Du-Rron

Optical Illusion? The guy is nekked... then he has pant legs. Look away then look back again.

Bingo.

You nailed it. I forgot about the coolant joints. As we will read further on, it was the "weep" hole.

https://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?115048-Carburetor-float-bowl-covers&highlight=pilot+screws shows a pic

Looks like Yamaha has them in stock for less than $15.00 under a different part number for a 2012 RSV.

Just gettin broken in. What caused this condition to happen in the 1st place? I bet you mean it is mixing oil with the water. To "pass straight through the overflow" I don't know what that means. 1. I am wondering about your shop guys and "rough" head gaskets at 95K. Why? Was the coolant bubbling in the radiator with the cap off? A head gasket leak will "eat-burn-drink" coolant causing the coolant to go low, while producing exhaust gasses in the cooling system. A head gasket will have a witness fail mark on it where the coolant and the combustion process meet. Did they show you this gasket? 2. I agree with replacing all coolant lines, thermostats, radiator caps, water plugs, and flushing oil out of cooling system especially on a bike that has been in trouble and has 95K on it. 3. The three places water and oil could come into contact are: the head gasket, the "twinkie" crankcase breather, and the water pump seal. Any area that has been replaced already is not absolved from being guilty of mixing oil and water again. Bad assembly, using no sealer, reusing old gaskets instead of new, can be contributing factors to failure...again...and again.

True. You can still run Castrol 10W-40 in your bike, (not JASO rated) and change it out every 2k mikes. Because it is now API SN rated and has lowered zinc, phosphate, cheeseburger levels then it did when it was a API SH rated oil. That's the thing... as the oils have gotten better for cars, they have gotten worse for motorcycles. But... the dollar store motor oils... they may only be rated API SJ/CD which would be much better for your bike anyway.

I be the messenger not the producer. I have used buckets & buckets of T6 over the years but no more in spark ignition engines or my motorcycles. Rotella has changed a bunch lately. Might wanna check it out.

The JASO organization http://www.jalos.or.jp/ only published those that had: Paid the fees, and return the confirmation letters. (Starting about 4.6 in the JASO application process). This is at least the 4th month we have not seen ROTELLA on the list because that is how long I have been looking at it. Amsoil and Royal Purple I dunno.... (see below in the 1st pic where it says that, ".. they are publishing only those that have returned their confirmation letter.") Quicksilver and Yamalube are on the list. Quicksilver mentions in their advertising about companies that advertise JASO compliance but they are not really and I shot a copy of that in the thread where I was going to Quicksilver from Rotella. https://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?138309-Quicksilver-Oil-10W-40-amp-20W-50-JASO-rated (see the quicksilver advertisement that mentions companies not really being jaso rated even though they say they are)

I was wondering the same thing......

i would use a relay to power an aux fuse box. then get power from there.

This is the URL for JASO that publishes a searchable monthly list of oil manufacturers in PDF format that pass their certification of oils to be rated MA, MB, MA2, etc which is of concern to all that own Motorcycles. http://www.jalos.or.jp/onfile/pdf/4T_EV_LIST.pdf Does your motorcycle require JASO certified oil? Check this list to see if the brand of oil you want to use is on the list. Want to change oil brands but unsure of its' JASO rating. Check the list. Maybe a sticky?

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I thought you were always supposed to hold the shaft of the screwdriver in your teeth when checking for spark and then ground yourself to the cylinder head by grabbing it. ahhhhh what do I know......

"Magical" is the word I was looking for as well.

Your 1988 drive shaft looks brand new. Looks the same as one out of mine which is a 2012. https://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?95242-To-Lube-or-Not-to-Lube-That-is-the-question pictures start at post 5

We try... Thanks! I think you are on the right track to getting done what you want done. Just a couple things and you may have already thought of these. 1. loading/unloading a near horizontal 300 lb motorcycle to vertical will be very difficult for one person I am guessing. I have spent some time looking at internet pictures and I never saw another do it this way. I always saw them like the goldwing picture above where the towed bike was straight up. maybe there is something to doing it that way. maybe not. 2. make sure you do not use straight axles in your build. Get you some DEXTER TORSION axles matched to your guestimated weight so you will not be bouncing all over the hiway. 3. You are towing with an older motorcycle so please make sure it is in the most top mechanical condition it can be. This means actually replacing those 20+ old brake lines and clutch lines. All hydraulic lines, check your brake pads, might wanna rebuild your calipers... you know... all the basic stuff. 4. Good luck & best wishes!

The German Antithesis of Safety! I have a new respect for these brave folks and what they were willing to try around 1922.

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1704445/motorcycle_tow_vehicle/ This is just plain too much. Well, this guy does it. And I now have a better idea of what you want to tow. I think you can get away with it if you build a custom trailer keeping in mind the weight will be high and you will have to slow down on turns or your swivel will allow the trailer to ploink away from you. This would be something that will require some nerves on todays hiways to keep up with traffic. I would stand it straight up between the trailer tires to distribute the weight evenly. If it is listing 20 degrees to one side that means that the other side is taking 80% of the weight. You will be all messed up in corners. Please... we try to limit the thread to only one dangerous question at a time.

Again, that is why you are my mentor! I can tell you that long ago, several motorcycles back, when I was a lot skinnier... it happened to me just that way too.

I dunno about the 1st GEN but on mine the rear is at 41psi max sidewall which is also the pressure recommended in the book. The rear tire is currently a Shinko 777 with a load rating of 80. In @cowpuc s post above he said the trailer weight was 320 empty and so is mine, so I bet he has a fiberglass trailer he was pulling that is rated to carry 400 lbs max. If so this will put 700 lbs behind you. I have never pulled max weight or loaded the trailer with anything other than one spare tire and some cloths and water and a little food and a tent. No where near 400 lbs. I believe that at any one time my max rolling trailer weight was 550 lbs with a tongue weight of around 50ish lbs. Traveling at 80mph (and being the slow one in the crowd) between Dallas and Ft. Worth I can tell you I felt every bump and the trucks were blowing me off the road as they passed me. Yes, I have nerves of steel and my wife has very sharp fingernails. I was just saying that tires would not be the weak link in the equation. Maybe the Farsnel-Flux bearing that has the low weight load rating that Yamaha used to calculate the GVWR of the bike. Don't let anybody tell you that an RSV cannot do wheelies.

Yep the more weight you have on the bike creates a "damping" effect with the inputs the trailer has on the bike. Yeah... I was kinda wondering about that. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Very sorry to hear about that. I enjoy you @cowpuc. Almost every day I think about you. I feel the same need to tell you this as I do to tell my brother that I love him. Life is wonderful and it is way too short. I don't want to miss the chances if'n I get them. I bet they will have this in the future. Right now if the trailer braked in a turn I think it would stand you up or cause the trailer to pivot on the swivel and overturn. The anti-lock gurus will figure it out. Trikes and trailers are meant for each other. CanAm sells trailer stuff https://can-am.brp.com/on-road/shop/accessories/trailer-accessories.html

Well... I see where you are going here... I have found that if me and the wife run in full nekked @cowpuc mode that we might make weight limit. If we wear a pair of socks or have anything in the luggage or tow a trailer... we are waaayyyyy over GVWR as rated by Yamaha. The tires however, will carry 1700 lbs combined. This condition is not unique to the RSV. All tour bikes have around 450 pounds plus/minus capacity and all of them say NO trailer towing. I am assuming that A Gen 1 has about the same carrying capacity. Is there a sticker on your bike that says your weight limit? A tip: 100 pounds on the pillion equals 200 pounds in a trailer as far as "feel", stopping, steering. You will not want more than 400 lbs gross behind you in a trailer.

Here is how to repair the ignition switch. Then buy the relay kit from djh3 to save the switch from future problems. I did. https://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?111175-Ignition-Switch-Repair see steps 11 and 12 before starting to determine if you can repair your current switch or if you have to order a new one.

Help any? Check out the 3's and the 12's with a meter, then work backwards if those are not it. Bet 12 is corroded.