videoarizona

Couple thoughts that may help in this discussion.... Steven, do the rear brake first. If you can upgrade it to different caliper...do so. The fronts we know can be upgraded if you do the forks as well to get them into MK2's. A good rear brake will help you a lot getting used to a heavier bike. We know the fronts do most of the work so that would be second. Trannie and shifting. I'm glad to hear you are in 1st gear by the time you stop. That is much easier on the clutch and trannie to shift while moving, but it's also a huge safety thing. Come to a stop and see a car slamming on it's brakes and about to hit you...having the scoot in gear can save your life. Seriously. Being hit from behind is on or near the top of the list of why we get hurt/accidents. Last...getting her up on the center stand. You are correct about age and strength. We just don't have what we used to have. I'm nearing 70. I can vouch for that. That said, there are some things you can do. First, make sure your bike is at the proper ride height. Ie, shocks are good. If not, there is your problem. If you've lowered her, then there is the problem. Nothing you can do about that unless you have a Royale version. Then get off scoot, put her on side stand, turn key to "aux" and set the CLASS compressor to "auto" and hit "front" and then "High". Repeat for rear. This should raise the scoot enough to make it easier to put on center stand. If you have a standard, can you pump air into the rear shock and do the same thing? Just don't forget to set the shocks back to "normal" pressure so as not to stress out the seals... Last, if you can't or won't raise the air pressure, then riding the rear tire up on a 2X6 that you "ramped" the rear edge... should also give you almost 1.5 inches additional height...making it easier to get her up! Hope this helps! P.S. Love those Pucster Videos!

Friend sent this to me tonight. He found it by accident... Cool video about a barn full of bikes......

Finally got out for a ride this morning after some work on the RSV. I put on new air cleaners, took the diaphragms out and cleaned them (no pinholes) and the carbs with carb cleaner, cleaned and gapped the iridium plugs (looked good). Balanced the carbs. Amazing difference for so little work! She pulled strongly right from the start all the way up to the limiter. Never had that happen before. I was shocked, to put it mildly. Almost like she was running from a 1st Gen!! And my 1st Gen is fast... I'm pleased.....but...(there is always a "but").... My mpg's are still down. 1st bar on gas gauge dropped around 35 miles. second on 52 miles. That usually indicates about 35 mpg's from past experiences. She idles better, runs better, pulls stronger, but it seems like no increase in MPGs. It could be the nature of the beast. I normally get 38 mpgs at 75 true. But for the past few months, around 35 mpgs on the highway...that's why I did some maintenance on her. And no, I wasn't on the throttle more than twice. Rest of time was cruising. Only thing different is the gas formula is still on "summer". Crap stuff. I'll reserve judgement on that being the problem after we go back to winter formula (whatever that is). Thanks California. Don't think I missed anything. Just reporting in.

Now wouldn't that be fun!!! Sharing scoots!:biker:

Yeppers...50 cal military sniper rounds are quite special. Shoot right through a block wall with plenty of power left over to go through Mr. Taliban.

I see: Mono shock behind steering neck.(old concept...new design! That neck is beefy!) Flat 6 Narrower frame by riders seat. All new it looks like. Twin radiators up high with fans She will have the power and speed of old with new agility and rigidness for twistis. Sleek new looks...with an RSTD version available as well. They are seriously answering Yamaha's call to Journey on!! The challenge is on!

Interesting promotional. Looks like they liked the way Yamaha promoted the Venture!

I was on statins for about three months. One day got dizzy while setting the anchor on the bow of the sailboat. Had to drop to me knee and hold on to the bow pulpit. From that day forward, I haven't touched them. It's one thing to get up in the morning and bounce off the walls while walking down the hall, whole nother issue getting faint on the boat!

Crossing fingers and Prayers Up!!!

Interesting. I bought a box of Winchester just like that only in 380. My Walther PK has 3 magazines and only one will not jam with those cartridges. Everything else it loves!

Welcome to the site! You might want to go to the 2nd gen section and read. The RSV's are heavy at slow speeds but wonderfully comfortable otherwise. Weak points seems to be, low speed handling, fuel pumps and rear shock. All easily dealt with.

Yep...looks like a 1st gen mk2

We were texting about an old picture that was at the Tom Mix Memorial off of rt 79. @cowpuc thought it might be a Henderson... Well he was right!!! Scott... You got it!!!! Found more info. Henderson Model G scoot... https://www.google.com/search?q=tom+mix+motorcycle&oq=tom+mix+motorcycle&aqs=chrome..69i57.8412j0j4&client=tablet-android-lenovo&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8#imgrc=kBdyUhxBEyrsLM: And Tom Mix https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Mix Guess he was quite popular in his day.... I do love the"geared" speedo coming off the front wheel. Guess it was quite a popular scoot and fast for it's day. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona_State_Route_79

You picked a beautiful area! If I was younger, I would be a neighbor. Love the people, lakes and woods. Sorry to hear about life.... It does take the motivation right out of a person. But sounds like you have it all coming together again! Well done! Build a barn and work on that Venture! Good to hear you are riding again as well.

Thanks, Scott. Now we know.... Little bugger is well hidden!!!!

Pretty! My love for the Ventures is growing.... But they are still young to me!! Thinking out loud... i got some sheepskin and cut it to make two pieces for both seats. Do you hold yours down or just let them slip? I'm trying to figure out how to clip then to the seat sides.... So they come off easy but hold in place. Ideas appreciated!!

My 650 vstar, the switch was located below where the slave is located if it would have had one. Sitting in there. Just don't remember seeing it in the v4. So it must be hidden under the stator assembly. Be ridiculous if it was under the clutch on the right side... But...I haven't found it either, and found only the same info in manual. Useless!! Under electrical.... Page 8-1. Electrical switch troubleshooting. Diagram shows it directly under the stator cover... At the very bottom of the motor.part #13 . Page 8-3 switch #15 . There is a connector that could be dirty.

The back tire will spin a bit if it's off the ground. Simple check... Stomp on rear brake while in gear and running. If motor dies.. Clutch is still engaged. If it's a partial engagement, two possibilities. The system still needs to be bled again, and or the slave needs help... To get the master cylinder apart, there is a c clip holding all the parts in. Squeeze that and the parts come out. Gently remove the lever, pin, rubber boot and the c clip is down inside the mc. You may have to clean to see it. Reminder, the rear master controls the left front and rear brake.

Sorry but I'm out of town and will try.. 1: Why does it need replacing? 2: check the neutral light bulb? 3: download the service manual and troubleshoot using it? 4: check the electrical connections to the harness from the switch? I ask because you didn't give us any information. Neutral switch issues arent normal..... But I do believe it is located on the left side of the motor, either under the stator or under the clutch slave cylinder area. I don't remember since it's rare.

Ugh.

Pat and I loaded up my video gear for a Phoenix shoot in a couple of weeks, the cat, and took off to Tucson to drop off kitty with the youngest kidlet then go to breakfast. Left Tucson around 1pm... Decided to take back way to Phoenix via rt 79... The Pinal Pioneer Memorial highway. As soon as we got on it...a dinky 2 lane road heading toward Florence, the bikes started appearing! Seriously! From Oro Valley to Chandler....lots of bikes. Then it dawned on me.... It's around 90 degrees! The heat has broken. ...almost two weeks early! And the guys and gals are coming out of Hibernation!! And both of my scoots are sleeping in the garage as we will be out of town! Arrggh. A little late for Talk Like a Pirate Day, but.....arrrgh! BTW, Tom Mix was killed on that road in his yellow Cord. He survived the accident but his suitcase hit him in the head afterwards and broke his neck! We stopped to read about him. I posted pictures last February at same memorial while riding my 950 back to Green Valley.

The biggest reason I hated selling my VStar 950 Tourer was the engine was so strong and sweet. Look what they've done to that 942CC beastie! Nice!

If I wasn't a lifelong Yamaha fan, that is the scoot I would have gone with before I bought my first 1st Gen! Thanks for the pictures....pretty! Keep healing @cowpuc....glad to see your forum fingers are working great! Grins!

Yes, I was talking about Mr. Butler. If you explain to him you want the seat front end narrower so it's easier for your legs to swing down AND you would like another inch or so off the seat height BUT want more dense foam there to make up for the comfort lost....then see what he says. If he can do just that, he will. And his work is excellent. My 30 inch inseam and good boots allows me to flat foot my 2nd gen and 1st gen (barely). As far as the 130 tire handling? Well I'm going to find out this Fall. I'm going to "assume" the steering will be lighter and take it from there. Should be fine since the 2nd gen is so stable to begin with!

The primary differences between the VStar and the Venture is going to be comfort and weather protection. I owned the VStar 950 Tourer and just sold it. Wonderful cruising bike...really liked it but one to many in the barn. Weather protection was non-existent despite the largest Clearview Windshield with vent! The 1300 wasn't much better and the bars were to wide for me. I'm 5'10" and nearing 70. I have the 2nd Gen RSV and have no problems with it. Yea, it's a bit top heavy and cumbersome at low speeds. That you will notice right away when compared to the VStar. But there on out, there is no comparison. The VStar is a cruiser...the RSV is a Touring bike. As mentioned, the rider's seat can be modified by a gentleman here in the site to narrow the front end a bit and add some padding. That will take care of your short legs and feet on the ground comfort level. I'm at stock seat height and no trouble flatfooting. The front end can be lowered (free). That, and a 130 width front tire instead of the 150 width...will make the scoot much easier to handle at slow speeds. But again, despite my elderly bod, I muscled my stock 2nd gen around AZ Rt 191, (The Devils Highway) and it's hundreds of hairpin 20 mph turns for over 100 miles and was still in better shape than my friend riding his HD Ultra Classic. He was whipped after a 12 hour day in the saddle...I was tired but could have gone on. Remember, I'm not young anymore. That says a lot to me for the comfort of the RSV. Get a ride on one...you'll see what we are talking about. There really isn't any comparison....but at least now you know what to look for. This should help you decide if this bike is right for your riding habits... My forks moved up 1 inch to lower the front end...Also you can see I have the Baron's 1 1/2 inch extensions on the bars as my arms aren't very long... Me at a break on the Devil's Highway... Hope this helps....