Just got 2004 venture couple issues need help with

[2004 venture]

Ok first off I'm new to the venture world, this is the second bike in my garage sitting next to my 02 warrior. There are only 2 things wrong with the bike, First when riding and you apply the front brakes hard you get a surge feeling. The previous owner said he has been through the brakes numerous times and has come to think it's the steering bearing. But what do u guys think? And 2 when Crusing the bike runs like a champ, but when you turn the throttle on her it bogs down. I'm sure it's a tuning issue but going to see what the venture veterans thought. Other than that runs great. Now my 3rd question, I really enjoy making my bike my own, what are some good mods to do to make improvements on this bike. Thx in advance, oh and I will just share a pic of my warrior cause I'm sure someone will ask.

[2004 venture]

Tried again and got the picd

[bongobobny]

OK, I am not sure what you mean by the front brake thing but you can try to retorque the steering head bearings as they are known to get out of adjustment and be loose. The usual symptom for that is wobble at different speeds though.

 

As far as the throttle bogging, well don't drive a Venture like a Harley V-Twin, our 4 bangers like higher RPM's!! Don't even THINK about being in 5th gear below 60 MPH!! 1st gear should be up to around 20, 2nd gear to around 35, third gear around 45, and 4th to around 55 MINIMUM! They will go a lot faster in each gear, to give you an example, 3rd gear will take you up above 90 MPH before the rev limiter kicks in! These engines will bog down at lower engine speeds, they actually like to be in the 3500 to 5500 RPM range normally. They top out at even higher RPM range. I will say, though, that proper carb synchronization and fresh plugs can and will affect performance as well. Also, make sure you are indeed running on all 4 cylinders as these bikes run surprisingly well and smooth on only 3 cylinders. You should be getting around 40 MPG when running right.

 

There must be a bazillion mods performed on these bikes through the years and they are all up to your personal preference and riding style!! One of the first things that come to mind is to change out the anemic stock horn with an air horn, either a Steibel or Wolo Bad Boy. You need to add a relay to power the horn but you can use the existing horn wires to trigger the horn. Member Carbon_One sells a bracket and wiring kit. Another thing which helps out with the Venture's lack of low-speed handling manners is to go to a smaller front tire, a 130 series. There are a lot of other things you can do to help out but that is the simplest one. Swapping out the rear differential with a VMax differential gives you a lot more bottom end and throttle response, and makes 5th gear a little more effective at 50 - 55 MPH but at the sacrifice of top speed and a little less MPG's. If you do 2 up riding, the trunk can be moved back about an inch as there are two complete sets of mounting holes in the trunk, which helps out your passenger with a little more room. Just keep reading the forums for more and more ideas, or attend Freebird's Maintenance Day in Oberlin Ohio next month and just look at all the bikes, or any other meet and eat through the year...

[2004 venture]

Thank you for the response. As far as the front brakes goes, when you are riding at say cruising speeds and you hit the front brakes a little hard or aggressively, the nose will drop a little ( normal of course) but then it will like have a up and down shimmy almost similar to like rotors being warped on a car. And the throttle issue, I am speaking of even at 4th gear at 55 you twist on the throttle to get moving good or just to feel the power or what ever it acts like it's starving for fuel or not really bogging down but sputters and don't accelerate, then you let off the throttle a little and it's fine.

 

Thx

[BlueSky]

The bogging issue could be the vacuum diaphragms not working properly. I'm not sure about a 2nd gen but a 1st gen you can remove the air filter and look down the throats of the carbs to see if they are working in unison when you blip the throttle. If they are working together, you may need to clean the carbs. I would run a can of Seafoam or Gumout with PEA in a tank of gas to see if that helps clean up the carbs.

 

The other problem just might be warped brake rotors but I haven't seen much discussion of rotors warping on this site.

[bongobobny]

Thank you for the response. As far as the front brakes goes, when you are riding at say cruising speeds and you hit the front brakes a little hard or aggressively, the nose will drop a little ( normal of course) but then it will like have a up and down shimmy almost similar to like rotors being warped on a car. And the throttle issue, I am speaking of even at 4th gear at 55 you twist on the throttle to get moving good or just to feel the power or what ever it acts like it's starving for fuel or not really bogging down but sputters and don't accelerate, then you let off the throttle a little and it's fine.

 

Thx

OK stupid question, how much air pressure are you running in the front shocks?? Try around 4 to 6 psi, and make sure that both sides are at an equal pressure. As far as warped rotors, heck, any rotor can get warped. How new are the pads?? Are the pistons on the calipers free?? When is the last time the brakes (and the clutch for that matter) were flushed?? Another crazy question, are the front tires cupped?? How old is the tire?? The last possibility, maybe it's time to replace the front wheel bearings...

[2004 venture]

Thank u I will check on all that.

[bikenut]

My first thoughts would be warped rotors. I had it on my 06 venture and it did the same thing front of bike would feel like it was going up and down when brake was applied.

The bog like past posted state but also you can shim the needles and look in the library here of how to do it but like stated before check your diaphragms to see if they all are moving at the same time and free not stuck

Good luck

[Bert2006]

May want to replace the fuel filter and ensure the fuel pump is working properly. Spark plugs could be changed and carbs synchronized.

[djh3]

Bake issue I would look for an rotor with excessive run out. You need a dial indicator to know how much, but to put an eyeball on it should be not to hard. Jack bike up so front wheel will spin free. Then you will need something to be stationary that will reach the rotor. So then you want it close to the rotor and spin the wheel and watch for a wobble look between the item and the rotor. A jack stand may work.

The carb/running thing would need a little more trouble shooting.

[eusa1]

welcome to the group!

i am glad to offer any help you may need to repair or personalize your new venture.

Mike

[2004 venture]

Thank you very much everybody, really enjoying the forum and all the responses to my questions