Engine Swap, 1200 to 1300

[Lou]

First of all I want to thank all the members of Venturerider.org. After 20 years of not riding a motorcycle I finally decided to start riding again. I wanted a full dress cruising machine and started looking at what was out there. I ran across a very nice 1983 Yamaha venture. I loved the look of the bike so I started researching it. I came across Venturerider very quickly and read a ton of information. After all the reading I purchased the bike. I did know 2nd gear was out when I purchased the bike and understood what was required to fix it. After riding the bike I decided I wanted 2nd gear to work. Again I read everything I could find on the subject and also everything about what engines were affected and when Yamaha corrected this gear issue. I also looked into what was involved in swapping out a 1200 engine with the newer 1300. I found only a small amount of information on the subject of engine swap. I then found a 1988 Venture 1300cc engine with only 30k miles for $350 bucks. With this find I decided it was worth trying to swap engines no matter haw much modification was required. Here is what I found out about putting an ’88 1300cc engine into a ’83 1200cc bike,

 

• Fit - the engine bolts up perfectly.
  
• Exhaust - the 1200 exhaust fits perfectly.
  
• YICS - the 1200 YICS chamber is not needed on the 1300 so leave it off
  
• Carburetors - the 1200 carburetors appear to work perfectly. I only have a few hundred miles on it now so I will continue to monitor this.
  
• Radiator - The ’83 radiator lower hose fitting is weak. It came off with the hose. I could have had it repaired at a radiator shop but I found a good ’88 radiator for 40 bucks. The ’88 has this area reinforced.
  
• Thermostat - It appears the thermostat for all Ventures are no longer available from Yamaha and I was surprised to fine no information on this on Venturerider. After extensive research I found only one thread on another site that indicated that the Napa Parts thermostat number 156 will fit like the original and works just fine. I compared the Napa 156 with the original and decided to use it. The original has a small vent hole with a weight to help bleed the air out when filling the cooling system. If it makes you fill better you can drill a small 1/32” hole to match the original. I chose not to do this. The cooling system filled fine and works perfectly. The temperature gauge now stays right in the middle.
  
• Starter – the 1200 starter fits and works perfectly.
  
• Electrical – You will need an electrical schematic for the 1200 and the 1300 to get it right. The generator lead connector and the pick up lead connector fit perfectly. The Neutral indicator wire for the 1200 bike is a single black and yellow wire. The 1300 engine has a multi wire plug. In this plug there is a ski blue wire that is the neutral indicator. I made the single wire from the bike into a spade connector and inserted it into the ski blue slot on the multi wire connector. I then sealed this complete plug with shrink tube and electrical tape to keep the dirt out. The oil level indicator connects to the only singe wire coming from the 1300 engine. I did not take the time to find out what the other wires in the 1300 multi conductor are for. I did not really care because my ’83 doesn’t require them.
  

After swapping the engine I balanced the carbs and cleaned and adjusted everything.

The bike and engine combination are fantastic – I love this bike and can not wait to put many miles under its wheels.

 

 

Thanks again to all the members at Venturerider.org.

[skydoc_17]

Hey Lou,

Boy, it looks like you did a really clean swap on your 83'Vr there. I wish I knew you were doin' it because I would have mentioned to replace the stock motor mounts with the solid Aluminum or Delrin mounts. Other than that It looks great! How does it feel to have second gear?

Enjoy the upcoming riding season,

Earl and Jean

[craigatcsi]

Wow, I admire your initiative!

 

In my younger days, I would have loved a challenge such as yours. Sadly, now that I have the money to buy new, I would never take the time or effort to do this.

 

My hat is off to you.

 

Craigr

[mraf]

Glad to hear it all worked out Lou. This is the first real thorough writeup on this swap I have read. It sounds as if you covered all the bases. This should be listed in the 1st gen section to help others doing this swap. Nice 83. Pop that 1200 apart and fix the 2nd gear issue there are many miles probably left in her.

[maxantinlive.com]

I think thats awsome, I am greatful that somebody showed us it can be done,now about that 1200, are you going to keep it ,or being the great guy you are give it to somebody that thinks you are a great guy.....

[eagleskry]

Lou,

 

I know this is an older thread, but I'm in exactly this position.

 

My 83's tranny just packed up last week after 3 years of babying the tranny to extend its life. I haven't had second gear in a while, now last week I can't get 1st, second does it's usual slip, and I have 3, 4, and 5. Pulling away in third? Nah.

 

I bumped into a local rider that has a 1300 with less than 30k on it out of a wrecked 2nd gen for $400. My mechanic estimates $1000 in labor and materials,

versus $2500 estimated to fix the 1200.

 

Thanks for posting this.

Clay

[rjg1985]

Hello everyone,

I just did this swap last weekend, 87 engine into my 85 because of dead #2 cylinder. All went well, it fired right up. Let it warm up then did a carb sync and took it for a 13 mile ride then pulled the #1 plug. It looks like it is running very lean (see picture) The carbs are from the 85 1200 which was used daily. No needle mod just a stock setup and new diaphrams last year. It runs great, no hesitation, idles nice and very responsive. Any ideas as to what I should do about the lean condition.

Thanks,

Randy

[dingy]

Having put a 1300 engine in scooter this winter and using the 1200 carbs, here is what I found works so far.

 

Re-jetted mains to 150 from 117.5

 

Re-jetted PAJ2 from 180 to 160

 

Mixture screws set to three turns

 

I have opened the exhaust up quite a bit.

 

Also have Vmax heads, cams & springs in motor. No vboost.

 

Your plug looks to be very lean. I am going to hazard a guess that the engine is running hotter due to this.

 

You probably don't need to go to 150 on the mains with stock heads.

 

Stock 1300 had 125 mains. But, this size choice was probably influenced by a need to pass EPA regulations. 135's might be a nice start.

 

PAJ2 is the jet behind the carb diaphragm rubber. Reducing its size allows less air into mixture, thus having the effect of making the mixture richer.

 

I have the mixture screws out to 3 turns to clear up a rough running around 3000 RPM.

 

Gary

[skydoc_17]

Hey Randy,

Congrats on that engine swap! Because we all run unleaded fuel in our bikes, 13 miles might be a little too soon to to expect results to show up on your plugs. Something that could be tried that wouldn't take rejetting the Carbs. would be to ADD a shim to the Main Jet Needle, (Which would be the oppisite of the Needle Shim Mod) Also adjustments in the Idle Mixture Screws might help as well. If you need Needle shims, or want more info about what I am talking about, feel free to PM me.

Earl

[Condor]

I'd check the diaphragm to see just how much that needle is being pulled out. You may not be getting full lift at higher RPM's.........

[Venturous Randy]

 

I bumped into a local rider that has a 1300 with less than 30k on it out of a wrecked 2nd gen for $400. My mechanic estimates $1000 in labor and materials,

versus $2500 estimated to fix the 1200.

 

Thanks for posting this.

Clay

 

I don't think putting a 2nd gen in a 1st gen is going to be doable due to the exhaust not coming out the same and other things. I know this is about two months old, but I wonder what he did.

RandyA

[Condor]

I don't think putting a 2nd gen in a 1st gen is going to be doable due to the exhaust not coming out the same and other things. I know this is about two months old, but I wonder what he did.

RandyA

 

Bet it was a typo and should have been a MKII....??

[Snowman269]

Maybe you could install the heads off the old motor, that would solve the exhaust connection issue.