It didn't go and now it doesn't start....

[Air Ready Auto]

Sooooo. Decide to get me a bike... 1983XVZ12... without telling the wife... First problem I had was that it would not shift. Replaced the slave cylinder and all was well,,,, for 3 miles. Pulled it in to gas up and when I hit the start button, all it did was whine at me. Sounds like free spinning starter and every once in a while it will catch and turn the engine a half a second then go back to whining. The idea was to drive it home (currently in garage at work) and have my wife sit on it, give her some flowers and tell her she looks sexy and hope that will butter her up enough for her to not kill me. Kind of hard to do that when it won't start. Help please!

[Patmac6075]

Cedarburg here....can't help you with convincing the wifey, I'm still working on the same thing here... but a safe, dependable, clean, comfortable bike helps!

Has the oil been changed on your scoot? Sound like it could be your starter clutch is slipping. These old girls don't like modern automobile oil...especially synthetic.

If it were me, I would start with an oil change....I like Shell RotellaT 15w-40 (1 gal. = $13) and a Fram filter.

FYI - I'm on the backside of a total recommissioning of a $250 '84 Venture Royale......cost so far has been just north of $1200 (cost for just parts...you can triple that number if you have a shop do the work).

 

There are so many knowledgeable helpful people on this board....take it one thing at a time, take pictures, ask questions, and heed the advice of the gurus....it won't take long before you figure out who's advice you should follow and who's you should take with a grain of salt.

[ChurchBuilder]

I'll bet if you posted a video someone can diagnose it for you.

 

 

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[Air Ready Auto]

I did an oil change on it right away. Used mobile 1. Started it several times after the oil change with no problems. I replacee the slave cylinder and now the engine will not turn over. Will the full synthetic really mess up the starter clutch that bad?

[Patmac6075]

Mobil 1 automotive? That's not good....not really "messed up, so much as it'll slip. Some have used synthetic motorcycle oil with out issue but my personal experience (with my other Yamaha's) is any synthetic and even some non-synthetic oil could cause slippage.

For me, RottellaT and Castrol 4T are the only oils I personally have used that did not cause slippage....but than again, it's not like I have experience with everything on the market....if it works for me, I quit looking for alternatives.

[RedRider]

Hey - did you buy this off Craigslist a couple of weeks ago? Is it a blonde version with the plastics removed?

 

I called to buy this and it was just sold.

 

Anyway, my estimate is that you have a starter clutch issue. Not rocket surgery to fix, but not 'oil change' easy either. Some others with more 1st generation experience will likely pop in here to offer better advice. However, I suspect this is what you are facing.

 

Do a search for starter clutch in the 1st Gen Technical section.

 

RR

[Air Ready Auto]

I did buy it three weeks ago. It is black with mild plastic damage front left.

[RedRider]

Mobil 1 automotive? That's not good....not really "messed up, so much as it'll slip. Some have used synthetic motorcycle oil with out issue but my personal experience (with my other Yamaha's) is any synthetic and even some non-synthetic oil could cause slippage.

For me, RottellaT and Castrol 4T are the only oils I personally have used that did not cause slippage....but than again, it's not like I have experience with everything on the market....if it works for me, I quit looking for alternatives.

 

Just to clarify Patmac's post, the slippage will not be the starter clutch, it will be the gear shifting clutch. Different animals. And it isn't the synthetic vs. the non-synthetic. It is the additives. Car oils have anti-friction additives that do not play well with wet clutches (Ventures have wet clutches). +1 on the RotellaT (no experience with the Castrol).

 

Personally, I don't like how the clutch feels and the bike sounds with synthetic. Been running dino oil for 140k miles and are pretty happy.

 

RR

[RedRider]

Different bike then. The one I was looking at was blonde.

 

RR

[bongobobny]

Yup! Sounds like the starter clutch issue to me! A member, Dano, does a really great mod with these and it is fixed better than ever!!

[Patmac6075]

Actually to clarify my position even more.....I personally have only used RottellaT in my Venture and have no slippage issues.

I have used synthetic and non-synthetic motorcycle and automotive oils in other Yamahas I have owned and I have had starter clutch issues with other brands....with the two I have mentioned as I stated earlier I have not had issues with slippage of any sort venture or non venture

[Air Ready Auto]

I used the mobile 1 full synthetic cycle oil. Just picked up the shell. Going to give that a try. What is the info on Dano and his mod?

[Air Ready Auto]

Yup! Sounds like the starter clutch issue to me! A member, Dano, does a really great mod with these and it is fixed better than ever!!

 

Looking like I might need to get in touch with Dano... thanks for everyones advice!

[bongobobny]

Hmmm, can't seem to find Dano's ad, but I will PM him. In the mean time, here's a link to repairing the starter clutch from out tech library...

 

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?5944-Starter-Clutch-Repair

[Prairiehammer]

Hmmm, can't seem to find Dano's ad, but I will PM him.

 

Dano has allowed his Venturerider.org membership to lapse. He will not be able to see a PM, I suspect.

[yamagrl]

Here is Dano's profile. Looks current to me http://www.venturerider.org/forum/member.php?2796-Dano

 

Here is the Starter clutch mod thread.http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?44547-Starter-Clutch-Mod

 

Dano's email danob11@comcast.net

[Prairiehammer]

Here is Dano's profile. Looks current to me

 

I agree Heather, his profile appears to be current; even shows him as a "Supporting Member", but if you check the "Community"→"Member List" tab, he is not listed as a supporting member.

Why is that, @Freebird ?

[Freebird]

His membership expired in April. Not sure but I think it will remain that way until he logs in again and then it will update and let him know it's expired. Of course he would have gotten an email also but sometimes they go to spam or trash folders.

[bongobobny]

Yah! Using my "Friends" folder I found him but could not send him a PM, no button for it. It did, however allow me to send email which I did! Haven't heard back from him yet...

[Air Ready Auto]

I seem to be unable to upload a video of my starter clutch issue to this sight. I emailed Dano the video a few days ago using the email that Yamagrl provided but have not heard back from him. Is there anyone else that I could email this video to and help me diagnose this issue. It doesn't sound like "rocks tumbling" as I have seen others describe but rather like a whine. Also, I can't get the cover that holds the gears off to see if any of the gears have stripped or fallen off their mounts. I remove the hex bolts and the cover will only come out about 1/8 inch and stop there. The only two things I have done maintenance wise are replace the slave cylinder and upgraded the starter to the four brush.

[Freebird]

Most videos are just too big to upload here and use too much bandwidth. The way to do it is to upload it to YouTube and then link it to here.

[ChurchBuilder]

It's probably the starter clutch. Google vmax starter videos and see if your issue is already posted

 

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[Snaggletooth]

Oh yeah.

 

If the starter engage clutch is beginning to fail it will rattle and bang like a box of rocks while the roller prangs are bouncing around because they are not catching and holding like they should due to failure of some internal part. Either a badly broken engage clutch body or some of the pressure springs on the prangs are damaged. Once it all fails all you get is the whine from the starter motor.

 

Been through this years ago on my '84. I did do a rebuild on mine with new springs and rollers to try to fix mine. Held up for a lil while but ended up getting mod work done by Dano and have had almost 6 years of trouble free starting since.

 

Now I'll say this, during the process for trying to find ways to get by i even tried a heavier oil in the bike. Not the answer. LOL. And on a COLD morning all I would get was the whine because the parts that should move couldn't because of the heavier oil holding them in place. Or that's my thoughts on the heavy oil anyway and I'm talking straight 50 Wt. here.

 

So my thoughts are either a badly broken engage body or all three springs are broken or bent. Hope you can make contact with Dano. He's about the only one Stateside that can do this mod. The only other options are a complete rebuild with all new parts, which can cause alignment issues during install, or buy a new assembly from Yammy. If they are even still available. Back then a new one was about $185.00. Danos was about $300.00 for all the new parts, the machine work and both gaskets ready to install. As said, his is a "last fix ever" deal. I was the first guy to install his mod on my bike. Still riding it 72,000 miles later.

[ChurchBuilder]

There is a heavy duty starter clutch on eBay for $69.95. It has 6 rollers instead of 3

 

 

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[Air Ready Auto]

I'm still hoping to hear from Dano and in the meantime, I'm going to keep trying to get this darn cover off. It is hanging up on something and frustrating the daylights out of me. Thank all of you for your help so far. Hope to see some of you on the road sooner than later.