cowpuc

To add, on my touring bikes I like shaft drive, over drive trannies, multiple places to move feet to (rider included) - I LOVE forward boards but also have to have traditional footpegs cause at times its nice (and more control) to stand up, cat eyes on the mirrors.. A long time ago I discovered this highly reflective tape (like you see road workers wearing) and used it alot for snowmobiling safety.. I have often wondered why bike manufacturers dont incorporate the stuff on thier bike builds ,, even a couple small strips on the sides of the bikes would be great - incorporated right into the paint job would be outstanding..

Went thru those doors back in 03, learned the hard way that it takes a good neuro surgeon and an MRI to find the issue and deal with it.. That nerve bundle down the spine is one sensitive little puppy and NOTHING to fool with.. The pain is excrutiating and fighting it with drugs really complicated matters for me (getting hook on the stuff and than trying to get off it is no picnic).. I really feel for you my friend!!! Get help BEFORE you start experiencing numbness!!

Sooo, yamaha did make some improvements thru the years hahaha.. The combined knowledge in this forum is amazing.. Gotta move the offering to the next guy in line - no fitty no needy BUT THANK YOU for sharing!!! PUC

A smile, a wave and a thumbs up to both of you, and that gorgeous old yammie too.. The bonding between a man and his wife (and their bike) grows exponentially thru experiences like you two are sharing - besides, being just plain fun!! THANK YOU for your thoughtfulness to share it with all of us!! Enjoy the rest of your summer!! Puc and Tippy

Rob, if they are functional and would interchange with my 83 I would gladly put them to good use.. Anyone know if the 88's are the same as the 83's? Regardless, thanks for offering them up!! Puc

Hahahah,, thats awesome Brian!! When she stepped out of the hack you should have said " carnivals pay HUGE money for rides that produce that experience - and to think it came stock with my sweet little Ural". Puc

Man I get distracted when my wife talks to me at the wrong time, my pea brain has all it can handle watching for people talking on cell phones and drunk drivers - thats way to advanced for this old guy.. Still living by the "KISS" concept.. Puc

Personally I like all bikes, its a flaw in my charector thats been with me my whole life. Around here there aint nuttin holding resale value.. I like HD's cause HD (and aftermarket companys) offer all kind of gear head kinda stuff (not just typical bling) that no one else really offers.. One of the things that still gets me about them though is that stupid little chain tensioner shoe that wears out.. I worked on three stranded HDs last year at sturgis (really not bad when you think of all of them out there) and all were due to that little nylon shoe.. I was telling one guy I helped that gear drive is the answer but its the one thing that HD DOESNT offer, gotta go to Andrews for it, weird.. Cant wait to see what Polaris does with the completed new indian being unveiled at sturgis this year,, I like what they did with the three cam design on the motor.. As far as resale value on these ol yammies goes, I love my 1st gens (on my 5th one) BECAUSE of thier low resale value (and lots of other reasons too).. I always fiqured if it broke down out in the middle of no where and I couldnt fix it I would give it to some poor kid who always wanted a bike to play with and I/we would grab a bus home and buy another one Now if it were a 20,000 bike I wouldnt do that.. I am rootin for yam to build on that new V-max motor, than hopefully, the wing stays a cult bike driving down the value of venture (like the 80's all over again) and than in a few years I could afford to have that new vmax touring bike in the stable.. I like the stability of the Vision 8 ball (if you never test rode one you should), the looks of the new F6B Honda, the age ol design of the soft tail, the trunk space on the ultras, the quiteness of the beamers, the size of a boss hog, and the smell of the exhaust on my old KX on Klots...

Wonder if its possible that you have fuel up in the tank vent line that is causing enough of a blockage that the tank cant get air.. Or if you have some kind of a vapor lock in the fuel pump - pump full of air.. Maybe try taking the vent line off and blowing on it while you turn the key on and off - force some fuel thru the pump to prime it.. I actually lost a pump one time on an 84 and drove it for a quite a ways by hooking a section of fuel line to the vent line and forcing fuel into the carbs by blowing on it.. From that point on I have carried a spare pump with me hahaha

Cool - and it sounds like your wife is one in a million, the kinda of lady who KNOWS what kinda vacation pictures to take to bring home for hubby I could have used a sign like that a few years ago while out at the sturgis rally on the ol 1st gen. The daughter and I pulled into a parking lot and got kicked out - the guys who did it pointed at a sign like that only it had HD on it.. Been neat to sneak back there after dark and replace thier sign with that one hahahaha

This guy hit the nail right on the head. We ride CT90s, got a Honda Helix we put a few thousand miles on every year and than head out on the ol 83 Venture for cross country fun - they are ALL a riot!!! I had a Kawasaki Voyager 2 a few years ago that I picked up CHEAP - the guy I bought it from caught the oil filter cover bolt on the edge of a trailer and literally yanked the filter housing bolt out of the engine with a two inch piece of casting out with the bolt. Left it sit for 20 years. Bought it, fixed it, rode it and found it way to confining for my taller body (he was 5-8 and I am 6-1). Anyway, that bike got 58 mpg!!! Every since owning that Kawi I have been watching with extreme curiousity the Concours line and wondering what kind of fuel economy they get CG. I would really like to know what kind of mpg's you end up getting with your new bike CG.. Also, if you do happen to "tourerise" it with a rear trunk and or change the the risers so it sits more like one of us ol folk bikes PLEASE let us know.. I totally agree with you about hoping yammer takes that new V-max motor and builds a new venture around it - THAT WOULD BE AWESOME!!! Congrats on the new bike, enjoy it, stick around here and give us lots of ride reports as you do!! Puc

AWESOME!!! May your roads be dry, your skys be blue, your mileage be high and your wheels run true!! Be safe out there!! Puc

I know exactly how you feel, its like you let down an old friend or something.. No matter how hard I try I always get attached to my bikes.. I would be curious to know if you name your bikes? I have been at that level for many years and THAT dont help the issue you bring up!! I have found that the best cure for those "feelings" is to take the money and buy two more

Personally, I love carbs - but I am an old school worn out biker that has been spinning wrenches since the 60's so that should tell you something about my opinion. I know if, and thats a big if, you have the equipment and the right programmable ecu, efi can be way more exact in its tunebilty BUT, because I grew up with carbs (and points ignition) I actually prefer it.. For me, the whole efi system takes the fun out of tuning my own bike and controlling what its doing out of my hands. I enjoy that aspect of owning bikes. Tell you what really amazes me is that Yamaha has gotten away with it under "modern" day epa regs. I bettcha all Harleys would still be carbs if it werent for the fact that they have to run so lean to meet emmisions that they simply cant get as close to the edge in leaness without risking damaging engine components without the aid of efi. Dont know if any of you folks remember Hondas first shot at EFI on the wings back in 85? I owned one of those and WOW what an experience that was. I named that bike the "space shuttle" because of the amount of wiring that was in it was almost hilarious.. The shop manual for it was almost 5 inches thick. I am also sure that Yamahas choosing to stay old school has cost them in the resale value of these great bikes too and there again, to me thats a positive cause it keeps them affordable.. I have LOVED riding these old Ventures, never paid more than 1200 bucks for one, put thousands of trouble free miles on em, blow the doors of any and all comparable touring bikes of their vintage (and alot of modern bikes their size), tuned right they get great mileage AND ride/handle so good that after 16 hours in the saddle I can go to sleep in the tent and wake up NOT HURTING and ready for more.. All that being said, I personally have LOVED my carburated Ventures. Guess I am just one strange dude.

We are on our 5th Venture (this ones an 83) since 86 and have always run the cheapest gas (lowest octane) available - never ever ever recall any pre-det with any of them under any condition - one wierd engine I tell ya.. We have even ran 85 octane out west - loaded to the hilt and passenger in tow and still NO spark nock.. I know it has to be due to low compression ratio and how yamaha set up the ignition curve but how on earth these 1st gens produce the hp and torque they do with a low compression ratio engine is a tribute to Yamaha for sure.. Had a Big Twin HD that had 10.5 to ones in her and if you even mentioned low octane fuel around it it would ping like crazy. Never really tried running a tank of high test thru the yam for increased economy - doesnt make sense in my pea brain why it would effect it BUT we will try it this summer - be something fun during those longgg lonely boring hours of crossing Nebraska hahahaha

OUCH!! Prayers and thoughts to you folks involved with all this.. Sounds like a real mess going on.

Oh yea, been LOTS of chatter here about both MD and the international,, got kids out in Sacremento (grand kids too) counting down the days that would rather have us heading out there than taking time to stop along the way BUT hey - nothing wrong with having it all,, this aging thing aint that bad All the reading I have done about both "parties" sound like a BLAST to us!! No it wasnt TX from Texas we met, but I sure look forward to meeting him - maybe this year cause the wife and I are taking the South by Southwest route during the summer this year.. That Brian is my kinda guy - cant get enough of the huge variety of bikes out there - loves em all..

Last year my wife and I were on our way home from a two month, 17k mile cross country tour on our old 83 Venture. We were in Sturgis during the rally and changing our oil in a car parts place on the west end of town. Our old bike is covered in stickers from all over the country, tent on rack on back (well worn). A gentleman from this group came up and introduced himself, checked to make sure all was well.. If he see this,, just wanted to say HI, thanks for checkin on us and tell you all is well as we plan for another GREAT riding season!!!!! Hope you see this!!

Man I TOTALLY get this thread, seems like when I hit 40 (and I dont mean mph) my 20/20 went 0/0 at close up... I found out those cheap little reading classes (especially the 3 power ones) REALLY help,,,, man I hate to admit that....

John, I have a 83 parts bike I have been pickin away at for years, can you post a pic of the piece (dahhh, you cant do that), I mean the area that it fits so I have a good idea of what I am looking for, if I have it its yours free of charge..

They pop up on ebay every once in a while, because its an auction it will tend to give you a pretty good idea of true value... Another good one is that big auction they have every year in Vegas, cant remember the name of the outfit but I know they publish results every year - their result book is also a great reference tool for antique bike values.. Those little passports are plain ol cool,, be really fun with a sidecar, tye dye shirt, sandels and a pair of those bell bottom BIG flower covered pants we used to wear hahahahaha...

I too would be amazed if that bike landed 3700 in Canada.. 1800 would seem more in the neighborhood of an asking price.. I popped second on my 84 while drag racing a buddy on his V65, that was at 40k. Being lazy and having lots of other projects to screw with, the kids and I dumped another 154k on her while short shifting her all over the country.. Now its my parts bike for my 83.. Speaking about a rattle while on the side stand.. My 84 did that for many years and I never bothered to dig it out.. I always guessed it had something to do with slop in the clutch mechanics - anyone have a clue?? 'Puc

and did you see that 1st genner with 27k on it in the Buyers guide 2 weeks ago - 1500 BUCKS!!!! Just missed it!

Hey Tim,, I just noticed your in Muskegon.. I live on the Northside - 2 minutes from the State Park - 2 minutes to Bear Lake - 2 minutes to Muskegon Lake,, where ya at?? Lets touch base sometime and compare scoots wanna? See if you know people that I know people,, ,,,, bet we do!!! 'Puc

Yes I have and no their not.. One of the huge things that make our 1st Gens so comfy is the narrowness that comes from the V motor, being able bring your legs together and then lay them out on side pegs or place your feet on the sides of the engine and steer with your knees are a big part of the reason we can ride 16 hours and enjoy it.. Also, while I am sure that Mustang or someone will offer a more comfortable seat for two then the FJR has on it, it will be almost impossible to beat the 1st Gens great big wide wonderful seat that it came with originally.. If you do go ride a new one you really need to also take a passenger with you to get a good feel for how they ride two up - you cant estimate what it will be like.. Our 1st Gens actually get better in that low slung, being part of the bike feeling by adding a passenger - especially if you remove the drivers backrest (if you have one on your 1st gen) and lean back against her.. It doent happen the FJ I think its a matter of design capabilities too that are part of the difference between engineering around a V motor or an inline,,,,,, but what do I know.. Go ride one and see for yourself... And concerning zip,,, these ol beater 1st genners arent that far behind the mark,,,,, now if we were talking an R1 - than oh yea.... 102 MPH in 1st gear would be fun!! 'Puc