MiCarl

Something that no one has said: That whine is not an indication of a failure or imminent failure. The primary gear set is straight cut and they are inherently noisy. Unless the sound bothers you there is absolutely no reason to worry about it.

I noticed something similar. I just found this NEWS ARTICLE.

I have found that if I keep my driving lights (2 X 55 Watts) on in stop and go I can get into trouble. I shut then down if I'm not moving. I also needed a jump once after pulling a trailer about 8 miles in rush hour traffic. I've since switched the trailer to LED lighting. It appears that the electric ant-dive units draw a bunch of power during braking. One of these days I'm going to disconnect them and see if things are better......

I wouldn't. At low RPM you don't have a lot of output from the alternator. If that fan runs too much you'll discharge the battery and end up pushing it home.

I've got a Harbor Freight lift in my repair shop. It's the only lift I had the first three years. It's got a lot of use, but now I generally do the larger bikes on my newer air lift. I keep the older HF lift around because some bikes (like the Ventures) cannot be loaded on the air lift backward (tall L clamp that hits pipes/bags/fenders). Another advantage of the HF lift is it sits lower when down which is a big benefit with larger bikes. Some things to keep in mind: + That lift has gone through several design/manufacturer changes since I purchased mine. For instance the lift in the picture has the foot pedals on the opposite side of mine. At least one iteration of the lift had a light, hollow locking bar that could bend. I'd check the one I bought to make sure it had a solid locking bar. + The feet are at the clamp end of the lift. When you load a motorcycle all the weight is on the wheeled end and it can slide on a smooth floor. Mine shot several feet into the wall before I screwed a block to the floor to hold it in place. + My lift was drilled near the center for U-bolts to strap the bike to. I re-drilled close to the clamp and tie down there. You need to be tied at the clamp end if you want to jack the motorcycle up. + Mine will no longer lift a Venture sized bike without help - the safety on the jack releases the hydraulic pressure. I get around this by lifting on the passenger grab bars for the first few pumps to help it along. Once it's started up the bike has less mechanical advantage on the jack and it goes fine. + That clamp will not hold a motorcycle upright while you strap it down (not an issue if you use the center stand). I used to put large motorcycles on unassisted but now I avoid doing it without an assistant to help hold it upright while it is strapped down. + It's difficult to get the rear tire off a Venture on that lift. The trap door has a bar across the end that keeps you from dropping the wheel straight down. You need to get the motorcycle high enough that you can move the wheel forward then down. As I recall, you can just squeeze the 1st gen wheel through when it's on the center stand. A 2nd gen needs to be jacked up pretty high to get the rear wheel off. + Because of that bar across the trap door you need to drop the wheel down through the lift which means you have to let go and get your hands underneath. Again, an assistant is almost required with a heavy Venture wheel. + The turned up edges on the lift are great. They keep stuff from rolling or getting knocked off. I wish my air lift had that. It's tough to put a Venture on the center stand on the lift. The extra height makes it difficult to get enough leverage on the stand. I generally hop up on the lifts to work the center stand but you don't want to lose your balance. Again, an assistant is a big help.

The other thing you need to worry about is some of the fluid escaping from the reservoir lid and dripping on the plastic. It'll ruin ABS plastic almost instantly. You need an impact screwdriver. Both Harbor Freight and Sears sell them for $20. The "Phillips" bits are JIS. A few sharp smacks with a plastic mallet should break them loose. That tool is a must have for your tool box.

If you ran Linux you could delete the post....

There is no way to know for sure without inspecting it. Even if the steel plates (the ones that burn) are good you still might need friction plates, they are a wear item.

You cannot judge the fuse block by appearance. Those clips weaken with age and can have poor connections while looking fine. Any time I'm working on an older Yamaha with an electrical issue the original fuse box gets replaced before I do anything else. Often that solves the problem.

I just saw one of those the other day. I think you're supposed to use it with a buddy, that's probably why it didn't work for you.. Fortunately, I only needed to wash my hands. They did not have any kind of dryer though.

That's why they invented fishing buddies and mistresses!

You've asked for and got thoughts on towing method. I'll share some things that you need to pay attention to for both types of trailers: + Inspect very carefully for ANY evidence of water seepage. The first places to go soft are usually at the bottom of the walls which is often hidden behind cabinets and furniture. Get your foot back in every nook and cranny you can and put weight on it. Any give and you should be very suspicious. Look at the under side of the trailer - if the fabric or rubber is sagging there might be wet insulation, feel for excess weight in those areas. Of course any water stains on the ceiling or walls and you should run away from it. + I'm not sure anyone has made anything but a rubber roof for quite some time but I think a rubber roof is a necessity. The seams and joints in an aluminum roof are a maintenance nightmare. Of course the rubber roof shouldn't have any breaks or tears in it. + Try every space as you envision using it, including the beds and shower. Our last trailer I was surprised after we bought it (new) that the "Queen" bed was only 6' long and that my head brushed the ceiling in the shower. Anyone taller than me (6') would have been very uncomfortable in the shower. On the other hand, the toilet was so high up my feet wouldn't reach the floor when I wasn't wearing shoes. Sit on a toilet with your feet dangling and you'll realize why it's so hard to potty train the young-uns. Make sure one person can comfortably pass through the galley while the other is cooking. + I consider Air Conditioning a necessity, preferably ducted AC. There isn't much window area to open and they get stuffy. In ours I would run the AC blower even when it was cool enough to not use the AC. The only time I didn't use that blower was when we were using the furnace. + Most travel trailers here are not suitable for use in freezing temperatures - the holding tanks are exposed to the weather. There are equipment packages to insulate and/or heat the holding tanks. If you're planning to use in cold weather learn what special equipment you may need. + Plan for a large fuel bill. Both our travel trailers cut our mileage in half. There were time I rented a cabin rather than tow the trailer because the fuel savings pretty much covered the lodging. If you're not planning to stay in any place more than a couple nights you might find that from a $$ standpoint you're better off in a hotel or cabin. + Awnings and their hardware are damage prone and expensive to replace. Look them over carefully.

It will fit, but it's not a stator. It's a starter.

You ever hear of a brake fluid well or farm? They're all synthetic. Don't let the marketing department cause you to lose sleep. The whole point of having a standard is to ensure uniform performance and compatibility. Any DOT4 is just fine. That's part of the point of having a standard in the first place.

Are there new ones? Parts for the ones from around 1980 can be hard to get. I had a customer with one and he sold it to a collector to get it out of his hair.

When you said before the timing wasn't advancing I'd assumed you checked it with a timing light. The engine will run quite nicely without timing advance, it just has no power. You're timing may be off, but it won't be the pressure sensor. It's job is to retard the timing when pressure is high (low vacuum). Incorrect valve timing can also cause it. Your most likely reason though is it's lean, and running without the air box will make it lean.

The amp does something interesting on my 89: If there is an audio signal on the cassette input it will switch to that even with the radio enabled. When I used an MP3 player if I forgot to throw the switch it would play the radio between songs. I switched this year to a Garmin Navigation system with built in MP3, even when it's quiet it puts a bit of hiss on the input and so the switch is unnecessary.

95% of the time I see your symptoms at my shop it's low speed fuel delivery. First though, do a compression check to make sure the engine is tight. Then throw in a new set of spark plugs to rule out something simple. You might check all plugs for spark before installing them. At this point you should be sure you have compression and spark. The only thing left is fuel/air (assuming it hasn't been corrected now). The next step is to make sure you've got good fuel delivery. Drain one carburetor at a time and cycle the key to make sure you get plenty of fuel from the drain when the pump runs. Do this for all four. If everything is good so far the carburetors are all that is left. They need to be properly cleaned paying special attention to the low speed fuel and air circuits. AN ULTRASONIC CLEANER IS NOT A RELIABLE WAY TO DO THIS. You need remove everything from the carburetor including disassembling the jet blocks. Use spray carb cleaner and compressed air to make sure every jet and passage flows freely. Make sure when you spray carb cleaner into the pilot circuit the cleaner also comes out the little holes under the throttle plate. Blow dry with air and reassemble, making sure the slides and diaphragms move freely.

You need to worry more about the tires than the rest of the motorcycle. Heat and low pressure are your enemies. Combine those two with speed (speed + weight = more heat) and you could be in a world of hurt.

The buttons are prone to problems. There are two areas to look at: 1) The button itself may be sticking in the housing. Check and make sure it pops back up after you press it. I had that problem with one of my CB buttons and some cleaning and WD40 solved it. 2) The switch itself may be dirty. Underneath the buttons is a molded rubber piece, and under that the switches are mounted to a circuit board. The switches are not sealed and it's easy to spray electronics cleaner in them. That solved the problem with my MEM radio switch. I don't recall exactly how I got in there, but it wasn't too difficult.

I was looking at the other hose.

I think it's a vacuum hose. If so, there shouldn't be any coolant in there.

Left front pads are operated by the rear brake. Right front operated by the hand lever. As Skydoc17 pointed out, if someone is under utilizing the hand brake the right front pads won't wear. Pads on a caliper should wear evenly, if not something is amiss. In addition to making sure the pistons are free look carefully at the rear caliper. The pads tend to wear a slot where they press against the caliper when stopping. If they get hung up in that slot they will wear unevenly.

Any surface defect the seal runs on will damage it. Also, if they're bent, even a little, the seal will die prematurely. You're supposed to pull the tubes off and roll them in v-blocks with a dial indicator on them to make sure they're straight. Also, you didn't mention bushings. Bad bushings will lead to early seal failure, and opening the fork up can damage them. It's good practice to replace bushings every time you tear them apart.

Sounds like a decent deal. If all the plastic is in good shape it's worth that for the parts. Plan on cleaning and adjusting carbs, new brake fluid and a set of tires. Figure $1000 if you have it done.