Yamaha Venture

YAMAHA VENTURE

QUICK RIDE

Heavy-metal hot-rod

SOME THINGS NEVER change. Day still follows night. Henny Youngman still tells the world’s worst oneliners. And the Venture Royale still is the most entertaining turn-key touring bike ever to head on down the highway.

On this tourer, though, the entertainment value isn’t derived from an AM/FM/cassette sound system with CB and intercom, or from air suspension regulated by on-board com-

pressor; the Venture has these amenities, of course, but so do other touring bikes. Neither is it provided by over-the-road competence; the Yamaha is a capable vessel for long hauls on the open road, but some others are better.

Instead, the Venture entertains with a quality not usually associated with big-rig touring equipment: high performance. But that shouldn’t be too surprising, since its 1294cc VFour engine is the same one that made the V-Max a performance legend. The Venture’s engine is in a milder state of tune, but compensates by being 96cc larger than Mr. Max’s megamotor.

Not only is it exceptionally fast for a bike of its type, the Venture is more fun on a twisty backroad than any 775-pound lump of Winnebikeo has a right to be. It has sufficient cornering clearance and chassis stiffness to allow fairly serious banking angles and cornering speeds before its sideand centerstand start gouging the tarmac.

But for most riders, the engine alone will provide adequate amusement. It cranks out more torque than your average locomotive while feeling and sounding like a cross between one of Arlen Ness’s V-Twins and one of Dale Earnhardt’s V-Eights. Snap the throttle open in the lower gears and you’re thrust forward at a rate you don’t expect on a bike so massive. Dial it open at road speed and you’re rewarded with roll-on acceleration rivaling that of machines barely half the Venture’s avoirdupois.

Few touring riders, however, give a rat’s behind about quarter-mile times, and fewer yet hanker to see how far they can lean through a corner. Their main criteria are comfort and ease of passage during long days on the road. And here, the Venture loses valuable points. It’s tall and top-heavy, and its seat chafes before the first day’s ride has ended. It engulfs its rider in engine heat that, in warm weather, can roast the joy out of an otherwise fun ride. And the only storage provisions in the cockpit are two vinyl pouches that snap onto the rear of the fairing and dangle annoyingly against the rider’s knees.

Despite those shortcomings, the Venture remains a genuine hoot for anyone who enjoys punctuating long-distance rides with brisk charges up through the gears or spirited romps along backroads. Trouble is, the shortage of such riders has finally taken its toll: Meager sales of the Venture have prompted Yamaha to drop it from the company’s 1994 lineup.

For anyone with a propensity for hot-rod touring rigs, this news isn’t all bad. There still are quite a few unsold Ventures in dealerships and warehouses across the country, so their $ 11,499 prices should be very negotiable. This could be your last, best chance to own the VMax of touring bikes at a very attractive-and entertainingprice. -Paul Dean