colclarke Posted April 1, 2009 Share #1 Posted April 1, 2009 Hi from over the pond here in the UK July last year i swapped my BMW K1200LT for a 2001 Venture to enable my wife who has a disability a weakness to her left leg which makes it difficult to get aboard, So a lower and easier bike to mount was purchased the Venture it had all the toys the beemer has and a nice big fat saddle to rest my ample behind on. After living with this bike for a month ( let me first apologise for my next comment) What a load of F****N C*** this pile of S*** is. Its heavy and doesnt corner the worst bike i have ever owned. I need to get rid of it but guess what S*** happens i find myself out of work so it has to stay at least for a while till new work can be found and funds raised to get a bike that corners. 9 months on still out of work, world recession, no work. Ive read a few threads on the forum and hear a lot about downsizing the front tyre to 130, so found a nice man who had a set of avon venoms white walls for sale so they were fitted front 130/90 16 rear 150/90 15 WOW!!!!!! This turns a real pig into such a riders bike it corners so easy and slow speed handling is great should have done this earlier its a pleasure to ride and can cope with all that the UK,s B roads can throw at it After 10 months I am converted, its the Dogs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyB Posted April 1, 2009 Share #2 Posted April 1, 2009 Sounds to my like you have to put some time into practicing your riding skills. Take care, Johnny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuddyRich Posted April 1, 2009 Share #3 Posted April 1, 2009 They are great bikes. The front tire change makes a difference. There are also leveling links that will help but they raise the rear an inch so you may want to bypss that mod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilvrT Posted April 1, 2009 Share #4 Posted April 1, 2009 Sounds to my like you have to put some time into practicing your riding skills. Take care, Johnny My sentiments exactly although, I can't say I've ridden any BMW's or crotch rockets for accurate comparison but all the scoots I have owned (except my 1st gens) never handled/cornered any better than my RSMV. I really don't find it to be all that difficult to handle so I chalk that up to familiarity with the bike and rider skill and/or ability (little pat on the back here LOL) .. I say "ability" because some folk are not in all the best physical condition which could affect their ability to handle these beasts. Having said that tho, I do believe I will be trying the 130 front tire once mine has worn out. Am very interested to see what everyone is raving about. btw.... welcome aboard ... hope you thoroughly enjoy your new scoot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaltyDawg Posted April 1, 2009 Share #5 Posted April 1, 2009 Having said that tho, I do believe I will be trying the 130 front tire once mine has worn out. Am very interested to see what everyone is raving about. If you are a big person I would shy away from downsizing the front tire. It makes a difference, but it's not really that much IMO. I never had problems with the low speed handling of the RSV, but I figured I would try out the smaller tire and to be honest it doesn't feel right to me. I have over 52,000 miles on this bike and 40,000 on my previous RSV so I have the experience, but going to the smaller tire gave me an uncomfortable feel in the corners at higher speeds and the tire tends to track the cracks a lot. It's not my steering head bearings either. They are nice and snug. It took me about 3,000 miles of riding before I felt comfortable with the smaller tire. I will go back to the original size on my next tire. BTW I usually put over 2,000 miles a month on it, so it didn't take long to get comfortable with it, but I still am not sold. Others experiences will vary. Like I said, if you are a big guy then you can handle the bike without problems, I imagine for smaller people it makes a ton of difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeS Posted April 1, 2009 Share #6 Posted April 1, 2009 Well you were rideing it with those Junk OEM tires. Avon's without the size change are a big improvement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilvrT Posted April 1, 2009 Share #7 Posted April 1, 2009 Like I said, if you are a big guy then you can handle the bike without problems, I imagine for smaller people it makes a ton of difference. Nope... I'm 5' 10 1/2" and weigh all of 153lbs stark naked and soakin wet (now ain't that a picture!) However, I'm a "wiry sob" and like I've said earlier, I really don't have any problems handling this 2nd gen... in fact, I found both my 1st gen's harder to handle (at low speeds) but both the 1st gens handled the twisties better than my 2nd gen. What I have found is that if the tire pressure is too low, it is diffucult to handle at the low speeds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colclarke Posted April 2, 2009 Author Share #8 Posted April 2, 2009 Hi The tyres on mine were stock bridgestones the bike has only just covered 6500Miles in 8 years, I,m a big bloke 5'10'' 300lb been riding for over 30 years and all past bikes GL1500Se, CB1300, ST1300 Pan, K1200LT all fairly big heavy bikes not a problem cornering but the venture just seemed a pig and cornered really slow till the tyre change, If any of you guys have visited the UK you will know just how bad our roads and how tight and quick the bends can be. And hauling that beast around was a real feat even at my size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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