BratmanXj

Just out of College I came across a black 100th Avn. Road King Classic for a stupid-cheap price with only a few thousand miles on it. Nothing fancy, but just a "classic" looker in black and chrome on spokes and white walls. Bike was the epidemy of Friday-afternoon construction and spent 360 days out of my 3-1/2yrs of ownership in the shop....but when it was washed and waxed it looked phenomenal, and you didn't see many all-black 100th's. Edit: 3+ yrs and I managed to put 30k miles on it despite the constant breakdowns but my warranty was up and I was done. Ended up selling it private for the same money I had into it minus the warranty (that did pay for its self). As for straight up smiles, I currently have '07 Ural Tourist. My wife hates it cause every gas stop is a 30min conversation with everyone who comes out of the woodwork to ask what the hell is that...

Don't forget a coolant flush and probably replace the rubber "freeze plugs" on each jug behind the bolt on fins because they tend to shrink with age and leak. Otherwise a nice touring bike at a fraction of the cost of other options on the market.

The braking ring is supported by rivets with a light metal (typically aluminum) inner mounting ring. They're slightly lighter, not that it maters on our big o'l bikes. They dissipate heat a little bit better and since they float your less likely to have pad chatter. Biggest thing....they're chrome an match the "lighter" look of the bigger wheel with more open space than the stock rotors.

Stratoliner is an 18" wheel with a 130 tire that's a direct bolt on to the Ventures. Upgrades the looks with the bigger front wheel, lightens the steering with the 130 (vs 150 stock) width front tire. If you get REALLY lucky and find the chrome Stratoliner rotors they're full-floaters vs our solid disk on the Venture.

If you can find a complete brake set from an early ('02-'05) Road Star Warrior or a later model 1700cc Road Star (2004+) will get you the 14mm Master Cylinder and the same R6/R1 calipers already painted grey.

I was able to get my Stratoliner front wheel & floating chrome S rotors back in '14 for under $200 used off eBay (add a tire and wheel bearings to that cost). I think $750 is a bit steep for used. The REAR wheel does not fit the Ventures, we're shaft drive and the other Star bikes are belt drive.

Got a link to the volt meter you used? I was going to crack open the fairing soon to chase down a short and wanted to add a meter.

Why are you spending so much to fix it.... Penny's work too!

"Double Darkside" is usually running a REAR motorcycle tire on the front of the rig backwards, where as rear tire compound is geared for milage while applying power. I'm currently running this tire in reverse rotation. https://a.co/d/gZR9PON As for the original question from Don, I don't see how you could mount a 150 on the narrower 18" Stratoliner wheel vs the stock Venture 16" wheel.

I have a Ural 750 flat twin (like an old /2 BMW) and while it runs hot there is no discomfort to the rider like a V-twin. All my Vs have cooked my inner leg since the rear cylinder doesn't get much airflow under the tank or seat. The Flat engine is hanging out in the breeze so both cylinders run about the same temps. Any hot air raising off them at a stop is out front of my knees and most of the airflow at speed is going around or under my boots. The Oil Head flat twin engines are fairly easy to maintain; BMW maintenance horror stories are more related to Tupperware access, the sportier engines, and paralever rear ends. The latest GS incarnation has a water cooled flat twin. I like the looks of that 1800 BMW, but I'm 6'2" and as noted, you have NOWHERE else to go with you feet other than behind the cylinders or way up high over them. I've sat on the bike, its pretty comfy, but I'd probably need to adjust the legs at some point. I guess that's the trade-off for such a low center of gravity.

Yup, while I was in there doing all the diagnostics I scrubbed the connectors, battery terminals, etc. I know every Yamaha I've had was a weak charging system and they needed a GOOD battery to run right, but with only the standard items, 2x35 spot lamps, and the factory radio I was only 13v at the battery at 3,000 rpms. To me that seemed very weak... hopefully it's just a dying battery. I still wouldn't be apposed to putting a beefier charging system on the bike, since I plan to keep the bike a lot longer.

Bike cut out on my way home the other day and did the diagnostics for the the Stator & Regulator. All the individual tests came out within spec for the stator & regulator, nothing looked heat damaged on the connector. I'm only getting 13.5v at the battery with everything off and 13+ once I turn on the spot lamps and radio. The battery is about 3yrs old DEKA AGM, I'm going to replace it because it could introduce some charging issues if bad. In doing my research for stators it looks like Ricks or Buckeye were the go-to options, but all the threads on stator replacements were from the early '10s. I did speak with Buckeye and the whole kit for a Stator and new Regulator runs about $550. I did a quick search on Ricks website comes out around $330 for their Hot Shot stator, OEM style regulator & gasket. Does anyone have any pro or cons for either option if necessary?

To @saddlebum response, I agree that its not a cut and dry philosophy, every brand/model of tire has a slightly different tire diameter and introduce another variable in the Speedo/Odo relationship. I used a SpeedoRDR just like @RDawson, Installed the current smaller diameter darkside tire and compared stock speedo to my Zumo660 tracked speed on a 60 mile run. Did the calcs provided in the instructions for like a 12% adjustment. My speedo is dead on, but I've never compared the final result on the Odo since I'm over 80k miles anyways that it didn't mater for value of the bike.

I'm not sure what your paying for D404s but I never really like the ride of them on my '99 Venture. I've had decent luck with Shinko 230 Tourmasters that use to be $90 but right now appear to be $115. They have an 80 load rating, which is the higher end of the spectrum of what's available in the correct size for these bikes. I'd get about 8-9k miles per rear. There's also the 777 Heavy Duty available for slightly more money. I've never spent a significant amount of time on one but they've had good reviews on here asl well.

The Speedo-healer is a double edge sword, fix the speedometer error and it introduces odometer error as they are related systems. I am currently running one since I'm darkside on a smaller diameter rear tire. When I switch back to a MC tire I'll end up taking it back out and live with the 3-5mph inaccuracy of the speedo.

When I first purchased my '99 it had a short eBay special windshield. I could ride fine without a helmet (non-helmet state) but it would shake me senseless with any of my helmets on. Ended up getting a nice deal on a short Clearview with vent off this forum and all the buffeting went away. 1. The Clearview had a recurve on the top to kick the wind up and over your head 2. Its wider than any of the stock shields to kick more wind to the side 3. The vent eliminates (or lessens) the low pressure bubble behind the fairing & windshield, again smoothing out the airflow around your body & helmet. Most people get upset when they don't feel a discernable flow of air when they open the vent thinking its going to be like a cars A/C system.... its more about fluid dynamics and air pressure control.

https://www.landingear.com/ Movable training wheels... no real world experience but I've seen a few write-ups on the system.

I did the work myself over the course of a winter. When I bought the bike the steering was LOOSE where you could feel a click when rocking the bike. Added a HID headlight, GPS with Buddy Rich, and Spot Lamps while I had the whole front end apart.

Exactly my point. I've been on bikes where a CT was a non-issue, but the Venture just doesn't seem to respond well to it. I don't knock the guys who swear by it, because for THEIR BIKE its a perfectly acceptable option. I don't tell people it doesn't work, but that it doesn't for FOR MY SITUATION.

I've got 75k on my Venture. Swing arm was taken apart, greases and reassembled. I had the front end apart and installed Sonic springs and new steering head bearings at 55k miles. I've gone down the final-drive alignment when the drive seals when out at 70k. I have a Stratoliner 130-18" front wheel and a Hagon rear shock. At this point I think I've got a pretty stable setup on the bike and it just doesn't respond well (or to my liking) of having a CT.

I've had similar experiences as you with running a CT on the back of the Venture. I've been on Vulcans and Valkyries running CT rears that felt stable and planted, but so far my experiences with the Venture have been less than stellar. I've previously had the Nexian 165/80-15 and assumed the squirrely handling was attributed to the tire being slightly taller than OEM and working against the 130 (narrower) front tire I have mounted. I went up and down the pressure range with no real solution. The bike was perfectly rideable up until 60-65mph where it became a handful wanting to wobble. I was given a free BFG 155-80-15 and currently have it on the rear of my bike. With the slightly less tall rear tire I'm stable up until about 75mph but with the same minor-wobble after that. Again, tried the same up and down in pressure ranges and the bike just doesn't feel as stable as with a MC or as stable as the other bikes I've been on with CT. I'll be replacing the rear soon and going back to my Shinko 230 Tourmaster. I came, I tried, I did not like running a CT on the back of the Venture.

Same here in the Chicago area, went to the indoor event in '20 before the shut down and got looked at weird when I was trying to size a helmet for 7yr old son...it was only display models at the few venders there. I had friends go to the outdoor '21 event and said, like you, it was basically a test drive event and nothing more.

I don't get much airflow through the vent, but I didn't expect to. My knowledge of fluid dynamics (us wonderful engineers!) knew that, in certain conditions, it's just enough airflow to break up the low pressure "bubble" behind the fairing a quell buffeting of the high speed air going over the windshield. This was the #1 reason why I went with a Clearview in the 1st place, having tried various other brands & heights that just didn't work for me.

Brakes Brakes Brakes.... Just like the tires, the rubber lines can dry-rot as well. There's reasonably prices braided stainless options available on this forum. At minimum, flush fluids and new pads. The clutch diaphragm springs are notorious for getting weak. If you feel a slipping clutch at higher RPMs its mostly likely a bad spring and fairly easy to replace. With that low a mileage your friction plates are good and replacements springs range from $40 to $140 for the Barrnett pressure plate (that I believe is overkill). Clutch is hydraulic, check the slave cylinder for leaks. Left side between the clutch cover and the trans cover, you can see a rubber flap but behind the base of the rear cylinder in my attached photo. Again, not expensive but could be a potential shifting/slipping issue on a bit that's sat. The engine cooling fins are "fake" bolt on items and there are rubber cooling plugs under them. If you see coolant sitting on base of the cylinders don't be to alarmed. The plugs are inexpensive and and a quick fix. You can see the little rubber & brass insert's at the base of the front & rear cylinders in my photo.