Motorcycle Safety & Driveability: 1985 yamaha, bad brakes, yamaha venture

Question
not sure if this is the the right place to go but here goes. I,m looking at a 1985 yam. venture royal with 40,000 miles on it --this seems like a lot to me--is this a lot of miles for this bike? Also is there anything I should checked for before choosing this machine --Thanks for any help--they are asking 2495.00

Answer
Bill,

Thanks for the question.

The way I look at mileage on any given bike involves several aspects.

First: How was the bike used? Being a full-on tour bike, the Yamaha Venture is going to be used most often for long rides: touring. So 40,000 miles is not to be unexpected on a touring bike. So for that bike, that's not a huge number of miles. I'd say it's on the average. Another way to look at it: the bike is almost 20 years old. That means it got ridden an average of 2000 miles a year. Not very much! (I've ridden 2000 miles in a week many times).

Second: How has the bike been cared for? This can be determined from a variety of observations. First off, how does it look? Has it obviously been cared for? Is it "clean", with no visible damage? Or is it a rusting pile of junk? If this is a private party sale, also take a look at their homes and cars. The way people take care of all their "stuff" is usually a good indicator how how they will treat their bikes. Next, does the owner have service records? If yes, check out when it was tuned up or if it's had any major service done (engine rebuild, crash repair, etc). If it looks like it has been tuned up on a regular basis and not crashed or had any major service, that's good. If the owner has no records of any kind, be very wary. They may be hiding a past crash or other major problem not readily visible. If the bike looks good but they have no records (or a dealer is selling it), have a Yamaha mechanic (not at the dealer who is selling it) give it a complete look over and if possible, an engine compression test. Also, take the bike for a ride. If it seems to run poorly or have other obvious problems (bad brakes, funny noises, etc), then you may want to avoid it. Especially if the dealer/seller will not let a mechanic look at it or let you have a ride. Then pass on it for sure.

If a dealer is selling this bike, see if they will let you know who owned it previously. If they refuse, you may be able to get the previous owners name through Carfax.com or from your local DMV. You will need the VIN number of the bike.

For the most part, tour bike owners take good care of their bikes, as they tend to be older and more mature. A 1985 Venture with 40K miles for $2500 sounds like a solid deal if it's been taken care of, rides good and has had a conscientious previous owner.

I hope it turns out to be a good bike. The Yamaha Venture was a great touring bike: faster and lighter than a Goldwing, but still comfortable and with that great V4 engine derived from the infamous V-Max.

Good luck!

Bill Roberson