CaseyJ955

Heres a thread that covers the gen2, the procedure is the same for a gen1 but the screws are slightly different. http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?258-Syncronizing-the-Carbs Here is some discussion on the Vmax side. The screws on the Vmax are the same as the Venture. Same engine and carbs, just tuned and jetted differently but you will recognize the correct screws for synching. http://www.vmaxforum.net/showthread.php?t=43398 http://www.vmaxforum.net/showthread.php?t=3959 Enjoy!

I rode my Gen1 home after purchase and I was sure it was wheel bearings. Any lean angle at all produced a significant hum. The tires (Metzler Marathons) had lots of life left but also had significant feathering. Replaced with Dunlop E3s and problem is gone. It was definately more of a hum than a whine though. I have an audible amount of gear whine but I dont think it's unusual on these bikes.

Agree. I noted that some of the earlier "new" Indians had an overkill of retro. It looked good but it was a little bit over the top for me. This more modern with a hint of retro is a hit IMHO. Darn good looking bike.

Many years ago I saw a documentary on the female Russian snipers, very impressive and I have never forgotten it.

A purdy bike indeed! Love that color too. It's amazing how well these 1st gen bikes handle. They seem to defy their age and weight.

That is wicked! Way to go! Does this mean that all Canadians call take us out from a moving train car half way across the county? Next time I hear "eh" I'm gonna duck!

I would keep it and ride it, it's a darn fine bike. If you do ride an 18 and decide you want one then sell yours privately outright. I'm sure there are still quite a few guys that would rather have yours than a twin. Shop around for the first guy that buys an 18 and figures out that it's just to heavy and sells it at a huge loss with almost no miles on it. It will happen, someone else can eat the depreciation for you. If the 18 does turn out to be worthy of all the hype than the value and sale-ability of your current steed might come down. I'm more thinking that the 2nd gens will be known as the last true ventures and regarded as such. It's early to tell before the 18s start hitting the streets and we see what they really are. Also the used ones will start popping up within a year or two. Food for thought anyway.

Check for rodent damage to the wiring loom. Depending on where it sat you might have a robust nest in there somewhere made out of wiring insulation.

The same crying goes on here, and it's LOUD. The NRA and our vast, quickly growing militias do put a real damper on those that would seek to violate our constitutional rights so we do thankfully have these factors. If you want to mobilize millions of Americans very quickly, roll out a gun buyback program or step on the constitution. That'l do er'. South Dakota and most of the states that touch it are sort of like the last bastion of the old west and we happy to go on about our lives without enduring the insane overregulation and revocation of rights/privacy seen on our coastal states that have fallen to terrible leadership. Unfortunately when idiots use firearms as weapons and in the commission of crimes we all take a step backwards.

If there really are oil galleys that encompass the heads and cylinders to some degree, possibly between the fins or internally as we have seen before, with an external heat exchanger. Oil cooling is nothing new but the volume and viscosity of oil vs that of proper liquid cooling has to date been pretty different. With a badass oil pump and a couple extra qts of oil I guess it could conceivably work somewhat. IIRC Buell was using the frame to store fuel on some of their models. I'm most anxious for one of our brothers or sisters to chime in after buying one.

That is a good read, I hope it works and I hope this bike is a win for guys waiting for a better twin. The luggage and analog instrumentation are looking pretty good. It will be interesting to see how cool it runs in hot weather or after being pushed up a mountain pass fully loaded, if they have developed an efficient oil cooling system that really works I'll be impressed. It makes me wonder how the 3rd gen MKII will differ.

X2 I should have something to add as soon as the snow flies and I get onto it. After riding the bike this year I have decided that it has enough power as it is, but a bit more top end would be welcome, and so it will happen.

Assuming all fuses are intact I wonder if someone didnt bugger the 4 way switch. That switch is tricky to manipulate while removing and replacing the plastic inlays on either side of the head assembly. I love the progressives too, those and new head bearings/races made notable differences in ride and handling. The rear shock on my 89 works and performs really well, but I think there are outfits out there that can overhaul and alter valving/behavior of a shock if it doesn't work as you want it to. I pulled this one out of thin air, no experience with them, but they appear to have this service. http://www.brooksuspension.co.uk/services/motorcycle-shock-rebuilds.html Are you still using the anti-dives with your progressives?

I know there are a few that are "cool" with air cooling, but I thought of you right away when I read this article while cruising the news. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-southwest-temperature-idUSKBN19A32D I may be getting old but I'm not thinking that sounds like fun on any bike,

I love your closet there, excellent. IMHO the problem in the USA has more to do with people than guns. No lone gunman should be able to off 30 people, unless they are all unarmed. Sucks that it has come to this but while I may leave my place without a gun I would NEVER EVER go into town without one. Sadly it really has come to that here, so much craziness going on in the world, and on our soil. It's really overwhelming to read national and international news every day. I would never hand over a gun to the gov, not under any circumstances and I'm a law abiding citizen, at least until the day they require all guns be relinquished.

It's good to be careful of anything made in China, and by be careful I mean skip it altogether. OEM stuff is expensive but it's worth it, even for a cheap bastard like myself. I have almost completely eliminated this problem by being very careful where items that I buy are made. Unfortunately there are a lot of counterfeit items out of China, designed to look like OEM and in OEM packaging.

What an overwhelming series of things to deal with. I'm really sorry to hear about this. You will be in my thoughts. It sounds like you might be next in line for about two decades of much better luck. My condolences.

Glad to see you made it home safe, it was great to meet you guys. Good times! The pic came out great, definitely one of my favorite restaurants in the hills too.

I'm actually very happy with the Venture, it's a great tourer, comfy, user friendly, reliable so far, decent power handles deceptively well. I'm happy with the Vmax, it's perfect for hills days and for when I feel more spirited. So adding another bike to the mix would require a bike to do something my others dont do. So probably a BMW GS, Triumph Tiger or Vstrom 1000 something that can be used on the street but also competent off in the hills. Aint nothing like getting away from it all. Great thread.

Sorry, it was hard to quote this but i'll address each one. Yes I'm a minority in many things vehicle related. I know that some of these bikes will surpass 200k without much trouble, I'm not actually on the market for one and would likely look for something under 100k. I bought my 1st gen with 70k on the clock and I'm not even a touch worried. Apples and Oranges, yup, thats true, but thats what we're doing here in comparing air and liquid cooling and known stout Euro bikes to air cooled twins. I will certainly agree it's apples and oranges, this would be more the point than a counter point. I'll keep my liquid cooled apples for sure. Buying a modern bike with air cooling would be a big step backwards, like buying a new Lexus with incandescent headlights and a points type distributor. Longevity and Performance to me: Longevity to me means a bike that will not need rebuilding in 100k miles. It is a subjective term but I'm pretty sure anyone we ask would indicate that a bike with 175k on the clock has some longevity and a bike with blow by at 56k does not enjoy longevity. Performance is also subjective, to me it means that I can pass a row of RVs with my wife on the back and a load of our stuff in the trunk, in 105 degree weather and at 95 mph. Not sure about you but I dont spend one more moment beside a tractor/trailer than I have too. I'll spare you the description of how well my Softy (air cooled twin) went up the pass 2-up, but I can use words like "frustrating, slow, very hot, dramatic". In short Performance to me means it puts a smile on my face when I crack the throttle and will accelerate with authority fully loaded in any reasonable situation, without fuss or drama. Will maintain triple digit speeds easily. Will effortlessly blast away from tailgaters at highway speeds, 2-up and with authority. I'm not saying I would do these things but I might, and the bike needs to be up to the task if I choose to. Some bikes make me grin so hard my face hurts and others just leave me underwhelmed. Performance also means easy starts, good ridability at all RPMs and it should never feel like a sports car in Valet Mode. My experience with this has been extensive exposure to air cooled narrow angle twins, mostly HD but some others. Of course experiences of those close to me as well. I have not ridden the new Yamaha so granted it could be a better design than HD, in fact I would bet on it, but it's still a very large engine with air cooling and just as water gets you wet, large air cooled twins emit copious amount of heat, especially when asked to push the weight of the Venture. It may not cook you 3 blocks from your house in the crisp morning air but your definitely going to feel it after you come off the highway fully loaded and have to sit at the offramp red light for 5 minutes in the summer heat "Truth is, there are many air cooled V-twins running over 200k..." I'm sure there are a few, given ultimate conditions and very gentle riding style but this is absolutely not the norm. They are usually pretty clapped out at 100k if they even last that long. It's just as odd for an air cooled twin to give up 100k truoble free miles as it is for a V4 to not give you 100k trouble free miles. I will say that to those that want the air cooled twin, more power (or not haha) to ya, enjoy! Life is full of options. I still know a few with the old twins. Its okay to ride whatever we want and also okay to debate pros and cons of engine design. I didn't mean to imply that the air cooled twin is a poor inferior design, not by any means. I really meant to just come right out and say it. Lots of folks like these antiquated twins and I'll never know why still today but I think Yamaha is meeting market demand and a business should do that. I would be lying if I said that I didnt loose a ton of respect for Yamaha for using this obsolete tech in a new bike. I have been riding for 35 years and seen lots change in bike technology and it's been exciting. I know many of you have more than my 35 years and like different bikes for different reasons and it's all good, but the debate is nothing more than comparing notes, opinions and experiences of other folks passionate about motorcycles. Please understand that this is not a personal attack and this response is with all due respect. We obviously dont agree on engine configurations but I think we can find common ground in the fact (not opinion) that motorcycling is an awesome state of mind and way of life.

A good question deserves an honest answer. Show me a boxer with a service history, price it right for a bike with 200k and I'll absolutely ride off into the sunset on it. Triumph Triple, same again. My Triple still had all the crosshatch on each cylinder at 80k, it looked like a pretty new engine inside. Some engines are well crafted and made to last. Other engines have different priorities and purposes. An air cooled twin is not designed with longevity or performance in mind, it's just not. I really dont see how it will be much different than many other air cooled twins on the market aside from 8 valves. It wont be terribly exciting, it wont pile on lots of miles and at a long stop light in August you will still fry. Love it or hate it, it is what it is.

I go to WY for no reason, at least a couple times a year. It's great. Headed south from Newcastle to Lusk just last month, it's simply amazing. There is not a lot of ghetto action in WY that I have seen. There are less ppl/sq mile in WY than any of the other lower 48 states. There are less people to fleece with absurd stupid laws, like requiring a paid permit to invoke a constitutionally guaranteed right. We've gone well past crafting laws in the interest of public safety and gone off the deep end of power grabs/money grabs. A state with minimal gov intrusion into the lives of it's citizens, I LOVE that! So while I absolutely hate to hear about a gun being used as a weapon against anyone, I was a touch less upset about this shooting than the ones involving grade schools and workplaces filled with innocent folks.

I could not agree more with this. It's a good thing nobody that was ever POTUS did any grand apology tour or anything like that might make us all look like a bunch of PC sissies. Our constitution is one of our only saving graces right now. I carry concealed pistol and occasionally I enjoy my right to open carry. Like you, I have no plans on becoming a victim. I'm responsible for the protection of myself and my family. Oh yea, and I just like guns, they are cool. When we think of how easy it is for an unstable individual to hit the street and get a gun its scary. Throwdown guns are like drugs, you can really buy anywhere at any time, legal or not. Illegal only means that no regulation is applied, nor taxes collected on any product or service not allowed by law. That is just the reality of our society. Gun control has failed, and will continue to fail as it should but idiot control is something we probably need to take a closer look at. It's hard to counter this trend of almost daily shootings in our country without looking at the people doing it instead of the tools employed in the act.

Not to one-up, but my watercooled Venture can rev to around 23,000, so yea... there ya go I love the early small cal Hondas that can rev like Formula 1 cars, I saw one on a race circuit once. It's beyond *****en' Valve spring strength makes sense and probably port design being narrow enough to keep charge velocity high as it enters the chamber. I think this threw me, it's the first time I saw more than 2 valves/cyl on a vehicle with such a lethargic red line. I remember Yamaha Genesis 5 valve design, pretty cool and as I recall very effective. So now that we know what the engine is do we really know why it's so limited in the revs? Maybe head design to get the torque, maybe it would be to many powerstrokes for the air cooling to be adequate. I am fascinated to say the least.

I had a 70 GT, the 70-71 were my favorite years. Now that you mention it I see it too. I saw the brow that was reminiscent of BMW cars. I've made peace with the appearance of the gen3 but the spec sheet is going to be a deal breaker for me. At that weight Ill bet it rides nice. Here is a design question I would like to ask. Why put 16 valves in an engine with a sub-5k red line? They must be fairly small valves. I understand that one of the main perks to a 16v vs 8v is it breathes freer up high and 8v was a little easier to get low end grunt with. I assume that the extra two valves improve charge or somehow work to change how the charge enters the combustion chamber. Maybe they are angled to give the charge a twist or something? I do see less and less 8v mills out there, especially on bikes.