Venturous Randy

Make sure when you solder something that you don't allow the solder to run into another circuit. That sounds to me like what has happened. RandyA

I was in the eighth grade when the teacher was called out of the classroom and when she came back in, she told us Kennedy had been shot. I remember going outside and sitting in the teacher's car listening to the radio and hearing that he was dead. I was in the kitchen when my sister was watching Oswald being brought out of the police station and she yelled that they were bringing him out. Just as I stepped into the living room and looked at the TV, he was shot. Even though I have seen the replay many times, it was so weird to see the actual shooting. Randy

My bearings had never been replaced. I think I may have just stuck a large Phillips screwdriver into where the spacer is and just wedged it over and that gave me enough area to hit the bearing. I don't remember the spacer being much of an issue. Randy

Ya wanna buy an 85? I have one in my garage that I got for my son and then he bought an 86. It is ser# 5000+ so it is after the 2nd gear issue was fixed. It needs a TCI but I have one that I am running on my 83 that came off of an MKII, but I still have my 83 TCI I use as a spare. I had planned on fixing it up, but with as many projects that I have, it is just not real high on my priority list. I had not planned on selling it but right now it is more in my way. I think it has about 57,000 miles on it. Randy

When I changed my front bearings, I simply pushed the spacer in the middle off to one side and used a drift and hammer on the bearing. Once that bearing was out, I flipped it over and removed the spacer and hammered the other bearing out. The one thing I did not do was use the rotors for support. I put my 2X4 on the outside of the rotors. I am surprised that the dealer was willing to install non OEM bearing you did not buy there. RandyA

Also, I believe there is already a relay in the MKII system for the brakes, which I would also install on my MKI and having the timer in the system actuating would be pretty instantaneous. I doubt you could tell the difference. Remember, the only difference would be that when you activate the brakes, the AD's activate as normal, but the AD's only stay activated as long as you have the timer set. And, the timer will reactivate again if you let off the brakes and then put the brakes back on. Keep in mind that this will also happen when you engage the rear brakes and anytime the brake light is on. As far as the front brake and the adjustment for when the switch activates, I would want the brake light to come on as quick as the braking system is started. On my 83 on the hand brake, I don't think there is anyway I could start pressure going to the caliper without activating the switch. Randy

Try this: DC 12V Delay Relay Shield NE555 Timer Switch Adjustable Module 0 to 10 Second | eBay Randy

I think I may have found something that may work. The timer is set up to either turn on or turn off according to what time you have set, up to 10 seconds. If you use one side, it will turn power off after a delay which is what I am interested in, or it will delay to come on, which I will not hook up. I just ordered 3 of these and with shipping it was only $7.52. The thing I don't think most 1st gen MKI riders realize is if you are only using your front brake, only one antidive works. I have not looked at the MKII wiring schematic yet to see if either front caliper is used, will both antidives energize. I think this would be a lot more effective and if they are not wired that way, I will do it. I also will probably use another relay to carry the higher amps of both antidives. I think the biggest compliant with the MKII antidives is the amount of power they take to operate and especially when you are at idle. This setup would eliminate that problem. Randy

What you should do when you realize what it is, would be to start screaming; "I don't know what to do, there is blood everywhere" "I did not mean to kill her!" "What am I going to do Now"? Or you could say; "Man, I am so glad you called, I had just put the gun to my head and was getting ready to pull the trigger when my phone rang." "I felt I could not go on any longer with all the bills I have and you saved my life". Hey, you might as well have some fun with it if you are bored. The possibilities are endless. Randy

I am in the process of swapping to MKII forks on my 83 and looking at options on the antidives. I am considering using the electronic antidives, but I would like to find a timer relay that when energized, it only stays energized for a short period of time, like maybe 5 or 10 seconds. My thinking is that the antidives are not really that necessary when doing a normal slowdown, only during a more aggressive stop. But, while sitting at a light or stop sign, the electric antidives creates a lot more load on the electrical system, especially on an MKI. With a relay that has a timer when activated and would de-energize after say 10 seconds, the brakes would have plenty of time to have the effect of the antidive, but be inactive while sitting with the brakes on. Any suggestions? Randy

I want to again thank both puc and Freebird for helping me. My problem was I could open VR.org as normal, but I could not get into watering hole. I could get into everything else just fine. After doing what puc suggested, and it does help someone computer challenged like me to go through each basis step, I was able to git-er-done. It also helped me understand a little more about this thing. I also want to thank those that recommended that I go from Internet Explorer to Firefox as my browser. On my laptop, there is no doubt that for me it is a much more stable program. Before, I was constantly getting "Internet Explorer has stopped working" box. Not getting that anymore. Randy

If it is truly a battery tender, it probably will not charge up a dead battery. A battery tender will only help a charged battery stay charged. Looks like you did get some service from the 1st gen battery. Randy

I am posting this here because I can not get into watering hole. When I click on it, it takes me back to the forum page. When I click on watering hole from this thread, it takes me back to forum page. When I check on 1st gen page, it opens it. I got here by clicking on the post on the left side of the page. What is going wrong? Randy

Wow, that was not what I was expecting when I opened this thread. This looks like one of those "As bad as it was, it could have been worse" events. In running what happened thru your head, do you have any clue what may have started it? The rear tire does not look like it is flat, but it does look like a car tire. Was the front tire up good? There had to be some kind of mechanical failure to cause that much and sudden loss of control. Please keep us posted. Randy

Well, it's not like you've not been a bit busy on this site with plenty to do here lately. In all seriousness, It is time to sit back and clean some stuff off your plate and relax. I also want to say that I enjoy your routine presence and comments on here. It does help with the liveliness of the forum. Randy

Be careful out there. Cagers have forgotten about motorcycles being on the road and cold tires and cold pavement can be slick. Randy

We got him a front fender from Pinwall from an 05 RSV for about $90 with free shipping. We are still looking for some light parts. Thanks for the help and encouragement. One thing that this has done for me is on my 83, I am upgrading the forks and rotors to MKII, along with R6 calipers and SS brake lines and I was on the fence about delinking. Given I have put about 150,000 miles on this bike, I have decided I will stay with the linked brake system. It has worked well for me and have never had a problem with locking up the rear wheel, as many have done on 2nd gens and RSTD's. Randy

As I sit here with it about 20 degrees outside, it is absolutely amazing to be able to live vicariously through puc, tippy and tweeks on this marvelous journey. As I have gotten older, I am realizing more and more how important it is to get out and enjoy life, and this is definitely a good motivator. Thanks so much for so eloquently sharing this. Randy

And how are you going to get the exhaust from the header pipes to the mufflers that have a ton of back pressure? Randy

Well, my buddy with a 98 RSTD took a ride Sunday with his girlfriend and came upon a stopped car in the road and hit his rear brake too hard and it locked up. He hit the car and went down. He got a good bruise on his thigh and his girlfriend did not get hurt. They were lucky. On the bike, it bent the right driving light, the headlight ring and really messed up his front fender. I am trying to help him get some parts together and was wondering about the differences on an RSTD and a RSVenture front fender. It does not appear to have damaged his forks and he was able to ride it home after bending the fender away from the tire and it appeared to track straight. Any info you can send this way is appreciated. Randy

Can you imagine yourself trying to keep up with this bunch of spoiled brats? Randy

I am thinking if there has been any frustration vented at Yamaha, it has been the lost opportunities that Yamaha has had for so many years with the Venture in particular. I think we all know how great a bike the Venture is and it has been since 1983. It is probably one of the most poorly promoted great products around. As far as the Venturerider site and this group of people, it truly amazes me in what has assembled here and I feel so fortunate to be a small part of it. Yes, we have had the common link of the V-4 that got us together, but that again become less of a factor in the true friendships that have evolved over the years. Yes, we rag on each other a little and sometimes we may not realize what we are saying may cause some hurt or misunderstanding. I have said things that I have regretted and I have also deleted several paragraphs that I have written after I reread them. As far as the perception toward Harley riders, we have all seen it. We have seen the lifelong friend get a Harley and see them change so much that we ultimately quit going around them. We quit riding with them because we start feeling like they don't want to be seen associating with someone not riding a Harley, and especially a metric bike. Does this make us a little too sensitive when we see someone sharing what they like about their Harley, even when in they in no way are putting down your bike? Most likely. My bike will be 32 years old in a few months and I love it. Yeah, there are a few things that I would like to be different and there are a lot of things that I have made different than the way Yamaha made it. That being said, if I wanted to buy a 2nd gen or a Harley, I could probably do it, but it is just not high on my priority list. Have I had Harley people that I felt looked down on me, yep, did it bother me? Not as much as I have had 2nd gen people that I feel that look down on a 1st gen and have never ridden one. Has Freebird ever made me feel he was bashing a 1st gen or a 2nd gen Venture or RSTD? Not that I can ever remember. Do I feel that he is disappointed some with what Yamaha has not done with the V-4 series when there is so much potential available? Probably. Do I feel that Don loves the Venture, with out a doubt. One of the descriptions I sometimes use when trying to explain what a 1st gen is, is to say that it is Yamaha's version of a Honda Goldwing. Then when describing a 2nd gen, I say that is Yamaha's version of a Harley dresser. That's kinda sad, but it helps people understand that don't have a clue what a Venture/RSTD is. Randy

The carbs will work, but you will need to have an 84 to 89(I think) TCI and run the boost sensor vacuum hose to a port off the manifold. Randy

I suspect it is like the 83 where the pin only contacts for neutral. This lights the neutral light and allows starting with the clutch out. In 84 they went to the six different locations noted. Randy

I pulled a 1st gen and a 2nd gen shift drum and checked and they look identical on that end. I suspect you have a CMU or wiring problem. Randy