Big touring bike

[red1100]

I'm looking at getting a mid 80s big touring bike and have a few choices to look at and looking for comments from members who may have experience with them. Cavalcade, Goldwing 83-87 Royal Venture after 1987 and maybe Kawasaki. The big 4.No beemers or Harleys. First thing is I don't mind projects ln fact being retired I'd prefer one. They're always projects avaiable. I know y'all think I don't pay more than $1.49 for my bikes but for this I'll go to $1000. Found several goldwings in this range but I want to see whats out there.Rich

[Nessism]

This is a GS site so a 1100GK is the obvious choice.

[XGMAN]

Rode a 1200 wing for years, tough!!
Check charging system on potencials it
was a problem area.
'83 was the last of the 1100s.
'84 1200 won't do 120mph!! (119 though haha)
Fred

[red1100]

I like Suzukis Cavalcade better.It would be my number one choice if I can find a nice one.

[RichDesmond]

I like Suzukis Cavalcade better.It would be my number one choice if I can find a nice one.

Until you go to work on it.

[Nessism]

I like Suzukis Cavalcade better.It would be my number one choice if I can find a nice one.

Maybe you should go to a Cavalcade site and put up a WTB ad?

[LAB3]

I'm quite happy with my current 1100 Goldwing, parts are a bit more pricey but easy enough to find with plenty of on-line resources for help. Had an 83 Venture and although parts where a bit cheaper they where a little more difficult to locate NEW, there IS a good resource in ventureriders.org for Q&A. I've seen a couple of Cavalcades over the years for sale but being somewhat rare I passed due to possible parts issues. All in all go with the Goldwing for ease or the Venture for price.

[Steve]

... looking for comments from members who may have experience with them. Cavalcade, Goldwing 83-87 Royal Venture after 1987 and maybe Kawasaki.

Cavalcade. Generally loved by the motorcycle press and was praised at being better than the Goldwing. Like Rich said, "until you have to work on it." V-4 engines are no fun to work on, and there are also plenty of gizmos on the basic bike.

Goldwing '83-'87. Not sure why you started at '83, it's the last of the 1100s. The GL1100 started in '80. It had a few refinements until '84, when the GL1200 came out. The 1200 was a much better touring bike than the 1100 or the 1000. Hydraulic lifters meant no more valve adjustments. Many other refinements, including different (better) luggage, more of a "packaged" look, rather than having things bolted on. ALL of the 4-cylinder Wings have a permanent magnet and stator charging system, much like a GS. There are just about as many failures, but to change the stator, you have to remove the engine from the frame.

Yamaha Venture. My older son had an '83 Venture and an '86 Venture Royale. Much better handling than a Goldwing, at least as much power and almost as many creature comforts. If you want one as a project, there is one sitting in my garage. You come get it, it's yours. Note that this is also a V-4 engine.

Kawasaki. The Voyager started in '83 as a 1300cc 6-cylinder. It was joined in '86 by the Voyager XII, a smaller 1200cc 4-cylinder. The 1300 Six was dropped after the '88 model year, the 1200 Four continued with minor updates through the 2003 model year. There were complaints from some that it was a bit top-heavy, but what big touring bike isn't? The '86 had problems with an ignitor that would make the engine backfire and break the starter chain, which required splitting the cases to fix. A new ignitor for '87 fixed that, that version was still used on the '03. A solid, reliable bike that has a decent following with a good forum.

Personal experiences?
I have seen a Cavalcade, even sat on one, but have never ridden one. I have talked with a few guys that have had one, they spoke well of them.

I have never owned a four-cylinder Wing, but have ridden them. I have worked on a few.

Venture: as mentioned, my son has had two. I have ridden and worked on both.

Voyager: I had an '84 that was a Six. Mainly because I had had a KZ1300 many years previously and liked it. The Voyager did not disappoint, but it was HEAVY and thirsty. Parts are also getting hard to find, as they did not make very many bikes over the six years they were produced and did not make very many spares, either. As part of the Voyager Association, I met many guys that had the 4-cylinder 1200 and liked them. I never did get a chance to ride one.

Hope some of that might help in your search.

And, as Nessism suggests: what's wrong with a GS1100GK?

.

[Burque73]

I'm looking at getting a mid 80s big touring bike and have a few choices to look at and looking for comments from members who may have experience with them. Cavalcade, Goldwing 83-87 Royal Venture after 1987 and maybe Kawasaki. The big 4.No beemers or Harleys. First thing is I don't mind projects ln fact being retired I'd prefer one. They're always projects avaiable. I know y'all think I don't pay more than $1.49 for my bikes but for this I'll go to $1000. Found several goldwings in this range but I want to see whats out there.Rich

I was just given a Venture yesterday. It's going to need work to get it running again, but is in pretty good shape. I just couldn't resist a FREE bike WITH a title.

This is where it sat for two years

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2kdwfXp]

Stopped at a car wash on the way home and it cleaned up nicely.



It has more bells and whistles than any bike I've ever owned.

[Grimly]

Until you go to work on it.

GL1500s are the same. Half the day removing /refitting plastic for an hour's work on the bit you need to.
My friend loved that part of the GW Owner Experience.

[red1100]

GKs aren't bad and I would go for the right one but they seem like a tarted up G instead of a designed tour bike. I have the year wrong on goldwings but I'm thinking about the 82,3,4 maybe when they to the full size frame mounted fairing and integrated lowers and bags/trunk.As far as maintenance and repair on the cavalcade I haven't found any issues that would be any worse than goldys constant carb problems that went till 87 or the devastating transmission problem on all Royal Ventures which Yamaha didn't fix till midyear 1987. Google the serial number to see if yours was fixed.Haven't checked Kaws yet but will shortly.Plus I have a self imposed limit of $1000. Working or repairing something in my shop is no issue.It.s great retirement fun.

[Steve]

I was just given a Venture yesterday. It's going to need work to get it running again, but is in pretty good shape. I just couldn't resist a FREE bike WITH a title.

Free with title is a good way to go. Hopefully the inevitable repairs don't make up for the (lack of) purchase cost.

Red mentioned a transmission problem. It's true. The thrust washer that pushes second gear into place wears out. It starts with second gear occasionally slipping back out on heavy throttle, eventually it won't stay in gear at all. Replacing that thrust washer fixes the problem, but it's about $700 in parts and gaskets. The lower case needs to be removed, but the engine can be removed from the frame intact, flipped over, then the lower case removed. My son's '83 had that problem. When we sold the bike, the buyer knew about the problem and how to fix it. I talked with him about a year later, he was still riding it by winding it out a bit in first gear, then shifting to third.

Valve adjustments are a PAIN. Carb rebuilds are even worse. Good luck.

GL1500s are the same. Half the day removing /refitting plastic for an hour's work on the bit you need to.
My friend loved that part of the GW Owner Experience.

I have had my Wing for about 15 years now, and have only had the opportunity to add about 95,000 miles to the odometer. It currently reads about 188,000. During that time, I can count on the fingers of ONE hand how many times I have had to remove more than a couple pieces of "Tupperware". You have to remove TWO pieces just to access the dipstick to check the oil. Fortunately, they use virtually no oil, so it's not an everyday experience. Access to the air filter is a bit more involved, takes about 20 minutes to get there, a few minutes to clean/change the filter, then about 30 minutes to put it together. Again, not done very often (every couple of years?), so it's not a problem. Changing spark plugs requires other panels to be removed. I changed the original plugs with about 120,000 miles on them, I'm still running the replacements.

Yes, juggling the Tupperware is a problem at times, but it simply doesn't happen very often, so it's not a problem.

GKs aren't bad and I would go for the right one but they seem like a tarted up G instead of a designed tour bike. I have the year wrong on goldwings but I'm thinking about the 82,3,4 maybe when they to the full size frame mounted fairing and integrated lowers and bags/trunk.

Honda came out with the Interstate fairing for the GL1100 in 1980. That continued through '83. It looked sort of like a Vetter Windjammer with Honda styling touches. The saddlebags were also optional, and were added to the bike, much like those on a GK. The fully-integrated fairing and saddlebags appeared in 1984 on the GL1200. 1984 was also the last year that you could buy a naked Goldwing. Starting in 1985, ALL Goldwings came fully-dressed.

As far as maintenance and repair on the cavalcade I haven't found any issues that would be any worse than goldys constant carb problems that went till 87 ...

Carb problems on Wings were not Honda's fault. Much like the neglect of any other bike, it's usually just a matter of keeping them clean. The GL1000 did have problems with carburetion. They were trying to improve ridability while still meeting the changing EPA rules and changed every year, playing with carb size and jetting, finally getting it right with the '80 1100.

.

[red1100]

I've talked to 3 guys here local about the trans problem and the one that had no problems has been using synthetic since new.

[LAB3]

I've talked to 3 guys here local about the trans problem and the one that had no problems has been using synthetic since new.

The Venture I had didn't have that problem either just as there's first generation Honda Magna owners that never had problems with the camshaft or 90's Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 owners that never had the plastic oil pump gear break. A common problem doesn't necessarily mean it's inevitable, just be aware of it while you shop and be prepared to take care of it if/when it pops up down the line.

[GS1150Pilot]

2nd gear on big Yamahas is pretty inevitable. My XS11 had to have that repaired, and the VMax I owned had already had it done.