Steve S

There doesn't seem to be as many young people riding motorcycles these days. The majority of riders I see are older people and an awful lot of us are going to trikes. And it seems to me that Harley is the leader of bikes out there too. Of course these are just my crazy thoughts. 🤔

Hello Venture friends. We made it back home to Western Kentucky this afternoon 13 days after we left heading for Maine to finish the lower 48. The 8 states that I needed to ride in were, Delaware, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hamshire, Maine and Vermont. It was a wonderful trip with some beautiful scenery. We only had rain on 2 days, and they were both when we got into Eastern Kentucky. The 2 days were the day we left, and the second was the day before as we got home. On both days, as soon as we got into Eastern KY, the bottom dropped out. 🤷‍♂️ We met so many nice people that went out of their way to help us make our trip so enjoyable. Since it is very hard to take pictures while riding, we don't have any pictures to post. The most amazing part of this trip is the fact I have ridden in every state of the lower 48, on a Yamaha Royal Star Venture. It has been on 2 different Ventures, a 2004 and 2010, with a 10-year gap in any riding, but I still feel it was quite an accomplishment to achieve. And I must praise my wife, Patricia. She had never done any riding, even as a passenger, before I bought this 2010 Venture in 21. Not only has she ridden several thousand miles on the back of a Venture, but she did this 3000-mile trip on her Can Am Spyder after getting her license only a month ago. The saddest part of this is that I feel I have gotten too old to handle the weight of a Venture and plan on getting a Goldwing Trike next spring. I want to make more trips out west, but our safety is the most important factor in that decision.

Update on the trip. We spent last night in West Chester PA about 5 miles from the Delaware state line. When we left this morning, we drove south a little way in Delaware, stopped and fueled up, then headed north back to Pennsylvania. We stayed away from Philadelphia, so we headed NE for a few hours then turned east on federal roads that went from rural 2 lane to 6 lane parkways and back to 2 lanes rural in just a few miles. We got out of PA into New Jersey and are now staying in Goshen NY. Our plans are to make Conn and Rhode Island tomorrow. I have a niece in Mass. that we are planning to visit if she has time to fit us in between school and work. The best thing about the trip is the beauty of the trees and scenery and in the small old towns. So many majestic old buildings along the road. We want to stop and look them all over, but we keep moving on.

Hello Friends. I have been riding a Yamaha Venture since 2004 when I bought my first one brand new. I stopped riding in 11 after a bad accident and bought this one in spring of 21 and have managed to put 30,000 miles on it since, even having to take a year off due to back surgery. I did some checking and realized I had ridden all but 8 states in the lower 48. Patricia and I decided we should ride the others on a Venture before I give up the ghost and get a Goldwing trike next spring. Sooooo, Patricia and I headed out, Yeah, she TOOK the Spyder from me, from Hopkinsville KY on Friday, 9/26/25 heading east to the Blue Ridge Parkway. We got on the Parkway at Roanoke VA and rode up to the end of Skyline Drive. That beautiful ride was already the best part of the trip. I can wait to get into the more northern states to see the beauty there. We are now in the suburbs of Pittsburgh for the night and are going to go into Delaware and New Jersey tomorrow morning to get our first two. From there we will head north to get the other 6. Or 7, my geography lessons school were slept through when I did go to school.🙄 I will update everyone as we make a few more states. Steve.

Update on the Venture engine. I changed oil today and put 3.9 quarts, OK. I put the whole gallon in, and put the used oil in the gallon jug. It filled the jug back to just below the level it was before I poured it in the engine. I figure the difference is the amount in the oil filter. This tells me it is not getting gas into the oil, which is very good news. The other side of the coin means I have no idea where the oil in the floor came from. But I know the engine is doing well so I am not going to worry about it.

I rode ONE 900 mile day, from New Ulm Minnesota to Hopkinsville KY in 18 hours. There is no way i could ever do 1000 miles a day for 4 months. He is a strong man.

Good evening fellow riders. My Bro-in-law and I made it back home this afternoon after a trip down to Natchez MS on the Natchez Trace. We got on the Natchez Trace Parkway a little SW of Nashville TN and took 2 days to get to Natchez, with a night in Tupelo MS. We crossed the Mississippi River and stayed in Vidalia Louisiana Thursday night. I have been up and down the Mississippi River hundreds of times in my career as a towboater and driven through Vidalia several times chasing boats down for crew change but never spent the night there. We were blessed to stay in a hotel that was right on the river.

I changed the air filters and did a carb sync on the Venture today getting ready for a trip down the Natchez Trace tomorrow. While I had it sitting level, I checked the oil level, and it was dead center of the sight glass. And I have not seen any more oil on the under the bike. So MAYBE, I was wrong about the oil coming from the bike. It could have been some oily drippage from the washing we gave it. I'll keep a close watch one it and see how it goes.

Thank you Paul. I'll check the for gas. I did notice the oil level was at the top of the sight glass.

I got a new lock nut and finished installing the shock this morning. I took it out to the Yamaha shop for a new rear tire, and it rode great. Going to take a ride down the Natchez Trace with my bro in law next week. I'll share a report on that ride when we got home.

The clear yellow oil is the new Yamalube shock oil. The black stuff is what drained out of the shock. Well over 125ml. The engine hadn't been running for a couple of days before I saw the oil on the shop floor.

WELLLLLLL..... It was NOT the shock. The shock was had plenty of oil in it and was not leaking. However, since I had it off, I changed the O ring and oil. I was putting it back on, got all 3 bolts in and could not find the lock nut for the 3rd bolt. 🤔 So, I didn't get it finished today. I'll get a new nut tonight and finish it the first thing in the morning. The other side of the equation is the problem. Where did you clear yellow oil come from that was under my bike after we washed it. I didn't start it to move it out to be washed or when I moved it back in the shop. Here are some pics of the oil and the frame I built to fix it. To say the oil was dirty is an understatement. Now I will keep an eye out for oil leaks.

I got the shock off this afternoon. It took about 20 minutes to get it set in the vise and start draining it. I made the bracket to press it up to change the O ring but stopped for dinner. It looks like it will be an easy fix, but I didn't get the fork oil today so it will be Tuesday before I can reinstall it.

Thank you Paul. That looks very doable for me.

Thank you, Ronnie. I have sent him a text and am waiting to hear back from him.