Patmac6075

I'm in the habit of using the center stand whenever possible, but this bike is pretty heavy....and I'm normally only about 60% successfully on pulling the bike up onto the to the stand on the first try and my success rate goes down considerably on the third fourth and fifth try. My question, as the title implies, is about the side stand...when using the side stand my bike seems to stand too straight up, almost to the point of being rather tippy...I can't believe this is normal!? Now I know it's not a good thing if it's leaning over too far but this is ridiculous! Can I adjust the lean angle....safely? Or is this how the Yamaha engineers designed it?

Thanks to all those who have helped out, either with advise or parts, or just moral support....glad to be a member of this fine forum. Well, as you may have read previously I had bought a non-running, no title, very little history 84' Venture Royale from a guy on Craigslist...said his Grandfather owned it...never had it titled in his name...and it had been sitting in his garage since 2002 because of an electrical issue...and unfortunately, grandpa had passed, and he was just trying to unload it as a parts bike. I took a chance and bought it thinking it would be easy getting a replacement title....well it wasn't. But I did get lucky and had a title search done...found the last registered owner and sent him a letter detailing my situation and asking him if he'd file for a lost title...he did and sent it to me...would only take what it cost him at the DMV and postage....told me "Someone had done the same for him years back and he was just repaying the favor". So now I have it titled in my name! Got to working on it....found green gas in the float bowls....yes GREEN GAS! But the engine turned over fine and all the electricals seemed to work...only problem was, I wasn't getting any spark...thought maybe it was the TCI, so I started to strip it down and in the meantime I got to know the bike a little better...drained and refilled all fluids and started doing a mental checklist on the status of everything...after quite a bit of work and more than a few $$$ I had a whole bunch of parts laying around my garage and no idea why the bike wouldn't start... Turns out a mouse had taken up residency behind the headlight at some point and chewed through some wires for the kickstand cut-off...so the bike would turn over, but wouldn't spark...got those wires fixed and viola! It started right off! So, in honor of my little furry friend I have given my bike a name....Mighty Mouse. I've also changed my avatar. Still much work to do, but we should be road worthy within two weeks. Stay Tuned!

Well, Ok, now I'm starting to think "what did I get into"?! I pulled the carbs and broke off the plastic nipple attaching the bowl chamber drain to the hose....somebody please tell me those are replaceable? The second thing is, how the H.-E.-double hockey sticks do I get those accelerator cables back on? Man, those things were tough coming off! Third, do I need to break the rack in order to clean the carbs? Like I said, I have the carbs out....now I'm going to spray down the outside with some carb-spray and get to taking thing apart. Thanks again for any insight you may have.

So the good news is, I've begun putting Humpty Dumpty back together again and it fired right up! That's the first time I've heard this bike run since I brought it home....what a great feeling! Plus, it purrs like a kitten! Bad news....it's pissing fuel all over the place. Seems like most of the problems are with #3 carb....stuck float sends gas out near the driveshaft AND there seems to be a leak at the carb itself and it's washing fuel all over the rear exhaust manifold. Over the winter I drained all the old gas and refilled with fresh, mixed in a half can of Seafoam Trans Fix (same thing as regular Seafoam, except at about 4X the concentration, has more detergents, and has a red dye) in hopes of unsticking that float and dissolving some of the varnish....No dice! Also tried rapping on the carb bodies till my neighbors thought I would break into a drum solo. So, looks like I'm in for a carb rebuild...As I understand it, there are no "kits" available....Is this correct? I'm guessing I'll need new float valves and seats, plus gaskets...what else? O-rings? Anybody know what size? Is EBay the best source (lowest cost)? Are factory Yamaha parts a better choice? Finally, I do not yet know the condition of the diaphragms, but I'm hopeful that because it was running so smoothly that they'll be salvageable. Any help is appreciated. Pat

Welcome Aboard, you have found the right place to be, lots of priceless experience here. My first suggestion would be to become a member...it will be the best $12 you'll spend on those Ventures (heck, if you download the manual you're already ahead by $40!). Second thing I'd do (I'm currently resurrecting an '84) is evaluate the condition of your bike(s) and be ready to commit at least $1000 to getting it/them road worthy. Get a compression test so you'll have a base line to work from. Check the date codes on your tires and brake lines (tire codes can be found stamped on the side wall of your tire...3 digit code means tires were produced pre-2000 and they should be considered unsafe. The brake hoses should be stamped with a date, 9 out of 10 times they'll be original to the bike. Yamaha recommended replacement every 5 years...every 30 years {IMHO} is pushing that recommendation beyond the limits of safety....no matter what they look like). Third, replace all filters and flush and refill all fluids. Fourth, check and if necessary adjust valve clearances. Fifth, get to cleaning those carbs and getting them adjusted. Sixth, take breath and see how much of that $1000 you have left. The biggest thing to keep in mind is YOU'LL have to be the one doing the work! If you have this work done in a shop, you're price will likely triple and there is a less than 40% chance the work will be done completely and correctly. There are many very knowledgeably people on this site who'll selflessly walk you through every step of your resurrection project so you'll never be in over your head. Just take it slow, ask questions take pictures and heed the advise given....there will be no short-cuts to getting your bike to perform correctly, be safe, and reliable. I would suggest you resist the temptation to just get it runnin' & ridin'. But if you do, make sure you invest in quality riding/safety gear (a good idea anyway), get a good roadside service policy/towing.

I am on the same road my friend....just a couple of miles behind. It's nice to see the progress others have made, kind of keeps me motivated! Thanks for sharing.

That's it! Thanks! Could a couple of wires being disconnected from this cause a No Spark issue? I thought if the side stand circuit was broken, the engine would not spin at all?

Just thought I'd vent for a moment, So, have been working on my still not running '84 VR...I currently have most of the fairing opened up, and as I was rooting around in there I noticed a quite sizable mouse nest (actually saw it in the Fall, but put off cleaning it out till now). Well, as I was cleaning things out I noticed this: Looks like the little bugger spent some of his vacation chewing on my wires! This is directly behind the headlight...Does any body know what this blue relay(?) is? I seem to remember the guy I bought the bike from saying his grandad (Grandad was the actual P.O., but had passed away some time ago) was having some electrical issues and that's why the bike was put into storage. Well, here's the tricky part. Before I began tearing the bike down (ultimately to get to the TCI, valves, and carbs) I had checked the electricals....ie., the headlight, taillight, brakes, CLASS, ect. And everything was working fine...except the bike wouldn't fire (would turn over fine, but wouldn't fire. Wasn't getting spark). Again, does anyone know what this is? What it controls? Could it cause a No Spark issue? FYI - there looks to be a couple of other wires (partially chewed), that will also require some attention. So they could be the culprit as well. Cheers Pat

No matter....my bike is 30+ years old and has 18k on it and it's torn apart AND the valves are all out of spec...so I'll be shim'n regardless of whose manual I use!

As the title states....I'm in the market for a set of Stainless Steel brake hoses. Would like to get a complete set. Would prefer someone who can make DOT approved sets. Cheers Pat

Kevin, I just checked the build date on my bike....says 11/83. Thanks for putting this together. Pat

This is from the service manual downloaded from this site. Shows a dot at 600 miles and 7500 miles Interesting.

That's strange? Perhaps if you check on page 1 of the Factory Service Manual under the heading "Maintenance Interval Chart". You can clearly see that Yamaha requires a check after initial break in of either 1 month or 600 miles, and then every 18 months or 7500 miles thereafter. I'm interested to see your literature specifying a valve check at around 30,000 miles.

While I can't say with Ventures, with other Yamaha's (specifically, XJ's), if the P.O.'s had never checked valve clearance (especially the first time, warranty check up ), it's not at all unusual for all valves to be out of spec (even with a low mileage bike like mine...18k). I know with other Yamaha's having valves in spec is possibly the single most important and most neglected maintenance item. Because these bikes (especially XJ's) are bullet proof and run great....until they don't. Yamaha says valves should be checked after initial break in period (1 month or 600 mi. and then every 7.5K), that's nearly 4 times this bike may have missed...and as we all know that first check up is most important because that's when the most adjustment is usually necessary (after initial break in, valves usually stay in spec through three or four intervals. Never the less, close attention should be paid to this important routine maintenance item). The problem is, checking valves, although not difficult in and of it's self, is time consuming and for some cases outside of our comfort zone.... Valves were checked (actually, in some cases 3x's) exactly as the FSM suggests. Will check one more time just before each shim is pulled and recorded, just to be positive. Really hoping I won't have to purchase more than 3 - 4 shims.

Well, the stars finally aligned and I have some time and money...so I pushed my Venture into the garage to do a little work. Since my bike is mostly disassembled, I figured I'd get the valves in spec before I start putting everything back together...guess what? Not a single valve is within spec! One or two are close, but close ain't within spec! So, now I'll be ordering a shim tool tonight...and hopefully I'll be able to swap some shims around so I won't have to buy/trade/barter too many. Can somebody tell me, what diameter shims do our bikes take? Just to throw insult onto injury, I checked the date codes on my tires...the rear (still has the blue protective covering on the letters) shows 229 (May of '99) and the front shows 427 (October of '97), could be '89 & '87...so better safe than sorry. I'll be ordering some new tires soon as well. That's too bad, because those tires both look brand new....very few cracks and almost no wear. Cheers

You can make a simple restricter.... all you need is a vacuum hose coupling (those barbed couplings available in any auto parts store, sized to your vacuum hose of course) and a straw from an old can of WD-40 (or brake cleaner), and some epoxy. Insert the straw onto the coupling (making sure you have plenty of straw sticking out on both ends), now fill the inside of the coupling with the epoxy, let dry, then trim the straw to the same size as the coupling (the coupling should be blocked and the much thinner straw should be clear). Now I'm not sure about this part, but the restricter/coupling should be very close to the vacuum source which allows the vacuum pulse to even out....or it's the other way around....I can't remember, but it works!

Thanks djh3 for the quick response. Unfortunately, not the answer to my question. Probably should have given more information, I am currently a supporting member to the forum, and have a factory manual, and I'm familiar with the downloadable PDF available on this site. What I'm looking for is, What is contained in the Supplementary Assembly Manual? Is there information not contained in the factory service manual? I'm considering purchasing one and would like to hear from somebody who has one and find out what precisely does it contain/address? Thanks in advance.

Bravo my friend, Bravo! Your bike looks fantastic! I must admit I prefer the look of a stock bike, but the color scheme you've chosen is exceptional...really brings the bike into this century! Workmanship and attention to detail are also top notch! BTW, that tow hitch kinda sets the tone for the whole build (he he).... Great Job! Pat

The title says it all...Is there any value in purchasing the Supplementary Manuals on eBay? Is there more information contained in those manuals, than is available on the downloadable manuals available here? In particular I'm looking at the Supplementary Assembly Manual to aid in reassembling my bike after stripping it down to get to the TCI (I have pictures and notes, but was wondering what those manuals contain that may help). Also have seen manuals for radio and CB...what is contained in those, and are they worth the investment? Thanks in advance. Pat

1978 Honda XL350....bought with a PFC's pay, needed to get a co-signer, asked our Squadron SgtMaj...and he agreed, said he knew where to find me if I didn't pay! http://i821.photobucket.com/albums/zz131/Patmac6075/Pat%20Bike1.jpg

Rodger that!

So, if I'm looking for a 4 brush starter, I'll need to find a '91 - '99?

What constitutes a 2nd. Gen starter...Is it a starter from a 1300cc bike or is it a starter from a 1999 and beyond? I guess my simplier question could have been what constitutes a 2nd Gen bike? Newbs gotta ask newb questions....

Patmac is just a contraction of my first and last name, 6075 was my MOS while in The Marine Corps. 6075 = Cryogenic Technician.

What he said! ^^^^^^ Best advice you'll get, free otherwise