Impressions after 100 miles

[Patmac6075]

After much work and more than a few Peso’s, I have my ’84 Venture Royale ready to make its maiden voyage.

 

One thing I’m noticing right away is the lack of high-end power…. The bike idles and pulls really well off the line, but once you get up over 5k RPM or so the powerband kind of flattens out…almost like this should be redline. Maybe I’m just used to my XJ750, which just wakes up at 5k and screams and begs you to take it to redline. Now I’m fully aware this is a different type of bike with a different engine and is designed to be driven in a completely different manner… I’m just noting that the powerband seems to level off well before redline….is this normal? Please understand I’m not looking for a debate on the inherent benefits of one bike versus the other…I’d just like to know if this is how this bike is designed? I have not pulled my plugs yet, but the carbs had been removed, disassembled, cleaned (pilots are at 2.5 turns out), and balanced. Valves have all been checked and reshimmed. Old fuel drained and refilled with fresh gas.

 

Second thing, my cruise does not work? Light comes on…no flashes…but when I go to set it…nothing? Have not checked any switches, but judging by the brake lights…they seem to operate as normal. Any suggestions?

 

Third, I seem to get a loud “Clunk” while braking and hitting a bump…doesn’t happen if I’m just riding along and hit a bump (of any size, big or small), but if I’m braking and even hit a tar strip…”Clunk”…What is that? I should note, I’ve had the front wheel off the ground…no play in the head bearing, nor is there any binding. Plans are to do a complete front end rebuild (springs, seals, bearings, brakes, ect.) as the summer moves on, but does anyone have any ideas what this could be?

[Great White]

Nope, my 83 pulls like a freight train when up on the main jet. Pretty much a Linear torque curve. You've got something going on I'd say.

 

I'm just swapping venture cruise on to my 83 so all I can offer you is I've read brake and clutch levers can be problematic. Its often recommended to push them out and if cruise engages, you have you're problem. Fuses are also a good place to look and it doesn't engage below (iirc) 50 kph.

 

Clunk. Mine clunkers over bumps all the time. Hard to chase down as most of it is the luggage making noise on its removable mounts. I would suggest you check then steering head bearings for play also.

[Patmac6075]

Thanks Great....

I'll give the levers a try.

As far as the clunk...makes this particular noise only when front brake (either hand lever or rear foot lever ) is applied while going over bumps. So it's not the plastics making the noise. I did have the front wheel raised and check for play and binding in the head bearing, and there was none

[cowpuc]

Did you check the diaphrams closely when ya had the carbs down and do a carb sync? Also might not be a bad idea to double check the slides too - they like to get sticky and will keep the throttles from opening all the way. New plugs are a GREAT idea, you could spit check your headers (like checking a hot iron, wet finger tip) as its idling and make sure it is actually running on all 4. 5 grand and that puppy should be just starting to really pull hard and pull hard easily to red line..

The clunk could easily be caused by forks bottoming, all of my 1st Gens came to me with sacked springs. I have hunch (as pointed out a number of times, my hunches arent always correct) that the springs in these scoots will sack just from people storing em on the side stand.. Stick in some progressives and I would not be surprised that your clunk will turn into a noise associated with someone screaming "OH MY GOSH DOES THIS THING HANDLE!!!"..

All opinion of course..

[Flyinfool]

Are you sure you are running on all 4 cylinders?

It is possible that all pipes are hot at idle but you are loosing a cylinder at speed.

The power roll off that you describe sounds a lot like when running on 3. Mine is just starting to wake up at 4K and just getting it eye open at 5K and is fully awake and wanting the front wheel off the ground at 6K+.

 

It is amazing just how smooth these bikes run on 3 cyls.

 

As far as the noises. I have so many noises from the junk in my trunk that it sounds like a junk truck coming down the road.

[Patmac6075]

Again, thanks guys for the quick responses.

I did check the diaphragms when I had them apart...no holes. At idle when cold, I have sprayed a little water bottle on the exhausts and each steamed up. So I'm confident I'm hitting on all four cylinders. Seems crazy to me...This bike loves to run at 4K and up to 5......just seems to flatten out above 5k?

[cowpuc]

Could be its starving..

Maybe put her on the center stand, turn the key on and off till the fuel pump quits clicken (carbs are full), get some baby food jars and drain each carb bowl one at a time and see how each amount compares to each other.. Maybe have one or two floats set to low.. Not exactly how sure how much they should have them BUT, I would be happy to drain one of mine out and see what it compares to with yours.. Would not surprise me to have one of our members know exactly how much they are suppose to have..

 

How is the air filter in it by the way? Also, have you checked the exhaust for mouse nest, bent header pipe and the like?

Also, pull the plugs and check em,, maybe so old that they have lost plug gap (worked on one once for friend doing what you are describing - instead of .032, gap had enlongated to .085) and ya got a good case of long arcing happening..

Dont give up, you will find it,, that puppy is just waiting to put a BIG on your face!!

[Dbeck]

When I set my cruise the green light gets brighter. I let off the gas a little, maybe 4 mph and then it works. For a long time I thought my cruise wasn't working because it didn't engage at the speed i set it at. Just something else to try.

[cowpuc]

Another possibilty.. Start er up, take her for a couple mile ride without hitting the brakes, side stand it, spit check each brake rotor for heat. Now reride, hit brakes a couple times while in motion, ride a few miles after doing so without hitting brakes - redo spit check and see if rotors are hot.. Its possible that you have sticky caliper that is leaving enough on the pads to create an over heat at fast speeds - will act like brakes are on.. I know, Puc your crazy BUT I have seen it happen more than once..

[videoarizona]

When I set my cruise the green light gets brighter. I let off the gas a little, maybe 4 mph and then it works. For a long time I thought my cruise wasn't working because it didn't engage at the speed i set it at. Just something else to try.

 

That's nothing more than a slack cable on the cruise, most likely. Don't expect it to hold immediately...takes a few seconds for the vacuum unit to pull the throttle cable in to where it actually matches what you are holding with your hand. Mine was just like that. After a few seconds it would grab hold and the speed would start to climb to where I set it. All in all...it would take 10 to 15 seconds for it to be cruising at the speed I set. Check the amount of free play in both the throttle and cruise control cables. Manual available for download on this site. After I did mine...it takes about half the time as it used to. I'm good with that.

 

Heck..it's an 80's technology computer! Probably a 1 bit one at that!

david

[Patch]

If you are certain the carbs are in proper working order then you need a compression test, also make sure the ignition advance is hooked up.

 

Mine was the same before I worked on it, had no passing bower, what it did have was flat, wasn't able to run well in 5th much.

 

When you use water to test the pipes, when- and after what do they steam? They should not steam, they should blast/boil

 

Patch

[Patmac6075]

Puc....I think you may have hit the nail on the head....twice! The "Clunk"...you're probably correct is the forks bottoming out due to saggy old springs (Front end rebuild is on the schedule....). I think you may be on to something when you mentioned fuel starvation too...that could explain why it starts to "flatten out" above 5k. Air Filter hasn't been changed, but looks OK, it's on the list for replacement. Also, I have no issue puttering around in 5th (40-50 mph) and twisting throttle back...it pulls very strong....but boy oh boy, if I'm running through the gears...this bike lets me know, "You should have shifted at 5k RPM!" Which in and of itself is not all that bad for the way I ride.... FYI - Compression is between 160 and 165 between all four cylinders...good not great and within spec. Perhaps I should add, throttle response is slower than my 750 as well. It's not bad, just a tad slow, I had chalked it up to V4 engine and the extra weight of the bike...perhaps I'm nit picking, and if I weren't having the 5k issue I wouldn't even mention it (so when I say a "tad" slow...it really is, just a tad slow to respond to throttle input....perhaps better put not exactly "crisp".)

As far as the Cruise goes...I had not even given it a second to "kick in". I'll take it out on a backroad and see if more time will help. Also, on my cruise, I had changed all dash lights to LED so I'm not sure it'll dim or brighten?

I must admit...the $12 I spent back in October was the best money I'd spent on this bike!

Thanks everyone!

[Patch]

It's nice to read you know the compression, and 160/5 is very good! Displacement is not always a faster bike, rather should mean stronger bike, like a touring bike needs. Our 750 while quick can't hold a candle to the 1100's quick!!! Our 1300 VR will push through hills much lower than the 1100 revs and with less vibe, and of course more comfort. My old 1400 though is still my favorite over all- long hauler bike, like an old tomcat in a butlers suite:)

 

I can tell you as my slide boots are patched, I find them slow, anxious to replace them!

[videoarizona]

(Perhaps I should add, throttle response is slower than my 750 as well. It's not bad, just a tad slow, I had chalked it up to V4 engine and the extra weight of the bike...perhaps I'm nit picking, and if I weren't having the 5k issue I wouldn't even mention it (so when I say a "tad" slow...it really is, just a tad slow to respond to throttle input....perhaps better put not exactly "crisp".)

 

 

Hmmm. Could be anything from older plugs, plug wires... to carbs. Usually a slight hesitation would be the carb slides not responding properly. I say this since timing is not adjustable. High speed miss is usually plugs/wires and/or a dirty fuel filter and/or fuel float level.

 

Since you've had the carbs checked and balanced. I would change out plugs and wires. Both are cheap enough and available at any auto store or on-line. Research this site for info on wires/caps and plugs. Lots of info.

 

If that doesn't help...then back to the carbs. Find another member nearby and re-sync your carbs. Pull the covers off and check the diaphrams for pin hole leaks.

 

There should not be any throttle hesitation. Now.. the bike won't get up and go as quickly as a lighter bike...but there shouldn't be any hesitation...just flat out acceleration right up to red line! BTW, mine doesn't get moving until around 4K rpm. Then it's scary fast!

Hope this helps,

david

 

 

[Patmac6075]

Could it be bad gas?

Put an additional 300mi on today and have done a second fill up (after running reserve down to what I thought was a comfortable margin)....the engine seems to power past 5k all the way to redline. The throttle lags is also almost nonexistent. FYI, many had suggested I replace plugs/caps/wires...I should have mentioned, both plugs and caps are all new.

Still nothing on the cruise control...I'll begin troubleshooting that next week.

Like I had said earlier, I think Puc hit the bullseye on the saggy springs/bottoming out being the source "clunk" noise.

Thanks all, could not have gotten this far without your (collective) help.

Will post up some pix shortly.

[Prairiehammer]

Like I had said earlier, I think Puc hit the bullseye on the saggy springs/bottoming out being the source "clunk" noise.

 

The 1983-1985 Ventures had a rubber washer in the steering head (between the two "castellated" nuts). A common mod was to replace that rubber washer with a steel washer of a specific thickness. It was called the "Furber Fix".

Yamaha eliminated that rubber washer around 1986 and changed the steering head spindle "stack" of nuts, washers and locking tabs. Because of complaints of a "clunk" in the front end.

There was also a service bulletin about the front end clunk:

M83-015 Additionnal Predelivery service .pdf

M83-016 Steering Head Noise.pdf

Front End Noise.pdf

Steering_Head_Noise.pdf

Edited May 23, 2015 by Prairiehammer

[flyday58]

Thanks Kevin, I KNEW all the noise from my instrument panel was wrong! Replaced the grommets and still have the clunking. Was gonna post about it, but now don't have to!

 

Ditto the clunk in the front end. And to think I bought a new lock tab washer and rubber damper when I did the progressive spring upgrade.

Edited May 24, 2015 by flyday58
added front end comments

[syscrusher]

Any little vacuum leak can defeat the cruise control.

[Patch]

Had some intermittent stuff going on with my cruise, here is how I just fixed it: I removed the slide switch set/acc cleaned and also had to square up the metal housing for it, there is a good Dingy on that.

 

Then yesterday while on the road I pulled off and added to small washers (like pop rivet washer) to the spring on the clutch handle, slip the spring off then place the washers on, reinstall the spring. There are likely other ways to do this but it took all of 15 minutes, after which I was able to use the cruise without fail.

 

I keep a kit in the trunk, like a small tackle box with all sorts of stuff for what-nots along the way;)

Patch

[cowpuc]

The 1983-1985 Ventures had a rubber washer in the steering head (between the two "castellated" nuts). A common mod was to replace that rubber washer with a steel washer of a specific thickness. It was called the "Furber Fix".

Yamaha eliminated that rubber washer around 1986 and changed the steering head spindle "stack" of nuts, washers and locking tabs. Because of complaints of a "clunk" in the front end.

There was also a service bulletin about the front end clunk:

 

GOOD ONE PRAIRIE:thumbsup:

 

Been riding these awesome old scoots for a fair amount of years and never ever no not ever did I hear about that!!! YOU DA MAN BRO!!

[Patmac6075]

Thanks guys....pictures as promised.

 

 

http://i821.photobucket.com/albums/zz131/Patmac6075/Venture%20May15%20003.jpg

 

http://i821.photobucket.com/albums/zz131/Patmac6075/Venture%20May15%20001.jpg