Air ride problems

[JimboSlice]

Gm guys & dolls. Well so far so good with the '89 royale. I'm very impressed how much snot this bike has, even at 900 lbs. Just changed the oil and some other maintenance stuff. Need to change shaft drive oil. Might be too hot today so it can wait. Any hoo, I had the air ride stuff exposed yesterday because I suspect a leak or it could be my not knowing how to properly operate system. Pump runs and sounds good. I cleaned out intake filter and checked all the lines. Apparently the manual suggests pulling apart the drier and replacing the silica? Where would I get this silica? The rear shock is the one not holding air. In auto is this system supposed to adjust itself when driving? Not sure. If anyone can help I would greatly appreciate it.

[rrod1393]

Having the same issue with my rear suspension. The bike will not adjust while ride because the Class system (air ride) is not on while the key is in the ON position. Lot of guys will recommend taking apart the three solenoids in the controller to make sure there is no corrosion and giving them a good cleaning if there is. I did this and now my rear air leaks out quicker. I believe that one of the solenoids isn't seating properly when closed. Spray some soapy water around and see if you get lucky enough and find a leak. good luck.

[cimmer]

On the air suspension system, as stated above it is only adjustable in the acc postion with the key. The auto system just set the air to predetermined levels where the manual setting lets you adjust the air to any level you want. I would check the hose connections and the solenoids for leaks. Also the silica can be dried in an oven or microwave to dry it out and reuse it or you can buy a bottle of it and replace it that way also. I would pay attention to how the parts come out as if I recall the service manual shows a part that isnt in the 89 VR drier housing.

On the drive shaft, there is no lube in the drive shaft itself but the differential does have lube that also lubricates the gear on the end of the shaft. The onle thing to make sure of is the joints in the rear suspension are lubed and moving freely. It is possible that someone has added grease zerks to the a-arms and then you can just grease them that way. The drive shaft can be removed from the u-joint at the rear of the engine and some lube applied to the spines and then grease the pivot bears for the swing arm.

If you dont have a service manual yet, there is one that can be download from the tech section that will assist you in keeping your VR running great.

 

Enjoy the ride..

Rick F.

[videoarizona]

Gm guys & dolls. Well so far so good with the '89 royale. I'm very impressed how much snot this bike has, even at 900 lbs. Just changed the oil and some other maintenance stuff. Need to change shaft drive oil. Might be too hot today so it can wait. Any hoo, I had the air ride stuff exposed yesterday because I suspect a leak or it could be my not knowing how to properly operate system. Pump runs and sounds good. I cleaned out intake filter and checked all the lines. Apparently the manual suggests pulling apart the drier and replacing the silica? Where would I get this silica? The rear shock is the one not holding air. In auto is this system supposed to adjust itself when driving? Not sure. If anyone can help I would greatly appreciate it.

 

 

Good to hear things are coming alone on your 89.

 

1: You don't have to replace the silica...just bake it in the oven under low heat until it's dry. I forget the color when dry (pink?). but that's all you need to do. Be careful taking the canister apart..clean everything.

 

2: When using the CLASS system, you need to be aware of a few things:

a. bike should be on center stand with no weight on bike (so to speak. Sidestand is OK)

b. Only works with key in "ACC" position. Not adjustable when riding.

c. Always adjust front first then rear. Other wise high pressure air from rear can damage the front fork seals.

 

3: If you have inspected all lines for leaks and still have issues with rear, then you need to download the service manual on this site for the 1st Gen Venture. You will probably need to take apart the solenoid for the rear (I don't remember which is which of the 3) and clean it out..checking for bad o rings. Clean them all.

 

4: The rear shock may be bad, but I doubt it as these shocks seem to be almost bullet proof.

 

5: On the left side down low by the passenger foot rest there is a damper switch. Changes the damping effect of the rear shock. Never "spin" that thing from one position to the other. Always go one step at a time. You are raising/lowering a little "jet" (for lack of a better word) that controls the flow rate of the oil.

 

That's about it. Other than electrical errors which will occur at the head unit from time to time due to flexing the big white connector that connects to the control unit...all repairs are usually straightforward. Brilliant little system...but slow to work so have patience. These were built in the early days of computers...

 

Hope this helps

 

Yikes. I see Rick beat me to the keyboard. Well now you have 2 sets of answers saying the same thing!

Edited July 2, 2018 by videoarizona
update

[JimboSlice]

Well that's all good stuff. I have a much better understanding of system now. I just went out and played with it abit. I'm going to have to check out solenoid and connection at rear shock. Not an issue now, but when I start traveling I would like it to work proper. A few trips planned late summer/fall so I want to be ready. So much thanx to all of you. I'm sure I'm not done asking questions. Even though this bike is 30 years old, it has some pretty complicated features and I'm just not that savy. All of my bikes in the past, even though big, where very basic in technology. I can only imagine how techno the 2018 Venture is. Ride on to all.

 

Side bar; I'm looking for peeps to ride/travel with. Camp out weekends, trips to nowhere, that kinda stuff, so if you in the area or within a couple hundred miles of me, let's get together. Mostly HD riders around here. Bar to bar kinda riding. Not my thing. But we do have alot of awesome roads out around here. Anyway Happy 4th everyone.

 

[Patch]

Double Yikes, running that road! Remember the height and length of the Venture... Wouldn't want my head over those double lines!!

[JimboSlice]

That's the infamous Hawksnest. Not so bad, just a couple twistys. I ran the dragon in North Carolina with my Roadstar. That was a roller coaster ride.

[bongobobny]

Sorry, you're on the wrong side of the state. I am closer to Bradford, about an hour or so north...

[rrod1393]

Well that's all good stuff. I have a much better understanding of system now. I just went out and played with it abit. I'm going to have to check out solenoid and connection at rear shock. Not an issue now, but when I start traveling I would like it to work proper. A few trips planned late summer/fall so I want to be ready. So much thanx to all of you. I'm sure I'm not done asking questions. Even though this bike is 30 years old, it has some pretty complicated features and I'm just not that savy. All of my bikes in the past, even though big, where very basic in technology. I can only imagine how techno the 2018 Venture is. Ride on to all.

 

Side bar; I'm looking for peeps to ride/travel with. Camp out weekends, trips to nowhere, that kinda stuff, so if you in the area or within a couple hundred miles of me, let's get together. Mostly HD riders around here. Bar to bar kinda riding. Not my thing. But we do have alot of awesome roads out around here. Anyway Happy 4th everyone.

 

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=113464

 

In in NJ, center of the state.

[tjvalois0524]

Hi everyone. Tom here. I have a 1989 Venture Royale that was converted to a three wheeler some years ago. Am having a problem

with the CLASS system. I keep getting the E2 error. Can't find any leaks and have installed a new print board in the controller. When

the pressure reaches 6 LBS. is when the error message comes on. Front or rear makes no difference. Any help would be greatly

appreciated.

[Patch]

Just a thought, when mine did so and I were to wiggle the connector, many times it would work,,, till next time.

Don't know about the new boards, if the problem was rectified but I ended up re soldering my board and that solved the problem temperamentally.

You should also check the air filter and the dryer under the seat and trunk, if they are clogged that too will cause the e2.

There is a pretty good section in the serv. manual page 7-104

Patch