2005 Yamaha Royal Star Venture
Steve’s Excellent AdVENTURE
Two Thousand Miles In Four Days - Comfortably

By Steve Lita, Photos by Bob Feather

The choice was simple. Yamaha had offered to lend me a ride for my annual trek from LA to Sturgis, and they gave me a number of bikes to choose from. At the top of the list were several mid-size cruisers, and then a couple of sporty standards. Finally, the very last choice: the Royal Star Venture. As far as I’m concerned, they should have listed it first. I knew the Venture was the perfect tool for this job. With hard bags, a radio, a windshield, and cruise control, why would I want anything else?

Shock At First Sight

When I arrived at Yamaha headquarters in Cypress, California, a couple of technicians gave me a walk-around introduction to the bike. With all the features they took the time to explain, you’d have thought they were teaching me how to fly an airplane or dock a cruise vessel (not much of a departure from the truth). The Venture is designed for one purpose, long-distance travel, and it has the hardware to do it.

With over 33 gallons of storage space between the saddlebags and rear trunk, all my gear was gobbled up with room to spare. Be sure to order the Yamaha accessory saddlebag and trunk liners, as they made loading and unloading the bike at hotel stops a snap. Plus, the trunk lid has a handy hold-open feature. When you lift the lid all the way up and release it, it stays open. To close it, you just lift the lid an inch or so, and the rod will release. Conveniently, all of the storage compartments use the same key as the ignition.

Moreover, the Venture’s appearance and finish are superb. I rode the Midnight version, which includes a chromed front end, studded seat trim, and black paint without the pinstripes found on the standard model. Overall, I was impressed with the bike’s stance and presentation.

Once all my gear was packed up, it was time for my maiden voyage. It took some effort to heft the Venture off its sidestand (800 pounds of bike will do that). Once rolling, however, the bike felt more fluid, with very responsive steering at speed. You really can’t toss it around like a smaller bike, but it’s not bad for a land yacht.

Surprising Power

I was expecting a deluxe ride like the Venture to be equipped with electronic fuel injection, but its V-4 engine is actually fed by four 32mm carburetors. However, the carburetors performed flawlessly, and, in this case, EFI would probably just add to the cost of an already expensive vehicle. A conventional fuel valve sends gas from the tank to the carbs. I had to switch the lever to reserve only once, when the trip meter showed 160 miles on the tank.

The Venture had great acceleration, despite being only 1300cc. These days, some other full-size touring bikes have larger engines, but the Venture can get out of its own way with no problem. With an advertised 98 hp and 89 ft-lbs. of torque, this barge acts like a speedboat. Engine vibration is kept to a minimum with help from a single-axis internal counterbalancer. The mirrors were rock steady, and all my dental fillings are still in place.

The only drawback to the Venture’s motor design is that it’s a two-person job to check the oil level. You need one person to hold the bike upright and another to check the sight glass, which is mounted very low on the right-side engine case. On the upside, the shaft drive offers a low-maintenance solution for a big bike that would be hard to access a drive chain on.

I liked the precise action of the heel-toe shifter. The five-speed transmission includes an overdrive, and I found it was best to kick down one gear for passing on the highway. There’s also an overdrive indicator light on the dash, a handy reminder when cruising.

Bringing this rig to a stop requires ample brakes, which the Venture has. It uses dual 298mm rotors up front and a single 310mm disc out back, and the braking performance is great. However, the aesthetics get in the way. You can’t use a conventional U-shaped disc lock on the front rotor because it’s covered by a trim plate. But some disc locks with small-diameter pins may fit through the disc vent holes.

In The Comfort Zone

Wind protection on the Venture is awesome, and cool mornings didn’t bother me at all. I wore a lightweight vented jacket for the entire trip, and the windscreen, front fairing, and lowers provided a great protective zone. I’d been warned about the potential for overheated legs on hot summer days, but I didn’t find that to be a problem.

The upper fairing has a remote-adjustable headlight and a cigarette lighter-style power port. The antique-looking instrument panel is situated on a dash that looks like burled walnut with a black finish. It features a speedometer with a digital “needle” that indicates mph on a scale — sort of old school meets high tech. Another LCD display includes an odometer, two tripmeters, and a fuel gauge. The indicator lights are arranged in two small displays.

The factory sound system includes a 40-channel AM/FM radio, a CB/intercom (which I didn’t use), and a cassette player, with a main control pod mounted on the left handlebar. There’s also an input jack for an auxiliary audio source. There are four speakers: two up front in the fairing, and two behind the passenger seat. The volume rises and falls as you speed up and slow down, so you don’t have to keep adjusting it. And while bikes equipped with large fairings like the Venture tend to contain engine and road noise around the rider, the speed-sensitive volume control helped overcome that trait. The subtle, sewing-machine-like drone of the engine didn’t bother me, anyway.

The electronic cruise control was a blessing, letting me relax my grip for short periods, which does wonders to fight fatigue. The controls are on the right handlebar and are integrated into the switchpod, with the main cruise power switch front and center on the fairing.

The ride is plush, thanks to the air-adjustable suspension with 5.5" inches of travel up front and 4.1" in the rear. The adjustment controls for the front suspension are on top of the forks; the rear uses a valve to the right of the passenger seat. If you’re traveling two-up or have a heavy load, just pump up the air pressure a bit and you’re ready to go.

Another factor in the soft ride might be the meaty 150/80-16" and 150/90-15" tires (front and rear, respectively). Between the comfortable suspension and the rubber-mounted bars, I found the overall ride quality quite pleasant. In addition, the driver’s seat was incredibly comfortable. It didn’t compress during the trip, and seems perfectly suited to long-distance use. I also found the foot position very comfortable. My 6' frame liked the position of the floorboards, and my feet liked the pads that cushion the chrome plates.

This full-boat touring bike is so deluxe it even comes with a five-year, unlimited-mileage warranty and free roadside assistance from Yamaha. Notably, it seems Yamaha hasn’t changed this model in years. In fact, the only change from ’05 to ’06 is the new tank badge. I guess if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Now I just have to find a way to convince Yamaha to loan me another one for my next long ad-Venture. RB

SPECS

List Price: $17,299

Engine: Liquid-cooled V-4

Displacement: 1294cc

Valvetrain: DOHC, four valves per cylinder

Compression: 10:1

Fuel System: Four 32mm Mikuni carburetors

Transmission: Five-speed

Final Drive: Shaft

Overall Length: 104.5"

Wheelbase: 67.1"

Seat height: 29.5"

Fuel Capacity: 6 gallons

Dry Weight: 807 pounds

Colors: Black Cherry, Raven