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While I no longer ride in heavy commute traffic and try to avoid as much heavy SF Bay area traffic as possible these days, especially on the motorcycle, I have to weigh in on the 'crazy CA' lane splitters. So first, yes, there are the occasion crazy (young) idiots who weave in/out freeway speed and they could be ticketed for that as a judgement call by the police if its unsafe for them or surrounding vehicles (although law enforcement in CA is essentially non-existent these days....but that's another topic so I'll stop there). Second, I spent many years safely and easily splitting lanes during rush hour commute traffic - yes, even on my original '99 Venture, back in the day. It can be safely done and I can assure the reality on the bike is much different than the perception. The safe way (perhaps only way) is when traffic is at a crawl or stop. For the most part, I typically would be 'in' traffic, moving at the same pace and when it slows to a crawl or stop, is when its safe to move into the space between lanes at a slow, safe speed. If traffic came to a sudden stop, so would I before proceeding to split. I can't say how fast, but definitely not 25+MPH. It takes slow speed handling skills, respect, patience and diligence and a sincere commitment to safety first, for you and the vehicles around you. Going at an appropriate pace, it was never unusual to see drivers move over and give me even more space, as they saw me approaching. As soon as traffic starts to flow is when its time to stop splitting and re-merge back into a spot in traffic. The only 'close call' I can think of was when a driver one car ahead of the one I was currently passing opened his door to dump out coffee. I was going at a slow enough speed to safely stop and neither he, nor I was in danger, but perhaps might have been different if he waited longer & didn't look first. I've never seen an accident from safe lane splitting either. As a driver, the worst part are the "hey, wanna hear how loud my pipes are' jerks. They will jump right next to you & blast it, fortunately, they are few and far between. I'm not a daredevil or a big risk taker and I would still split lanes today - when its safe to do so, as described - if needed.

FYI.... I ASKED COWPUC ABOUT MY STARTER WOE'S AND HE BEING ONE OF THE KINDEST AND MOST INFORMATIVE MEMBERS ON VENTURE.ORG.....TOLD ME WHAT TO DO. I BELIEVE THIS INFO IS TO BE SHARED WITH EVERYONE ELSE ON THE WEBSITE.....THANK YOU COWPUC !...YOU ARE THE BEST.....COWBOY BILL HOWDY COWBOY!! Always a pleasure hearing from you my brother! On the starter question... Years ago Yamaha produced a bike called the 750 Virago,, do you remember them? The 750 Virago design with its "bendix" was a huge failure for Mom Yam because of the noise you are hearing and my shops backroom made good money fixing the noise by grinding relief on the mating gears of the bendix to quiet them down (something Mom Yam approved of for warranty repair but never did a recall on,, made me mad - I should have been rewarded HUGELY for that lol). After regrinding those mating gears all that was left was for the owner to ALWAYS remember to use a GOOD battery and to keep the starter cleaned internally so the starter would not let the engine backfire on start up, ruining the gears. Mom Yam DID make a new design for our Ventures, thankfully, called a Starter Clutch as shown here: https://www.partzilla.com/catalog/yamaha/motorcycle/1983/xvz12tk/starter-clutch As you can see, our Ventures do not have a Bendix. Instead there are idler gears that transfer the power from the starter to the starter clutch and that "clutch" has 3 spring held engagement devices that engage when you spin the starter up. It sounds to me like your starter clutch has failed, cracked where the pins set in it that hold the engagement arms. Bill,, this is actually very common because most owners do not know that they REALLY need to keep the interior of the starter clean from carbon dust created by the brushes and to always keep a good battery employed - basically the same maintenance I ALWAYS explained to the 750 Virago owners I had done my repair to to quiet their bikes. The hardest part of fixing/replacing the starter clutch is removal of the flywheel to get at the starter clutch. If the flywheel has never been removed it can be a bugger.. You will need a GOOD 2 or 3 jaw puller and, I suggest, a GOOD impact rotary. Put a bike strap over the flywheel to catch it when it finally lets go so it dont get ya. Also take a REALLY close look at your bikes stator assembly while your in there, look for burned coils. Make sure your bike has had the update to the stator installed consisting of a splash plate to toss oil on the stator and a wire that goes into the flywheel nut oil orifice. You could also look into locating a 4 brush starter (as used in the MK2's) as many Venture owners have found them to not be so dependent on keeping the starters clean internally, at least that is what I have read/heard. Personally I have never had need to replace my starters with the 4 brush or ever had a starter clutch fail in any of my 6 MK1's covering over 1 million miles. I am pretty sure that has to do with the fact that I always kept my starters clean and maintained a good battery. Hope this helps my friend! If you have ANY other questions do not be hesitant to ask! Your brother of the wrench n saddle. Puc P.S.. - it might not be a bad idea to repost your exact question to me in the Watering Hole and I will copy/paste my response to you there. It may produce other ideas (always a good thing) and help others in the future. what say you?

Whats to explain ?.......................

THX EARL I WILL CHECK OUT AND SEE WHAT DANO HAS TO SAY !...IF HE IS MIA OR DOES NOT HAVE WHAT I NEED {GEN 1}....I WILL GIVE YOU A HOLLER... MUCH OBLIGED..... BILL KING AKA...COWBOY BILL

Hey Bill, That Cowpuc, he's a gem! The only thing I wanted to add is that we have a member on the Forum, Dano that at one time machined a 6 sprag Starter Clutch. (Heavy Duty) If in fact he no longer offers that upgrade, I offer one. (But I would prefer that you check with Dano first!) The stock Yamaha Starter Clutch has 3 spring loaded "Pins" called sprags that engage and connect the starter motor to the engine during start up. With the Heavy Duty unit, you have 6 spring loaded sprags instead of 3, and this distributes the engagement load over 6 pins instead of 3. The failure point is actually the housing that holds the pins, so by adding more pins, you decrease the load on the housing in any given area. Pin spring failure is also another area that causes a starter clutch to go out. Cowpuc is spot on about the maintenance of the starter motor and the use of a GOOD strong battery. The sprags of the starter clutch engage due to centrifugal force, so if the battery is weak, or the starter is dragging because of dust from the brushes, the you don't get FULL engagement of the starter sprags. Only the model years 1991, 1992 and 1993 of the MKII Venture and Royale came with the 4 brush starter. ALL second Gens. came with a 4 brush starter. I hope this starter info helps you Bill, and Good on YOU Cowpuc for sharing your vast knowledge of these wonderful motorcycles with a fellow member!! Earl

There are two bolts in the same area that can cause the same type leak...the top bolt for the clutch slave needs to have a sealant on it when installed and the bottom bolt of the middle gear cover needs a washer. In addition, the o ring for the clutch shaft and the rear cylinder valve cover can leak oil and appear in the same areas.

Perfect @COWBOYBILL and THANK YOU,, not just for following up on this but for the kind words my friend. Hopefully if I missed something here in my response to your P.M. the sites guru's will jump in with other thoughts that will make your repair even easier! Puc

I said TINY leak! 😸

What model? Check the hazard light switch.

It was great seeing everyone today and meeting Adrian, just a real good bunch of people.

Always a good time with the VentureRiders, don't know why that is other than they are all really nice people and let me 'tag' along.

Glad you were able to make it and arrive home safely as well@The Tooch and that your getting back up on your feet, Its been a long time. Was also nice that another newby @Adrien Leducwas able to make it and introduce himself to us. It may have been a small gathering but it was great just the same.

Got home safe and sound from meeting up with these mutt’s……except Tammy of course……..over 6 hours of riding in that crazy heat I’m bushed…..I guess you were worth it. So good to get to see some of the old gang it was WAY to long.

Things change very slowly which sometimes is a good thing. I remember when these characters could get in the passing lane and hold everyone up behind them. Now it's illegal in most states. This really bugged me as you don't have any idea why someone wants to go faster than you (nor should you care...). I've had to rush my wife to the emergency room twice in the past month and used my 4 flashers and drove 80-85mph. The tractor trailer drivers were all polite and just got out of the way... as it should be.

Hit the nail on head

I got a little better miles out of the 777 vs the tourmaster. But the longest mileage tire I ran was a Michelin Commander 2. Over 15k. But they were pricey then and I havent looked one up for my Vic.

With the load you are putting on I would go to 40 lbs. 38 might be creating too much heat.

The dealership is clueless as they expect you to ride it 🤣. I personally have not trailered this bike but following @BadCatClassics above I have seen plenty of the Bikes and Beards YouTube channel and I think they have the best method for tying down big bikes. I like the idea of the 6" channel too. I've never done that but I can see where that would help keep the rear of the bike form 'jumping'.