BratmanXj

Medical friends have called it a worst-case condition of the flu... definitely more than the common cold, but media reports a "sensationalized" version for ratings.

You're not the only one who's had an issue with the "integral" hitch on a full size ford letting go.

If you use a site to find part numbers you can order off Boats.net for ANY yamaha part, not just boating. I found this out by having Yamaha jet skis and a small outboard, tried a Motorcycle part number when placing another order and whalla!

I remember reading your review of the E4 fitments on the Venture as well. I have the 18" front wheel and certain tires don't mix well on top of an aggressive riding styles. My H.D. buddies on Dunlop E4s love them.

I have the 18" Stratoliner front wheel on my RSV.... I didn't realize they FINALLY have a matched tire set for my odd-ball.

My current rear tire is a Dunlop E4 and at 50% tread life it's the worst feeling tire I've used on this bike (obviously that's subjective). The tip-in feels very vague for the initial lean then almost "falls" into the turn, once in the turn it feels less stable and "slippery". I've had very good luck on this bike with Shinko 230 Tourmasters and 777 HD. My riding buddy swears by Commander 2 from 2 Kawasaki Nomads and now and Indian.

Yamaha Air Injection System AIS Removal or Disable XVS 650 This is for the 650, but its basically 1/2 of our engine and the concepts still work. I was able to use 1/2 copper plumbing caps right at the port on the heads by re-using the stainless wadding from the original piping and lightly tapping it on.

Actually any TOURING model Harley Davidson muffler will work (Road King, Road Glide, Tour Glide, Street Glide, Ultra-Limited-Classic batwing bikes). There's simple L-brackets that can be made to mount them and you'll need a 1-3/4" collared clamp. Do a quick search on the forum and you'll find schematics for different brackets or even 3/4" P-clamp mounting options.

I guess that was some of the few parts I didn't keep. Its an emissions control unit that injects a small puff of air into the exhaust pipe to cause a secondary burn of any unused fuel coming out of the engine. I've disabled it on a few bikes during tuning with no adverse mechanical results, but obviously slightly higher emission out the tailpipe .

I gutted the AIS system from my bike all together... I capped the ports on the cylinders with 1/2" copper plumbing caps. I may have that part in my bin O spares, I'll take a look this weekend.

Had the same issue last year on my '99 RSV, barely able to push 11v at idle & 12.5v at 2,000 RPM with all accessories turned off. Ended up putting in a high output stator from Rick's, a bypass relay kit on the key switch that lead me to a slightly deformed (overheated) main power plug going to the ignition switch. No more issues now with charging at idle or on the road.

I do believe that 2nd picture is the air intake for the Air Injection System (emissions)

My '99 started to have the intermittent contact issue last year. I followed the switch repair procedure linked above and polished my contacts with a fine brass brush. I also found a slightly deformed/overheated connector and replaced that as well. Bike is working great again with the switch turning ON 1st try and no longer have the phantom power draw.

Over the weekend I finally had some down-time to address my power draw and charging issues on my '99 RSV. Ordered an ignition switch bypass relay off this forum. Pull the tank to find the switch harness connector ground pin half melted. Cut the end off and shrink-connector the relay harness into place. Pull the ignition switch and open it up to polish the contacts. I was getting barely 12v of charging at 2,500 rpm with the radio & spot lamps turned off. Orders a Rick's High Output stator and some new gaskets back in May that have been sitting on the bike seat for 2 months now. Pulled the left side appar to find 1/2 of the stator epoxy heat-hardened and flaking off. Buddy comes by to help me remove the harness bolts inside the side cover (15 min where I needed 4 hands) then drinks all my beer.... It starts to rain so he leaves his Harley Ultra and takes my car home. Next morning I'm buttoning up the bikes and figure I'll check his bike over with my routine. Front tire at 26psi and rear at 22psi. This apple didn't fall far from his father's tree, who never did anything until his vehicles broke. I send him a text giving him grief and he responds with the following pictures from is Road Star Warrior where the rear tire stem blew apart when he attempted to check that bike's tire pressure! So my Venture is mostly back together, no power draw with the ignition off and 13.5v at 2,000 rpm with the radio on. I'm still fighting to get the master cylinder primed after a rebuild, the piston face had a nasty groove that would bind on the brake lever pin. As for my buddy, there's a set of D404s on order for the Harley ('10 & '13 date codes on his tire) and Shinko Verge for the Warrior.

As a die-hard gearhead it hurt me to acknowledge when my mother moved last year to a townhouse that an electric push mower was the best option for her. It only takes 15 min to cut her lawn and she can go 2-3 times on a charge with a small Ryobi push-mower. It stores nicely in the corner up-right and I don't have to go over there every few months and change the oil, tune-ups or clean the carb because she got bad gas. I don't want to say electric is false advertising, it's great for the suburbanite but doesn't scale up to larger machines required for larger properties. Every person I know who raves about their electric lawn care tools are people who couldn't fix a gas one if they tried. I've bought my entire family nice snowblowers "used" because they weren't properly stored and the local shops in the Chicago suburbs want $175 up-front for diagnostics. They'll sell me a 2yr old $500 blower for $100 and go out and buy an electric. Its easier for them to buy a new battery every few years than learn how to clean & tune a carb. They feel a sense of accomplishment because "they" fixed it with a new battery rather than paying someone to fix a gas engine for them.

When Menard's has the 15% bag sale at the start of the year I make multiple passes through for gallon jugs of Penzoil iin 5w-20 & 5w-30, and Rotella 5w-40. I try to buy enough to hold me through for the year, which usually is about $500 worth in one shot...

Sold

Pulled my J&M headsets to install the Sena kits I got for Christmas. Sena makes a helmet cradle that has an input port so you can use the Bluetooth AND still plug into the bike's systems for use in tandem. So now the kid and I can talk with the bluetooth on the Ural and still use the CB to chat with the wife when using the Venture! Put the J&M sets on our marketplace cheap if anyone is interested.

J&M HS-CD9291-UNV-XHO Fits full face, modular & 3/4 helmets boom mic, modular design can be adapted to Harley Davidson & other bikes. J&M HS-8154B-OF Fits Modular & 3/4 Open Face helmets boom mic HS-8154B-FF Fits Modular & Full Face helmets mounted mic All headsets are fully functional and set up for a 5-pin interface for Honda & Yamaha. All can be made to work with other model motorcycles by replacing the cords. $25 each. Willing to ship at buyers expense, $10 per package. All three can fit in one package

As a Civil Eng....nope, not survey legs for a level. Looks more like a tripod for a PA speaker.

When I first started having this issue on my '99 I needed a new brake lever because the brass bushing that the lever pivots on had elongated causing a bind in the pivot-point. The 2nd time this became an issue was the hydraulic plunger in the master had a worn "divot" where the lever pushed on the plunger. $30 master cylinder rebuilt with a new plunger fixed that issue.

I'd typically get 10k on my 230 Tourmaster rear, but I ride with a bunch of muscle cruisers so I'm not light on the throttle

I got turned onto the RIDE-ON line a few years back and haven't "balanced" a tire since. Cleans up easily with a little soap and water, unlike the old SLIME products Ride-On Motorcycle Tire Balancer & Sealant 8oz

Shinko has a 777 and HD777 series tire for the bike. I've used the 230 Tourmaster as a rear many times with very good results (I have 18" Stratoliner front wheel, no matched set available).

Wife's youngest brother had a 90's Chinese knock-off CT70 when he was younger. It had been sitting in the back of the parents shed for 10+yrs when I asked him if he was just going to let it rot away. He tells me "You can't get parts for it! It's worthless." He had ridden it like any 12-yr old would and smashed it against trees, left it in a creek, etc etc etc... I knew of a shop in Michigan that specialized in Honda mini-bike restorations, said they could get me parts that were MOSTLY a match but would take a bit of fabrication or re-wiring to be totally correct. $300 in hand controls and misc parts later its a fully functional 4-spd centripetal clutch runner. In the Chicagoland area real Honda 70s & 90s go for upwards of $3k.