Venturous Randy
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Everything posted by Venturous Randy
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Thanks Mark, I needed that. Yes, Asheville 2010 was a lot of fun and always has been. We have always had a real laid back setting there and I think that has worked very well. We are thinking about riding that way today and talking to KOA about the weekend of June 9-12. So, with this in mind, it is time to see how much interest there is for this year. At this time, Linda and I are hoping to go up Friday for Freebird's MD and meander our way south and end up in Asheville somewhere around Wednesday afternoon or Thursday. With this being a Vogal year, if there is not much interest, we may just may skip having it and try to have a big get together next year. Thanks for posting the great pictures and here is a post from that wine and cheese tasting event. http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?p=505856#post505856 RandyA
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How high would gas have to go.....
Venturous Randy replied to Venturous Randy's topic in Watering Hole
As many of you have noted, the higher gas goes, the more inclined you are to take the bike rather than your truck or car to work or run errands. Let me clearify my question a little better. How high would gas prices have to go to impact your fun rides? By fun rides, I mean those times you just jump on your bike and go, without have a particular agenda, and just riding for the fun of it. RandyA -
For those few of you that have expressed any interest in the 2nd gen transmission being a viable option in a 1st gen engine, here is a great update. I received the forks and drum today and after doing some measurements on the location of the shifting slot that controls the slider for 1st and 3rd gear, it appears that Yamaha has shifted that slot approximately .080 toward the center of the engine. As noted in the earlier post, that slider was off using the 1st gen drum to the point that the dogs on 1st gear were touching the mating gear slightly and the dogs on the other side of the slider were just barely going into 3rd gear when that gear was engaged. It does appear that the forks themselves are identical. The other change is the tabs that were bent over the end of the pins, the ones that tend to open up and allow the pins to fall out, are no longer there and now it is a machined casting. This is another big improvement in this transmission. After replacing the forks and drum, I set the gearsets in place and it appears everything aligns perfectly and all sliders engage exactly as they should and have the proper clearances when not engaged. All the gears changed perfectly as I went thru the shift pattern. Now, I will gather up all the necessary seals and gaskets to start assembling this thing. I will add some pictures and the last one will be the 2nd gen gearset in place in a 1st gen engine with everything aligning as it should. RandyA
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How high would gas have to go.....
Venturous Randy replied to Venturous Randy's topic in Watering Hole
In the 15 years that I have had this bike, a really good year was 8,000 miles and at that time I was getting 35 to 40mpg at best. This past year, while finishing up a divorce after 41 years, I put 12,000 miles on the bike and with the carb changes that I made, I have seen as good as about 49mpg, but usually in the 45 to 48mpg range. The real point here is I can not put a value on the enormous therapy that I got out of the bike this past year and to make it even better, I have found someone that loves to ride that has really made it so very good, thank you my Lady Linda. RandyA -
before you start cutting back on your fun riding? We are now at about $3.55 a gallon around here and it takes me about $15 bucks or so to fill up when the bike has about a gallon left. At my last fillup, my average was right at 45mpg and I figure that works out to about eight cents a mile. That would still be about $40 for a 500 mile weekend. RandyA
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http://bgky.craigslist.org/tid/2307256783.html RandyA
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On my 83, the only time I had with loosing air in the rear shock was the Shrader valve was not tight. I checked it the other day and after it sitting for 3 to 4 months, it was still where I had left it and this is on a bike with 142,000 miles. RandyA
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After a nice 77 degree ride thru the country this evening, my lady Linda and I sat in the front yard and watched the sun go down as we drank the last of the blackberry wine that I had. Oh well, it was nice and the Weather Channel says we may have some snow Tuesday. Gerald, we hope Romona will be ok. RandyA
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You may have flushed something into the float valve in the carb. You may can drain the carb and take the fuel line loose and blow a little air into that carb. Also, my bike will not start good if I touch the throttle. RandyA
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It is not uncommon for people to drill extra holes in the VR air box to give it more air. It also adds a lot more noise. Does yours have any extra holes? RandyA
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After setting the 2nd gen gear set in the 83 engine bottom half, I realized that there was an alignment problem. After I aligned everything, I believe that two of the three forks are exactly where they need to be. the problem is the one that controls 1st and 3rd gear. Yamaha increased the width of the teeth on that gear slide and with the slide not engaged, it made the 1st gear dogs too close and the 3rd gear dogs too far away. The next step would be to get the correct fork and see if that solved the problem. But that was a problem in itself. According to two different dealers, there was not a new fork available anywhere in the US and the only place to get one was Japan. I then went online and checked with any salvage yards and anywhere else that might have a 2nd gen engine that was being parted out. I had just about given up when my son Brian, who had just stopped by, suggested I check my paypal history in trying to find where I had bought the 2nd gen gear set . Not only did I find the purchase, which was Feb 24, 2010, but the purchase had a phone number listed. I called it and not only did I get an answer, but he told me where to look and the forks and tumbler were still available on an ebay - buy it now listing, where I rarely look. The price was $25 with about $12 for shipping and I have already purchased and paid for it. So, now I am in great anticipation on this being a viable option, not only for solving the 83/85 trans problem, but for any 1st genner that wants to upgrade their trans to the slightly wider spaced gearing that the 2nd gens have. For those interested, I will keep you upgraded on how this progresses. RandyA
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Me too. RandyA
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My Lady Linda is wanting a Miata. I have been looking around the Local Swap and Shop and Craigslist and have found a few, but the biggest problem is she just has to have an automatic trans. The other concern is when looking at prices, Kelly Blue Book is showing about half or a little more worth for what people are asking. And, it is not uncommon for someone to be asking these prices with over 200,000 miles on them. So, does anyone have any suggestions on what to look for or to avoid? I did find an automatic that the guy said had 530 hp in the V-8 engine that is in it, but I can not talk her into that one and he wants $15,000 for it anyway. RandyA
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For four, that sounds like a good deal. RandyA
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Being from Johnson City all my life, other than four years in the military, I have to say that it is a pretty good place to live. Yes, we do have several members in this area, and we occasionally talk about a Meet & Eat, but we can't seem to get together. But, we are a friendly bunch. If you want to come up for a visit, we can show you some twistie roads that make the Dragon look like an interstate and some of them are 55mph. On a hot day, which is still usually a lot cooler than the Springville area, I can leave home and be at over 6,000 feet in less than an hour and may need a light jacket. Keep us posted and we will get a bunch together. RandyA
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Wow, now we are getting somewhere. It's about time we had a little intrigue on the future of this soap opera. So now, you not only have the original one available, but another one to keep the competition going, so we expect this to get a little more interesting. I can't believe this was the 256th post, we need to get some good riding weather soon. RandyA
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I am looking for the shifting forks and drum. I am needing them to put the 2nd gen Venture transmission into my 1st gen. RandyA
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I usually keep my idle around 700 rpm's even though everyone says that is too low. You will probably need a carb sync also. RandyA
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Hey Randy, I see you have an 84 and that is one of the problem years. Actually, the less it is rounded off the better, but even on any of the used transmissions, such as the 88, there will be some rounded area. I bet that when you pull out your 84 gearset, especially if it is jumping in 2nd gear, it will be a lot more rounded than my pictures or the 88 you have. As far as the boot on the clutch slave, I am sure there may be someone on here that has one, but if you need a dust boot, you probably also need a new slave anyway as it is probably corroded. I am not sure about the bushings for the rear suspension linkage. Just make sure that when you take the rear suspension apart that you install grease fittings and that pretty much takes care of the squeaks. How worn are your bushings? I ask because the alignment and tightness of the rearend is in your bearings where the swingarm pivots , not in your suspension bushings. In my opinion, if they are a little worn and you keep them greased, you won't notice it. One other thing on the trans swap. If you were already having a problem with your bike jumping in 2nd gear, I suspect you will also have the fork associated with 2nd gear being bent some. Good luck, join our crowd and keep us informed. RandyA
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Well, it looks like I have run into my first problem. When I set the gear sets in the bottom half of the engine where the gears fit into the forks, it appears the forks do not hold the gears in the proper alignment. When I have it in neutral, the dogs on some of the gears catch on the matching gear. When I shift into 3rd gear, the spacing is off enough that it is actually in neutral as none of the gears are engaging. When I pull the 01 trans out and sit the spare 86 trans in, everything lines up perfectly and shifts fine. My problem is, I do not know if the problem is the forks or the drum or both that is different for the alignment to be off. I checked the part numbers on both and even though the numerical part numbers are the same, the 1st gens start with 26H and the 2nd gen is 4NK. My frustration is when I bought the gear sets, I should have asked for the other parts because I know he never sold them and I have no idea who I got the parts from. RandyA
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I do real good with Iespell that I found on here and it is free. RandyA
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My son Brian, Lil Venture, got a CBR 600 many years ago and even though we did not go out and race, there were a few times we might accelerate through the first couple if gears. Even with my bike running good, that little CBR could out accelerate me. Then he got a Yamaha FZ1 and done some exhaust and carb work and I think it pulled about 130hp off the rear wheel on a dyno. I rode that bike and knew there was no reason to pair off against that bike. But, even though the FZ1 was a lot more comfortable than the CBR, I would much spend the day on my Venture. RandyA
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Ok, I have started the tear down of the spare engine that I got when I bought the 85. I was told that this 83 engine had only 30,000 miles on it and after spitting the case, I really do believe it may be true. There is no doubt in my mind that the engine had never been apart since new. One of the first things I wanted to see was what the gear dogs looked like on 2nd gear. I found that they had no noticeable wear at all. That was a good sign. Now, one thing that did surprise me was that the dogs on 2nd gear appeared and measured to be slightly undercut . I knew that later year 1st gens were undercut slightly, but I had never heard the 83's were. But, I have never looked at an 83 that did not already have a problem of being worn. The second issue that does give me some concern is not only did Yamaha change the gear diameters and number of teeth, but they also changed the width of some of the gears, but it appears to be only in the gear teeth area, but not the width where it is on the shaft. In setting the gearsets beside each other, and I am actually comparing an 86 set with the 02 set, you can see the difference. So far it does look like that the gears will line up with the proper fork placement. The next step will be to put the 02 set in place and set the bottom back on with the forks in place and see if it shifts thru the gears ok and see if everything lines up. I really do hope this is a viable option for the 1st gens, not only as a 2nd gear fix, but I want to have wider spaced gear ratios like the 2nd gens have. With also adding the V-Max rearend, 1st and 2nd gear will be slightly lower, 3rd and 4th will be about the same and 5th gear will be higher. On the pictures, you can see where the 2nd gear dogs have no obvious wear and you can also see the difference in the gear widths. The last picture is with the bottom off the 83 engine with the original gears. RandyA
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If you have not done it in a long time, I suggest you also replace the sparkplug caps. They have a resistor inside that can corrode and do all kinds if things to how it runs and starts. RandyA
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I am going to start here and then go to the rally section. During our ride Tuesday, Lady Linda and I started talking about a little vacation get together this summer. We have thrown out a couple of suggestions about Asheville and have gotten some response. At this moment, I am thinking about taking the week of June 4th thru 12th and taking the little camper and spending the first part of that week maybe camping at several different campsites. Then about Wednesday or Thursday, pulling into Asheville. Rather than trying to put together any kind of rally, since this is the year for Vogal, I am just thinking that I may just say we are planning on being there for some camping and riding and if anyone wants to join us, come on down. This is really not much different than usual, as Asheville has always been a pretty low key event, but I would like to see if there is any interest. The main thing is, if we load up the little camper, we will have to pack as light for camping as possible. If we are going to spend the last part of the week at Asheville, and we have some interest in others joining us, then I will set the camper and make a trip across the mountain back to Johnson City to bring all the extra stuff, like the big canopy, bunches of chairs and all that other stuff that we can't seem to do without. Anyway, got to go for now and we will see what others are interersted in. Thanks, RandyA