LukeMacPU

I've read how premium isn't worth it in lots of articles lately. That may be true for most vehicles. Higher octane fuel essentially has a higher ignition point and is suitable for higher compression engines and such. Most of the time not a requirement or benefit in many engines. Have found by experiment that my bike stutters (likely pre-ignition) if I get regular unleaded sometimes. Recently had my side cover off (and cleaned it) and read where it called for high octane fuel to be used in my '83 on the factory sticker. I'll stick with the "good" stuff to avoid knocking/pinging. Only in the bike though, doesn't seem to help (and shouldn't) my truck/van/mowers. My thumbs did this on a tiny keyboard so cut me some slack!,

Had a similar venture experience, only mine was given to me. Had not run in years. Pulled air filter and could see slides weren't moving as they should. Ended up pulling carbs to clean/sync. Tried a variety of other things prior and never could clear the clogged idle jets with any in-fuel treatments. Not really that big a job to pull and clean them. You'll be glad u did. Totally different animal when it runs right! My thumbs did this on a tiny keyboard so cut me some slack!,

Good to know I'm not crazy, and it sounds like the bike is normal. Thanks for the feedback. Ride on! My thumbs did this on a tiny keyboard so cut me some slack!,

Never experienced this with any other bike, but my shifting was dramatically smoother after changing the oil this weekend. I had noticed my shifting getting a bit clunky and stiff when the bike was hot. I was due for an oil change so I took care of that this weekend. First riding since was today and the hard shifting was gone or at least much better. What gives? Same oil, nothing different there. Is this a common issue prior to oil change? My first one after getting the bike running 5000 miles ago. I was surprised it made such a difference. My thumbs did this on a tiny keyboard so cut me some slack!,

Take the comfortable one. You're equally hosed if you wreck either one so that shouldn't factor in. Keeping the lady happy/comfortable sounds like the only important difference.

I spoke too soon! The darn thing quit working again... I'm back to not really pumping up the rear suspension. Something screwy with the valves back there just pumps up the hoses/valve chamber and not the suspension. May/may not be the wiring this time. Still puking oil onto the rear fender too. Any suggestions? UPDATE Seems I've either got a bad connection in the plug/harness where the wire for rear shock valve goes or I've got a loose solder on that pin. Definitely a problem right there. Checked the voltage measured at the back-side of the plug/harness and got correct readings intermittently depending how I wiggled the DMM probe. When voltage was correct, rear valve solenoid worked as it should. One step closer to a fix I hope... Anyone know the trick to getting those wires out of the plastic plug? Suspect I've got a bad connector inside it.

Update... I had previously pulled and re-soldered the connections on the CLASS board. Apparently, my soldering skills are about as bad as my welding and I failed to make a good repair the first few attempts. Pulled it last night and used a very sharp point soldering iron and manual solder-sucker (technical term) that came with a TV board repair kit my father-in-law bought. Pretty handily removed the old solder and replaced with new. Plugged it back into the bike and I'm in business! CLASS working like it should, finally! Hopefully the connections hold fast for another 30 years and I don't have to re-visit that one for a while.

I guess I got them both then. Must have had a nice PO at some point that added the steering stem zerk. My thumbs did this on a tiny keyboard so cut me some slack!,

How many grease zerks are there on the ol' VR's? I've located just two: 1. Steering head bearing 2. Drive shaft cover. Any more? Tried looking through the manual, but I could have missed something. Harder to fumble through the electronic copy than a hard copy.

Oil leaking from pump/valve assembly onto rear fender? What's that an indicator of? My thumbs did this on a tiny keyboard so cut me some slack!,

Hypothetically good to know! I'll be sure to let him know no harm was done. My thumbs did this on a tiny keyboard so cut me some slack!,

Hypothetically, if the owner of a 1983 Venture Royale were to be a bit dim and ride around with the bypass valve turned to the wrong position... hypothetically... Would this work like driving and old car/truck with a bad thermostat and just take forever to warm up during cold weather because it circulates water the whole time? No real harm done, just running like the engine is cold all the time or would it be something more serious? Again, this is purely hypothetical. Ok, I know a guy that may have done something similar to my... I mean his bike for most of the winter.

Drilled and tapped today. Changed fluid and good to go after a bit of work! Riding for the past couple of days, I've noticed the bike is smoother. I had a small vibration around 50 mph in 5th gear. That seems to be gone now that I've got fresh full synthetic gear oil in the rear end. Glad I didn't put it off any longer, may have ended badly! My thumbs did this on a tiny keyboard so cut me some slack!,

I appreciate this thread is old, but it popped up in my search. I've tried all of the above. When I got to the impact step, my fill cap head stripped out instead of coming loose! My bike is an '83. From some of the posts above, there is nothing on the inside of my fill cap (no dipstick) so I should be able to drill through it and either tap it for new bolt or get an EZ out in there to remove it right? Any damage to be done this way? Seems if I stay in the fill cap with the drill, I shouldn't be able to hurt much. I have no tool-kit with my bike. New-to-me bike and I'd like to drain and refill with fresh. I'm assuming the gear lube volume needed is in manual?

These seemed to fit ok. Nice that the mirrors on the Venture are on the fairing instead.

I'm not going to be much help/insight in the near future. I pulled my headlight assembly and checked the connector and bulb. Both looked good. Since the light is working, I'm not super concerned about it. There sure is a rat's nest of stuff behind that headlight! I was not able to lay hands on the RLU, but I didn't put too much time/effort into it. I'm not a fan of the erroneous dash light, but it isn't making me crazy yet either. I'm happy with the light output I'm getting so I'm just going to ride it for now. Got a set of these for Valentine's Day from the Mrs. Look goofy as can be, but my hands weren't cold this morning on the commute and it was 26 deg. F.

No aftermarket compressor pump required! Last night I got a chance to pull my factory compressor apart and found the wee piston had seized in the cylinder. Electric motor works fine, just couldn't dislodge the piston. Pulled it all apart and free it up then cleaned and lubed it. Re-installed and it works like a champ! My filter foam coming into the compressor had disintegrated and probably didn't help matters any. I replaced that too. Hopefully, I won't have to re-visit this part of the bike for a while.

Just getting my '83 up and road-worthy. Finally got all slides moving well (diaphragms had separated from slides) and my MPG 50/50 city/highway was 40 mpg last tank. I was going to ask a similar question about where I should expect to be, but it sounds like I'm close to normal. Night/day difference in performance when slides work vs. when they don't. Got 40 MPG with 3 slides not moving at all, but the bike was a dog and didn't run smoothly.

If powered by class shouldn't it shut off at target pressure? My thumbs did this on a tiny keyboard so cut me some slack!,

Some reason I can't wire in a wee compressor like this one instead of factory? http://www.amazon.com/Slime-40001-Motorcycle-Tire-Inflator/dp/B000ET9SB4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1454974801&sr=8-1&keywords=slime+mini+compressor My CLASS system is working and providing 12V to compressor when relay is activated. Should be pretty simple to wire this compact unit directly to that then hook output to valve system on bike, right? Am I missing something? Seems like it should fit.

Thanks. I'm going to see if I can get the compressor to run after I remove it from the bike. If not, I might have to find out what the going rate for a CLASS unit compressor is.

Haven't done a terribly thorough check yet, but my compressor seems to have quit. I get the CLASS system to work correctly, but pump won't come on when relay sends power to it. Did verify I get 12V to the compressor wires when the system tries to turn it on so relay seems to be working. I'll do more digging later, but for now I've only got 10 psi front and back. New progressive springs up front so that's not terrible, but I'm worried about the rear. Anyone ever stick a generic compressor in there and wire/hose it to the system? Nothing special about it is there? My thumbs did this on a tiny keyboard so cut me some slack!,

Pulled the pressure plate off at lunch and reassembled with the marks lined up. Lever still didn't move. I left the clutch cover off and tried a few times and whatever was catching wiggled loose. Clutch pull is freed up and moves like it should. Buttoned things up and rode to work. Roads are wet so I didn't get to apply tons of throttle, but one strong roll-on in 4th didn't slip at all and it had been slipping before. Must have put something in a slight bind when I put the plates back in last night. Good to go for now. Should be -1 to 14 degrees F this weekend so I probably won't be doing much riding immediately!

Yes, replaced stock springs with stiffer after-market springs. Things worked fine after that swap, just still slipped under heavy acceleration. I did not re-install the retainer wire when I reassembled with the full plate, didn't seem necessary. Oil I'm running is Rotella T with JASO-MA certification. I've used this in the past in other bikes with no issues, but maybe not good for this particular bike? I've reviewed the service manual, and I failed to line up the marks on the pressure plate and clutch boss so I'm going to check that ASAP. Killing me to be at the office instead of getting after it immediately!

Ok, please help a dumb guy out! I've experienced some clutch slippage when the engine is pulling hard so I installed new clutch springs. The '83 has 6 coil springs, not the spring plate like later models. I did check my friction plates and they're still measuring 3.0mm with my calipers. Don't have a micrometer handy to check more closely. Still had slippage so I tried something else I've heard about on here. Pulled my clutch cover off and then took out the discs/friction plates all the way to the back so I could replace the 1/2 friction plate and rings at the back with a full one. All went well and I put things back together last night. Thought I was good to go and I'd try it this morning on my way to work. Now my clutch lever won't pull at all. Stuck all the way out... Have to assume I did something stupid. Any suggestions? Could it be as simple as I didn't get the pressure plate lined up correctly on the clutch boss? Didn't have time to do anything this morning before work, but I'll pull the cover off a lunch and take a quick look.