Rick Butler

Hey Earl, I need one of your kits to replace a fuse panel for a 83 Venture I'm working on. Do I just send the money via PayPal to your address? Thanks, Rick

Guys, I know this is a long shot, but does anyone have a driver pillow top seat cover laying around that I could buy (regardless of the condition). Yeah, as many seats as I have done over the years, you think I would have one...but I don't. What I need it for is to give it to my upholsterer so he can use it as a pattern to make us some new covers.....as these seats are getting long in the tooth and the older covers are coming loose. I can rebuild the foundation foam to get it back to the original shape but when a seat needs a new cover, that's another issue. Now Yamaha still has a part number on this cover, but it's still just over $200....and all of the stock in the US is gone and I understand that they now have to come from Japan. Let me know, Rick 214-926-3905

No, But in 81 or 82 Yamaha took a standard XS1100 with a Vetter Fairing with a rectangular headlight and bags and called it the Venturer. The first Venture I ever saw was at the Motorcycle show in January in Dallas....where I told my dealer that I wanted the first black one he got in....which was in March.

Guys, It's been a while, but what is the general tire preference on your 1st Gens. I always like the ME880s but I know others preferred the Avon Venoms. Has anyone tried the new Avon Cobra or even the Michelin Commander III? Thanks, Rick

Guys, For all of the 2nd gen Ventures, you use the 1.2 kg/mm spring rate in a Sonic. Since the RSTDs don't have that heavy fairing, you can probably get by with a 1.1 spring rate. Rick

With that many miles, your fork springs maybe have lost all of their sag and your forks may be bottoming out? I have always said that the best thing you can do for a suspension on the RSV or RSTD is to replace the fork springs. But rather than just tighten up the head bearing, you really need to repack the head bearings. And the perfect time to do this is when you have pulled the forks to replace the springs, bushings and seals? Hope this helps, Rick

Hey Guys, You can find everything you need on my seat reconstruction in the Classifieds under 'Member Vendors....Rick Butler: [TABLE=width: 79] [TR] [TD=class: xl24, width: 79]http://www.venturerider.org/forum/photopost/showproduct.php?product=21&title=butt-butler-seat-mod&cat=16 And what many of you may not realize is that for the most part I am exclusive to the seat needs of the VentureRider members. Now word of mouth has gotten out on me over the years and I now reconstruct seats for just about every bike. When the members of the GL1800 forum found out about me, they covered me up with seats for several months. And this seems to be my "Seat Time" of the year. Just let me know how I can help you, Rick[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]

Yeah Jeff, That's the seat I first started on. In fact I think I mention that since I started in 2005, I've just about reworked just about every seat attached to 2 wheels, and that includes GL1800s to Piaggo scooters. So even though I'm pretty much exclusive to Ventures (of any year) I will not turn down anyone that needs seat help.....with the exception of most Corbin seats Rick

Well Guys, I guess this is the perfect time for Yamaha to release the 3rd Generation Venture...Right? Rick

Hey friends, I just thought I'd post a friendly reminder that if you have ever considered doing something about your seat, now is the perfect time to send me your seat to rework. If you are new and not familiar with my work, I have a classified ad in the Member Vendors section (Rick Butler) that explains what I do and pretty much everything you need to send me your seats. And as an addendum to what I do, I have started using stainless staples which unlike the oem staples will not rust. And even though I have been using thicker gymnasium foam inserts to rebuild older seats that have become deteriorated, I've also been using these inserts to do other things like make the seat wider and thicker to provide more outer support, which has really worked out well in these cases. And if you are curious if you already have a bike that I've reworked the seats, take a look at the staples. If you don't see any additional staple holes in the cover and the staples may be getting a little rusty, then it's probably stock. But if the staples look like they belong but you can see other small holes where staples have once been, then there is a good chance it's one of my seats. I'm pretty proud of the manner I staple the cover back on, unlike many seats that I have received that someone else has already been into it....with staples everywhere at any angle. If you have put your bike up for the Winter, this is the perfect time to let me have your seat (s) for a couple of days and a week to get it here and back to you. So if you are interested, take a look at my classified ad and get with me to see how I can help, Rick [TABLE=width: 98] [TR] [TD=class: xl24, width: 98][/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]

EBC HH pads.....you will not be sorry

Well Bill, Corbin already has done what you asked and made a nice set of bags that look like they were produced by Polaris: http://corbin.com/slingshot/pssbag.shtml I have a couple of friends who bought the Slingshot when they sorted out that they could be licensed in Texas as a motorcycle and these bags were their last upgrade and they really look nice and complete the look of the rear real nicely. Rick

Yeah Mike, If it's a pillowtop, you may be talking about separations in the ends of the pillow seams, where a black Sharpie works well to cover up the exposure. But rather than the clear silicone try some GOOP that you can find at Home Depot. It has an adhesion better than anything I have ever used. And I use toothpick also. Rick

Mike, Are they at the edge close to the seat studs. I see tears like that quit often from someone using a 10mm open end wrench instead of a 10mm socket to remove the seat nuts. And when I rework the seat, I glue a vinyl patch on the under side of the cover to close up the tear. Let me rework your pillowtop and I'll fix them at no extra charge. I also sell thumb nuts so you can remove your seat without any tools. You can find everything in the Classifieds under Member Vendors/Rick Butler Let me know if I can help, Rick

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Well Guys, I can shed more light on the history of the Tuggs Induction system. The first time I saw it was at V-Daze in Steamboat Springs in June of 1988, where Tuggs was a vendor selling the system (around $400?) and my friend Dave Henderson bought one. At that time Tuggs owned a Yamaha dealership in Phoenix or Tucson where he came up with the idea. And yes it was just a set of sand cast copies of the V-Max intakes with a solid open cross overs and I don't know why he had them marked as Patent Pending? (probably to keep someone else from duplicating his system. What this did was to allow each piston to pull from 2 carbs on the intake stroke. But to make this right the main jets were opened up from 120s to 150s and the air box had to really be opened up to get the air needed, not to mention the slide needles were changed out to real slim DynoJet Stage 7 adjustable needles. But the V-Max intakes were about 1" taller which pushed the carbs right up snug with the frame and the throttle cable had to be rerouted lower. And the air intake box also had to be modified and opened up with a flat top to clear the cover. Now this system pulled really strong but still had some issues. But it did get better mileage by the fact that because each cylinder pulled from 2 carbs, you only needed half the throttle to get the same rpms, meaning only a quarter throttle gave you pretty much everything. Now about a year later at V-Daze in Hot Springs, Arkansas, DynoJet was there with their version (called V-Boost) which used intakes that were built like the rubber oem but with solid 1" crossovers. But DynoJet had more resources to test with including a Venture test mule to put on the Dyno. And they pretty much used the same underlying principle used by Tuggs but at half the price, which Tuggs could not compete with and he went out of business. But they changed up a couple of pilot and idle jets to make it run better and smoother....which it did. I bought one and after I got all bugs worked I loved it and it was easy to work with because the intakes were more like stock and the air box could stay the same, except you had to drill 26 1/2" holes around the entire top cover. But over time, this system had issues with the intakes with the crossovers coming apart because of the extreme pressure created which caused the rubber to separate from the aluminum base. And in 1991 after a couple of attempts of re-manufacturing these intakes DynoJet dropped the product because they were loosing money like crazy on warrenty work. I took mine off and threw it in a box. But several years later Dave Henderson talked me into dragging it out and installing it again, but with V-Max intakes, which really turned into a job. I finally got everything running good on my 93 with a V-Max flywheel and V-Max heads, and then I totaled the bike on Push Mountain road on Arkansas and that's when I decided to make the move to a new 2nd gen Venture in 2001....and the rest is history :-)

Stock links are a green color with 4XY stamped in the middle and measure 6 7/8" from center to center Makes me wonder what do the ones on the bike look like and measure out at? Rick

Kelly, I think you can take advantage of the splitter if it will bolt to the bottom triple tree (looks like it might). But like has been suggested, I would use stainless lines, one from the master cylinder to the splitter and then two from the splitter to each caliper. But Skydoc sells this entire set up which includes the V-Max splitter with all of the stainless lines: http://www.venturerider.org/forum/photopost/showproduct.php?product=316&title=5-line-first-gen-ss-brake-line-delink-kit-with-upper-clutch-line&cat=17 And if you are looking for a set of R6 calipers I have an extra set. I screwed up and put 2 sets in my basket on Ebay for safekeeping and then bought all 4 calipers where I thought I was buying 1 set. And I've gone through them and cleaned the calipers and checked all of the pucks. But they didn't come with any of the pads and pins so you would need to order them and I have the part numbers. And I would let you have both of them for $45 for the pair plus shipping if you want them. Hope this helps, Rick

Steve, Rick is right, it depends on which bike you are replacing the clutch plates on. But I think Skydoc can get you everything, including the oem fiber plates....which are about as good as good as any of the aftermarket plates. The most I would ever do to the metal plates would be to bead blast them or just scuff them up a bit. But if it's for your 88, then go ahead and replace the pressure plate with a PWC and replace the inner half plate with a full plate. Hope this helps, Rick

Guys, I little overlooked fact with these V4 engines, is overfilling the oil level to the high mark on the sight glass. At higher rpms a heavier concentration of oil vapor makes its way from the crankcase to the air box and then pools and runs down the back left carb as it sits on the side stand. If you keep the oil level midway between the high and low marks on the sight glass, this will be less apt to happen. I usually use no more than 3.5 qts on a refill with a filter. Then the back left valve cover gasket has always been a similar issue with oil weeping out an old brittle gasket with the bike on the center stand. I always glue a new gasket into the valve cover with YamaBond 4. Hope this helps, Rick

JJ, Do you have a shop manual for the RSV (LIT-11616-12-60)? If not Juggler has one that you can link to on his server and download: http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?1828-Download-the-Owners-and-Service-Manuals The Crankshaft bearing ares on 4-81 and the rod bearings are on 4-95 There are numbers stamped on the crank and the case where you subtract to get the difference which gives you a color of the bearing to order: http://www.stadiumyamaha.com/oemparts/a/yam/5004d6c7f87002275461d642/crankshaft-piston Look at number 2 and 10 on the above fiche But even when you install them, you need to check the tolerances with plastiguage. Hope this helps, Rick

JJ, I've rebuilt a 93 completely and if I remember right the the size of the bearings is based upon some of the engine numbers. I have never looked in the 2nd gen manual to see what it says, but I'll take a look at it tonight. But in the end, you need to plastiguage each bearing anyway to get the right tolerence. Later, Rick

You know guys, I think today I would probably look at a LED replacement and the one Cycle Gear sells is priced pretty good: http://www.cyclegear.com/SPEEDMETAL-LED-Conversion-Kit I've been running an H4 HID for several years now and I'm dissapointed that I keep loosing balasts. Luckily I have my running lights to get me through the dark when I loose one. It's interesting that the company I bought my first HID kit from now has gone to LED and no longer carries HID conversions. Nice thing about either of these is that they draw about half the amps and are pretty much plug and play? Hope this helps, Rick

You know guys, I just bought an 07 engine with 42k to replace my 02 with 150k from them recently and found that they have 2 prices....an ebay price and their site price. And their site price was around $50 less than their ebay price. And it looks like they are pricing every similar component pretty much the same, which means they have gone to standard pricing. And shipping for an engine was a standard $185, which meant I got an engine shipped for right around $1,000. Now it was pretty stripped, but the stuff that was missing I didn't want or need (like the AIS plumbing). But I would suggest that everyone be an educated consumer and search everywhere to get the right price. I still think Pinwall provides a decent service for the money? Hope this helps, Rick

Sorry Don, I didn't see your original post right away, but you asked for input and you got it....after a little nudge From my experience, the best thing you ever did on this subject was to ignore my advice when I told you that you were crazy for wanting to start another Venture specific site..... after your current experience with Venturers? But my focus at that point was in a different direction and you did the right thing and followed your passion, where all us who have come here since have reaped the rewards of your vision and passion. Saying that, I'm still amazed at the number of 1st gen Ventures (especially 83s) that are still on the road and being brought back from the grave. And without of the help of members on this forum and others like us to help in this effort, these bikes would just be sitting rusting out in a salvage yard? At this point in the life of this organization, I would suggest that we just remain patient? Yes I realize that Yamaha had not made or sold a Venture in 2 years but, just remember this is not the first time they have done this. The first time it took them 6 years to give us a new Venture and I expect they will do better this time...especially when they have a rock solid engine and drive line sitting in a cult bike...that they really sank a bunch of R&D into. I don't know if anyone has taken a good look at this new engine, but it is now a 65 degree rather than a 70 degree V-4 that we have had since 83. And the clutch has 10 fiber plates rather than 7 or 8. If they don't release a new Venture soon, I wouldn't get discouraged....it has to be coming....but on their schedule And just remember we are not the only Venture owners forum in the market? It would be nice if we could get the ear and trust of Yamaha but I think Allen Cease and his Star Riders still have this priviledge. If it's a numbers issue then we need to spend more time and each of us market and sell ourselves to Venture owners every chance we get? And I think having a presence on FaceBook, might not be a bad idea? This is the age of social media now isn't it? That's my 2 cents, Rick