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Update 2018 Yamaha Star Venture 11,147 Miles On Odometer

12K views 36 replies 16 participants last post by  CheezyRider 
#1 · (Edited)
Turned over 11,000 miles on the 2018 Yamaha Star Venture and thought I would provide an update.

The bike runs great, plenty of power, if you want a little more sporty mode then just push the mode button on the right side of the handle bar to Sport Mode and the ECM map changes to a more lively map over the Touring Mode.

Sport mode is active through the low and mid range and really livens up the response. Want to go back to a more laid back ECM map just push the mode button again and it changes back to the Touring Mode.

Oil results from Blackstone Lab are showing the engine is wearing very well with no problems.

Ride quality is outstanding with good tire wear, I am getting 3,000 miles per 1/32 of tread depth, so if you run the tread down to the wear bars that is using 7/32's of rubber and at my readings comes out to 21,000 miles tire wear for the rear tire. Tire wear is always dependent on the right wrist but so far I am getting very good tire wear out of the Bridgestone tires.

The sound system is outstanding on this bike, I am including a couple of youtube videos one of them on fuel mileage and one on the sound system quality.

Fuel mileage is outstanding, here are five fill ups all two up riding with stop lights and traffic involved with open road riding as well.

9/9/18: 174 miles 3.399 gallons 47.94 MPG

9/27/18: 189.2 miles 3.940 gallons 48.02 MPG

10/5/18: 143.7 miles 2.931 gallons 49.02 MPG

10/13/18: 145.9 miles 2.938 gallons 49.65 MPG

10/17/18: 181.2 miles 3.780 gallons 47.93 MPG

This is real world two up riding.

Sound system video:



Fuel mileage video:

 
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#35 ·
Hey Red, if the latest report of the new Yamaha's valve train issues as described in this copy/paste has any merit, it sounds like there may be a lot more to the SVTC/Eluders valve train issues than just choosing/using the proper oil. It almost sounds like a tolerance/design issue at the manufacturing level if the lifters are not rotating to keep them in proper wear. What do think? Here is the most recent report of the issue, at least apparently on the forums:

I really do not know that I can say that Oldman. I got really spoiled by the durability of our Vic's (and getting there with my Wing too now) and, even with the few Star Ventures that Yamaha was able to sell at way reduced prices after the delay of initial release caused by mechanical issues that were supposedly resolved, there are some major design flaw issues ongoingly being reported.
There are numerous reports of what I am referring to but here is a recent report from an ex-Yamaha Dealership off a Yamaha pay site that I just found:
""I started noticing more top end clatter checked valve clearance found front cylinder lifters not pumped up. pulled lifters found intake lifter scored along with cam lobe.
Intake lifter not turning in bore. yamaha replaced cams and lifters noise was still there. Is back apart and by the pattern on lifters the same lifter is not turning.
The bike has 6600 miles I have a small Yamaha dealership but do not sell bikes anymore. Have been working on bikes for 30 years.""

And here is a link to that thread : Lifter Cam Issue on my SVTC
 
#36 ·
Yikes. That doesn’t sound good at all. I certainly hope these are a few exceptions to the rule.
 
#37 ·
Yikes. That doesn't sound good at all. I certainly hope these are a few exceptions to the rule.
You got that right brog,, this aint looking promising at all for the new bike. It looks like there is way more to these reported valve issues than simply something using an oil other than Yamaha Lube as instructed by the manual can solve. If the issue is a design flaw in the lifters dealing with tight tolerances that would be something that could be overcome with a recall (I still do not quite understand why Yamaha did not just simply use Roller Lifters like HD does - makes no sense to me) but if the resistance to rotate is because of something like Push Rod angle like Harley was dealing with when they dumped the Evo design for the Twin Cam (to lessen the push rod angle),, that is a whole different subject - that could be cause for complete top end redesign and that may not bode well for the outlook of a bike that does not sell anyway..
I have heard of 5 different valve issues on these bikes not being reported on any of the Yamaha forums that I have read. This latest one about the exYamaha Shop finding the lifters that wont rotate is new to me though. I have a hunch that that latest report is actually the one getting to the issues though because Yamaha and their oils have been used in their V-Star line successfully for years. I think if I were riding a new SVTC, I would DEFINITELY stick with Yamaha oil so there would be no loop hole created for the factory to opt out of a rebuild under warranty, especially considering that the last 4 years of warranty on those new bikes are actually service contracts and not factory warranties.All this talk about push rod motor problems sure makes me think Yamaha should have talked Victory out of our beloved over head cam V-Twin design if they felt the need to go Air Cooled V-Twin!! Now THERE is/was an indestructible motor that actually does pull like a freight train LOL!!
 
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