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Rick Butler

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  1. Rick Butler
    Well, Everyone is pointing you to the good areas out of the NE gate of Yellowstone. But you say that you are coming back through the Flaming Gorge. It would be a shame if you missed the road through Rocky Mountain National Park which runs from Grand Lake to Estes Park over Trail Ridge. This is about the best you will see of the Colorado Rockies. From Flaming Gorge just make your way south and east to Dinorsaur, Craig, Steamboat Springs, Granby past Grand Lake into the west gate of the National Park. Once you get to Estes, you can stop and eat, shop before driving down Thompson Canyon into Loveland where you can catch I-25 back into Denver. Hope this helps, Rick
  2. Rick Butler

    Key Please!

    Rick Butler replied to a topic in Watering Hole

    Save yourself any grief, Take the bike and the key to a reputable locksmith and let them make one. And if it's a locksmith shop, they will have a blank. And then check it while you are there so if there is a problem, they can fix it. Hope this helps, Rick
  3. Rick Butler
    Seaking, Based upon what you describe, I would be suspect of loose head bearings (that you just had your shop replace). Another item to check is the torque of the steering stem nut which is around 90 ft/lbs. But if they stand behind their work, have them recheck everything they did? Another test is to run the bike up to 70mph, set the cruise control and take your hands off the bars and see if it wants to wobble. If the stem nut is loose, you will hear a clunck when you hit a sharp bump. Also check the torque on the top (and bottom if they took the forks out) triple tree bolts. Good luck, Rick
  4. Rick Butler
    Barry, I really wouldn't worry about this condition. Remember, the fork itself is a sealed confined space with oil in the bottom and trapped air above it. And it's also a piston that compresses when fork goes down and creates pressure. So if you let all the air out when the bike was just sitting on the sidestand, when you sat on the bike and measured the pressure, you would find that it would read something higer than 0. And to get the exact pressure reading from both forks, the bike really needs to be sitting straight up. And oil on the schrader valve is not really an indicator of a seal not holding. I'm not sure exactly what goes on inside a fork as the bike goes down the road as it compresses and rebounds from the road surface, but I'll bet that oil is going everywhere inside of this confined space. If one of the two seals were leaking, you would have oil running down the fork lower. And if you still have the oem springs, you only have about 3" or less of usable fork travel left of the total 5.5". This is why the best thing you can do to your front suspension is replace the springs with a set of heavier Progressives or 1.2kg/mm constant rate springs along with fresh fork oil. Hope this helps, Rick
  5. Rick Butler
    Yeah Guys, I never said there were not any issues with integrated brakes on the 1st Gen Ventures because their certainly are....in loose road conditions which are bad for using the front brakes. Actually BMW has it right on their new bikes (which also have anti-lock) where the rear brake just actuates the rear brake and then the front brake master actuates the front calipers as well as the rear caliper and proportions more fluid to the front that harder the front lever is pressed. But with the 1st gen Venture (and Goldwings, etc) linked brakes you understood what was happening and just dealt with it. But the point the article made was that overall, you were better off with linked brakes than you were witout them. And I'm a prime example of that where I have totaled (and rebuilt) my 02 Venture, three times in 3 years.....all from rear wheel lockup. When I first realized that our RSV and RSTD had toooooo much rear caliper for an unlinked system, my 1st solution was to install a 1st gen system on the RSV which proved to be too difficult. Then I addressed just the rear caliper to slow the fluid to the its 4 pistons. And I ended up with an adjustable proportioning valve off the rear master cylinder with a stainless line and the problem was solved. Now this may not be an issue for someone who had NOT ridden a linked brake bike for over 17 years....but it was for me, where my right foot had developed some bad breaking habits over this period. In case everyone has forgotten, I still offer this rear brake solution in the Classifieds which Don has dubbed the "Butler Mod"? So if you have (or have had) issues with rear wheel lockup, this solution is still available? Rick
  6. Rick Butler
    Brian, You are not alone and there has always been considerable controversy over integrated vs unlinked braking systems. I have attached a good article that explains all of your questions. But in simple terms, in general you are better off with integrated brakes that you are without them. Hope this helps, Rick
  7. Rick Butler
    Great job Earl, This is some class machining with an item that has been needed for some time now. I wish they were available in 99 when I installed my first set of RaceTech Cartridge Emulators to my 93, which completely destroy the standard dampening and the function of the antidive units. But my solution was to leave the units on and cut the wires off flush covered by a dab of black RTV. Now I don't mean to correct you, but functionally the fork springs have nothing to do with the dampening of the forks on any of our Ventures. I could go on to explain this, but Paul Thede (who founded Race Tech) has already done this for me which I have attached. The article is really about how cartridge forks work, but before he can do that he explains how our dampening rod forks function. But im simple terms, the damping is controled by pushing oil through a set of compression and rebound holes in the dampening rod. Now you have done your bike a GREAT service by just replacing the oem forks springs with the heavier Progressive springs. Now back years ago, the first thing I did to a new Venture was to install both the Progressive front and rear springs. But more lately I have discovered that constant rate springs like those sold by Race Tech and Sonic, etc are really a much better solution for fork springs. For years our manufactures have given us a wimply set of springs front and rear, but have supplemented them with air to set the ride height to minimize sag and even antidive to keep the forks from bottoming out at hard front braking. With the proper spring rate and preload spacer, neither of these are needed. That is why the only thing you can do to change dampening is to change the size of these holes (to allow more flow) or change the weight and height of the oil in the fork. Unless you install Race Tech Cartridge Emulators where you have complete control of both (or just one) compression and rebound dampening. In other words, the bumps just go away. Like I said, great product and I hope I have helped clear up some of these issues, Rick
  8. Rick Butler
    You know Guys, I've been dealing with this front end wobble starting with my 86 Venture Royale in 1987. And I was lucky that one of my friends owned a Yamaha shop in Cleveland, TN and he clued me into what would resolve the headshake that had Yamaha scratching their heads on. And that was overtightening the tapered head bearings just a bit beyond the factory specs. And this solution has worked for every Venture I have owned and have worked on.....and that's been a bunch. And I have been following this issue on the GL1800 ever since one of my friends bought one of the first ones in 2001 where he was dealing with wobbles and cupping front tires. But in 2007 I read a MCN article written by Dave Searle about the GL1800 Suspension Makeover that Traxxion Dynamics has come up where they addressed all of the issues with the GL1800 front suspension. And it really comes down to a wimpy set of front forks with a cushy set of springs with a spring rate of about .70kg/mm leaving most with a burdened remaining travel of 2.5" (of a initial 5.5" of travel). And why Honda chose to change the tapered head bearings from the GL1500 to ball bearings (like you have on your bicycle) on the GL1800, which you can't really overtighten without possible damage. This is why most experts to this problem suggest removing the ball bearing head bearings and replace them with a set of tapered bearings from All Balls (which can be overtighted with no issues if done right). I won't go on with everything that was presented in this solution from Traxxion, so I have attached it so you GL1800 owners can read it and make your own determination on what you want to do. But in summary, they suggest that the best thing you can do for your front suspension is to: 1. Install the All Balls tapered bearings 2. Replace the fork springs with a heavier set with a spring rate of 1.2kg/mm 3. Install a Kuryakyn fork brace The ultimate would be to send your forks to Traxxion Dynamics and have them rebuild them with their components which disable the antidive unit (which isn't needed with the right weight springs). This a $2,000 solution but I think you could do the same thing with a set of RaceTech Gold Valves along with new constant rate springs for around the 3rd of that cost. But even after you fix the front, you still need to address the rear suspension to end up with a complete solution. Oh, and I tell you with complete certainty that tire cupping is a suspension dampening issue and not a balance problem. Since I have been riding on the track on my Honda CBR600, I have learned a bunch about proper suspension set up. The last thing you want to have happen when rolling off the throttle coming down from a 140mph straight into a 80mph corner is to have a head shake.....or having a rear end doing funny things coming out of a corner while pinning it going into the straight. But we have a completely adjustable suspension on these small sport bikes. Good topic and I hope I helped, Rick
  9. Rick Butler
    You know guys, I'm surprised that someone has not mentioned SealSkinz gloves which are waterproof. For years I used neoprene icefishing gloves, but my hands sweated in them and in cold weather they did not keep your hands warm. But what I was looking for was a glove that I could use in a summer downpour... and the SealSkinz were exactly what I was looking for and I found them at BassPro. Frankly they look and feel like cotten glove liners and they breath like Gortex and I keep them in my rain gear bag. http://www.greatoutdoorsdepot.com/seal-skinz-gloves.html Hope this helps, Rick
  10. Rick Butler
    Seaking, I have changed out shocks both ways and I really like taking the rear wheel off with the bike up on the lift and installing it from the inside of the rear fender. You can do it with the wheel on but it's really more of a pain where you really need help getting it in place and stabbing the bolts (where small hands help). But to get the preload on the money, you need to check the burdened sag with a passenger on the bike and get it to around 30mm. But if you have to change it, you will have to pull it out and screw the collar down or up. I ended with the ring down 12mm from the top of the threads. You are going to love this shock, Rick
  11. Rick Butler
    Annie, They put your sidecar on the wrong side of the bike Wait, I just remembered that you all drive on the wrong side of the road down under But you have really done the right modification with the leading link front end, but only if you intend to always keep the car on the bike. Now I got a sidecar back in 1990 so we could take our neice on trips with us, but I chose a California Side Car (articulating) Flexit so that I didn't have to re-learn how to ride a bike with a car. And we had a blast with it but after I totaled my 93 in 2000 and got a new RSV, I had to get rid of it because it wouldn't mount to the new Venture. It's over in Norway now attached to a 91. Merry Christmas, Rick
  12. Rick Butler
    Seaking, Since these manufactures make these guages for many applications, they try to cover all of their bases to get vacume from the intakes. These are screw in adapters and you will not need them for any of the Ventures, 1st or 2nd gen. Now on my CBR 600F4, I will. So put them up until you run across a bike that doesn't have the plugs that come off to get to the carb or FI vacume. Hope this helps, Rick
  13. Rick Butler
    Chris, The main reason for many of us using K&Ns is mostly because it is a filter that lasts longer (like 100k?) than oem because it can be cleaned and re-oiled. And its filtration and air flow is really much better than oem. Frankly I have been using them for decades and have them in all of my vehicles. And even though there may be some better filters on the market (like the new AMSOIL filters) there are not many manuafactures that make one for our RSV and RSTD intakes. So it's my humble opinion that for the money, you can't go wrong with a well maintained K&N. But since you asked the question, you will probably find many other differing opinions Hope this helps, Rick
  14. Rick Butler
    Herb, If Progressive springs are all you can get, they are better than the wimpy .70kg/mm "progressive wound" springs that came with the bike. But like you have seen, the fork experts like Traxxion will always reccomend constant rate spring like the 1.2kg/mm spring rate. Progressive springs sound great in theory but with a fork travel of 5.5" and a progressive spring 36" long, you never get to use all of that progressive wound spring and are always on the softer end of the spring and will never get to the stiffer part. The best thing you can do for your GL1800 front end is to: 1. install heavier 1.2kg/mm constant rate springs 2. install the All Balls tapered bearings 3. install a Kuryakin fork brace Then if money is not an object, go for the complete Traxxion Dynamics fork rebuild. But once you cure the issues with the front suspension, then you really need to do something about getting a heavier rear spring (where a progressive wound spring really works). And you can get good fork springs from Traxxion, Racetech, Sonic Springs and several others. And Progressive makes a replacement for your rear shock and I think Racetech and Traxxion have other solutions that include a rear shock rebuild. Hope this helps, Rick
  15. Rick Butler
    Well guys, I believe in the cliche that "If you have a $100 head, wear a $100 helmet". Nuff said:big-grin-emoticon: Rick
  16. Rick Butler
    Thanks for the nice words guys, But since we seem to be getting more and more of our friends moving to GL1800s, I just thought I'd let them know that even though the GL seats are a very good design (especially the 1800s) I do make them better with my mod. I take that large flat seat and put some curvature into it (along with my tailbone relief) and then cover the entire seat with a layer of 1.5" memory foam (which reduces pressure points and conforms nicely to the shape of your bottom). Oh, and I also remove some of the side wings to allow you to get your legs down easier. I think in the past 2 years I have reworked about a dozen or more of these seats. Merry Christmas everyone, Rick
  17. Rick Butler
    You are more than welcome Ray, Glad I could help. I still remember screwing up my first fork job and having to redo it later. It really helps to have someone that has already been there. And you are so fortunate that you don't have a fairing. Those of us who have RSVs really have to deal with "What to do with the fairing to get it out of the way". In fact I installed an eye bolt in my shop ceiling to suspend the fairing and handlebars to get them up out of the way (see attached picture). And using adjustable tie down straps really make it easy to hook them up and lift em up and out of the way. So enjoy your new forks, Rick
  18. Rick Butler
    Yeah Jim, For all my years of riding a touring bike (all Ventures) and the past 3 years of reworking seats, I've learned that not one seat solution will work for everyone. A Corbin seat is a prime example where I have never seen anyone that says "I kinda like my Corbin". Now I am a big proponent of a sheepskin cover which will provide air to circulate under the bottom. I was one of Mark Hart's first customers when he made his first cover for the 83 Venture. But once I discovered the heavy duty velour that Travelcade uses, it's been my seat cover of choice for seat perspiration. But for just a pad, I'd go with an Alaskan sheepskin. Rick
  19. Rick Butler
    Randy, If you want a professional (humble) opinion....gel pads are highly overrated. They were intended to provide a softer compliant surface to sit on, but in fact they are very firm and may not deliver the comfort you are seaking. And they really are a heat sink and need to be taken off or covered when the bike is sitting in the sun, if you don't want a toasted tush. Now some seat makers do use them with some success as a shock absorber for the tailbone. But I've taken more gel pads out of seats like Travelcade (including mine) than I care to count. My solution is first to get the foundation foam shape right, like what Corbin does. Then I finish the entire seat off by glueing a 1 1/2" layer of memory foam to it and tapering the edges before I put the cover back on. Memory foam does not provide any phsical support but it does reduce pressure points and provides a very compliant surface to sit on. I have recently started addressing butt bone issues and have always addressed the tailbone issues. If you have not seen my ad in the Member Vendor Classifieds(Rick Butler), it explains and shows what I do to a seat. It also contains everything you need to send me a seat (s). http://www.venturerider.org/classifieds/showproduct.php?product=1023&title=butt-butler-seat-mod&cat=25 Let me know if I can help, Rick Oh, and it's geeting real close to me seat time of the year as you guys up north start putting your bikes up for the winter.
  20. Rick Butler
    Well Kreg, If you want real sticker shock, price an oem replacement from Yamaha :crackup:You won't be sorry with a Works, which isn't much more than a stock one. Rick
  21. Rick Butler

    RSTD ?

    Rick Butler replied to star4772's topic in Watering Hole

    You know Joe, I have done it several ways, but I really think with the two bolts in the front mount that the rear seat will be ok? One other way is to take the chrome rear bracket and mount it to the fender and then attach the rear pillow seat and check for positioning to see what it would take to bolt it to the bottom of the rear seat....like it was on the TD seat? Where there is a will....there is a way, Rick
  22. Rick Butler
    Nice show Phill, I'm sure you are glad that you didn't have to ride down because you would have gone through a bad storm cell Friday. But I'm afraid that you guys were having way TOO much fun with those two umbrella girls I'm surprised that you didn't get your picture with Leslie Porterfield in front of her bonneville bike? http://www.fastdates.com/MeetModels/30LesliePorterfield/Leslie04.Bonne.057.530jpg And I'm surprised that I didn't see you because I was helping out at the RideSmart booth talking to folks like us about the importance to enrolling in a track school. We were right in front of the "Biker Build Off" bikes. Anyway Linda and I are going down today. Take care, Rick
  23. Rick Butler
    You know, This company probably only uses UPS or FedEx as their shipper of choice. And after the few times I have used these carriers to ship to Canada and Australia, I will never use them again (UPS charges the recipient a broker fee of around $25). This is where our postal service (USPS.com) comes to the rescue with a simplified process to ship to these locations at a resonable cost. Rick
  24. Rick Butler
    Hey guys, You do realize that Skydoc sells the exact same kit that PCW sells for far less than a Barnett? http://www.venturerider.org/classifieds/showproduct.php?product=2905&title=second-genheavy-duty-clutch-spring26amp-3b-full-disc-upgrade-kit-21&cat=22 I just installed one in my friends RSV and it felt really good. I've had my PCW kit for several years and over 70k now and it's still doing fine. I'll probably replace the fiber plates this winter just because I've gone too long, since I have 130K on my 02 RSV. In fact that it's been my experience that in these first clutch slippage situations with new bikes, you really don't need to replace the fiber plates if you choose to replace the pressure plate with a PCW kit or a Barnett. And if you need the instructions for changing out the pressure plate, etc in the tech section, you can find it here: http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=10518 Hope this helps, Rick
  25. Rick Butler
    Well Jerry, I guess you see that the overwhelming answer to your question is "Yes", when the brake fluid starts getting dark in your clutch reservoir. The reason it gets darker faster than the fluid in your brake reservoirs is because of the extreme heat it has to endure with the line running close to and finally attaching directly to an engine part. And because this process of the fluid getting extremely hot and then cooling down, it gathers condensation of which your dot 3 and dot 4 absorbs and retains as part of the fluid. This is why it starts to get dark and needs to be changed more often than the brake fluid. And dot 5 brake fuid is not hydroscopic and will not absorb this condensation where is collects in the lower park of the brake system and will start rusting caliper pistons, etc. This why it is only used in racing conditions where the fluid is changed out every race, and should not be used in conventional brake and hydralic clutch systems. Now Valvoline and AMSOIL (and maybe a few others) make a synthetic dot 4 fluid that has higher boiling points than regular dot 4, that I have been using for years. Now Kent, I love my MityVac as much as anyone, but speed bleeders really have a leg up on the process of bleeding brakes because you only have to use the master cylinder to move the fluid out of the system. And you don't have to worry about air getting into the line because of a check ball in the bleeder to keep the fluid from only going one way. But like the process you describe in watching the color of the fluid coming out of the system, you need to make sure to refill the reservoir before the master cylinder starts sucking air. Now I like my MityVac to completely remove all fluid in the lines when I want to remove a caliper. And I do this every time I change pads where I put the caliper on the bench to remove all of the pistons to be cleaned throughly rather than just drop in a new set of pads. In fact I built a power bleeder from a 1 gal pump up sprayer to refill the line from the master cylinder reservoir and then finish it off the old fashioned way. So Jerry in conclusion......change the fluid....now, Rick
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