please help, what would you do?

[Venturous Randy]

How about putting your camera or phone on the ground and taking several pictures of the area where the bottom of the shock attaches to the frame. Also, if your frame is broken as bad as mine was, the rear tire would be rubbing the inside bottom of the rear fender. Also, the bike will not sit on the side stand on level ground.

Randy

[made2care]

That wire leading to the battery is a sensor wire for the CMU readout. The OEM spec batteries came with an xtra hole in the above the normal 6 holes for filling with acid that that sensor wire would plug into. When you turn the key on and the dash readout goes thru its tests, one of those readouts will be a battery test. If that test fails you will get the little battery symbol lit and little red nusiance of a flashing light on the dash telling you there is a issue with the battery. Many of us (I cant remember when the last battery sensor I had intact on a 1st Gen was) just bypass that sensor by stickin a resistor in line with it and taking the lead to 12vdc = tricks the CMU into thinking all is well..

Without going downstairs and checking to verify, that long weld looks normal to me.. I think it might be where Mom Yam relieved the frame tube for bending but cutting it and then Jig welded it back together - just a thought,, will double check my frame when I get a sec. Does your scoot have the dampner and air shrader assembly on the left side below the side cover?

WOWZY WOW WOW WOW ya varmint!! YA GOT A BUNCH OF GOODIES ON THAT PUPPY!! ABSOLUTELY LOVIN ON THAT TAIL LIGHT

I found the shrader valve on left side like you mentioned, so I'm assuming computer failed and po yanked module. I will get picks of bracket attached to rear shock. I peeked at it and everything looks solid. Thanks for everyone's help today. Until tomorrow. Oh, one last thing, where is the toolkit located?

[bongobobny]

When you do finally get around to rebuilding your front forks, I highly recommend you find a pair of MK2 forks and rebuild them instead. The reason for doing this is twofold, the MK1 calipers, 2 piston ones, which are a poor excuse for brakes, has an 86 mm spacing for the bolts whereas the MK2 uses 100 mm spacing which will allow you to upgrade to Yamaha R1/R6 4 piston calipers and will give you better braking. You will need to swap out the rotors for MK2 as well, but they are better rotors anyway! The second reason to switch is the MK2 has electric anti-dive solenoids whereas the MK1 uses braking robbing hydraulic solenoids. Hooking up the electrics is very easy, use the brake light wire (yellow) to trigger a relay that will supply power to the solenoids as long as the brakes are on, which is how they work! As far as springs go, most of us use Progressive brand springs when replacing which do have a progressive rate when being compressed. You will find lots of technical info here on the site concerning rebuilding your forks!

 

The battery sensor wire has been addressed by other members, but here is how to eliminate that annoying flashing red light! You want to purchase a resistor with a value of anywhere between 2000 to 4000 ohms rated at 1/4 to 1/2 watt and solder one end to the sensor wire, and the other end to your "accessory" (red) line. On the original circuit, the sensor was plugged into the top of the battery and the probe went into the top area of the electrolyte (battery acid) around the middle cell of the battery. Its whole function was to alert you if your battery acid level was low. The logic circuit is looking for a voltage level of around 6 volts or so. You need the resistor to drop the voltage from 12 volts down to a lower voltage. If you tie that wire directly to 12 volts you will burn out the logic chip!!

 

If you look at that cover between your handlebars, it looks like a Schrader valve is there for filling the front shocks. I think 17 psi is the maximum pressure you want to put in there, and as Freebird pointed out it is a very small volume of air, and anything stronger than a hand pump will put too much volume at a rapid rate resulting in quickly overpressuring your forks and blowing out your seals, which are probably shot already by looks of that one early picture which showed oil on the front rotor. The rear shock can take around 75 psi max but it too is a small volume and you should only use a hand pump. Even a bicycle tire pump will give you too much volume of air. Look around where you find the "stiffness" control (has a knob with settings 1, 2, 3, and 4) for the rear shock and you may find a Schrader valve for the rear.

 

As far as a battery goes, an AGM will give you more cranking power, which leads us to a very common 1st Generation Venture problem, slow cranking when hot. There are two fixes to perform for this, upgrade your battery lines to a heavier gauge wire, and replace your 2 brush 1st gen starter motor with a 4 brush 2nd generation Venture ('99 - '13) starter motor. You can usually find a good used one on eBay for around $60 - $75. The combination of all 3 modifications will ensure a fast start regardless of how hot your engine is!

[Vickersguy]

Looks like you have a lot of good plastic. One of my pet peeves is busted plastic, that has been badly repaired. Seems you've won on that count. The useful tip I've got, get one ( or two ) of those nut/bolt packages from e-bay. The one where they sweep up all the hardware from a tear down and sell it by the pound. Absolutely saved my butt at least three times a week, building up my '83, 'cause I loose fasteners faster than a drunk looses chips in Vegas. There's plenty of hardware on this bike you will not find at the local hardware store. Tote tubs. Throw the various sections of the bike it tote tubs. Easy to find when you get back to that section and all the fasteners will be with the parts you took off.

Although most of the things you will be doing are ordinary, don't loose track that you have the opportunity to expand your own knowledge and expertise. Don't throw your carbs to the "carb guy ". Wrap you head around Bernoulli's theory of gas flow and figure out CV carbs for yourself. Guys here will line up to share their knowledge about this stuff with you. Not to mention there is thread after thread here, with commentary, on how to totally overhaul carbs. You might put in the CLASS system. It's pretty handy. You've got some work in front of you. It will be glorious.

[Vickersguy]

You asked about the tool kit and it's location. Here it is... And another more complete but rusty...

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/83-YAMAHA-XVZ12-XVZ1200-XVZ-12-TDK-VENTURE-ROYALE-OEM-TOOL-KIT-TOOL-BAG/382739722995?epid=1634023281&hash=item591d10b2f3:g:2MEAAOSwTxJcQnDA:sc:USPSPriority!28571!US!-1

 

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/85-1985-Yamaha-Royale-Venture-XVZ1200-XV-1200-tool-pouch-kit-P7-11/123665911712?hash=item1ccb100fa0:g:xGsAAOSwVF1aMCqe

Edited March 17, 2019 by Vickersguy
posted before post was complete.

[made2care]

You asked about the tool kit and it's location. Here it is... And another more complete but rusty...

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/83-YAMAHA-XVZ12-XVZ1200-XVZ-12-TDK-VENTURE-ROYALE-OEM-TOOL-KIT-TOOL-BAG/382739722995?epid=1634023281&hash=item591d10b2f3:g:2MEAAOSwTxJcQnDA:sc:USPSPriority!28571!US!-1

 

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/85-1985-Yamaha-Royale-Venture-XVZ1200-XV-1200-tool-pouch-kit-P7-11/123665911712?hash=item1ccb100fa0:g:xGsAAOSwVF1aMCqe

 

 

What are my chances the toolkit is still on the bike? If so, where on the bike is it?

[made2care]

Looks like you have a lot of good plastic. One of my pet peeves is busted plastic, that has been badly repaired. Seems you've won on that count. The useful tip I've got, get one ( or two ) of those nut/bolt packages from e-bay. The one where they sweep up all the hardware from a tear down and sell it by the pound. Absolutely saved my butt at least three times a week, building up my '83, 'cause I loose fasteners faster than a drunk looses chips in Vegas. There's plenty of hardware on this bike you will not find at the local hardware store. Tote tubs. Throw the various sections of the bike it tote tubs. Easy to find when you get back to that section and all the fasteners will be with the parts you took off.

Although most of the things you will be doing are ordinary, don't loose track that you have the opportunity to expand your own knowledge and expertise. Don't throw your carbs to the "carb guy ". Wrap you head around Bernoulli's theory of gas flow and figure out CV carbs for yourself. Guys here will line up to share their knowledge about this stuff with you. Not to mention there is thread after thread here, with commentary, on how to totally overhaul carbs. You might put in the CLASS system. It's pretty handy. You've got some work in front of you. It will be glorious.

 

I thought about getting a CLASS module but nothing shows up on ebay just yet. One thing at a time here, back to frame exploration.

Edited March 17, 2019 by made2care

[bongobobny]

There are two parts to the CLASS system, the electronic controller which is mounted on the right dash, and the compressor and solenoid assembly which is located under a black cover which is under the chrome trunk mounting rack. There are also air hoses which are the biggest expense if you can even find them. The last new one I bought cost almost $90.00...

[Vickersguy]

My memory is that it's in the right saddlebag. Or left. It's been a long time. My '83 came with nothing for tools. The CLASS Controller shows up on e-bay from time to time. There were two up in the last few months. Don't buy the first one you see, and wait for one with minty looking plastic. You want to be able to read the button labels because the labels are impossible to restore. ( OK, they're not impossible to restore. There are some guys out there with the equipment to digitally copy the letters, size them and color them on the computer, then print them out on some kind of plastic laminate with space age adhesive on the back. I can't though.) Most outfits scrapping out ventures can't get the controller to work because they are trying to use it with the key in the "ON" position. It only works in the "ACC" position. They don't know this, they figure it's broke and they scrap it. Also the compressor system shows up between $20 and $40. Patience. You don't need one TODAY !!! I got a nice clean air pump for $30 with shipping, found one a week later for $10. It will all show up. You have time. You need time. You can evaluate things if you don't rush. List it out. You're gonna need a lot of stuff that you must buy. The trick is not to buy stuff you end up not needing, like I ended up not needing the pump!

The pump story is an epic tale of frustration. It didn't work. It would pump and the air kept leaking out of the shock and fork. So I took it out of the bike, took it apart and cleaned it. I sorted the adsorbent silica for small particles that might jam up the works. I read up on the rebuild process on these forums and followed good advise I found here. Checked all components with soap bubbles for leaks. Only leak was from the exhaust port on the valve body. Cleaned the compressor, polished the valve body valve seats to perfection. No Go. Took it apart for the forth and fifth times triple checking every tiny thing I could spot with over 30 years of mechanical experience at my back. Put new surfaces on the plungers. No Go. Took the new surfaces off the plungers and tried again. Nada. I'm like six or seven times apart with these things now. I take it apart again. Looks perfect. I order the e-bay pump... Two days later, I casually toss the stupid thing back together, put it on the bike and try it. It works 100% It's still working 100% I have NO IDEA why. I have thought about it. I am not going to take it back apart to see what I did differently.

For example: The rear brake master cylinder rebuild kit is about $44. If you examine the parts carefully, looking for rust, corrosion, aged rubber with oxidation and cracks and the parts come out of the inspection looking clean, skip the kit and carefully rebuild it. You saved $44 ! If you do this 30 times, in different places, you'll save over $1200 when you rebuild this bike. If you just buy stuff, have a knee jerk reaction to the UNKNOWN, you are going to spend $4000 . That's how guys spend so much the bike ends up being a disappointment . The easiest thing in the world is to throw money at a project. It's even easier when you have a catastrophic hallucination of all the stuff that COULD be bad and throw money at what you FEAR might be wrong. You are thinking you purchased the bike for $500. Nothing could be farther from the truth. You actually do not know yet what the bike cost. You have yet to define that reality. Do so wisely.

[made2care]

My memory is that it's in the right saddlebag. Or left. It's been a long time. My '83 came with nothing for tools. The CLASS Controller shows up on e-bay from time to time. There were two up in the last few months. Don't buy the first one you see, and wait for one with minty looking plastic. You want to be able to read the button labels because the labels are impossible to restore. ( OK, they're not impossible to restore. There are some guys out there with the equipment to digitally copy the letters, size them and color them on the computer, then print them out on some kind of plastic laminate with space age adhesive on the back. I can't though.) Most outfits scrapping out ventures can't get the controller to work because they are trying to use it with the key in the "ON" position. It only works in the "ACC" position. They don't know this, they figure it's broke and they scrap it. Also the compressor system shows up between $20 and $40. Patience. You don't need one TODAY !!! I got a nice clean air pump for $30 with shipping, found one a week later for $10. It will all show up. You have time. You need time. You can evaluate things if you don't rush. List it out. You're gonna need a lot of stuff that you must buy. The trick is not to buy stuff you end up not needing, like I ended up not needing the pump!

The pump story is an epic tale of frustration. It didn't work. It would pump and the air kept leaking out of the shock and fork. So I took it out of the bike, took it apart and cleaned it. I sorted the adsorbent silica for small particles that might jam up the works. I read up on the rebuild process on these forums and followed good advise I found here. Checked all components with soap bubbles for leaks. Only leak was from the exhaust port on the valve body. Cleaned the compressor, polished the valve body valve seats to perfection. No Go. Took it apart for the forth and fifth times triple checking every tiny thing I could spot with over 30 years of mechanical experience at my back. Put new surfaces on the plungers. No Go. Took the new surfaces off the plungers and tried again. Nada. I'm like six or seven times apart with these things now. I take it apart again. Looks perfect. I order the e-bay pump... Two days later, I casually toss the stupid thing back together, put it on the bike and try it. It works 100% It's still working 100% I have NO IDEA why. I have thought about it. I am not going to take it back apart to see what I did differently.

For example: The rear brake master cylinder rebuild kit is about $44. If you examine the parts carefully, looking for rust, corrosion, aged rubber with oxidation and cracks and the parts come out of the inspection looking clean, skip the kit and carefully rebuild it. You saved $44 ! If you do this 30 times, in different places, you'll save over $1200 when you rebuild this bike. If you just buy stuff, have a knee jerk reaction to the UNKNOWN, you are going to spend $4000 . That's how guys spend so much the bike ends up being a disappointment . The easiest thing in the world is to throw money at a project. It's even easier when you have a catastrophic hallucination of all the stuff that COULD be bad and throw money at what you FEAR might be wrong. You are thinking you purchased the bike for $500. Nothing could be farther from the truth. You actually do not know yet what the bike cost. You have yet to define that reality. Do so wisely.

Good advice. I've restored many goldwings and am well aware of the costs to restore these old bikes. I'm also ver frugal when it comes to certain areas of the rebuild. This one, I'm taking my time and will not spend frivolously. I won't cut corners when it comes to safety but I am obsessed with getting this bike back to stock, which is mostly there.

thanx again for the info.

[made2care]

Still exploring. The po closed off the air vents and removed air ducts. On the right fairing compartment he placed a makeshift light which connects to that toggle switch. Looks like he just wanted more easily accessible storage space. He lined that side with foam and carpet.

what is the extra set of fuses he wired to battery . He placed these in an old plastic cassette tape box.

Other observations: tires are virtually brand new in terms of tread depth but we're made in 2009. I still will get some picks of the frame connected to rear shock.

[Vickersguy]

here's the air line to the rear shock. No need to spend $90. Save the box and resell the shock...

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1986-86-Yamaha-Venture-Royale-XVZ1300-XVZ-1300-Rear-Shock-Suspension/152097457125?fits=Model%3AVenture+Royale%7CMake%3AYamaha&hash=item2369b703e5:g:UNIAAOSwq5pXPx-X

 

These things come up. NO, don't buy it. I'm just happy to " play look " for ya. It's a lot of fun exploring a new bike.

[cowpuc]

Still exploring. The po closed off the air vents and removed air ducts. On the right fairing compartment he placed a makeshift light which connects to that toggle switch. Looks like he just wanted more easily accessible storage space. He lined that side with foam and carpet.

what is the extra set of fuses he wired to battery . He placed these in an old plastic cassette tape box.

Other observations: tires are virtually brand new in terms of tread depth but we're made in 2009. I still will get some picks of the frame connected to rear shock.

 

I'd be guessin the "fuses in bag" routine was the PO's answer to the nagging question of what to do about the 1st Gen Failing Fuse Panel Syndrome. What happens is, over time, the ears on the ends of the original fuse holders in the panels loose their boing and their ability to maintain connection on those dorky glass fuses and whammo,, lectrical problems.. Matter of fact,, many of us had scoots with the syndrome so bad that those ears actually broke off = not good thing when half way across the country with an 8 year old on the back seat screamin = how we gonna get home Daddy!!

I would get away from the fuse in the bag personally and, at a minimum pick up a few stand alone GM fuse terminals and wire em in independantly (easy fix for on the road repair of the fuse panel). Another very common fix is the GM fuse style panel = works AWESOME and very tidy IMHO..

[cowpuc]

here's the air line to the rear shock. No need to spend $90. Save the box and resell the shock...

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1986-86-Yamaha-Venture-Royale-XVZ1300-XVZ-1300-Rear-Shock-Suspension/152097457125?fits=Model%3AVenture+Royale%7CMake%3AYamaha&hash=item2369b703e5:g:UNIAAOSwq5pXPx-X

 

These things come up. NO, don't buy it. I'm just happy to " play look " for ya. It's a lot of fun exploring a new bike.

 

:sign yeah that::sign yeah that:!!!! Unless ya just gotta have the Class system = :sign yeah that::sign yeah that:

 

Personnally,, I have found the old school, easy peasy manual fill to be the most trust worthy, take a hit for me companion a lop eared long distance 1st Gen ridin varmint could ask for!! GOOD SUGGESTION Vick!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[cowpuc]

Maddy,, if you find out the frame on your scoot actually does have a break in it and decide you are going to go for it on a repair, I have another option for you. I still have a couple parts bikes out back which I KNOW have solid frames under em, got titles for em too. Come to Michigan and take one home = free of charge! Then, when you pull it down to build a scoot from 2 bikes, you could take the freebie frame and reinforce it BEFORE it fails/to ensure it will never fail = much easier job and, unless you have a frame jig, much less chance of ending up out of alignment in places ya dont want your scoot to be out of alignment in...

Personally, I still got money on your scoot not having a busted frame (been riding em since 87 and have yet to have a busted frame BUT - I KNOW it does happen) but the "sag" is related to the suspention issues = thats where my bet is at.. I learned a long time ago not to listen to PO's suggestions as to why the bike I just bought doesnt run,,, starting from scratch with my own diagnosis process usually ended up being the best option for getting that sucker headed down the road again:guitarist 2:! Slow and steady,, solving one problem at a time! I got a hunch, from what I am seeing of the projects you have already completed:yikes:,, you know exactly what I am tryin to say

[Chaharly]

When you do finally get around to rebuilding your front forks, I highly recommend you find a pair of MK2 forks and rebuild them instead. The reason for doing this is twofold, the MK1 calipers, 2 piston ones, which are a poor excuse for brakes, has an 86 mm spacing for the bolts whereas the MK2 uses 100 mm spacing which will allow you to upgrade to Yamaha R1/R6 4 piston calipers and will give you better braking. You will need to swap out the rotors for MK2 as well, but they are better rotors anyway! The second reason to switch is the MK2 has electric anti-dive solenoids whereas the MK1 uses braking robbing hydraulic solenoids. Hooking up the electrics is very easy, use the brake light wire (yellow) to trigger a relay that will supply power to the solenoids as long as the brakes are on, which is how they work! As far as springs go, most of us use Progressive brand springs when replacing which do have a progressive rate when being compressed. You will find lots of technical info here on the site concerning rebuilding your forks!

 

The battery sensor wire has been addressed by other members, but here is how to eliminate that annoying flashing red light! You want to purchase a resistor with a value of anywhere between 2000 to 4000 ohms rated at 1/4 to 1/2 watt and solder one end to the sensor wire, and the other end to your "accessory" (red) line. On the original circuit, the sensor was plugged into the top of the battery and the probe went into the top area of the electrolyte (battery acid) around the middle cell of the battery. Its whole function was to alert you if your battery acid level was low. The logic circuit is looking for a voltage level of around 6 volts or so. You need the resistor to drop the voltage from 12 volts down to a lower voltage. If you tie that wire directly to 12 volts you will burn out the logic chip!!

 

If you look at that cover between your handlebars, it looks like a Schrader valve is there for filling the front shocks. I think 17 psi is the maximum pressure you want to put in there, and as Freebird pointed out it is a very small volume of air, and anything stronger than a hand pump will put too much volume at a rapid rate resulting in quickly overpressuring your forks and blowing out your seals, which are probably shot already by looks of that one early picture which showed oil on the front rotor. The rear shock can take around 75 psi max but it too is a small volume and you should only use a hand pump. Even a bicycle tire pump will give you too much volume of air. Look around where you find the "stiffness" control (has a knob with settings 1, 2, 3, and 4) for the rear shock and you may find a Schrader valve for the rear.

 

As far as a battery goes, an AGM will give you more cranking power, which leads us to a very common 1st Generation Venture problem, slow cranking when hot. There are two fixes to perform for this, upgrade your battery lines to a heavier gauge wire, and replace your 2 brush 1st gen starter motor with a 4 brush 2nd generation Venture ('99 - '13) starter motor. You can usually find a good used one on eBay for around $60 - $75. The combination of all 3 modifications will ensure a fast start regardless of how hot your engine is!

 

Still exploring. The po closed off the air vents and removed air ducts. On the right fairing compartment he placed a makeshift light which connects to that toggle switch. Looks like he just wanted more easily accessible storage space. He lined that side with foam and carpet.

what is the extra set of fuses he wired to battery . He placed these in an old plastic cassette tape box.

Other observations: tires are virtually brand new in terms of tread depth but we're made in 2009. I still will get some picks of the frame connected to rear shock.

 

I actually just finished wiring in the same fuse box from the tech section in our read only library. I also followed the directions in there to upgrade my battery cables to 4 gauge and put a starter from a 2003 or a 2006 in the bike. There are directions for that in the tech library too. I put the battery in and I thought the bike was gonna fly away the starter spun so fast. Also I noticed with the new battery cables that everything works better from the fuel pump to the lights. I'd highly recommend these upgrades if you're concerned about slow starting when hot (my bike never failed to start when hot, It just turned slow. The only reason I replaced the starter is because I busted the post off the original one getting the cable off . The worst thing about the slow starting IMHO was that people looked at ya kinda funny :8:) and if but when you get rid of that nasty old fuse box. I think I got mine for 20 bucks with shipping

[videoarizona]

My original toolkit was in the right saddlebag under the foam insert. The bottom of the saddlebag case has an indentation and a strap arrangement to hold kit in place. Now I have a1st gen, Mk2... An 89.... So yours might be different. One thing though.... The original kits were very complete. So if you buy one, look up the manual and see what was included... Then buy a kit that is as complete as you can find.

[bongobobny]

A member here, Skydoc_17 sells a nice upgrade kit for the fuse panel which changes the fuses from those obsolete glass fuses to the modern blade type fuses. Earl is a great guy and his stuff is very reasonable!

[cowpuc]

I actually just finished wiring in the same fuse box from the tech section in our read only library. I also followed the directions in there to upgrade my battery cables to 4 gauge and put a starter from a 2003 or a 2006 in the bike. There are directions for that in the tech library too. I put the battery in and I thought the bike was gonna fly away the starter spun so fast. Also I noticed with the new battery cables that everything works better from the fuel pump to the lights. I'd highly recommend these upgrades if you're concerned about slow starting when hot (my bike never failed to start when hot, It just turned slow. The only reason I replaced the starter is because I busted the post off the original one getting the cable off . The worst thing about the slow starting IMHO was that people looked at ya kinda funny :8:) and if but when you get rid of that nasty old fuse box. I think I got mine for 20 bucks with shipping

 

I have had really good luck avoiding the hard starting routine thru the years by keeping the interior of the OEM 2 brush Starter clean from brush dust and grime. It all started (pun intended) with another dorky, science experiment of a theory of mine where my pea brain came up with the idea that build up of debris on the armature was causing loss of resistance between the armature segments which resulted in a sluggish starter = in my case, keeping the starter armature cleaned worked amazingly well = good as new!

[made2care]

Maddy,, if you find out the frame on your scoot actually does have a break in it and decide you are going to go for it on a repair, I have another option for you. I still have a couple parts bikes out back which I KNOW have solid frames under em, got titles for em too. Come to Michigan and take one home = free of charge! Then, when you pull it down to build a scoot from 2 bikes, you could take the freebie frame and reinforce it BEFORE it fails/to ensure it will never fail = much easier job and, unless you have a frame jig, much less chance of ending up out of alignment in places ya dont want your scoot to be out of alignment in...

Personally, I still got money on your scoot not having a busted frame (been riding em since 87 and have yet to have a busted frame BUT - I KNOW it does happen) but the "sag" is related to the suspention issues = thats where my bet is at.. I learned a long time ago not to listen to PO's suggestions as to why the bike I just bought doesnt run,,, starting from scratch with my own diagnosis process usually ended up being the best option for getting that sucker headed down the road again:guitarist 2:! Slow and steady,, solving one problem at a time! I got a hunch, from what I am seeing of the projects you have already completed:yikes:,, you know exactly what I am tryin to say

Thank you very much for your offer. I might have to take you up on that if this frame is flawed!

[made2care]

A member here, Skydoc_17 sells a nice upgrade kit for the fuse panel which changes the fuses from those obsolete glass fuses to the modern blade type fuses. Earl is a great guy and his stuff is very reasonable!

Great, I might check that out!

[made2care]

Ignition key fits and unlocks saddlebags but not trunk. Separate key for trunk or has trunk lock failed. Also , there are 2 locks below trunk which I assume unlocks trunk from frame, ignition key does not unlock these either.

[made2care]

When the po mentioned the battery leaked onto the frame and caused it to break , I thought to myself, " what a load of hogwash!" I just removed battery and looked underneath battery tub and all is good. Why did I look anyway? ........

further down the bike I took this pic of harness/ bracket attached to rear shock and all looks good. When I get the front forks rebuilt it will raise bike.

[luvmy40]

made2care,

 

I can vouch for the quality of Earl's(skydoc_17) products. I did not use his fuse block kit, but I have installed several of his upgrades, including my current brake and clutch line conversion project. The quality is high and the prices are good Then you also have to take into account the fact that Earl is generally one heck of a nice guy.

[made2care]

This has been a very interesting read for me because I wish so much I could find someone with this enthusiasm for an 83. I really need to get rid of my 83, but I have not tried because I don't want it to go to someone that does not know or care about an early Venture. I know, they are special, but mine is real special, at least to me. If you will read the following previous thread, I noted the upgrades that I have done to mine;

 

https://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?133824-I-have-got-to-do-something

 

One of the biggest concerns I have about made2care's 83 is you need to know what the options are is fixing the broken frame right and for it to be stronger than what Yamaha ever did, even their upgrades. It is not an easy fix and you can see what I did in the following thread and I suspect yours will probably need what I did to mine.

 

https://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?1521-83-Broken-frame

Again, I love your enthusiasm and wish you all the luck in the world, but you do have some challenges to deal with. Let me know if I can be of any help.

Randy

Bad news !!! I found the breaks in the frame !! Exact same spots as yours were. I am freaking out right now!!! To me my best options will be to find a newer frame that Yamaha fixed ! I will just transfer everything to that frame. Wow!!! This is going to be challenging! What year frame do I look for? Please help , someone!!