Patch

Will, I expanded the picture you posted I can see the tamper cap has been removed, so it is possible that the carbs may have been gone though as the PO mentioned. The tamper proof screw on the diagram cap is still in place which means little as most of us have fittings that work without breaking that pin. In section 5 of the manual show the carb assembly, looking through closely I can’t find or know of any vacuum T outside of intake no.2 (left front) which is which has a clip that roots the vacuum tube for ignition advance you can find that at the bottom of page 3.3 I also notice that on intake 3 (I think) is a small crack about ¼ - 5/16 left to right is forming. This isn’t in my experience a big deal as most pipes are 3 layers bit you may want to swipe it with some gasket seal. Also noticed that the throttle shafts appear dry, I use DeepCreep there as well as it also conditions and tends to not collect chit. Sorry if you felt I put you on the spot in my kidding around.

Yes that was the point we made earlier reducing the trail for (actual driving trends). Like everything in life and machinery there's always trade offs.. Wow very clean and polished. I guess for many of us who don't have need anymore to use the math we just forget it. I had all kinds of formulas, notes and links to very good stuff, much of which was very old school stuff written by guys that have since... Anyways I used 4:1mm to get the reduction

Yep that 91 faded blue is pretty cool. The hole is when the PO mentioned they went through the carbs.. The pilots screw caps wouldn't be there.. So rapping this up, your bike is about as original as one could expect to find. That said there are going to be things that you can choose to get a jump on or wait, there's lots of good solid history and guys around here to help lay it out with you.

Well Snyper you were correct it started with the crank journals..

"Elderly meant to me that someone felt they were too old to safely handle the bike," OK lets discuss a peace treaty; we'll trade that word for Mature, I won't refer to you as Gramps and I tell you the hole in the story? Would you also agree that the 91 vintage Blue, being the nicer blue?

Interesting, I can be aggressive especially pulling down on the left, admittedly I have lost much of my right competitiveness. Now Ajay is a true form cafe rider but he wouldn't ride my gen 1.5 after his first try with it. I never dragged that bike even when I thought I pushed to much. If you found the 230s handled well then, if you have the chance try the 1.5 with performance rubber what a difference. I found I was gearing down lower and running through at much higher rpms worth the thrill and cost/mileage wise so money well spent. That 1.5 really could handle for her size. Anyways I did the trail math in metric for the 130 it worked out to 5mm less and at 25mm (rear) that is very close to 6mm. So certainly that would be a very notable handling change and is reflected in your mention of stability in the wind, as more could make for a twitchy heavy touring ride. In 15 they broke into my shop taking my laptop and math tables so I don't have all the formulas any more. But I really want to figure the rake change to the bike, then would like to compare to others I know.. Thanks for playing along guys

Did you say ELDERLY really? Whats that mean? Well, let me tell you kid;;; there's is a hole in the story. Now - its about time for my Geriatric Nurse to do a diaper swap for me, or I'd give you a piece of whats left of my mind! No, not going to tell you the hole in the story because you're to young to know the truth. Next you be telling us bald is not beautiful

Interesting, I'm trying the math out to see what the gains are, certainly lowering rake and some trail which suggests the bike is set with too much stretch for actual driving trends...hmm

YEP! certainly know that puckering feeling and why I always wear my leathers cause they ware better then....

So you found the bike to low from its original height? If you ride that low, do you choose a higher contact patch?

I'm sure it is. So I'll just share this and it may not apply to your machine. Now we don't know the mileage yet and certainly you didn't pay much for the bike. If she had been stored for a long time then as my fogging post suggests she may have stuck rings?! If you ignore the possibility and keep running it then you will change the geometry both of the rings and cylinders. The rings as mentioned in the post are springs and,,, they must float around the "ring lands" or landings. If they are restricted they can not lock compression. Also if you look at the pictures in that post you can see how close the pistons are to the walls. Those are cold pistons! Do you remember the advertisement - pay me now or pay me later-? Or- there is nothing to fear but fear itself -?

Every so often a picture in the home banner will catch my eye and off I go. I came across one with Steve??? in a left hand curve. He looked quite at ease traveling along but then the next showed he was dragging, then another pic of someone else dragging.. So what gives? Is it a mod or are the gen2s that low? Even with a near flat rear I never dragged my gen 1.5.. My Cade would on occasion but, drag the boards only, and seems to me she'ed be leaned over a lot more. I also notice a very nice midnight blue perhaps black Gen 2, what I fond surprising was how low the profile was on the front tire, like a cruiser choice over touring.. So if you would guys enlighten us or me on some of the reasons or mod decisions.. Thanks

Check the grey foam gasket for decomposition. Last year one of the bikes I rode with had his disintegrate on our road trip which caused a lot of hassle for us. So when are you going to do the compression test, before or after the crank bearing and journal polish? Patch

WOW!!! Original carb setup, don't see that often. What is the mileage? I can't think what the picture is showing, I'll go through my pics and manual. Wondering if it's grey matter or a California thingy?

The last Venture I work on took a couple of weeks to get to a safe riding point. Remember well saying "man this is a big bike to work over and around" all the freaking other side, other end.. Will be nice to work on a unit you can actually reach over. Enjoy the project

My pleasure. If I get a call to a project I'm usually gone for months. I take some shortcuts to avoid issues come the next season. Gas stabilizer is added to the tank which also helps the pump. I run the bike carbs dry disconnecting Pump connector left side behind the frame riser tubing. Or use the drain ports on the bowls. Let it cool for a bit and just give a 2 second shot of DeepCreep through the throat of the carbs and leave it set. Always remember to never rotate an engine with fluid above the pistons - while the spark plugs are still in the heads !!! Usually in a week or so the fluid will have creeped past. What ever extra there may have been is now in the crankcase. So this above is not to solve stuck rings or varnished walls but works towards preventing the problems. When you do attempt it take some readings and share them here. Maybe your experience will give confidence to others.

That is an informative video. There is an other unmentioned item that should be check. The chassis has two cross members or ties, they are about 1/2" diameter, they tie the front frame to the more geometrically stable rear frame section. Not sure what the book says about this or other members? For myself I center stand first then I loosen both sides 2 bolts per side, once loose I let it rest for 10/15 minutes then tighten them back up. This helps provide some additional stiffness to the bike.

I think Zag's bike has one?

Wondering if you can post a pic of the carburetor vacuum line you are mentioning. There is only one line that I know of for the 1300 Venture, and one line down from the base of the air box to the crankcase. It sounds like there might be an old attempt at vacuum sharing left behind? What you describe is called "rpm hanging" and is most often due to a vacuum leak.

Personally I support the mans argument and right to take a peaceful stand - Bravo Mon Ami- When I started in business here in Alberta I was often surprised at my costs when compared then to same businesses I had in other parts of the country. For vehicle insurance these days, I have it pretty good but they once represented quite a substantial cost on my balance sheets. My bikes and personal cars now cost next to nothing but my commercial stuff yikes and last year we put out for quotes to verify if our rates were fair. As it stood because I had 20 years with the same broker and insurer my cost as of last year were less then 1/3 of the lowest comparable submission received. In Alberta it is important to remember that your ability to be in business is directly related to your ability to be and stay insured. Another was our Workers Comp. in my industry in 2004 it went up from 3.2 to 11% without injuries. There was no choice we had to accept the rates, then collectively we fired back and most of us received returns by years end. Yep a land of extremes.

This post suggests you are riding the bike? Have you noticed any second gear issues? For the temp gauge I have read here that others with these early models say the gauge does show high readings. Perhaps snap a pic straight on and post it, others will be able to offer you there opinions.

Thanks for the link I was actually brushing up last night. Regarding the volumes above which interest me, there seems to be some application specific rules that are being rewritten? There is quite a bit of information in that link which will take me some time to go through and get my head around, and I'll say this, my kind of reading.. One note that I quickly picked up on "Lean-burn gas engines are almost always turbocharged, resulting in high power and torque figures not achievable with stoichiometric engines due to high combustion temperatures." So yes in the above application. I actually wrote last night (wee hours) about increasing fuel for the spooled turbo when hauling up hill, in that conversation the application there is no fuel trim logic to rely on. As much as the combustion pressures are related to a given fuel ratio, we can achieve more through design now because we can model easier and also we can read results as well as double check or confirm them in almost any small shop that wants to go there. Not the case back in the eras we had been discussing. Thanks Videoarizona

This turned out to be a pretty open sharing of thoughts Tufftom4, thanks for starting it and not objecting to our wondering.