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The MKI Venture is known for " chirping ". There are lots of opinions and locations for the various chirps. The speedo cable chirps, the clutch chirps and some folks find a chirp from - who knows where... I think I found the answer for one source of the noise. A few years ago I adjusted the valves on my '83 and was surprised at how out of spec they were. I dutifully followed the clearances in the manual and put about 260 miles on the bike. The motor had a screaming chirp at 3500 rpm and it was audible other rpm's as well. Then "stuff" got in the way of riding for a couple years. Now I'm back. I was never happy with the chirping sound and went back to the manual and my notes and gave them a good inspection. I decided to redo my valve adjustment to see if somehow I screwed it up. Got the covers off and all was as I set it. So where did the chirping around 3500 rpm come from ? Did I have a plugged oil line or something ? I went back to the valve clearance tables and suddenly I saw it. The intake valve clearances are looser than the exhaust valve clearances in my factory manual. Really ? I checked on line for later models and this is not the case. So in my YAMAHA Factory Manual the intake and exhaust clearances are reversed. I redid the whole thing and POOF, all the chirping is gone. It also explains one common thing I see on engines offered for sale on e-bay where they explain that the compression is bad on an engine with only 40K miles. If you've got a chirp from the top end, check your valves . Just a head's up.

So, I got this bike, it's a 1983 Yamaha Venture Royale 1200. the guy I bought it off of told me that it ran when he parked it, but the field it was in flooded and it was under water for about a week and a half. It sat for about another 7 months before I got it for $200. the engine and the starter were seized from rust. I did manage to get the engine unstuck, and I traded the old starter out for a new one. now the bike turns over but won't start. any tips would be awesome! im really excited about this bike. i want to bobber it out and make it cafe racer style with the round headlight and solo gauges. also, this is my first bike and all of my firsts have been projects (bicycle, car, girlfriend lol) i will try to post pics, however i do that

I don’t ‘ask” for time off, I tell the boss I won’t be here. Of course that means I sometimes have to sleep on the couch after I tell her. 🤣🤣🤣

CUTTING DOWN A WINDSHIELD Cutting lexan is easy if you have patience and a Sabre saw or a Dremel You will also need: 1. Duct tape 2. A fine tooth blade for the Sabre saw or a Dremel with a cutting wheel 3. Big sheet of poster board 4. Fine tipped marker 5. Bastard file 6. Various grades of emery cloth and wet and dry sand paper First, decide how much lower you want the windshield. Cover the windshield with the big piece of poster board, and mark carefully where the lower point of the windshield is. There should be some mounting points, or a bar that goes all the way across the windshield at about handle bar height. Tape the poster board to the windshield or get a friend to hold the poster board while you trace the outline of the windshield, paying close attention to the top curvature. Spread this paper on a level surface, and cut out the pattern you now have of your full size windshield. If you need the windshield lowered 1", take it off the BOTTOM of your pattern or fold the pattern up 1"!! Very important--you are not cutting the windshield as the bottom, but rather you are "lowering" curvature of the windshield so that now your pattern will show the curvature 1" lower. Take the windshield off the bike, lay it down carefully on a blanket or something where the windshield won't get scratched. Put your new shorter pattern on the windshield. Eyeball where the new top will be, and put a layer of duck tape in the rough area of where you will be cutting so the windshield won't crack while cutting. Now tape the pattern down correctly, and trace your new top curve onto the duck tape. I put the windshield on my lap, main curve upward. BE CAREFUL WHILE CUTTING. Start your Sabre saw on one edge, and SLOWLY, work up the line you've traced onto the duck tape (or Dremel if you choose to use that tool instead). Soon you'll have the excess 1" (or whatever) on the floor. Now with the bastard file smooth out the cut you just made. Use your artistic sense to get this part done. Take off the duck tape, and using the file, start "rounding" or beveling the edge. BE CAREFUL!! The file slips, you get a scratch, it's there forever. When you get it roughed in, use a block with emery cloth around it to do the fine work. Finish off with fine emery paper, wet, and eventually you will have a factory edge. Total time s about 2-4 hours, depends mainly how picky you are about making the edges just so. Submitted by Camo