What did you do to your venture today?

[ChiefGunner]

Well, after all the customization  I couldn’t resist the “final touch” of a custom vanity plate. I had some ideas that apparently others had taken before me, but I ended up settling on “1 VIPER”.  DMV says about 7-10 days to get it.

[ChiefGunner]

I’m loving it. Everybody names their ride, and mine is called “CrimsonViper”. So, I had custom emblems made out of 316 stainless polished to chrome mirror finish. They finally arrived today!

[ChiefGunner]

My ClearView windshield came in today.

[ChiefGunner]

Just finished my latest upgrade; edge lighting my new ClearView windshield.

 

Edited January 14, 2023 by ChiefGunner

[vzuden]

You are having way too much fun!    That’s pretty cool.  Care to share how it’s done?

[ChiefGunner]

41 minutes ago, vzuden said:

You are having way too much fun!    That’s pretty cool.  Care to share how it’s done?

Thank you! Well, I tried to do it with my stock windshield but it has a slight tint. Consequently it would only pass a certain light wavelength which was a dull bluish white regardless of the color input. The key is to have a true clear windshield or it won’t work right.

The bike is outfitted with XKGlow lighting (self installed) and I happen to have some extra 10” lighting strips and cables. I put a light strip facing inward towards the windshield and touching the edge, then covered with rubber trim to keep the light from going anywhere but “in”.  Then just ran my cables to tie into the section of lighting I wanted. In my case I have “dual zone”. The engine area is ZONE 1, the rest of the bike is ZONE 2.

There are manufacturers who make edge lighting kits but they are all limited to 4 color choices. I wanted mine to match since I literally have 22 million color choices and they’re app controlled. They can breath, strobe, brighteness adjustment, go brighter the faster if go (speed control) or dance to the music I’m playing.

Edited January 15, 2023 by ChiefGunner

[ChiefGunner]

Well, after all the work I couldn’t help but post a walk around!

 

 

[Marcarl]

Well done!

[campfire12]

Nice, Very nice!

[ChiefGunner]

Well, my Wolo Bad Boy air horn has been nice but I broke down this morning and ordered a train horn for the bike. Now I could care less if you’re blasting tunes in your vehicle… you WILL hear me! 😁

Also, my custom plate arrived yesterday. Woo Hoo!

[Pasta Burner]

Started it and let it warm up.  Then shut the doors and went inside to get warm.

 

 

[ChiefGunner]

Well, spent a couple days doing some needed maintenance in between work.  Tore it apart and did valve check/adjustment. Oil change, cleaned K&N air filter, new plugs and fixed a couple led lighting issues.

Just got it back together about midnight and took it for a test ride. Definitely worth the effort. The really good thing is my mileage went from 35mpg to 41.9mpg!

[1BigDog]

Got a last ride in today. Put on 4K since buying the trike last spring. Getting ready to lift the trike in the air and go through the rear section. Rear fluid, check the brakes. Auxiliary tank filter replaced. Lube all fitting. Adjust shocks. Check u joint and grease.

Fix some alignment adjustments to the mufflers. Add and auxiliary fuse box in the body and finally wire in led lighting all around. Should take a few weeks. 

[Skid]

Not the Venture, but I did split the fairing and added a power lead for my XM radio. 

[circa1968]

I've just finished installing a keyless ignition module from Digital Guard Dawg.  As part of the install, I made a custom ignition cover where I installed a push button to activate the bike (essentially the same as turning the key on, once the module sees the FOB).  At the same time, I added another push button to manually turn on the fan.  And while I was in there, added a relay for the running lights to take a little load off the whole thing.

I didn't follow the DGD's wiring guide, which would completely disable the key.  I wanted the key to still operate as a backup.  When I contacted DGD about wiring it in parallel to the key, they said yes, their police dept customers require this.  They have plug-n-play wiring harness for a lot of bikes, but not the Venture, so I made my own as I did not want to cut any wires in case I ever decide to pull it out.  The only thing I don't have with the keyless is ACC setting, which is ok because I can still do that with the key, if needed (which I rarely, if ever, use anyways).

Next project will be a keyless gas cap.

 

[BlueSky]

Awesome!

[ReinyRooster]

Now THAT is cool. Wish I had the electrical smarts to be able to do that. That should come in a kit.

[circa1968]

Thanks, I won't deny it took some head scratching at a few points to figure it out.  I'll start a separate thread on the tech section with wiring diagram, pics and some additional commentary on the project.

[ReinyRooster]

I bet if you were to make that hook-up in a plug and play kit, you could sell a bunch of them. I know I would buy one.

Who hasn't gotten themselves all geared up and gloves on only to realize that your key is in your pocket and you need to take the gloves off to dig out the key.

[Marcarl]

1 hour ago, ReinyRooster said:

I bet if you were to make that hook-up in a plug and play kit, you could sell a bunch of them. I know I would buy one.

Who hasn't gotten themselves all geared up and gloves on only to realize that your key is in your pocket and you need to take the gloves off to dig out the key.

Are you getting old or something?   Modern conveniences!!!

[ReinyRooster]

well I'm not getting any younger!

[circa1968]

3 hours ago, ReinyRooster said:

I bet if you were to make that hook-up in a plug and play kit, you could sell a bunch of them. I know I would buy one.

Who hasn't gotten themselves all geared up and gloves on only to realize that your key is in your pocket and you need to take the gloves off to dig out the key.

LOL.  My motivation was exactly the opposite.  I have a bad habit of leaving my key installed in the bike after stopping.  When I stop for lunch or for the day, I turn the key off, then proceed to dismount the bike, take off gloves, helmet, jacket, secure all of those and then walk away....   Can't tell you how many times I've woken up at midnight, in a hotel, thinking 'crap, left the key in the bike again!'

Next step is the keyless gas cap to solve another of my first world problems.

[bikenut]

Just got done changing oil/filter on my 1986 Yamaha venture royal Trike. Also put a new tire on the front and bled front brake. Going to be riding again after getting two new knees last year. All that is left is to polish her up nice and shiny. Enjoy your day

[RDawson]

Starting to feel like riding some more and needed a new front tire, got that installed today and finally replaced the front wheel bearings after having them on the shop wall a couple years. Figured out I didn’t have a drift long enough to get em out so I welded a sacrificial socket to the inner race and used a long extension and hammer it out. 

[Marcarl]

13 hours ago, RDawson said:

Starting to feel like riding some more and needed a new front tire, got that installed today and finally replaced the front wheel bearings after having them on the shop wall a couple years. Figured out I didn’t have a drift long enough to get em out so I welded a sacrificial socket to the inner race and used a long extension and hammer it out. 

Good idea. Got any more sockets? Is that a 10mm?