2018 Star Venture

I have owned a 2018 Yamaha Star Venture as of Oct 15 2018. This bike was 5 years in the making. My understanding that it the release date was delayed originally. I recieved mine several months later. This is my first air/oil cooled bike. The air management system on this bike is excellent. At 963 lb...s it is a heavy bike but it was well designed where you dont feel the weight once your rolling. Yamaha has all the bells and whistles as no other touring bike has out the gate. The Sure Park system is likee no other out there. It will move your bike forward or backward with its separate drive system which allows you to move the bike around effortlessly at slow speed as needed for parking. The brake system on this bike exceeds my Honda bikes including the 05 GL. The linked and unified braking system on this bike is the best I've ever operated especially going down a ramp on a fifth wheel toy hauler. The Infotainment system on this bike has all the bells and whistles. I will say the gps system is in need of a serious update which as of today 11/20/19 still hasn't been sent out but as i'm not a expert on the system where I only require basic functions, they work very well for me. I have had the battery go out on me along with a front brake switch but with Yamahas 5 year warrenty those concerns haven't been an issue. Performance wise, a few wish it had a higher redline which is 4750 but with the low end torque this machine has, it wasn't hard for me to adjust to it personally. This bike has the Transcontinental pkg which adds about 2k of options to the bike which i strongly recommend. With a seat height of about 27 inches, this bike can satisfy alot of different people. The motor has a mild thumping as a V-twin does but with improved counterbalancing that spares you from the red light handlebar vibrations which try to shake your watch off your wrist. Fuel milage is hands down better then my GL was on its best day. With an adverage of 45 mpg and a 6.6 gallon tank, you can go far heading down that highway! Yamaha had placed a sound system on this bike that is said to be one of the best oem sound systems of any bike out! Ive had several bikes in my past and I have to say that I am very happy with this bike and everything it has to offer! Read Full Review

Worst Yamaha I've ever bought

My name is George Cosner and Ive had 10 differant Yamaha motorcycles in my lifetime and was very happy with every one of them until this 2018 Transcontinental Venture. I was one of the first buyers and traded 3 of my Yamaha's in on it to afford this one. It was 5 mths late arriving, had to have a ne...w GPS computer in it. A few months later had new valves and pushrods put in the motor. Cruise control stopped working and had to have that repaired. A new air pressure sensor put in that is 2 pounds off. Now the bike is back in the shop because the transmission went out. I have to stop too often because it gets so hot under my left leg when it's above 80 degrees out that it's unbearable. It only has 19,300 miles on it and i've had all these problems in 19 mths. Now i'm sitting at home on a beautiful weekend because my motorcycle is broke down again!!! I bought this new touring bike and am afraid to ride it out of state and be broken down so far from home, what a shame-a touring bike I cant take on a tour. Yamaha has been good about replacing the parts but I'm missing so much riding time I wish they'd replace it with a new one instead of having the bike repaired every few months. Stinking shame to pay so much for a motorcycle that I can't ride much because of the problems with it. Read Full Review