CaseyJ955

I've worked in geriatrics, it's been a remarkable source of wisdom and perspective. That generation lived through a massive depression, dirty boots-on-the-ground wars and countless other hardships. Now verbal triggers and microaggressions are enough to get folks worked up into a froth. They sure don't make _________________ the way they used to!

I did a compression check on my Vmax when I got it and had to do some proper tuning, it was to verify it's general health and to make sure I was not urinating up a waterfall with the tuning efforts. It was badly mis-tuned when I got it so I wanted to make sure I was starting with a healthy engine before cracking open the wallet and toolbox. But on first plug change why not toss the compression meter on it quick? For the Venture, it's 31 years old and has over 72k so I figured while the plugs were out, why not. Verification of a (presumably) healthy engine and the fact that I do take her quite a ways away from home it was prudent to be sure so both V4s got compression checks early in my ownership just as a matter of routine preventative maintenance. I feel like a compression check before beginning tuning is not a wasted step. I've never done a compression check on one of my Yammies in response to a ridability problem, which were almost always traced to fuel management or antiquated coils/HT leads. it's cheap, quick and easy to do a check, so on a decades old bike with holes in the service history it's hard to argue against one as a baseline just to be sure. That being said I have never had compression issues and have very rarely heard of anyone else having actual internal engine problems leading to compression loss on the Vmax or Venture V4s. These engines are like the slant-6 of bikes. Now that I have done a baseline compression check on both bikes early in ownership I would be very unlikely to do another unless there was an obvious reason to question compression.

I'm going to say YES, unless it's just going to the store and back. If your on the highway, yea, best have em'. I have the hard chrome shields that are fixed on with hose clamps. I really wouldn't go far without them since I'm only to aware of what a PITA seal replacement can be.

Condolences, very sorry for your loss. Will send along some positive energy and hope that you may attend services.

I've not tried it personally but I have read that the Gen1 Vmax heads may bolt onto the Gen2 engine, but the location of the Vmax exhaust ports is blocked by the Gen2 frame. This would prevent bolting in a Vmax motor or the use of Vmax heads on a Gen2 bike. Double check me of course but I'm pretty sure this is the case. Brother Puc (or anyone), please correct me if I'm wrong!

The Dyna 3000 TCI is a popular choice and a good unit, but if you ever convert to COPs (Coil Over Plug) it may very well cook the Dyna unless you use resistors. The Ignitek TCI can run the COPs straight up with no need for resistors. If your not planning to convert the old OEM coils to COPs then disregard and enjoy!

I'm not sure how much benefit you would realize upgrading carbs while keeping the stock Venture intakes/heads/cams. I have a set of 1st gen Vmax manifolds laying around if you end up needing any measurements, but I think the bottleneck is in the heads/cams for a gen2 if your goal is increased performance. If we know what year/specific model your bike is and any mods to it we should be able to help you get where you want to be. I feel compelled to ask why you want to go to 32mm carbs, what is the end goal? We have some really sharp minds on this forum, if we know what you have and where you want to go with it I'm pretty sure we can help. Oh yea, WELCOME to the forum!

I've never gone wrong with Dunlop. +1 on steering head bearing check/adjust along with tires.

I've noticed these videos before, there is a series of them, complete with the bad dub music and 70s pornstache, but they are excellent vids. They have a great one for adjusting the steering head bearings, which is probably something everyone with a 30 year old tour bike should have a peek at. Great find and some very informative vids.

Glad you had a good top down ride, I really dig roadsters! For noisy diners, you did the right thing. Unfortunately quite a few folks are just plain rude and inconsiderate. Some people really need to figure out that their little bundles of joy are NOT everyone else's bundles of joy. I live near a city (Rapid City, SD) that is renowned for rudeness so I'm often disappointed but never really surprised. Normally I go out less and go to places that are a rung above family dining which drastically cuts down on the chances of someone bringing young children in to **** up everyone else's dining experience. Expect it at Denny's or Perkins, but not at Stonewalls. I was at a steakhouse over the Tacoma waterfront and was seated as it opened, first ones in. This place had dim lighting and nice soft music, clearly catering to couples and adults maybe trying to get a quiet break from their own kids. Minutes behind us came a family that was seated right next to us (the whole place wide open), and they had an infant. This kid screeched and fussed unchecked, no sound is more grating! I pulled the waiter aside and told him politely that this was not the atmosphere we were paying for. He moved them and we got to stay by the overlook. The family was not happy but we were able to enjoy our $75/plate meals. IMHO it's just rude to drag kids into anything other than family dining places, and even then there is no reason to let them terrorize the place. After our steak dinner the waiter apologized profusely and offered us a discount. We paid in full and gave a good tip because he did the right thing to quickly resolve it, then served us amazing steaks followed by a free desert. Often when I go into a place I ask for a child-free seating, or something quiet. I also never dine during meal rush times when everyone else is dining, I slip in and out during the less busy hours. Many nicer places or more astute wait staff will seat families and couples/individuals away from each other, they deserve an extra robust tip. If I'm forced to sit next to a noisy family and the waiter is not receptive to doing something about it I will just get up and leave. There will be no tip and I'm only to happy to explain why. IMHO if you cant afford a sitter you cant afford Anything over $15-20/plate, which should buy you some atmosphere as well as a decent meal. Inflicting ones Ill-supervised ill-disciplined children on the general public is the pinnacle or rudeness. I would rather snarf a Culver's burger from the drive-thru while steering with my knee and shifting with my forearm, with the fries precariously teetering on the console. I would enjoy that more then enduring noisy kids. I have to believe that most families understand this and do the considerate thing, but everyone else suffers over the few who feel they are exempt from the use of common courtesy. This problem actually keeps me from dining out quite a bit more. I feel your pain brother, you were right not to tolerate it!

Thats a fine looking machine. Those seats look inviting for a nice long spring ride across a few state lines!!

Spitballin' here as I'm not familiar withe the inner workings of the Gen3, but could the ABS be cutting in or doing something? Assuming key off but still there has to be other comoponents between the master and caliper that do not exist on non-ABS or Trac cntrl bikes. I hope ya sort it, I'd be curious what it turns out to be.

Congrats! It's a brilliant time to buy a bike! Make sure and throw some pics if/when you get her.

I forgot to mention on jacking the bike up that I used jackstands under the highway bars just in case. Also it might be easier to pop it up on the center stand with a bit of extra air in the shock, I find it a real bear to do as well.

Make sure you get one too! my daughter and I baked it, even made the caramel from scratch (SO much better than store-bought). Aside from the Heath Bar bits it's all from scratch.

I saw the closure this morning, I respect their positions and understand. It's all good, I'll try to refrain from engaging in touchy topics in the future. Like Patch, I'm a bit passionate about things that effect us, but point taken, this is not the place. When it comes to 25 and 30 year old scoots we probably have plenty of motorcycle related stuff to maul over. Tomorrow I'm firing up the grill and un-winterizing the Venture! Southern CO is dead in my sights for this coming week, hopefully. If anyone was offended by my non-motorcycle posts then I offer some of this decadent vanilla skillet cake as a peace offering, go ahead, take a piece

From it being on the center stand you will notice that it's very easy to lift the front and let the rear wheel touch down, teetering on the center stand. I take just a plain ol' automotive floor jack and slip it under the oil filter housing (almost no weight on it) area and give it a couple pumps by hand until there is light under the front wheel. If you still have that lower fairing I think it's 4 screws and it pops off exposing the underbelly and filter housing. Thats how I lifted the front w/o a motorcycle jack to service the steering head bearings, front brakes and the forks. When I pulled the wheels to go into town and have new tires put on, it was there with just the center stand and a floor jack. If you got some pistons jumping out on one side then the other side probably has the pistons seized in there with gunk. R1/R6 calipers are an easy conversion if your existing calipers are too far gone.

That cant be denied. Nobody can think about anything else, literally everything else is automatically under the radar now. This is what we have been collectively allowing, so it's on us. We obviously cant count on local/state/federal leaders to be prepared, I think we all see that, right? Here is some of what we might/should consider for the next time; 1. Have our own supplies, remember how our gov handled this outbreak with pants down. We need to have our own caches of protective gear, masks, medical supplies/prescribed medications and non-perishables. 2. Have enough emergency money to handle a few months of our own essentials. We'll be in so much debt as a nation that next time there may be NO help from above. At least not for us. 3. Stop relying on state and local officials to tell us what to do and when to stay home. We need to listen to doctors and virologists from the private sector and learn to tune out background noise by anyone elected to office. We clearly had way too much faith in them, didnt we? Not trying to be political, but it might have value to talk about how to prevent the wreckage to our own personal and financial existences next time we need to bug-in. This is a GOOD thing and will make us stronger and less reliant on anyone else.

Another possibility is that the rear caliper could be hanging up causing the pads to drag on the rotor. That would let the rotor get good and hot, maybe hot enough to warp and have some heat discoloration. If this is the case then replacing the rotor will only subject the new rotor to the same heat and warpage. Get it on the center stand, put the bike in neutral, with the brakes warm roll that rear wheel around by hand while working the rear brakes with the other hand, you will then feel if the caliper is causing drag when you let off the brake. If memory serves me correctly, the caliper pistons only need to retract about 0.004" to let go of the rotor, so it wont be really visible to the naked eye, but if it's not properly releasing the rotor when you let off the brake you will feel it dragging and resisting. Even in neutral the rear wheel turns the driveshaft, so it might feel a little heavy that way, but drag from the brakes should have a distinctive feel. On my 99 Vmax they were hanging up also so I disassembled the calipers, cleaned everything up and reassembled (keeping the same pistons and seals with their respective bores) with the old parts. The parts looked good so I cleaned out the sludge and they still work great, I even had to carefully scrape some buildup off the ID of the bores. For a 30+ year old machine it's not outside the realm of possibility that the caliper may need some love. If you DO end up needing brake parts then Mark at Brake Crafters is your guy. He has OEM and cost effective aftermarket, lots of it out of the UK. He refuses to sell Chinese parts anymore because of the problems with them . I've dealt with him a couple times and he's a 5 star guy. Aged or kinked rubber brake lines can disintegrate from the inside out, causing a sort of check-valve effect keeping pressure in the caliper, making it look like the caliper is dragging, less likely but possible. If you experience a dragging caliper out back, crack the bleeder screw on the caliper just long enough to see if it reduces drag of the rear brake(w/o touching the brake pedal) and if the caliper lets go of the rotor freeing up the brakes then the issue is further up the line. If you do end up pulling the rotor remember what Patch said about any matter or gunk getting between the mounting surfaces causing it not to sit true on the rim. The same can be done up front, I just use a floor jack and a pad to gently get the front wheel off the ground while on the center stand, then you can see if there is any real drag up front. On my 89 all the calipers were dragging so I did the conversion to R6 calipers. If there is no abnormal drag in the caliper then your ahead and may now crack open a beer while looking for a replacement rotor. .

Moving the whole unit from Vmax to Venture is pretty straight forward (Harder to go Venture to Vmax because one of the Vmax rear shocks mounts to that final drive pumpkin. I'm not sure how the trike changes installation of the final drive, but on the bikes moving Vmax pumpkin to a Venture is pretty straight forward, you'll get your hands dirty but it's not too difficult if your comfortable breaking out the tools. If your having trouble pulling or using 5th then the Vmax gears are probably right about where you want to be. I would imagine that the added weight and rolling resistance of a trike would benefit from slightly lower final drive. 3.31 vs 3.67, enough to feel. https://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?42504-v-max-final-drive Some older reading on the subject. http://www.venturers.org/Tech_Library/index.php?action=article&cat_id=001006&id=52 some chit/chat on ratios and stuff, I had this bookmarked and have enjoyed this library. I sold my last one to another member here. If you have trouble finding one I can give a shout out on the Vmax forum, I'm sure there are plenty of them rolling around under some workbenches. I noticed your a Gen2, my knowledge is 1st gen stuff, I'm sure someone here knows if it is the same housing and easily swap-able. The gears can be swapped out too, but it's a little more involved and you will need a special puller. If it comes to that then Morley's Muscle has all that, and probably the gears too.

I've wasted so much time, money and endured untold frustrations. I wish I had known earlier. But yea, I may have mentioned it a time or two before

That place looks fantastic! Shoot me the coordinates, I'll be on my way. I take mine med/rare. That looks like a great place to spend an afternoon, or weekend.

I did not realize that about dynos, thank you! I know a lot of folks here have Gen3s and love them, so they did something right. Yamaha knows how to make quality bikes. BUT I think they were answering a question that not many young buyers were asking, instead focusing on a fast shrinking demographic. Another heavyweight low-revving narrow-angle air-cooled twin in a market already saturated with them was apparantly not a ticket to stardom, however superior they are to HD. Things were already difficult with motorsports before the global economy was Wuhanified. It's going to be very ugly now and for a while yet, I hope Polaris can make enough sales in this harsh fiscal climate to get this advanced twin off the ground. It will be nice to be able to get excited about an American motorcycle again! The Challenger is pretty good looking except for the nose, I'm glad they stepped back from the heavy retro look. I think the powerful twin is whats going to be the big deal for this bike. I also see Polaris is making the electronic gadgetry optional. I cant see touch screens as being the future of motorcycles, but I might be wrong on that one. We'll see. I do have one rosy prediction, I think time and history will be very kind to the Gen3. At some point they will still be uncommon and very sought after for the same reasons those that have them bought them to begin with. Polaris listened to younger buyers and Yamaha did not (IMHO). That's how it panned out (pun intended). They made this great Gen3 about 20 years too late. I'm locked and loaded with I-toldja-sos and not wearing a flame suit haha.

Looking at that Polaris twin on paper shows that it is pretty likely a badass and not the underwhelming narrow twin we have come to know. I have high expectations, they essentially did everything HD should have done a generation ago. It's finally been done, I'll ride one when the opportunity arises. My faith in American vehicles has not increased in recent years but this one looks like enough of a leap in Vtwin cruisers to make it worth a solid look. Wait until they put it in a sport/tourer... I'm sick of Chinavirus news, and especially on how much we are spending on it. I like bikes more! Oh yea, there are some poke/stroke kits for the Vrods that make them might hard to shake out of the rearview mirrors. I agree, if they could slap that Vrod motor in an appealing bike it would have my attention.

I went through one like this on Paypal and won, probably because it was an Ebay deal. I lack faith in Paypal and try not to use it if I can avoid it. They have been notorious for difficult cust service. My Visa credit card has some pretty stout consumer protections involved and has kicked easily into action more thank once. Now with times getting pretty tough we can expect to see lots and lots of sweet deals online that are actually scams just like this one. Note: debit cards, Visa or not, usually do not have seller protections the way an actual credit card does. I got mine specifically for shopping online and I'm pretty glad I did. I'm glad you got it sorted!