1984 Yamaha XVZ12 Venture Royale

Summary:

The best air ride system ever made for a touring bike

Faults:

What things have gone wrong with the motorcycle? - was the question. I say, they stopped making it. That's what went wrong. Well, they did keep the engine and used it in the V-MAX from 1983 to 2007.

General Comments:

I say they could have run this bike way more years than from 1983 to 1985. They changed slightly the engine character in 1986 by increasing the cylinder volume from 1200cc to 1300cc. I liked the better lean yet powerful feel of the 1200. I really loved this bike so much I purchased one again a couple of years ago. Now this one looked like it's been stored behind a barn next to a dusty crop field out on the countryside someplace in Washington state for the last 25 years. No keys.

Radio and cassette player display and the controller for the air suspension was just terrible beaten by the weather and wind. Beyond the point of renovation. But hey, eBay have a long list of decent used parts for this bike for sale endlessly.

I totally renovated the bike to shape like new. It was like laying a giant puzzle, but every piece was to be either cleaned, polished, repaired or replaced. Took some time, but for the love of this amazing bike I made myself a new one, YEARS LATER. The best bike ever made.

Would you buy another motorcycle from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 2nd November, 2015