videoarizona

Blame the Groundhog.....

Yep...normally I would agree. BUT: My VStar 950 is a stock 2009 and she rides as good as the VR. That what was making me wonder if my shocks have been played around with by PO. The Venture handles nicely....loves taking corners at speed...but on a normal road the front end feels so tight ...I feel every teeny bump. A typical frost type heave is jarring even at low speeds. Be nice to have someone else who rides a VR... ride my bike and compare rides... BUT...didn't mean to hijack your thread! Sorry. I've been reading and waiting for pictures as well. I was going to de-link, but now thinking of leaving the system in place and just replace the brake lines to SS. Linked brakes seem to be coming back on newer performance bikes....and I don't seem to have any issues using the "rear" brakes for slow riding....seems to work just fine. david

My front end feels to stiff and I'm on the lowest air setting. Something else to add to the list to check out when the summer heat arrives and it's to hot to ride!

Great! So if memory serves we now have 5 Venture owners within 50 miles. Time to ride! david

Puc, This video ends about where your video from Jerome started.....So this is the lower part of the trip if you had kept going.....I want to do this again with the Venture...but have to do in Spring or Fall. To hot in the lower end in June!!! Angelo...let me know next trip. As with Puc...if I can make it up there from Green Valley...I'll sure try!

Don't think we need the ability to send attachments as we can always share pics and videos with links and the Gallery. Plus with private emails, we can share as well.... david

Oz, Hmmm....Since the rear brake pads would be gone.....that would only leave us with one brake system. Front right. The front left would be useless as the rear pistons would be all the way out and probably not enough brake pressure left to feed and move the left front pistons. Maybe yes? (makes sense to me....) But at least we would have one brake working!!

Thread didn't work for me......?

Yeppers!

Hmmm..good thinking! Something to keep in mind....thanks!

Bill...mine doesn't rattle...yet. But as the bike came from Wisconsin...it probably does have a lot of rust. I know the center stand is rusted...so....Mine might not be long for the world. I was just thinking of what the underside would be like without the collector always in the way. But yea...that is a good thought...get them both done at the same time. Problem is...we are getting into the best time for riding between February and May...and I plan to be on the road a lot. Do you have a time frame in mind? david

Bill, Let me know best time to come up and visit! Thanks, d

Nah...don't want the Caddy! I'm happy with my current "toys"! Animal horns might look good on the front end of the venture....hmmm...something like this?

I've been in all 50 states, but Puc...you've been places I've never seen. And for that, I'm so grateful to able to follow along. Thank you! d

Geesh...glad you are OK! Heal well!

Plenty of ways to continue the pipes through to mufflers....slight bends on a straight pipe would work...

Reading around the site and came across the article about the Exhaust collector. I see the people who had built a replacement for the 1st gen are no longer around. So why do we need the collector? To balance the exhaust output? I doubt it's about back pressure since our mufflers have a ton of back pressure by design. Guess what I'm thinking is to do anyway with the collector opens up the underside nicely. Leaving a nice hole for stray bolts and nuts to find their way out when my fumble fingers drop them! Plus, it would allow access to other parts of the underside as well...making it easier to clean up leaks, etc.. as well as eliminate the rattle nosie we can get when the insides of the collector fail... Just thinking....again...(dangerous)

I was thinking something like this: http://www.philmore-datak.com/mc/Page%20246.pdf First unit pictured... or this: Volume and Tone Control Preamp Kit K8084 Tons of stuff out there like this....tiny, 12volt powered and simply increases the signal a tad... d

Went riding on Sunday...with the VStar 950. Explored a new road until it turned to dirt...A beautiful day. Then took the Venture out today. Last mpg was 33.4. I was getting on it as well as had the rear brake dragging from brand new pads. Today, I put 97 miles on the VR...and then got gas. Up to 39.6mpg. Rear rotor warm not hot like on Sunday...so rear pads are breaking in. Today..at the casino near me. They are giving away a Caddy! Anyway...hope this helps those of you whose scoots are covered in snow! d

Hmm...I may have misread your question. If you were asking me how many miles I got out of the front Metz....it looked brand new when I got rid of both front and rear. I wanted a matched set since I didn't know how a different rear would react with a front Metz. Kind of a waste of a fairly new front tire, I know, but it's my butt on a heavy bike...I didn't want to take any chances. In hindsite, I should have taken the front back and given it away here...someone else could have used it. My bad!

Brett, Riding position: If you are riding cross-country...as in dirt, trails, Baja...etc., Suggest a position between the two pics. Look at enduro type bikes. You will need to be on your feet a lot, so you need to be able to shift gears and weight and steer while up on the pegs. Puc and others have ridden dirt far more than I have....so I bet they will chip in. But my best guess would be more upright than normal....but not as high as what you show in 2nd picture... If you are riding Baja type stuff, I would re-think about dropping the anti-dive on the front forks. Even without the electric part working - they can still be adjusted and help...I think by keeping those and adding progressive springs, you may have the best of both worlds. But I'm not an expert by any means...just thinking out loud here.

Hmmm..if I read the specs right, that is a 10 watt amp....not a pre-amp. That has almost as much power as our little amps on the bike. So no...that may not work well. You are looking for a pre-amp to up the input voltage a teeny bit. You also need to look into the impedence as that will change the frequency curve...ie...what the music will sound like. Something similar to this would be better: Load Impedance: 10K Ohms - Reference Voltage: 1V Input Sensitivity/Impedance/PHONO 3 mV / 50K Ohms - T.H.D: 0.08 for 1 KHz 3 mV Input - Output Level: 2V S/N Ratio (A-WTD): 70 dB - Frequency Response: 20 Hz ~ 20 KHz ±2dB The problem is that the above is for a phono pre-amp...a record player...so that may be the wrong impedence. But that is more of what you need....to increase the voltage to maybe 2 volts output...not 10 watts. Although I bet one of the guru's here could help you build and "H" pad type thingie to bring the voltage down and the impedence where it needs to be. I would go with a 12 volt battery eliminator circuit and your boosteroo...easy to make/buy... david

Almost lost my coffee on this last exchange....I'm laughing so hard! Thanks, guys...needed the laugh! d

Lenny, Funny you should say that. I was reading the brochure and started thinking how cool it would be if Yamaha took that technology and made a new Venture. Front muli-link suspension, new streamlined body, fuel injected V-4....sigh. Keep the manual shift though!

Although I'm a short time member here...I've been on the internet and other forums since back in the days of Compuserve. One thing that hasn't changed is there are always people who miss-read a post, get offended or disgruntled. That will never change.... That said...in reading most of the posts for the past few years (sitting in New Castle, NH., hemmed in by snow last winter), I never felt one ounce distain from ANYONE on this site. Sure there have been disagreements...but they have been handled maturely! And that...right there...is the best reason for joining and being a part of this forum. Besides the education and knowledge...there is the maturity of the members. We come from all walks of life...but we are brothers together, venturing into adventures, with our Yamaha's. Besides that, A very good friend of mine owns a 2012 HD Ultra Classic. I rib him about his mechanical issues...he ribs me about the Venture. We still laugh about it and that is healthy and indicative of a mature friendship. We ride together whenever we can..as often as we can. Bottom line...thank you Don....your post was enlightening and maybe good for all of us to read...as a reminder of who were are on this forum and why we are here! d