ediddy

I had the same thing happen. I used a dremel tool and ground the head of the bolt off and the saddlebag came right off.

Hey RedRider, Glad you didn't get hurt. Not to say you did but I never stretch tires. Three weeks ago my wife and I rode to Virginia to the Maryland state line and then went over to West Virginia. We rode over 1400 miles. I have avon venoms and I had almost 10,000 miles on them and the tread was still good. I believe I could have gotten 14,000 to 15,000 miles out of them but with us going on a long trip riding two up loaded with luggage I put new avons on before we left. If I was riding by myself and would have rode with the old tires but with my wife on back I went with new tires. I don't want to take any chances to just to save $150.00. Even with new tires I know that I still could have a blowout. I'm saying you were trying to save money by not buying new tires but that I'm not going to take a chance.

Hey Snarley Bill, You had a 305 scrambler? I had one when I was in high school. I think it was a 1967 year model. I loved that bike. It was metallic bronze. I took the piece off the pipes where the two pipes came into one. I just had 2 single pipes. The back fender was bobbed. It was a bad bike until a girl turned left in front of me one day. I hit the car behind the rear window and rolled over on the trunk and fell on the pavement. I was lucky I didn't get killed or hurt rear bad but it totaled the bike. It scared my dad so bad that he wouldn't let me get another motorcycle. It was about 15 years later before I got another bike.

Aerostich has an intercom system adpater #3900 that reduces your standard intercom to a 3.5mm stero plug for use with earbuds and earspeakers. Anyone tried this or no if it works? Thanks.

I had the same thing happen. After a service the dealer tightened one of the bolts so much that it stripped out when I tried to remove it. I tried everthing including the easy out bit. It didn't work. I finally had to take my dremel tool with a cutting wheel and grind until I cut the head of the bolt off. I made a set of bolts where you can remove the bags by hand. There is a thread on this site that tells where you can order the bolts and make a set that can removed by hand without a wrench. I was on ebay the other day and put in a search for yamaha venture and there is someone on there that makes the bolts and you can order from them.

The bearings could be shot, but I would have to see it to believe it.

Got mine from JC Whitney. When I ordered it in 2006 I think it was $4.95. I think the last time I looked it had gone up a little.

Hey petekadish, I was so glad to read what you had to say about insurance. Finally, someone gets it. I wish I could take you with me a few weeks to talk to people about their insurance. It always amazes me that people will spend $20,000 or more for a bike and then spend hours shopping around to save $30.00 per year on their insurance without any regard to the coverage. Last week I talked to a guy that had just bought a new sportster and I asked him if I could quote his insurance. He didn't want to talk to me but as he drove away he said I'm with GEICO but if you can save me some money I will talke to you. I wanted to shake him and say do you know if you have the coverage you need. No one cares until they have a claim and then they want everything covered. I used to speak up on this site when the subject came up but I don't even waste my time anymore. You mentioned that you have Foremost. They are a quality company and I have never had anyone complain about claim service with them. A friend of mine that has a venture had lightning strike his shop and it completely burned his venture. He was insured with foremost, not with me though, and said foremost asked what he thought his bike was worth. He gave him a figure and said they wrote him a check. He said he wouldn't consider another company. Of course you can probabley get "a better rate" with another company but you won't get the service they offer.

Don't know anything about the area but if you want, I will call yamaha roadside assistance and ask them the nearest dealer that might can help. If you want to do this give me an exact location where you're at and I will call. You can email me @ ehall@albanyinsuranceservices.com or call toll free @ 877-809-5958. Good luck. Eddie Hall

Just got in from trip to Virginia. Left Georgia wednesday afternoon and rode to Virginia almost to Maryland and then went across to West Virginia. Stayed off the parkway and rode other roads. I think we rode highway 220 that was so beautiful. The trees and leaves are the most beautiful I've ever seen. I thought the scenery in the North Carolina mountains was beautiful but Virginia is awesome. Gas was plentiful and much lower than Georgia. I think we filled up in Wythville Virginia this morning for $2.49 per gallon. Not sure of the spelling of Wythville.

It never ceases to amaze me at what dealers will say about warranty work. Last sunday I removed the chrome piece below the windshield to see if any of the bolts had worked loose after reading where someone had their clearview shield blow off. There are two screws on each side of the faring that hold this peice on. The left side was completely broken off so the screw isn't doing any good going into the faring. I was at my dealer having new tires installed and I asked the service manager if he would contact yamaha and ask if they would replace this part. He said he didn't have to contact yamaha and would get a replacement. He said warranty work or parts replacement under $750.00 doesn't have to be OK'd by yamaha. The dealer has the authority to do it as long it is obvious it wasn't abuse by the customer. I wonder how some dealers have enough sense to get a dealership. They act like the money is coming out of their pocket.

My services were included in the price of my bike so I have everything the book calls for when it is due.

I talked to a Kawasaki dealer last week also. He went to the dealer show recently. He also said no one knows what the price will be. Also said the bike wouldn't go into production until January. He said Kawasaki asked dealers how they felt about the bike and asked for their input. One thing he said he would like to see was a way to slide the rear passenger backrest back. I think he said the older models were built so you slide the trunk back about 4". He said this not me, eveyone doesn't have a wife that weighs 105 pounds so the adjustment would be good for the, ah em "full figured women". But it was interesting that Kawasaki was asking the dealers for their input. I also talked to a yamaha dealer the same day and I told him there were a lot of people disappointed with the 09 venture. He said he was just as disappointed. He said the touring market was a big market but yamaha doesn't seem to care about getting their share. He said a dealer usually only gets 2 ventures each year. He also said yamaha makes a good product but they do things their way and they don't listen to anything the dealers say. He said he had been going to dealer meetings for years and has head many good suggestions but yamaha couldn't care less about what the dealers say. I think he may be right.

I would go but I'm afraid since I'm from Georgia there would be an Alabama Bike Rally Priviledge Tax.

I don't want to offend anyone from Alabama but that state is not business friendly. I saw a bumper sticker a few years ago that said "make getting welfare as difficult as it is to get a building permit." I know that was a joke but it is so true. Now for the rest of the story. I work with motorcycle dealers to provide insurance coverage for their customers when they buy a bike and need insurance before they leave the dealer. I am available on the weekends when most bikes are sold. I work with some dealers in Columbus, Georgia which is on the line of Alabama. When you drive through Columbus you will see almost as many Alabama tags as Georgia. So I needed to be licensed in Alabama to help those customers. I went on line an completed an application for an Alabama non resident license and paid the fee of $67.00. The next week I received an email stating that my license was approved and I could go to the Alabama Insurance Department web site and print a copy of my license. I thought, wow, these people have their act together. When I went on the web site there was a message that I must license my agency in Alabama also before I could write insurance there. The agency application was nine pages and I had to pay a fee of $127.00. I did this and after several weeks I hadn't heard anything so I called the Alabama department and got the voice mail of Antwone. He will not return your call. I finally called and asked for his supervisor. She searched and couldn't find my application but the $127.00 charge was on my credit card. She asked me to fax a copy of the agency application and she would process the agency license. Weeks went by and I didn't hear anything so I faxed her a request for the status of the application. I got a reply that all Georgia agency license applications were on hold and would not be issued until Georgia reached a reciprocity agreement with Alabama. Weeks went by and I finally got my agency license and I was relieved that all was ok now. Not. There was a memo with my agency license that stated I had 20 days to register my corporation with the secretary of state in alabama or my agency license would be suspended. I called the secretary of state and asked what I had to do to register with them. They said to go on line and complete a short application and mail it to them, with a check for $175.00. I was completing the application and there was a question that said to list the name and street address of my registered agent in Alabama. I called and asked if the registered agent would be me. They said, do you live in Alabama. I said no and they said well you can't be the registered agent. I said I don't know anyone in Alabama. They said well you can't do business in Alabama but we can fax you a list of companies that will act as your registered agent in Alabama. I got the list and guess what? I had to send them $125.00 to act as my registered agent. I got this done and thought whew, I'm glad this is over and I can now write insurance in Alabama. But guess what? A few weeks later I received a letter from the Alabama Department of Revenue that stated I had 60 days to file a business priviledge tax form and there would be no extensions. I called them and asked why I had to file a tax form when I hadn't even done any business their yet. They said it was for the priviledge of doing business in Alabama. I said OK I will complete the form but all of the questions will have a zero filled in the blank. They said we don't care as long as you pay the tax. I completed the form with zeros and the computed tax owed was zero except there is a minimum tax due of $100.00. Two days before the deadline line I mailed the tax form with a check for $100.00 and thought, I am through with this nightmare. But, guess what. A few weeks ago I received a notice from the Alabama department of revenue that I filed the tax form late and owed a $50.00 late filing fee. I thought they would by the postmark date but evidently went by the date the form was received. Even the IRs goes by the postmark date. Anyway I am through with those yahoos in Alabama and I don't see why any company would do business there. For all of you that live in Alabama I know you don't have anything to do with this and I don't want to offend you but I am burnt out with the state of Alabama.

Hey veep1, I have talked the problem I have had with read ends so much that I'm afraid some people on here are sick of hearing but here goes. I have an 05 venture and yamha has replaced the rear end 5 times. At approx 1700 miles after the last rear end was installed I got home from a trip and when I backed out of the garage I hear the rear end clicking. I was so upset I called yamaha and demanded they give me a new bike. The asked that I let a yamaha factory rep look at my bike one more time. The factory rep pulled the read end and said there was do damage but the the pins in the rear end were dry. He recommends greasing the rear pins with Honda moly 60 dry lithium grease and asked me to let him do that and see if it corrected the click. It stopped the clicking. He said in the past yamaha recommended greasing the rear end with the old grease they used at each tire change which ws usually around 6 or 7000 miles. But today with tires lasting 12,000 to 15,000 miles that doesn't work so now yamaha recommends using the honda moly 60 grease. Good luck.

One more thing. Any customer service rep with yamaha that says the whine isn't a problem is full of BS. There have many hundreds of complaints and I was one of the loudest complainers. The problem is when you call yamaha you probably get a call center with a first line service rep that can't handle anything other than a routine small complaint. You have to get up the line to get someone that knows about the problem. I remember a guy on this site that I think was from south carolina and I think his name was Kit Carson, that did substantial testing on the whine and even had the name and phone number of someone with yamaha that he talked with more than once concerning the whine. He got so frustrated that he traded his venuture in on a goldwing. You can look up his old threads on this subject and probably find the name and phone number of the yamaha rep he talked with.

Hey Paventure, On the trip I mentioned it was just like the clutch whine. When I backed off the throttle the whine would go away. There was a point at about 83 to 84 mph where the whine would go away if I held the throttle constantly at that speed. If I pulled the clutch in and coasted the whine would go away. I could only do this on an interstate highway. I would have bet my life that it wasn't the rear end and was shocked when the service manager said it was the rear diff. This may not be your problem but I would get the dealer to check out the rear diff just to be sure.

Hey paventure, Your whine may not be the clutch basket. It could be the rear end. I had the I basket installed and the whine was completely gone. Approx 5,000 miles later I was on a trip with my brother-in-law. My bike was screaming so bad I had to stopped at a Bass Pro Shop and get some ear plugs. I thought the whine was back. We were somewhere around Chattanooga, TN and I went around him on a four lane. The next morning at breakfast he asked me what in the world was wrong with my bike. He could hear the whine before I even got next to him. I got home and took my bike back to the dealer and asked them if they could get another clutch basket for my bike. The service manager said he would check it out and call me. He called the next day and said my rear end was bad. He said the pinion gear was worn out. Yamaha replaced the rear end under warranty and the whine was completely gone again and hasn't come back. Your problem may not be the clutch basket.

If I waited until I could pay cash I wouldn't own a motorcycle or auto. I know its best to pay cash but in the real world sometimes you have to finance. When I bought my 05 RSV September 3, 2005 yamaha financed my bike at 6% interest. My bank's rate was higher than that. The interest rates with the manufacturers many times are lower than the bank. Also, since I own my own business I need to leave my credit with the bank open as much as possible in case I need to borrow for business purposes. Back to the way you were treated. I've heard of this with auto dealers many times but this is the first with motorcycle dealers. I have had friends that bought autos from dealers and signed the paperwork and drove away in the new car and then 5 to 7 days later get a call that they had to pay a larger down payment or bring the car back. I talked to a friend of mine who is an attorney and he said in Georgia the deal isn't final until it is accepted by the finance company and they can do this. A few years ago I traded a car for a toyota 4runner. I closed the deal and drove off with the new 4 runner. Three days later I got a call from the dealer saying that I was going to have to pay $2,000 down in addition to the trade in. I told him to get the auto I traded ready and I would bring back the 4runner and get my car back. The dealer told me to give him another day and he would call me back. He called and said if I would pay $750.00 more they could make the trade. I told him to get my car ready and I would bring the 4runner back. The next day I drove to the dealer and told them to get my car ready. The sales manager said if I would keep the 4runner I wouldn't have to pay any additional money down. I said get my car ready, I don't want your 4runner. He then said if you will keep the 4runner you won't have to pay any addtional down and we will lower your monthly payment by $50.00. I said look me in the eye and listen closely. Bring my car to me. He then said if you will keep the 4runner you won't have to pay any additional, we will lower your monthly payment $50.00 per month and give you free oil changes for the life of the vehicle. I told him I thought trading for a vehicle was supposed to be a pleasant experience but they had made it a nightmare and I was sick of them and their 4runner and to give me my car. I drove away. A friend of mine referred me to a dealer in Conyers, Georgia and I called them. They sold me a 4runner with more options for $3,500.00 less and with my car as a trade in with no money. I drove to Conyers and purchased the vehicle. Some dealers are honest and will treat you right and some try to screw your if you will let them. But don't give up, find another dealer.

I had a similar problem. Bike would die while riding and then after a few minutes would re start. One day it wouldn't start at all. I noticed that when I switched my bike on I didn't hear the fuel pump run. Took it to the dealer and the fuel pump was bad. The mechanic said he could tap the fuel pump and it would begin to run. It was replaced under warranty.

My 05 had the whine. I went to my dealer, Tallahassee Powersports, Tallahassee, Florida, and they installed the I basket. My whine is completely gone. Now the rear end problems I had were something else. I have been amazed at the attitude and responses some dealers have given people. Tallahassee Powersports has never questioned me anytime I have been in with a problem. I leave the bike for the warranty work and when I pick up my bike they tell me if I have anymore problems to let them know. They never say anything about money. They have replaced the clutch basket, fixed the problem with the radio sticking on a station, replaced the rear end 5 times, replaced the rear shock and most recently replaced the fuel pump. All of this was bad enough but if my dealer had jacked me around I might have walked in with an AK47. Yamaha has never backed up either. Every time I have called the district service manager in Kennesaw, Georiga he has gotten a factory rep on the problem or called the service manager at the dealer. I do fault the yamaha corporation for not correcting the problems with the whine, shock and fuel pump. The yamaha corp is a strange corp. They don't promote the venure and don't seem to care about the problems with the bike.

I can't use my cycle pump with the acc plug. It blows the fuse. I have to take off the seat and use the battery clamps to hook my cycle pump to the battery.

Hey Lewis, Glad to here all went OK. Hope Charlene continues to recover. Our prayers are with her.

Who was it that talked to a rep at yamaha and the rep said he would be pleasantly surprised at the changes in the 09 model?