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Rick Butler

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  1. Rick Butler
    Condor, I've installed probably 5 sets of Race Tech Cartridge Emulators, the first in my 93. And won't ride a set of dampening set of forks without them. But you completely destroy the dampening rod when you drill 6 (I think) 5/16" holes in each dampening rod. This also results in your anti-dive units becoming completely usless. In fact this would be a good time to take them off and fashion a cover, especially with the 88-93 1300s with the anti-dive on the side. Then the dampening rod just becomes a method to flow as much oil as possible through it to the valve on the top of the rod. This devise is a pop-off valve that is so responsive that for the most part, the bumps just go away. And you can go back to a lighter oil to get more action. But it's critical to get a new set of springs if you haven't already, where Progressives are a decent option. But my option would be a set of 1.20 kg/mm constant rate springs from Race-Tech or Sonic Springs. Hope this helps, Rick
  2. Rick Butler
    Yeah, In 1983, the Yamaha Venture was picked as Bike of the Year in the touring class. And the GL1100 Aspencade couldn't hold a candle to it with it's frame mounted fairing, where the Venture pioneered the integrated fairing to where if you damaged one side of the fairing, you just had to replace that section or piece instead of the entire fairing. But this victory was short lived because Honda only let Yamaha get them for one year at a time. Because Honda came back with both feet in 84 with the GL1200 Aspencade with all of the bells and whistles and took the title back. I just remember the day after I picked up my black 83 Venture the issue of Rider came out to review the Venture. And I sat on the front step of my house with the bike parked in the driveway and read the entire article. And since then it's been a great AdVenture Rick
  3. Rick Butler
    JB, When you say diaphram, I assume you mean the slide (less needle, etc). FYI: 1) Do all 1983-1993 Ventures use the same diaphragm? Yes, they all are the same diameter and length. However the 1200s have a smaller lift hole than the 1300s. Thos might be a good question to ask. If they have the small one, they can be drilled out for the 1300. 2) What years of V-Max will these fit? Frankly, all of them. 3) Is the base diaphragm the same on the 2nd Generation? No K&L, Inc has been making replacements for these carbs for years. Hope this helps, Rick
  4. Rick Butler
    Richard, After owning 5 1st gens, I finally broke down and bought a 2001 RSV after I totaled my 93 in Arkansas. At first I hated the bike because it handled like a pig in the corners. But after a couple of modifications (of which some have mentioned) it handles as good as our 1st gens. However, it is solid at ANY speed which is not something you could say about your 87 Compared to the 1st gens, the RSV has a frame from Hell. And I thought my wife would not like the back seat, but she likes it even better. Now as far as your legs go, you will have much more room to stretch out on the floor boards and if you can find a toe shifter it will give you more room to slide your feet back to the point that you can get them under if you like. And it still has the same heart and sole of your 87, it's just a different ride. Hope this helps, Rick
  5. Rick Butler
    Ray, I don't think you said what kind of trailer you had, or if it was a home built. One of the main causes of this type of tail-wagging-the-dog is that the tongue is too short. If it is a home built maybe you should lengthen the tongue? An general rule of thumb for tongue length is that the distance from the hitch to the axle is close to twice the width of the wheelbase. In otherwords, a short tongue is not a good thing. Then like some have already pointed out, you need most of the weight over the wheels and forward. Put all of your light stuff behind the wheels and more tongue weight is better than too little. I usually try to get around 25-30 lbs of tongue weight which you can check with a set of bathroom scales sitting on something the same height of your hitch. Once you pack a trailer a few times, you will learn what bags go where and you won't need to check the weight every time. What most people don't realize is that once you start moving, the tongue weight starts to decrease and get lighter the faster you move. And NEVER pull an empty trailer, where you need some weight in it in front of the wheels. Hope this helps, Rick
  6. Rick Butler
    Hey Guys, Just couple of updates, where the 1st is that I'm having to go up $5 on my price for reworking seats. It's only been more recently that I've been able to get a good handle on my actual product costs for reworking a seat above what I feel is my cost for the time involved. Most of this is for the 1.5" memory foam I have been using, where I am having to pay more for the sheets I'm using now. When I first started doing this, I was using some foam I had left over from a bedding change and decided to make good use of it. Then I found a supply that was on sale at a reasonable cost, but now I've having to pay something closer to retail. Then there is the cost of the spray adhesive and staples that I use that add up over time per seat. I just don't want to appear to be gouging my friends. And I'll honor my previous prices for folks that I have been talking to recently. But secondly, I have inserted an ad for saddlebag bolts that "Dragerman" so kindly named for me..........Butler Built Bag Bolts (aka BBB Bolts). http://www.venturerider.org/classifieds/showproduct.php/product/1662 And since I was on a roll, I also made up several sets of the thumb nuts that I designed and have been using for years. I've also given these to close friends that I ride with locally. Both of these items allow you to take your saddlebags and seat off by hand with no tools. http://www.venturerider.org/classifieds/showproduct.php/product/1663/cat/7 I still have to test them out, but I think I can use the same design of the Bag Bolts and build a set of seat thumb bolts for the RSTD owners, so they can take their seats off without any tools. I'll post my findings after I make up a few sets and have a couple of close RSTD friends check them out. Hope this helps, Rick
  7. Rick Butler
    Mike, What you described is exactly how I thought you had wired your relay into this circuit. Once I finally understood how a relay really works, I have been using them for all of my extra accessories. It's Power In to 30 (the only lug on the relay that is perpendicular to the edge), Power Out (to the opposite lug) and a positive and negative trigger circuit that when energized, closes a heavy contact between the In and Out circuit. But do you realize that if you installed a switch in either the positive or negative trigger wires, you could turn the relay completley off? This could be used as a security ignition cut-off switch to keep someone from stealing your bike, even with the key in the ignition. Thanks for the insight for this idea, Rick
  8. Rick Butler
    Ok Guys, I'm just a shade tree DC electrician, so I'm not up on all of my color codes. If I'm reading your wiring diagram right, you are taping into the red wire for power in to the relay and then running the power out from the relay to the ignition side of the Br/L wire after you cut it. And it looks like you are triggering the positive side of the relay from the other side of the Br/L wire that you cut? http://www.venturerider.org/switch/image009.jpg Did you do this from the above ignition wiring, the Red and Brown/Blue wire and is this the Br/L wire you are refering to? Oh and Mike even though I owned 5 1st gens, I was refering to my 2nd gen. I only made reference to my friend's FJR because it had the same problem that some of us have had. Could you make it a little more simple and decribe which ignition wire color goes to which lug on the relay? Thanks, Rick
  9. Rick Butler
    Mike, So if you are saying what I think I'm understanding, did you wire in the "Emergency Ignition Switch bypass" that is in the 2nd Gen tech section with the use of a relay and not a 50amp switch? If this is true, then did you trigger the relay connection with current from the ACC circuit? This is what I have been considering and putting a switch on the positive or negative trigger wires (which can be pretty small) to either turn the bypass on or off. But I think by doing this, you could probably start the bike with the key in the ACC position? This would really be a nice safety feature to have installed in case you lost your ignition switch while out on a long trip. I had this happen to a friend's FJR this past year and he ended up renting a U-Haul truck and driving it home from the Smoky Mountains. We called several shops in the area, but this 06 FJR igition switch was on back order from Japan for the past 3 weeks. If I had known about this fix, we could have probably fixed it on the road? Curious minds need to know, Rick
  10. Rick Butler
    Yeah, I completely understand your concern about the liability issue. How do you think I feel even thinking about offering my solution to the rest of you? But after I had been running with it for a while, I was still seeing there were folks suffering from rear brake anxiety and even rear brake accidents (like I had suffered from). So I decided to say the hell with it and go forward with it anyway for those who wanted to pursue this solution. I just wish Yamaha would have offered up a solution and changed out the rear caliper for a milder 1-piston like they put on the Road and Stratoliners. But thier lawyers won't let them because that would be admitting guilt or product liability. However, they did change up the front calipers on the 2004 Road Star (to 4-pistons) but still kept the 4-piston rear? In fact I even send them a rather lengthy letter advising them of this issue. But I did get a nice letter thanking me for my input and that they would pass it on to their proper people. Then after a good friend of mine went down on a RSTD because of this and we had to leave him in a Odessa, TX hospital for another week, I decided to contact a motorcycle lawyer. My idea at the time was to pursue a nation-wide product liability law suit because I knew there were countless of us who had suffered and even died because this issue. But when I talked to them and realized that there was a statute of limitations on the time and that law suits vary from state to state, I decided to drop it. Besides most of us have health and bike insurance, so unless we are not tore up too bad we'll be ok and probably get back into the saddle. But like several have mentioned, we really need to use proper braking techniques and practice them. However who really likes to practice a 60mph emergency stop unless thier life is in jeopardy? The big problem is that we also drive 4 wheelers and when somthing jumps out in front of us, what do we instinctively do? Right, hammer that brake pedal. But on our autos, most of us today have ABS brakes and since the 70s we all have a proportioning valve system to limit the flow of fluid to the rear brakes and even send more to the front brakes, where all the stopping power is. So sometimes our brains just react and **** happens, regardless of all of our training. But back to your issue of not wanting to modify a OEM brake system. Do you realize than even changing out your brake lines for stainless is one of those drastic changes, not to even mention changing out brake calipers? The idea for my solution came from the hot rod industry where these folks didn't want their rear brakes locking sooner than expected either. And by the fact that it's an adjustable flow control valve (and doesn't reduce pressure) you can adjust it to suit your individual needs. Sorry for getting long winded on this issue, but that's just the way I get sometimes Hope this helps, Rick
  11. Rick Butler
    You know guys, This subject just keeps coming back around, doesn't it. But our bike has not only one problem, but two. With 2 piston calipers, the front brakes are not as adequate as they should be for a bike this large. Then the 4-piston rear caliper is much too much stopping power for the rear wheel, when we all know that over 70% of your stopping power is in the front brakes. So this means we need better brakes on the front (ie earlier R1 & R6 4 piston calipers) and a weaker brake for the rear. You can see this on the RoadStar Warrior and even the Road and Statoliners with a 1 piston rear calper. So this really means that we can readily replace the front calipers but not the rear. Yes, ideally ABS or at least (or both) linked brakes would the optimum solution. But the solution I developed over 2 years ago has served me and a few others well in taming this rear brake of ours. I won't go any further but if you don't know about this, do a search on "Proportioning Valve" or the "Butler Mod". Of course this isn't the only solution, where you can just forget that you even have a rear brake and not worry about a rear brake lockup? Hope this helps, Rick
  12. Rick Butler
    Hey Guys, I have made a set of these and had them installed for several years now. I would have said something earlier but it looked like there was already had a solution readily available for these knob/bolt replacements. But after I saw that folks were still asking about them, I did a little research and I can make them up (w/stainless bolts) and sell them for $25 including shipping to anywhere in the US. There may be a few of you folks from the early days that remember Tri-Star Industries that built accessories only for 1st gen Ventures. Well, I was 1/2 of this company along with Dave Henderson where we were both Charter VTS members. Anyway we started this venture in 1990 and closed it down in in 96 after Yamaha dropped the Venture in 94. And one of our products was a set of seat bolt knobs,built with these same style knobs, where you could take your seat off without any tools. In fact some of you may still have these knobs on your bike? Anyway when I developed the leveling links, I wasn't really interested in getting back in the accessory business and talked Allen Hall into carrying them. In fact I tried to talk him into building and selling these saddlebag bolts, and even sent him a set to try. For whatever reason, Allen didn't feel like adding this item to his product line. But now I'm retired and it looks like I'm moving back into a small business helping folks out with my Butler Mod and Butt Butler seat modifications. So if there is any interest in this, I'd be willing to start making these for you all. But I also don't want to step on R-Mark's toes either, but this is a capitalistic free-market country right? Rick
  13. Rick Butler
    Guys, Yes a V-Max clutch basket will work in a RSV or RSTD (even any of the 1st gens). However like I have pointed out in the past, it depends on which basket (primary driven gear) you have in your bike now. In fact I did this myself when I rebuilt my 93 and found that my Barnett fiber plates had been eaten up by the basket and destroyed it. But it wasn't a big thing because I had a V-Max bottom end laying there that I had taken the heads off and put on the 93. Since the basket looked good, I wend ahead and finished assembling it with the V-Max basket. And to my surprise when I took her out on the maiden voyage, I now had a loud chirper. Turns out that I had replaced a "G" basket with a "F". I'll cut this story short and get to the point, where you really need to see which gear you have in your bike now. Just remove the basket and look at the alpha character hand etched on the back side of the gear. If you have an "F" gear, it most likely can be replaced and cured by a looser "G" gear. Hope this helps, Rick
  14. Rick Butler
    Jack, I really think that the "I" basket is being used as a cure-all for any primary gear whine. However it's my experience that the "I" basket (aka Primary Driven Gear) will only cure the problem when the bike currently has a "H" basket in it. I have cured a bike with a "F" basket by replacing it with a "G" basket. If I were you I would check with the dealer that did the change and see which basket came out of it. There will be an alpha character hand etched on the back side of the gear, not anything stamped on the gear. And I'm thinking that they should have the basket setting on a shelf. The problem with checking which gear you have is that you have to completely take the basket out to see the backside of the gear. Good luck, Rick
  15. Rick Butler
    Steve, My experience with aftermarket seats is that you need to have one custom made for you and not buy one off the self or from a catalog. I have been riding a (several) Travelcade Road Sofa since 1988 and even then I have had to modify everyone of them. And it's my experience that gel inserts sound great but are highly overrated. And they really heat up when the bike sits out in the sun during a hot summer day. Now I would recommend a dense memory foam, which reduces pressure points and conforms to the shape of your butt. Now on Corbins, you really need to test ride one for a couple of tanks of gas. I don't know how many of my friends who bought a Corbin because they thought that was the saddle to own, only to discover they are like sitting on a board and put them up for sale. On a Corbin, there is no middle ground where you either love it or you hate it. They just seem to work for some butts and not others? Now unless you are hell bent on spending $500 or so on a custom saddle, it might be worth $35 plus shipping to have the Butt Butler rework yours. In fact Seaking over in Nova Scotia should still have a spare that I modified for him before he send me his to redo. It might be worth checking with him to see if you could borrow his spare. In fact I also just finished up a couple of Ontario seats for Brick and Hal99. Hope this helps you, Rick Note: This is not a solicitation as much as an offer to help you out.
  16. Rick Butler
    Dan, Did the spline end just drop down to where you can't get the drive shaft stabbed back in? Or did the U-Joint drop completely down into the tunnel? If it's the later, then you have to pull the entire swing arm, shaft, etc to be able to get to the U-Joint. In other words, I'm not sure where you are having your problem, Rick
  17. Rick Butler
    Ron, FYI, for the most part on this bike, you just need to forget that you even have a rear brake and get into the habit of using the front brake first and then bringing in the rear brake if you need it. But the rear brake does work just fine for coming to that final stop at a stop light or sign. However, if you just came off a bike with linked brakes then you are probably used to just going for the brake pedal. This bike has a 4-piston rear caliper which is very sensetive to too much rear pedal. And like most of us who ride 2nd gen Ventures and RSTDs, this is not a comfortable experience when the rear wheel locks up. But there are a couple of solutions, one of which is adjusting the brake pedal to have more freeplay, where you have to press down further before the master cylinder starts sending fluid to the caliper. The second is a fluid solution, that involves installing an adjustable proportioning valve off the master cylinder. If you want to do some more reading, do a search on proporting valve for 2nd gens. Or, you can just jump right to the solution by looking at the "Butler Mod" in the 2nd gen Classified Parts. This is not a solicitation as much as it is a transfer of knowledge. Hope this helps, Rick
  18. Rick Butler
    Ok, I've only got 106,585 on my 2002 Midnight. And I figure I'll get another 100K out her before she get's retired. As much as we have gone through together, I'm just not getting ride of her. But I only had a total of 260K on my previous 6 Ventures. Rick
  19. Rick Butler
    Guys, Longtrain told me a while back that there is a weep hole at the base of the ignition that you can get a WD-40 straw into and blow the crap (and junk) out of the contacts. And when this has ever happened to me, I just played with turning the key from ACC to ON and sometimes it will make contact and the dash will come alive. Now on the "Temp Fix", I'm thinking about wiring this switch in but using a 30 amp relay that would be triggered by a wire that is hot with the Accessory switch on. Then put the switch on either the hot or ground of the trigger circuit. This would make sure that this starter and ignition circuit would be entergized when the temp switch is on and would go dead when the switch is turned to OFF. And by using a relay like this, you could use a small amp switch. Hope this helps, Rick
  20. Rick Butler
    Hey Earl, If your washers are the same as the ones John Furbur makes, they will also work on the 2nd gens to be put between the spanner nuts. When I first heard about the "Furbur Fix" I ordered one and have had it on my 2002 Midnight for 5 years now. I have been taking the rubber washer out from betwween the spanner nuts since 88. But I always lapped the top nut down a bit so that I could get the slots on the spanner nuts to almost align within 1 slot and then I could just manage to tighten it down on the bottom nut to make it into a real lock nut and then drop in the keeper. And I also had to do this with the Furbur washer to get the top nut to align for the keeper. Good work, Rick
  21. Rick Butler
    Ed, Glad I could help you out. I haven't done many 1st gen seats lately, so it was good to get to work on one again. And for the rest of you folks with a 1st gen, even though the exteriors of the cover looks good (and most of them are), the interior layer is probably in pretty bad shape. If you notice the raised panels, they have a thin layer of foam covered by a sheet of heavy plastic that has been heat sealed to the cover bottom. After all of these years the layer of plastic has become brittle and is cracking away from the foam. And in most cases the thin layer of foam is also pulling away. So in this case, I remove the layer of plastic and most of the time the thin layer of deteriorating foam. But with a 1 1/2" layer of memory foam glued and shaped to the foundation foam, you now have a revived seat that will conform to the shape of your butt and will reduce pressure points. In fact I've already seen at least one RSV seat in just about this same condition. These standard RSV seats are designed in this same manner with panels with a thin layer of foam covered by a layer of heavy plastic sheet molded into each panel. This gives the cover that puffy look with each panel. There you have it, Rick
  22. Rick Butler
    Yeah, This is not a simple job, where you need to basically pull the entire final drive and swing arm out to get to the bearings. This because there is a bearing seal that is in the swing arm that has to come out to get to the tapered bearings. Then to get to the pivot bolts, the rear exhausts need to also come off. And you might be able to salvage these seals and reuse them, but I chose to go ahead and replace them. In fact I was intending to have to replace the bearings also, but after I saw the shape they were in, I just repacked them. But in my case, I was looking at changing a rear tire as well as replacing my rear shock so this was a perfect time to undertake it. And with the tempurature at freezing here in North Texas and with my garage being fully insulated and heated, the timing was perfect. And a side note for shock replacement, doing this with the rear wheel out gives you ample room to get to everything. I've done it both ways, and you need to have small hands and be a contortionest to do it with the wheel on, but it is doable. Hope this helps, Rick
  23. Rick Butler
    Hey Guys, After a 100K I finally decided to drop the swing arm on my 02 and check the bearings. And I was pleasantly pleased to find no indentions in the race, so I just repacked them. I was also replacing the rear tire as well as a rebuilt Works shock that I just got back, so this was a perfect time to just go ahead and do it all. However when I got ready to put it back together, I opened up my service manual to get the procedure and the correct torque specs, since this is not something you do every day. But when I got to the installation section, I was surprised to not see more than I did, compared to the 1st gen 1300 shop manuals. But it had the torque specs which was all I really needed. So I saw that the torque for the left pivot bolt was 72 ft/lbs but when I saw that the right side pivot bolt was 51 ft/lbs. This didn't feel right so I checked my 1st gen manual and it showed 4.3 ft/lbs. Those Bozos forgot the decimal point and it should have been 5.1 ft/lbs and 7Nm! I even had a newer RSV manual that I had borrowed from a friend when I gave GigaWhiskey both of my manuals for the Texas Work Day, and it showed the same thing, 51 ft/lbs. So, for you guys who have a RSV Service Manual, go to page 7-72 and put a decimal between the 5 and 1 for the right pivot bolt torque. Now if you always use newton meters for your torque settings, you will be ok because 7 Nm is right. There you have it, Rick
  24. Rick Butler
    Actually Chuck, They have more of an OD tint to them. And if you clean them off, the oem links will have a 4XY stamped into the side of them. The ones from Diamond R are CNC cut from stainless. Hope this helps, Rick
  25. Rick Butler
    Red, If your metal plates mic out to within specs and are not warped, then all you need to do is beed blast them to take the sheen off of them and put them back in. But even though the fiber plates are still within specs, I'd replace them and go ahead and spring for the PWC heavier pressure plate. But if you want a clutch that will NEVER SLIP, just stack 2 pressure plates together and put her back together. Now you will have a clutch lever that will take more grip to pull it in, but it will still be manageable. And with this change you won't have to worry about fiber plates, until they are plum worn out. Hope this helps, Rick
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