check out the first full review I have been able to find
here ---> http://bit.ly/2rB3Rc0
We are hoping to be one of the first dealers to carry them so keep your eyes and ears peeled if you want to see one in person. Until then I will keep drooling on this ol' 83!

What are your thoughts and opinions on the new bike? Think it can compete with Harley and Honda?

[klaviator]

When I was in my late 20s I rode a sport bike and figured full dress touring bikes where for old farts.

Then I took an 83 Venture for a test ride.  I ended up buying it.  I bought it so my wife could enjoy the ride too and we could take some trips together.  Surprisingly that Venture made a pretty good sport bike and I rode it like one.  I kept it for about 10 years and 72,000 miles.  That Venture had a hot rod engine, good cornering clearance and weighed well under 800 pounds.  It was a great bike. 



Then in 1986 Yamaha "upgraded" the Venture.  They made it bigger, heavier and reduced the cornering clearance.  It was a better touring bike but lost much of it's sportiness.

The new Star Venture?

It looks nice but how does it work?  Is it like the original Venture or another 900 pound touring bike?  How well does it work on a twisty road?  I guess we'll find out all that in time.  Personally I think it looks good but I'm not interested in a 900 pound touring bike.  Luckily for Yamaha, many riders are as the Gold Wing and Electra Glide have been pretty popular.  Yamaha has a pretty big challenge trying to lure riders from those two bikes.  I wish them well.

If they built a bike like this that weighed under 700 pounds I might be interested but I don't see that happening.

[sctparker]

 "Yamaha redesigned the Venture of yester-year and added a ton of new well needed updates"

Yes they got rid of the cassette player , but opted for
air cooled ( even harley saw a need to address the heat , I know it was partially for emissions but it made their bike a little more bearable in stop and go summer traffic)  and  a belt drive, What was wrong with doing as before and de-tune the v-max motor? I would be in line with my $500 preorder if they had stayed with the V-4

  "Luckily for Yamaha, many riders are as the Gold Wing and Electra Glide have been pretty popular.  Yamaha has a pretty big challenge trying to lure riders from those two bikes.  "

At a base model price of 24,999 for the Royal Venture ( you can have a base model Gold Wing or Harley for the same money)
and for a additional 2k  you can upgrade your Royal Venture with  GPS navigation, SiriusXM®, additional speakers and Yamaha's exclusive Dual Zone audio control. Standard LED fog lights, additional on board storage and an alarmed security system. I don't think they can compete with them , but maybe I'll be wrong.

[klaviator]

At a base model price of 24,999 for the Royal Venture ( you can have a base model Gold Wing or Harley for the same money)
and for a additional 2k  you can upgrade your Royal Venture with  GPS navigation, SiriusXM®, additional speakers and Yamaha's exclusive Dual Zone audio control. Standard LED fog lights, additional on board storage and an alarmed security system. I don't think they can compete with them , but maybe I'll be wrong.

A bike isn't defined just by it's spec sheet.  On paper the Venture doesn't seem to have any advantage on the existing players.  However, some people will buy it just because they prefer the way it looks.  Another big factor will be how it performs, rides, handles, feels and even how it sounds.  I'm sure the motorcycle mags will do some comparison tests.  If the new Venture does well there then it may have a chance.  If it works really well then the word will get around. 

Then  there is the dealer factor.  If I was looking for a big touring bike, everything else being equal, the Venture would have an edge over the Gold Wing or Harley in that I'd prefer to deal with All Sport over the other local dealers. 

[klaviator]

I just read that this thing is 963 pounds wet, about 50 heavier than a Gold Wing.  If that's true then this is neither a cruiser or tourer, it's an RV :o

[yamahamer]

I have owned both a Venture and a Stratoliner and I'm with Scott. The V4 and shaft drive should have been kept.
Yamaha Venture has a following, a large following and I think they just lost them.
The 1900 is a great motor but I don't feel it will ever last like a V4. I wish them luck and I may be wrong but I see a flop.
My 2 cents................

[Nice Goat]

I love the looks of the bike, but I was hoping for 4-cyl and shaft drive also.  Can a v-twin with cylinders the size of coffee cans last 200k miles, even one made by Yamaha?

[merc16]

I like it but I was hoping for a V-Max engine of some sort.

[Campbell92]

Yamaha was way ahead of there time when they made the first Venture. I am hoping they have a few tricks up there sleeve when it comes to this bike. They may know something we don't know. If they can make triples more popular I feel like they can re-vamp this market and make the options a tad bit wider if anything.

My main wish is they would give you 2 options: A: The current v twin model or B: a 4-cyl
not A:Less farkle or B:more farkle

We will see the final verdict hopefully when we receive our first model in the end of July or August.