"Thanks, I hate the thought of not riding the Virago but my wife
always
sees Ventures-Goldwings and Harleys with all the bells ans whisles
where
she could stretch out-have a radio-and have a place to put her pop
and
lots of storage and I think she would ride more and longer, not to
mention I'm sure a smoother ride (shes has a pin in her back from
spinal
fusion surgery so she doesn't like bumps). I'll have to check into
all
the aftermarket stuff. I've seen some and they look nice. Do they
have
the Virago motor or something bigger? It might be a tight fit in
the
garage width and length wise. "
Mike,
Check out this link on the Venturerider site:
http://www.venturerider.org/modules.php?name=History
In short, Yammy made a very Gold Wing-like full-dresser called a
Venture
from 83 to 93. Fully faired, all the bells and whistles, big, and
around
780 lbs wet. That's what I have, an 87. Nice bike, but the GW was
so well
established that Yammy never got the sales they wanted and cancelled
it.
In 99, Yammy released the Royal Star Venture, still in production,
also a
large full-dresser but cruiser-style - more exposed engine,
fork-mounted
fairing as opposed to a stationary fairing, etc. Looks alot like
the
Harley full-dresser and VERY attractive. It weighs over 800. All
Ventures, as well as V-max and Royal Star, share a 1200-1300cc,
water
cooled v-four engine. In the Max, it is tuned for 10,000 rpm and
140hp; in
the Ventures it is about 7500 rpm and 100hp with good torque. 1st
gen
Ventures will do the quarter mile in about the same as a Virago -
right
around 13 flat. 2nd gen are geared higher and the holeshot
suffers.
I've ridden both. When pushing them around, they both feel every
bit as
heavy as they are. Once moving, they handle fine. Not as
quick-turning as
a Virago or something lighter, but you can still enjoy the twisties
on
them. The 2nd gen Ventures have cruiser geometry which makes them
not as
sharp-handling as the 1st gen's. Not that they handle badly, they
just
don't turn as sharp. When I get on the Virago now it feels like a
toy! At
this point I have put so much of myself into the Virago that I am
keeping
both (thanks to God for that luxury), but the Venture to me is a
nice
enough daily rider that I could survive w/o the Virago. My dad
recently
traded in his Intruder 1400 for a Kawi Voyager, also like a GW. He
sometimes misses the Intruder, but does not look back - he loves his
new
bike. The nice things about the Voyager are that they made them
until 2003
or so, they are a little lighter (750lbs), and have a lower seat so
that
they FEEL lighter pushing them around and getting under way.
Otherwise, it
feels pretty similar to my Venture.
As for comfort, it is just no contest. I spent years getting my
Virago
right for me - Mustang seat, hiway pegs, floor boards for passenger,
etc,
and it's a pretty nice ride. But the Venture is so much nicer.
Yes, it
rides smoother. And no matter what you do, the Virago's seating
area is
small. The Venture just has more room for two people and the saddle
is
more supportive, partly because of the extra real-estate. The
comfort
difference between the bikes is most pronounced for the passenger.
My wife
is a delicate woman - she has lots of sore things and she gets hurt
easily.
She used to ride on the Virago with me but as time passes she gets
more
delicate (and we're only in our mid-30's - yikes!) and she just
couldn't
handle it for very long anymore - it was no fun for her. She could
hardly
believe how comfy the Venture is. Even on the 1200 mile, 4-day ride
she
didn't get butt-sore, and with the hiway pegs I made, her knees were
pretty
good, too. The amenities are nice, intercom is superb, and luggage
space
is sweet. I love having a radio!
Jeremy
