I Bought It!! What Now??

[OrlinEngh]

I see that it has a fairly tall wind shield on it, I had one that I was working on and the owner had the same complaint about speeds of 70 to 80 miles per hour, I went threw everything I could think of, And I changed the windshield out for a shorter stiffer windshield and it was the difference in night and day. Maybe setting in the sun has made the windshield more flexible and when up to those speeds you are getting a flexing in the windshield and it is going back into the handle bars and giving it a unsteady feeling.

A set of leveling links is a big improvement, and for slower speeds and town riding and in the curves a 130 front tire.

For getting up and running great a new set of spark plugs first thing change the oil and sync the carbs and run some Sea Foam or another that I like is Berrymans its stronger but it doesn't seem to be as hard on the spark plugs.

Good luck and enjoy the ride. My 2000 was my best Venture that I have had so far.

Orlin

[Dragonslayer]

The intake rubbers that you show here have normal cracking for the age of this bike. These are very thick rubber and will not need to be replaced even though this cracking looks really bad. To check if you have leaks in these you can spray WD40 or similar over them while the bike is running. If it doesn't change idle speed then there is no leak and you probably have several years of life left in the intake boots.

 

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

The cracked intake boots if air passes through the cracks can cause performance issues of the carburetion affect. A simple fix is to coat the cracks thoroughly with liquid rubber and allow to dry.

 

The next thing you should do is go ahead and pony up the $12.00 for annual membership to officially join the site.

It will be the best investment you will ever make in your riding career ..............bar none.

 

Don't take my word for it just ask anyone on the site. What you get back in technical advice, comraderi and just plain fun will be well worth the price of admission.

 

GUARANTEED

[SpencerPJ]

Congrats on your new to you bike.

Great people here, and have always helped me keep my 83 running great.

The best $12 / year I spend, be sure to join

 

Below is a link to the shop manuals, might come in handy

http://labs.trunkful.com/vrmanuals/index.cfm

[steamer]

The smaller headlight on the left side is not working either. Does anyone know what bulb I need to buy to replace it? Are there any better bulbs y'all would recommend? I do a lot of night time riding and I want to see all the DEER on the side of the road!

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111430

 

You can get these bulbs at any auto part store, just take the old one in with you.

[RedRider]

Congratulations. You purchased the best looking and fastest of the 2nd Gen Ventures.

 

Lets see if I can remember your questions without going back to the start -

 

1) Carb boots - They are likely fine. These boots are actually two layers of rubber with a metal liner between them. Mine look just like yours and have for the last 100,000+ miles. Still running the original boots. If you still aren't convinced, start the bike and spray carb cleaner on 'em. Dollars to doughnuts you won't hear a change.

 

2) Handling at speed - My first instinct is tires; either pressure or age. Mine loves to run at 80-85 but gets kind of skittish about 95. You may also want to check the pressure in the shocks. The rear shock will handle up to about 45 psi (IIRC). The front forks will take up to about 7 psi. DON"T ADD AIR WITH A COMPRESSOR IN THE FRONT SHOCKS!! Use a small handheld pump or you will blow the seals. The Progressive pump is excellent as it is a zero let-off pump. Believe it or not, it is as inexpensive to purchase the HD branded pump (same thing just with the bar and shield logo).

 

3) Cruise control - Doesn't work over 80 mph by design. It runs on vacuum and therefore doesn't hold very well at 78-80 mph. Try it at 65 to test it. It may be fine.

 

4) Passing lights - pretty well covered already. BTW, there is likely a button on the lower left inside of the fairing (next to the cig lighter outlet) that turns them on/off.

 

5) Backfiring on decel - Carb tune and sync. Might need bowl float height adjusted (do this when you do your first valve shim adjustment as you need to pull the carbs). AIS installed or not won't make much (if any) difference. Of course, if you have an exhaust leak that would cause it also, but I expect it is the carbs.

 

6) Horn - There are two horns on this bike. One is under your seat on the throttle side (side of engine) and the other is in the left lower fairing. Don't spend a lot of time to get these anemic beepers to work. Make sure the button is making good contact and then change out the side horn to a Stebel/Wolo horn. Run it through a relay. Leave the other horn in place and don't worry about it. You won't be able to hear it over the Stebel even if it is working perfectly.

 

7) I might suggest hooking up an ignition bypass relay. One of the few weaknesses of this bike is the ignition switch contacts. They are not designed to handle additional amperage of things like auxiliary lights. There is a thread on here about it. Not something I would put at the top of my list, but once you get used to doing some work on her, it is a nice safeguard. Fairly easy to do.

 

8) Pay your $12 to Freebird (our esteemed leader). Best money ever spent if you own a Venture.

 

9) Ride, ride, ride. It is a great bike.

 

RR

[bongobobny]

OK, you have gotten a lot of good advice already! RR is pretty spot on with his advice. Here's my slant...

 

Popping on deceleration is indeed mostly an issue with the AIS or Air Injection System, but improperly synced carbs can also contribute! Yes, you can just bypass the AIS but for best efficiency and emissions you should repair the system. A bad exhaust gasket can also cause the problem as well as non-stock mufflers.

 

High-speed handling usually is not an issue with these bikes, before I triked mine it felt rock solid at 100 MPH plus! One of the key issues is a proper torque on the steering head. There is a specialty tool out there to aid in setting the steering head bolt to the proper torque, but that usually causes strange oscillations in the handlebar. I would more so suspect a bad front tire or possibly the rear tire, or it could be a swingarm issue. As pointed out, improper air pressure on the front forks can also cause an issue, especially if they are not the same psi on both sides. Yes, please, please, please do NOT use anything but a hand pump on them unless you like replacing fork seals!

 

As mentioned, the cracking of the rubber on the intake boots is not necessarily an issue as the centers are metal. If you do decide to replace them, please make sure you replace the rubber "o" rings as well, as they have aged, and thoroughly clean the mating surface as you will find a lot of crud built up there!

 

The stock horn leaves a lot to be desired, so a lot of us have converted to air horns! We use the WOLO Bad Boy or the Steibel which has the same OEM and a relay connected directly to the battery for power. You can use the original horn wires to trigger the relay or contact member Carbon_One who makes a wiring harness and bracket for the conversion. Now, seeing as there are two stock horns and one is protected under fairing pieces, I would suspect the issue being with the horn switch. All it does is supply a ground through its contacts.

 

With the cruise control, one of the primary reasons for it failing is slop in the clutch lever! There is a secondary set of contacts that turn the cruise off if you touch the clutch, and if the one bushing has slop in it that will shut off the cruise. Of course, there may be an operator error issue here, so make sure to read the owner's manual for proper operation. There are other possible reasons for failure, but the clutch lever seems to be the usual issue.

 

As far as running on all 4, when firing up a cold engine, use a heat probe on all 4 exhaust pipes to monitor for uniform heating up. If you find one that is out, there are a few reasons for this, but most of the time the issue is electrical! There are elements inside the plug wire caps that can go bad. inside the caps are a resistive disc and a spring, and corrosion can set in hindering the spark! Invest in a cheap spark gap checker, available at most auto parts stores for around $10 to $15 that will tell a tale as to how good your spark is. You should be able to draw a spark at least 0.100 inches on each plug. Also, Ventures have a tendency to eat spark plugs and yearly replacement is not out of the question! Using Iridium plugs is worth the investment as they do indeed last longer. NGK's work best!

Yes, add a bottle of seafoam to your next tank of gas and drive it like you stole it!!! BTW these V4 engines like their rpm's and are totally unlike a V Twin! 1st gear is good to 25, 2nd maybe 40, third 50 or more, and forget about 5th under 60 -65!! Actually, redline for all gears is much higher than I recommended, I'm just offering a guideline as to when to shift, the power band starts at around 3500rpm and redline is over 7000! They actually perform better and get better gas mileage at higher RPMs!! You should be getting around 40mpg. Also, only run regular gas, high octane does not help and actually can impede performance! Seafoam is our friend, initially run a full can but after that 1/2 can is good to say every 5 tanks or so.

 

Keep us abreast of your progress and feel free to ask questions, it's part of the reason we're here!! We are also here for friendship and fellowship, we are more than a website, we are family here!!

[StarFan]

I thank everyone on this forum for all the good advice before buying this Venture. I'm very happy with the purchase. It was a 50 mile ride home, mostly highway. So I got a good feel for it today.

For some unexplained reason I REALLY like the color of this bike

 

Jonas aka StarFan

[malenurse13]

I think the only thing I'll do for right now is replace the little headlight that's not working. I will save all other recommendations for my first oil change. (Which will be soon)

Thank you for all the advice.

As for the 4 carb thing. I can't really tell If one pipe is heating faster than any others. Of course, what I can put my fingers on is just a cover. The actual exhaust pipes are untouchable. The front left pipe header cover seems a bit cooler than the other 3. But it'll still burn if you leave your fingers on there long enough. So maybe that header cover is a little further away from the pipe. I don't know. All pipes are HOT so I'll assume for right now that each cylinder is at least firing.

I'm going to put 500 or so miles on the bike before I take anything too seriously. Thank you for all your reassurance about the carb boots and all the advice. I've got 2 replacements ordered for those little headlights. My kids have all ridden with me and love it.

Only long ride so far was the ride home after buying it. I'll put some more miles on it and then get into all of your recommendations. Thank you all!

[malenurse13]

How would y'all handle all the rust?

With my first motorcycle, years ago, I remember a lot of WD-40 and steel wool...

What do y'all think??

[malenurse13]

...if the bike sees enough wet weather, you may need to open and clean all your connections...

 

I plan on doing this as well. The bike definitely has some stiff and weathered wiring. So I'll clean every connection I can get my hands on...

[slowrollwv]

The rust in the pic looks like the driving light bar. If it is too bad to clean up you can replace it. If you need a light bulb until you can replace those lights I have two you can have as I do not need them. I switched to all LED lights on mine a few years back. One other thing if you can find one, get a light bar extension bracket it will come in very handy when removing the fairing.

[bongobobny]

Well, you can try some chrome cleaner or Brasso, but it looks like there is to much chrome missing.

 

Here ya go...

 

https://www.ebay.com/sch/Lighting-Indicators/180034/i.html?_from=R40&_vxp=mtr&selcontext=productType%3AMOTORCYCLE&selfil=1%2C2%2C3%2C6&selvel=2009~Yamaha~Royal%2520Star~XVZ1300TF%2520Venture&_nkw=2009+Yamaha+Royal+Star+XVZ1300TF+Venture

 

And while you are at it, you want to figure out how to extend the bar further out so that when you split your front fairing you won't have to loosen and/or remove the passing light bar to get the fairing off! Some of us have made spacers, and some have designed extension plates.

[RandyR]

Make sure you check which of the 2 types of driving lights you have. 1) standard bulb or 2) w sealed beam.

[malenurse13]

They're sealed beams. The dealer I bought the bike from is sending me a free one with the title and all.

[malenurse13]

Finally got to take the bike to work today!

Unfortunately, when I gave it too much throttle... I noticed the clutch slip a LOT.

Now, I'm not planning on riding the bike that hard. But I would like to know if this is normal? Fixable? What can I do?

Edited February 2, 2018 by malenurse13

[cowpuc]

Finally got to take the bike to work today!

Unfortunately, when I gave it too much throttle... I noticed the clutch slip a LOT.

Now, I'm not planning on riding the bike that hard. But I would like to know if this is normal? Fixable? What can I do?

 

Hey Doc,,I clicked "like" on this comment of yours not because I glory in your suffering but because I LOVE talking bikes and LOVE reading about progress like it sounds like your making with your machine.. Sounds like little by little your getting that puppy sorted out and before long,, she will be ready for endless cross country Chasing Of The Front Wheel (CTFW) like it and you deserve!! Much like I did when you first inquired as to how you should approach the question of to buy or not,, I am gonna respond here with what I would do concerning the clutch slip.. Once again,, please be reminded that I have never owned a 2nd Gen like yours BUT - have fired a few shots with the 1st Gens so maybe - or maybe not - this will help..

If that bike were mine and I was experiencing clutch slippage the first thing I would do is look closely at the hydraulic resivore/master cylinder up on the clutch perch.. I would move the bars up to get that res as level as possible, put rags under and around it to protect the area from fluid spill (stuff is nasty) and then I would pop the top on the master... Looking down into the master and staring at the bottom of it I would locate the two holes in there.. Knowing that the forward most hole (toward the headlight) is the return hole for the fluid, I would gently and carefully and softly squeeze the clutch lever and release it (takes a little finesse cause this action can result in a SQUIRT right into the eyeballs so be gentle - practice makes perfect here - sort of like locating a vein for sucking blood from a patient) looking for reactivity from that forward return hole.. Having experienced a slipping clutch because of the return hole being plugged - I wouldn't leave testing this area until I KNEW that all was functioning properly here.. If the fluid is browned (water soaked and cooked to a crackly crunch) and/or there was an accumlation of garbage in the bottom of the master I would proceed with a clean and bleed with fresh fluid - doing so on a regular basis actually insures many miles of smiles and can keep you from having to do this out in the middle of nowhere and borrowing fluid from the other resivores on the bike to get you out of the woods so to speak - make sense? Also,, if the clutch master is nastyly contaminated - more likely than not = all the masters are and ya may as well do em all - I would..

If this doesnt clear up my clutch slip, I would proceed to redoing the clutch.. If the clutch has been spun it is probably glossed from being spun on so I would just order up new plates as well as the new spring (on the 1st Gens = multiple springs that look like valve springs,, your scoot may be a diaphram spring that consist of one big circular spring).. Having done clutches both ways,, by replacing the little half plate with a whole plate and also going back to stock by replacing the half plate with another of the same,, I would opt for going right back to OEM - I like the "feel" of the stock set up and I especially like where the clutch lever ends up in engagement (perfect for my style of clutch/throttle/brake control for slow riding) but that is my personal preference.. My current bike has a complete aftermarket system in it and YES,, it holds SOLID all the way thru all its gears and all the way out to top speed while all geared up for touring BUT - the engagement spot on the clutch lever is right out at the end of the lever throw and it takes an extremly sensitive touch to maintain stop/go slow riding without duck walking the bike.

There,, thats my lecture,, now lets once again see what the real guru's advise here .. Thanks for the chance to again though,, felt good,, felt really really good!!

LOVE THE SCOOT DOC!!

Puc

[Flyinfool]

Finally got to take the bike to work today!

Unfortunately, when I gave it too much throttle... I noticed the clutch slip a LOT.

Now, I'm not planning on riding the bike that hard. But I would like to know if this is normal? Fixable? What can I do?

 

Slipping clutch is not normal in any gear at any speed. BUT a slipping clutch IS common. It is also very easily fixed.

Ol @cowpuc was right in that it is a weak spring your bike does not have the 6 coil springs like Pucs bike has, you have the single diphragm spring.

You can get a new heavier duty spring from Member @skydoc_17 in the classified section. You will also need a right engine side cover gasket. If you do the job on the side stand and the oil is not over filled you do not even have to drain the oil (unless it is due for a change anyhow). It is a simple job that can be done in a half hour if you have done it before, or 45 minutes to an hour if you never did it and about 3 hours if you have experienced help and pizza.

 

As for the clutch plates, until you inspect them there is no way to know if they are still good or not, New friction discs measure 3mm (0.1181 inch) thick and the wear limit it 2.8mm (0.1102 inch) thick.

[bongobobny]

Yup, kind of a common issue with the 2nd generation, but pretty easily fixable! Search the tech section here and find a step by step set of instructions complete with pictures for the basic replacement of the clutch.

 

Now, a great fix is to replace the actual clutch with a Heavy Duty Yamaha clutch which has twice the clutch area of the stock one. From there, there are two great aftermarket fixes that make it better than stock. One is to replace the stock "spring" with a heavy duty version made by PCW Racing from Schenectady, NY, and the other is to go with the Barnett system which is the Rolls Royce of clutches but a lot more pricey than the PCW spring. The real issue is kind of a combination of the spring and the stock clutch.

 

For parts, contact a member here, Earl, Skydoc_17 who sells parts and gives very good prices for what he sells! You possibly may be able to beat his prices but it will take a lot of research! Earl is a GREAT guy and really is only interested in helping us out!

 

Myself I ended up going with the PCW spring and the H.D. Yamaha clutch, and so far no issues which is great considering I'm hauling an extra 400 to 500 pounds of trike along with the original weight! I will, however, go with the Barnett clutch next time around if the issue rears it's ugly head again!

 

BTW just replacing the "spring" with a PCW spring does not require actually removing the clutch or the discs, it's an easy take out the old and put in the new fix...

[RandyR]

I know this is a debated item. But some members have reported that use of high detergent oils can cause clutch slipping. And that yamaha MC oil of the non-synthetic version is the best as it relates to clutch slippage.

 

That said, I use Rotella non-synthetic wo problems, but don't have as many miles as many here.

[bongobobny]

Randy has an EXCELLENT point!! You do NOT want to use many automotive oils on a motorcycle with a wet clutch, especially any with friction modifiers in them!!! Also no additives either like Saturated Turkey Pee, etc!

 

Rotella T is a good oil to use, as is just about any less expensive Diesel motor oil! I generally use the Rotella myself...

[malenurse13]

Thanks guys! Great advice. I may start with the brake and clutch cylinder fluid. But will definitely replace the clutch spring as well. Birthday is coming up, so shouldn't be too hard to get the parts I need. Thanks again!

Now about the oil... I have no idea what oil the previous owner used or how long it's been since the last change. So I plan on changing the oil soon anyway. The dealer told me to look for Yamalube or something made for motorcycles (wet clutch). I've only changed oil on sports bikes and have used synthetic oil every time. But I understand that's not necessary with this bike. I've seen Rotella oil at Walmart? Is Rotella "T" something different?

[BlueSky]

Motorcycles with a wet clutch like the Ventures should use oil meeting the Japanese spec JASO MA. Rotella oil dino and syn meets that spec as well as many of the motorycles oils.

[RedRider]

Oil thread - must be winter

 

As mentioned, the Venture has a wet clutch (the clutch plates are in the engine oil). Therefore, you need an oil without the newer friction modifiers.

 

Look for this on rear panel label on the oil jug:

 

 

The Rotella T4 qualifies:

 

 

The T4 is full dino oil. Rotella T5 is a synthetic blend, and T6 is full synthetic. Take your pick. My bike seems to like the T4 just fine.

 

RR

[malenurse13]

I tried to PM Skydoc_17 to see if he had any PCW springs available. But I can't see my PM in the "SENT" box.

Can I send PM's? Or do I need to pay my $12 first?

[Freebird]

No, if you didn't have permission, it wouldn't even let you send it. The problem is that you can't access your profile I don't think before you become a supporting member. There is a setting there to "save" sent PMs. I'm sure it went through.