Venturous Randy

Originally Posted by KIC 4) remove the left exhaust pipe 5) remove the easy 3 nuts holding the final drive 6) fight like crap to get the fourth top inside nut 7) remove the final drive ??? That is the question...will there be enough room without removing the whole axle and rear wheel.. I know we wouldn't have to take the wheel from under the bike, but removing the whole rear wheel thing includes the brakes and other exhaust etc. You may have to remove both bags and the right muffler. You should not have to remove the left muffler. Remove the bolts from the caliper and pull it off and out of the way. While the caliper is off, do not touch the rear brake pedal. Remove the caliper bracket and you should have enough room to take the wheel loose, move it over and remove the final drive. When you pull the final drive out, the driveshaft will normally come out with it. If the pinion nut is broken, it may not. Either way, you will need to pull the driveshaft out of the final drive to check the pinion nut. RandyA __________________

You may have to remove both bags and the right muffler. You should not have to remove the left muffler. Remove the bolts from the caliper and pull it off and out of the way. While the caliper is off, do not touch the rear brake pedal. Remove the caliper bracket and you should have enough room to take the wheel loose, move it over and remove the final drive. When you pull the final drive out, the driveshaft will normally come out with it. If the pinion nut is broken, it may not. Either way, you will need to pull the driveshaft out of the final drive to check the pinion nut. RandyA

First of all, welcome aboard and don't be shy. A comment to add to the great job that Bob did is many times the headlight may be out or dim due to a cold solder joint in the CMU, which is the readout thing in the middle of the dash. This is very common on these old bikes and not hard to fix and there are good instructions to fix it available. I also agree with Bob that these are probably not a good FIRST bike. They are big and top heavy and it don't take a lot to tip them over. And, when you do tip it over, don't hurt yourself trying to stop it. Picking it back up is not easy either. Probably one of the biggest concern on the 83/mid 85 bikes is the 2nd gear issue. A too soft thrust washer in the transmission will wear to the point it will affect 2nd gear engagement and will start to jump out. This usually starts to happen in the 50,000 mile range. Not an absolute positive, but very likely. The great thing about this group is there are a lot of folks here that really do enjoy helping fellow Venture riders. RandyA

Walmart and some drugstores carry sunglasses with readers in various strengths. My problem with them is I loose them. RandyA

Why we must go to yard sales. ..Maybe sometime this year, we taxpayers will again receive another 'Economic Stimulus' payment. This is indeed a very exciting program, and I'll explain it by using a Q & A format: Q. What is an 'Economic Stimulus' payment ? A. It is money that the federal government will send to taxpayers. Q.Where will the government get this money ? A. From taxpayers. Q. So the government is giving me back my own money ? A. Only a smidgen of it. Q. What is the purpose of this payment ? A. The plan is for you to use the money to purchase a high-definition TV set, thus stimulating the economy. Q. But isn't that stimulating the economy of China ? A. Shut up. Below is some helpful advice on how to best help the U.S. Economy by spending your stimulus check wisely: * If you spend the stimulus money at Wal-Mart, the money will ;go to China or Sri Lanka .. * If you spend it on gasoline, your money will go to the Arabs. * If you purchase a computer, it will go to India , Taiwan or China .... * If you purchase fruit and vegetables, it will go to Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala .... * If you buy an efficient car, it will go to Japan or Korea. * If you purchase useless stuff, it will go to Taiwan. * If you pay your credit cards off, or buy stock, it will go to management bonuses and they will hide it offshore. Instead, keep the money in America by: 1) Spending it at yard sales, or 2) Going to ball games, or 3) Spending it on hookers, or 4) Beer or 5) Tattoos. (These are the only American businesses still operating in the U.S. ) Conclusion: Go to a ball game with a tattooed hooker that you met at a yard sale and drink beer all day ! No need to thank me, I'm just glad I could be of help. RandyA

http://www.wimp.com/himalayasride/

I had a plugged up clutch line one time. RandyA

It does not appear to me that he was running nearly as fast as the auto traffic that went through the intersection before him. It looks to me like the driver of the turning car simply did not look and pulled into his path. One thing we can all agree on is he was very lucky. RandyA

Too Hot.....RIDE NAKED!!! :cool10: Eck, anytime you want some cool riding, come on up. I can be at over 6,000 feet in about a half hour. If it is hot up there, it is really going to be hot where you are. You know that you are welcome anytime. RandyA

OK, who's got the decoder ring? RandyA

Adios amigo. RandyA

You plan on cleaning with brake fluid? RandyA

Unless the bleeder under the front fairing is blocked off, it should connect to the left front caliper. If so, it will need bleeding also as part of bleeding the rear brake. When bleeding, especially the one under the fairing, be very careful that you do not get ANY brake fluid on any of the plastic as it will ruin it. Also, when you fill the rear brake reservoir, make sure that when you are done that it is not too full. If it is too full, as the brakes heat up, it will start dragging to the point that it will stop you. You should always keep an 8mm wrench on the bike, especially after brake work. What I have found that really helps me on the rear brake bleeding is to get one of the plastic turkey basters and pull the bulb off and the tip of the tube will screw down into the reservoir. It won't leak and you can see how much fluid you have so you do not pump the reservoir dry. It also helps to have someone help you on the front left caliper. RandyA

It is only known as the Jason Mod if the ports are tied together. My suggestion is to just plug the ports as I did and never have to worry about them again. http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=86100&highlight=YICS RandyA

It is my understanding that approximately 20% of the time that there is those given weather characteristics, temperature, dew point, winds, etc., there will be rain. This is why that it may be spotty rain, as those known characteristics do not always produce rain in any given area. Around here, with the mountains that we have, it is very common that as the air moves across the mountains, it will change one or more of those characteristics and the probability or chance of rain will go up. RandyA

See if this link works better. Wow, this brought back a memory. I had a friend that had one of these in about 1964 and was trying to start it and it kicked off, running poorly, but he revved it up and dropped the clutch and the engine was running backwards. I wish I could of had a video of that. RandyA Harley Davidson Other | eBay

It sounds to me like you may have two problems. It does not sound like the clutch is releasing correctly and that may be clutch related or even a slave cylinder/bleeding problem. The other concern of it not wanting to stay in gear may be related to the detent mechanism behind the clutch. There is a spring that makes the detent work and if there is any problem with it, it can allow the drum that controls the shifter forks to float around. I had this happen about a year ago and the spring had broken. Even though I do not have a lot of faith in a lot of mechanics working on these old bikes, I would still take it back and tell them what has happened. I am curious as to why you had clutch work done. Was it slipping or something else? I am also curious as to what you were charged to have this done. RandyA

Thanks for the update Ben. Now that you see how much this affects the handling of your bike, I suggest you put it on your to do list to at least take the nut off and drop the triple tree down and clean, inspect, and regrease the bearings. With the old grease, you may have to have the bearings a little more loose than is optimum to not have sticky spots that caused your problem. With the bearings cleaned and regreased, you will be able to eliminate the sway and still improve the precision in the steering. RandyA

As much as I love my 83, that I have had for over 18 years, if I could get the prices that some ask for 1st gen parts, I would be out in the garage taking it apart right now. RandyA

Hmmm..., I have been riding for 50 years and for some reason I have found that the laws of physics require me to lean in proportion to the radius and the speed. I am curious as to how you can go into a curve and just turn your steering bars and not lean. Here in the mountains around me, we have a lot of curves and on many occasions I have encountered parts making contact while leaning, but it wasn't a big deal. By the way, do you ride a trike? RandyA

Many years ago on my 1st gen, due to how difficult it was to put my bike on the center stand, as I tended to run as low air pressure as I could (inseam challenged), I took my stand off and shortened the legs 1/2 inch. This, in effect, lowers the rear tire about 1 inch. Now, the rear tire is still off the ground plenty while on the center stand, but it really helped. When your bike is on the center stand, how far off the ground is the rear tire? If anyone decides to shorten their center stand, they need to keep in mind that whatever amount they take out, it will double at the rear tire. RandyA

Hey Keysyrider, now that it looks like you are going to have some options on getting rid of this bike that you hate, do I get a commission on it if you sell it since I started it? RandyA

I have finally come to the conclusion that this the only way I am ever going to have a smoking hot body. RandyA

As I rode along with you two in the video, the first thing that came to mind for me is how much you need a V-Max rearend and a good 2nd gear. Even though it is only about 10% lower, it makes a real big difference when you are going slow or starting out, especially when in a rough spot or up hill. It would also be a lot easier on your clutch and the amount you are having to slip it. The downside for most is adding a little more RPM's at highway speeds and to me, that is getting more annoying as I ride. But, I am getting closer to getting my butt in gear on putting my spare 1200 engine in the bike with the 2nd gen trans with the wider spaced ratios. The other thing that came to mind is the load you are putting on your cooling system. On my 83, I suspect that the fan would be running constantly to ride in the conditions you are in and a slipping clutch adds more heat. It would also add a lot more load on your charging system that is already marginal at best. As far as the way you load your bike, I can understand what works best for you. I feel, as you noted, most of the load back there is not particularly heavy, but my concern would be with how much a crosswind would want to push you around, especially at lower speeds, but you seem to be good with that also. Another concern I have, and this is a personal preference, is I believe in having my bike lit up for others to see me. With the trunk bar, the light bar at the bottom/side, the rotor cover lights and the two on the side bags, all LED, my bike is lit up pretty good with about twenty added lights. I also have fog lights that are fused through a switch/relay run directly to the battery. That way, if I ever loose my main fuse, I still have lights to get me stopped. I did loose a main fuse several years ago and never did find out why. If you don't, you should carry a couple of fuse strips with in your tool bag. With your setup, I would consider adding the lights that replace the reflector on the side bags as they not only are bright from the side, but can be seen from the back of the bike. The other thing I would consider doing for your loaded setup is making a light bar, maybe out of PVC pipe or aluminum tubing with LED lights for the brakes, running and turn signals that you could pin on the back of the bundle with a quick connect like for a trailer. I say this because sometimes it is the little things that can get you in trouble and as I have gotten older, I have become much more aware that there are a lot of folks out there with limited vision, especially at night. I am really enjoying living vicariously through you and Tippy on your adventure and look forward to each update. RandyA

No doubt that his show was a part of my growing up. Different world now. RandyA