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Howdy folks, I just got back from a 3500 km trip around Northern Ontario... including 1100 km on day one. The "New to Me" 2004 Yamaha Royal Star Midnight Venture be my "Boo..." as the kids say. The bike was an absolute pleasure on the road. I was comparing the bike to previous bikes and my current Road Star XV1700. In packing, I filled the two saddle bags with gear, found a cooler that fits in the trunk and then ratchet strapped two dry bags (40 & 60 litre duffles) onto the passenger seat. Leaning back on the duffle bags rolled my body into a very comfortable position... kind of like sitting in a recliner. I carried a weeks worth of camping/fishing gear, including a three piece Fenwick spinning rod. We did a 150 km round-trip on gravel logging roads to our fishing spot... the plan was to head in Friday night after the logging trucks stopped hauling and then head out Sunday night before they were back... trust me when I say, you do NOT want to meet a logging truck on those roads while handling a street ride... almost guaranteed disaster. At any rate, we got in and set up a tent camp, it took about five minutes to land enough fish for supper and breakfast. Overnight a heat wave rolled in and highs reached 40*C plus... the horse and deer flies took that cue and went hunting human flesh... we spent most of the next day (Saturday) soaking in the river and then spent a miserable night trying to sleep in the heat, laying on a foam mat wearing nothing but very fashionable boxer briefs and feeling the rivlettes of sweat running down my chest... around 2 or 3 am, the decision was made to get up early Sunday morning, pack up and head South and along Lake Superior to get out of the band of high Temps. After a quick breakfast of Mountain House Granola and Blueberries with water boiled in the Jet Boil, we were back on the (gravel) road. A great test for handling and whether or not the center of gravity is too high, is a good long run on Ontario logging roads, and the RSV passed with flying colors... I won't say it handled like a motocross bike, but for a heavy cruiser, it did very well on the shifting gravel. We had a very hot four hour ride to get down to the Superior shoreline where things cooled down nicely. We bumped into an unfortunate and apparently fatal highway accident just south of Marathon, but were lucky to end up next to a local who knew a route "around" the highway closure (the closure lasted for hours apparently)... well, the route around was basically a 4X4 trail that partly lead through a swampy bush and had large "Road Closed - No Passage" signs... but true to his word, we got through and around the pile-up... we thought we would take advantage of that luck and put on another 1000 km's on that day. I found the RSV to be very smooth, and it really started to purr around 3500 rpm... we stretched it out a few times and the bike really sticks to the road and loves to lean deep in the switchbacks... I had just put on a new set of Dunlop 404 Whitewalls, which I liked on my previous bike. I used the cruise control a fair amount to give my throttle hand a much appreciated break. We hit all the NorOnt Route highlights, Hwy 64, Hwy 17 Superior shoreline, Hwy 129 Dragon's Tail and the Deer Run... we had a few beer, and laughed a lot and ate alot of fish, and generally had a great time and by campfire light made plans for the next ride and a winter Snowbird run, trailering the bikes to the Souther US in January or February to break-up our miserable winters. My cousin and I swapped bikes a few times (he rides a Honda VTX 1800 N)... his bike can walk away from the RSV, but on our last night he was Googling "Yamaha Royal Star Ventures for sale." Nuff Said...

Update. I ordered the gasket after this mechanic said I needed it and then said I didn’t need a gasket I needed the cover because it was somehow damaged. I decided I wasn’t going to let him work I my bike anymore, so I took the cover off and dang it looked like a silicone bomb had gone off in there. No wonder it was leaking. It looks like when he worked on my shifter he removed the cover and didn’t replace the seal he just silicone around where he had torn it. Anyway I got all the old gasket and the silicone off and applied a gasket sealer called gasgacinch. This stuff had a lot off good reviews so I got some and no more leaks . I missed quite a bit of riding time waiting on a gasket he ordered but never came in . Anyway water under the bridge and I got to ride this weekend !

Hey Brandon, The VMAX Final Drives up tp the model year 1993 would be a direct bolt on swap for your 88'VR. I would stay away from the first 3 years of the production of the VMAX Final Drives, because they seemed to be not as hardy as the later model years. Keep in mind that this is gong to increase the RPM of your engine across the board the entire time you are riding your bike but in my opinion, I don't do a lot of riding in excess of 100MPH any more, so to me, it's worth the trade off. If you have any other questions about this swap. please feel free to PM me. This is one of the best "Bang for the buck" upgrades you can do to a First Gen. Good luck with this project Brandon, Earl

Have you checked the plugs on the carb vacuum ports to make sure they are not cracked or leaking air and have the spring clip around them? Also have you re-synced the carbs lately and verified you can adjust each one to the properly levels. With the COPs, how are you holding them in place? I ended up cutting a hole in the rubber part of the shield and used it to keep them in place. I have read of others not doing that and the COPs moving and shorting out to the cam covers. What type of air cleaner and box are you using? Verify there are no additional holes cut into it as these carbs need vacuum to run properly. Running the engine with out the air cleaner and air box, causes the engine to run rough and not idle properly also. One the carbs, the main nozzles do wear from the needles sliding in and out of them and one of the ways to patch this is to lower the needle into the nozzle so that not as much gas is atomized into the incoming air. Some of us have done this to help improve performance and fuel economy also. Here is a link to a forum post about this. https://www.venturerider.org/forum/topic/50425-carb-metering-rod-question/ At this time, I have not been able to locate a new replacement for the Venture 1300 needles so the ones provided in the carb kits is not for our bikes. Also another problem spot is the rubber plugs in the bottom of the jet block not having a tight seal when inserted into it. If they are loose fitting, they will let fuel pass by them and this messing up the jets in the metering passages. There are replacements out there or some have been able to get them back to sealing by soaking them. Do a search in this forum should display some results for you. These are just some of the things to check for and to rule out. I try to do the simple things first before going in deep for things. On my 89 VR, I have upgraded to the Ignitech ignition box and COPs, added the shims to my carbs but also have Skydoc kit to use someday. My MPG is in the high 30s to low 40s depending on my wrist action. And I do a carb shotgun about once a season to make sure the carbs passages are clear. Hope this helps you and good luck. Rick F.

Looks like a missing spacer. Go back to the garage and see if it's laying around the tire machine somewhere, or in the vehicle you used to get it there. It looks like a really thick washer with an extra collar on it. The collar matches the spacer/bearing inside the wheel.

The link to Clearview Shields is www.clearviewshields.com. The website is easy to follow and order from. I was called a couple of time to apogize about the delay and ask if I would be ok with the vent from a new manufacturer. I was assured it would have to meet their quality standards and evidently it did cause it works very well

Well I suppose that it is easier to read all the dialogue in one post rather than over time in various posts, but you don't seem to realize that we thrive on helping folks fix things. Now you ticked us off by keeping us in the dark so to speak. What do you think we have all this knowledge base for? All categorized, filed, numbered, and color coded. The best answer I can give at the moment is in file drawer #14, color blue, PW 'asksomemore' . There may also be a copy in other drawers but they can't be opened presently for the case of covid security and border restrictions. Enough BS Hang in there, there will be plenty of suggestions coming your way, this one is super interesting. You have probably missed one dinky little item that needs a half turn adjustment. Couple of thoughts to get you started: When you did the carbs, how far did you tear them done, and did you use new gaskets. Did you check out the enrichment vales as well. Are they seated completely and properly in their boots, check them out again now. Did you clean the idle mixture circuit and how did you adjust it back to spec? Did you check out the stator output. What is your voltage at 5000rpm? Did you check out the grounds, especially the one at the right lower front of the engine? Are the battery terminals clean and tight, also check the terminal to cable connection. Check the fuel line from the pump to the carbs, is there a kink there somewhere. 3psi is not a lot of pressure, but it is spec and should work just fine. Seems like you have or gained a lot of knowledge in your process, Good for you!!! Trouble is, now that you have posted this, it becomes a challenge to some of us, and now you can't get rid of said unit until we get the issue solved or we'll be around to haunt you for decades.