LukeMacPU

What's the common reason for 3 cylinders? Carbs all looked clean when pulled apart. My thumbs did this on a tiny keyboard so cut me some slack!,

Maybe it's 3 cylinders... I have noWhere near that kind of pull at high speed. Mpg was just over 41-43 for my fill ups. Just pulling spark plug wire at idle best way to check the cylinders? Dead one won't make a change right? My thumbs did this on a tiny keyboard so cut me some slack!,

First longish ride done! A shade under 400 miles today on a work trip to WI. Bike did pretty well. I've not put in any hi speed miles on mine before. How strong is it supposed to pull in 5th from 70-80 mph? I had a few times today I couldn't increase my speed going up a small hill. That didn't seem normal. I'm going to check my air filter. Had a similar issue on another bike, but I'll check my compression if that fails. Any other thoughts? My thumbs did this on a tiny keyboard so cut me some slack!,

Rear air shock in CLASS just started working! I've had what I assume to be solenoid/valve issues with my rear shock in the CLASS since I got my bike. Re-soldered the board and all that, but didn't fix the issue. Pump comes on, but appears to only be pumping up the valve chamber or something as it only takes 3 seconds from 0-43 psi. It immediately dumps that air when the pump shuts off. Front works fine, rear not-so-much. I've been riding the bike for a bit (just me no luggage) with the rear shock deflated. On a whim, I figured I'd give it another try yesterday when I hopped on. Better lucky than good! The pump came on as usual, but it ran for maybe 20 seconds and the PSI slowly came up to 43. When I checked the front and came back to the rear it still read 43 (has been dropping back to 0 immediately). Looks like it actually worked too. Had to re-adjust my headlight this morning because the rear end was riding so much higher. Much stiffer ride back there too. May go back to low for unloaded commuting. I probably won't be lucky enough that it'll keep working, but it is for now! New battery installed tonight too. Hopefully, it'll fire off in the morning cold like it should.

I drained mine via the petcock when it was full of old bad gas from a previous owner when I bought it. I just pulled the hose off of the valve. Pretty easy, but it is messy if your fuel shut-off valve is broken! I used an oil drain pan to collect most or the fuel, but some spills on the ground. If you can just shut the fuel off (be careful, I've heard they get brittle), then you can put a new hose on that runs to a collection jug which would make the process much cleaner. Like MiCarl said, it might bet best to leave it full until you're ready to get it running again. Rust in the tank is bad. Good luck!

I've decided to pull the old radio entirely and replace with a small amp that will plug directly into my phone for music/GPS and then connect speakers directly to the amp. Total cost is something like $15 so I'll soon find out if that cures my left speaker issues. If that doesn't work well, I can always use the amp in my barn with some speakers while I work on stuff! I'm going with this unit from Lepai . We'll see how it goes...

Good deal! I won't worry about that cold bloodedness then. Thanks for the feedback! My thumbs did this on a tiny keyboard so cut me some slack!,

Exhaust gaskets replaced and new speakers installed. Going to need a new battery for spring. The PO installed a new one, but it went dead and dry in storage and won't hold much of a charge now. Back to the speakers... Left one sounds blown even though it's new. Tried a different speaker and it sounds the same. Possible somethings gone goofy in the radio itself? Started a thread in audio and GPS for that, but haven't gotten any responses yet. My thumbs did this on a tiny keyboard so cut me some slack!,

Just replaced my '83 VR stock speakers with new ones hoping to get some enjoyment out of the radio. Got the new ones installed and the right sounds great. Left still sounds like crap! I tried hooking up a different speaker to the left wires and it sounded the same. It sounds almost like a blown speaker, but I think it may be static? How can only one speaker do that? Doesn't matter what station or what volume. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!

So far so good... 38 psi and rolling!

I've not had a chance to play with my radio/intercom system at all yet. Never had a bike with intercom before. My only interest is getting my phone audio out to play through the stereo speakers if possible. I use GPS and music pretty regularly. I made a quick read through this thread so please forgive me if I missed it. Would this plug directly into my phone/mp3/GPS and play through the speakers if I put it on intercom? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bang-Olufsen-Gold-5-Pin-DIN-to-Gold-3-5mm-Braided-cable-iPod-MP3-3ft-NEW/381460350286?_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D34226%26meid%3Df2f7d90c96b842a2a6f7b6fb660782b9%26pid%3D100011%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D10%26mehot%3Dlo%26sd%3D381279499369 I think I've misunderstood how the intercom is supposed to work. Feeding my phone audio into the intercom would only provide output to a headset on the other end of the intercom (I think). My goal of getting audio from device with 3.5mm out to speakers wouldn't work this way. I'm going to try a Bluetooth to FM transmitter and see how that works.

I'm hoping to have quite a few miles before I need new shoes, but I'm curious about the issues folks have had with the Kenda Kruz tires. I just got my bike and it came with new (less than 50 miles) Kruz's installed front and rear. I'm coming from a dual-sport bike this time (everything rides better than knobbies on pavement) and I have only ridden about 100 miles on the '83 VR so far, but I haven't noticed anything wrong with the tires. Seems like more a than a few folks have really disliked the Kruz, just curious why?

Synced the carbs today. Always amazed what a difference that can make! Really easy on the VR too. Much easier to start and smoother throttle response. I've ridden it three days in a row now. Squealing speedo has just about quit. Comfortably runs 70-75 with no issues. I think I'm going to enjoy this bike for sure. EDIT: Speedo noise seems to be temperature related. Hadn't heard it all weekend when it was warmer, but it was back this morning on my way to work. When we get a few days of cold/snow I'll pull the dash and lube that up. Quick question... Are these bikes a little cold blooded normally? Mine starts fairly easily now that I'm getting the choke routine down. Crank for a second at full choke, then slowly back the choke down and it'll fire somewhere below half-choke. I haven't been letting it warm up much at all, maybe 30 seconds before I take off. When I get out on the road (driveway is 1/2 mile of gravel) the engine seems to want to bog in 5th gear below 3K rpm. This goes away about the time the temp needle comes up to 1/3 of the way into the green. My bike has a small gap in the green about there. Thought maybe that was supposed to be the "normal" operating temp. Other than that I've got no complaints and I'm really enjoying the bike so far! Fairing is much better in cooler temps than the other bikes I've had before. My thumbs did this on a tiny keyboard so cut me some slack!,

Finally got some time and parts! Rebuilt the rear master cylinder and bled things out. Restored braking mostly. I need to replace the pads that got soaked in oil from a bad fork seal, but otherwise working as they should front and rear. Next was the fork seals and springs. Hit a wall on one fork seal. Couldn't for the life of me get the bolt out of the end of the fork to pull it apart! Tried an impact, plus big wrenches on the bolt and fork lower. Neither worked and I was afraid of stripping the head on that hex bolt so I stopped. That fork seal wasn't leaking noticeably anyway... Left it for now, put a new seal in the bad leaker and filled them with fresh oil. New springs made a huge difference. Bike doesn't bottom out at every bump now and the forks aren't compressed much just parked. Took it for my first test spin on pavement about ten minutes ago. Seems to ride really smooth for a bike that just came out of a barn! Ran it up to about 55 and all was good until the speedo went nuts squealing. I've heard of this problem and now I guess I'll be dissembling to lube it. Otherwise bike seems pretty good. Still have exhaust gaskets to replace on rear pipes and will need to sync carbs after I put some fresh gas and sea foam through things. Pretty pumped! Off to BMV for plates. My thumbs did this on a tiny keyboard so cut me some slack!,

Put new plugs in the bike and ran it for a bit after I removed the rear master cylinder (rebuild kit in transit). Started right up and idles well at 950ish rpms. I noticed I've got a small exhaust leak on the right rear cylinder where it joins the header pipe. How hard is that to fix? Looking at the parts diagrams maybe a gasket is all that I might need? Ordered two new ones so I can replace both of them back there. My thumbs did this on a tiny keyboard so cut me some slack!,

Carbs came off and got cleaned up. Pulled the diaphragms to inspect for holes because I had one slide not moving. Really didn't find any holes. The plastic part of the slide had slipped off of the metal part leaving a big gap where the diaphragm meets the slide between the two plastic washers. The diaphragm could move a lot without actually moving the slide/needle. When I put them all back on the bike it runs pretty decent. It'll idle at 1000 rpms, all slides move the same, and it revs pretty smoothly. Starts easily with choke cold and without when hot. I've got new fork springs and seals coming. Need to get my rear brakes squared away. Rebuild kit time. After I run some fresh fuel through it I'm going to sync the carbs. CLASS is still giving me fits. Need to get the wires out of the harness to see what up. Wiggling the wires makes it work intermittently. I've already soldered the board, so think I'm dealing with bad connection at the plug, not internal. What's the secret to removing the individual wires from the plug? I'm having trouble locating the spring-loaded deal that allows the metal connector to pull out without damaging it. Progress... My thumbs did this on a tiny keyboard so cut me some slack!

New starter is in and the bike fired up! Didn't run well, but it wasn't terrible. Only 3 of 4 slides move with throttle and rpm. Right rear doesn't even twitch. It isn't stuck, just doesn't move via vacuum. I guess the carbs come apart next and I need to get to work on the rear brakes and other stuff. Bike runs!!! Anyone know if the carb diaphragm source in Canada mentioned in this post from the Tech Read Only section is still good? I've sent them an e-mail, I guess I'll find out... http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?42124-Carb-Diaphragm-Source My thumbs did this on a tiny keyboard so cut me some slack!,

Just ordered a V-max starter new for $80. Probably won't arrive until Monday, but from what I've read it should work well. As a side note: I took my old starter back apart a couple of times looking for anything I may have done wrong in cleaning it up and swapping in new brushes from a rebuild kit. I didn't intentionally change anything, but it felt like it spun more freely by hand after reassembling it. Bench tested it and the damn thing runs like a top now! I'm still going to install the new 4 brush unit when it gets here, but I may at least have a spare in the barn now.

Well another setback this evening. I pulled the starter, cleaned it out, replaced the brushes. Bench tested using jumper cables, positive on the post, negative on the outer case. It'll barely move even with no load. Turning it manually, it feels like it drags/catches on something inside. So where do I find a nice 4 brush replacement? 1985-2000 V-max starters work for my '83 Venture? Are they 4 brush? My thumbs did this on a tiny keyboard so cut me some slack!,

I appreciate the advice. If this had been my bike and I knew it ran well and I was only dealing with a starter issue, I'd definitely spring for a new 4-brush. At this point, I want to at least get the thing running/riding before I sink much money in it. I'm ok with having to pull it apart again to make the upgrade later if all goes well. I'll work on getting those carbs drained and I'll also track down where the fuel filter is and swap/clean that. In other news... My bike appears to have a manual switch to turn on the cooling fan? Why would somebody do that? Having spent some time on dual-sport bikes, I'm familiar with guys wiring these up for on/off-road bikes so you can keep the fan running in tight woods conditions, but I wouldn't have thought that was necessary on a big road bike like this. Is that mod common?

Soldered and reinstalled CLASS. Still getting intermittent E1. Goes away if I touch the back of the wires in the harness plugged into the board socket. I'm going to double-check the solders and see if I can get the wires out of that harness to check connectors on the ends. Seems to be a bad connection there somewhere. My thumbs did this on a tiny keyboard so cut me some slack!,

Working on it... Looks like someone has messed with it already. http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/10/21/aef131015ad0a17c500bffb3bc95af8c.jpg My thumbs did this on a tiny keyboard so cut me some slack!,

Appreciate the info. I wasn't really looking for help on the brakes just yet, as I'm still researching. That was more an update than a cry for help. Yes the reservoir appears to be above the MC on my '83. Seems like a bad location for filling and access. My brake pedal has no resistance (other than return spring) and does nothing to slow front or rear wheel spin. I'll be careful to no overfill. I've found forums to be a great source of information for very specific topics. First got into them about 10 years ago when I was working to restore a '79 Bonneville Special to road-worthy condition. Really cool that the internet allows people across the country and around the world to share information so easily! The one trouble I have found that seems to be universal across all of the forums I've encountered is that searching can be tough. The information is usually out there, just a question of finding it. The "similar threads" list at the bottom is pretty cool. Thanks for pointing that out. On a bike this age on a forum dedicated to this specific model, I probably won't encounter anything that hasn't been covered here already. I'll try to keep using the search function so as not to re-ask a question that's been hashed out a thousand times.

So far, mostly bad news on my bike... While draining fuel and working on it last night, I also discovered the rear brake master cylinder is not working at all. Appears to have sprung a leak at some point and is covered in crusty crud. I'll be pulling that shortly to see if it looks like a rebuild kit will do the job.

Thanks! Kept reading about that re-solder write up, but I hadn't been able to find it yet. I'll check out the valves and the reed before I start soldering. The pump seems to be moving air and generating up to 70 psi, just doesn't seem to be getting where it needs to be and/or keeping it there. My thumbs did this on a tiny keyboard so cut me some slack!,