Venturous Randy

This sounds a lot like a problem we had on a friends bike several years ago. It ran kind of ragged with some missing. We changed the plugs without it helping and just on a whim, I unscrewed a spark plug cap and the resistor was very corroded. We put new caps on and the bike ran great. You can take a flat tip screw driver and unscrew the part up inside the cap and there will be a spring and a resistor. RandyA

Fred, I recently put a V-Max rear on my 83 and it is set up like the 86-up with the seal. This rear end also did not have the spring as my 83 did. With the seal on the driveshaft, I thought there may not be room for a spring as the driveshaft seats into the coupler. On the 83'85, I suspect the spring is to dampen any potential noise and with the seal on the driveshaft, it may do the same thing. I am not sure what year the V-Max rear end came from. RandyA

The police stated it may have been due to inexperience. I am a strong proponent of stepping up in size as you get more seat time. This may have been one of these guys that always wanted a Harley and bought him one without having any riding experience. This makes it even worse with his girlfriend following behind him. But, at least she was not on the back. RandyA

Yes, I have. I picked up a 96 1500 Goldwing with reverse from a friend that is sitting in the garage with a broken gear that is part of the starter system. It appears it had a hydrolock and I am not sure if there is any more damage, as a bent rod. It is a nice complete bike and I am thinking about making a trike out of it. If you feel good about your project, I may try to find out what this would cost for the Wing. RandyA

Yes, no and yes unless the 90's version did. RandyA

Great post Don. Just to add one, especially for 1st genners, is to check your side stand bolt/nut for being snug. RandyA

On the back of a 1st gen speedometer, there is a magnetic strip that reads off the revolutions of the drum/cable. These strips are glued on and must be seated in place. If your flashers are not cancelling, this is one of the first things I would check. After many years, the glue tends to get dry and brittle. Does your system not cancel at all? RandyA

Now that you are on board, you need to get you some riding partners. The only thing is, you will be putting 1,100 miles on in two weeks instead of two years. At that rate, you're not even keeping the gas fresh. You did mean 1,100 and not 11,000 didn't you? RandyA

My grandson was out in the garage this morning and since I had replaced the one outside rubber cap with a 1/4 inch Allan head bolt, he touched the cap on the other outside port and the head of the cap came off easily on it too. So, I did the bolt replacement as I noted above and in a couple of minutes it was fixed. So, while sitting there looking at the bike and thinking about it, I decided to do the two inside ports. I knew that it is very difficult to get to those two ports and I really did not want to completely remove the carbs because to me, the throttle linkage can be a PIA and that is with disassembling the throttle. I loosened all the carb boot clamps and removed the fuel hose and over flow hoses. I popped the carbs out of the boots and I was able to move the carbs from side to side and go between the carbs to get to the port caps. I just used long needle nose pliers to pop the tops off the caps and was able to use a small extension with a torque insert and start the Allan head bolt into the port tube after I put some sealer on the threads. Once it was started, I just cranked it down until it was tight. I then moved the carbs toward the other side and the slot aligned with the other port and I done the same thing. I did have to pull the funky hose that goes from the twinky to the box out of the way. From that point, I lined up the carbs with the manifold boots and popped the carbs back in place and tightened the clamps. After hooking up the fuel line and over flow hoses, I started up the bike. Once everything looked good, I put the air box back on and tweaked the air/fuel screws a little and then synced the carbs. Now I feel really good about this setup and will not have to worry about these YICS port caps coming off anymore. RandyA A

Wow, you are right about the pictures. I wonder how fast the car was going? It looks like it hit a truck. I wonder if the biker thought he had an open lane and the car changed lanes? I had a real close call when a woman in an SUV changed lanes and almost ran over me because she did not signal she was changing lanes. RandyA

I meant to say that I spray with starter fluid and there is a noticeable increases in RPM's when I hit the leak. RandyA

Can you tell any difference in the sound and performance? RandyA

Now, you know that you would feel so guilty that you could not sleep. That bike is now you and you have to keep the heritage. RandyA

If you got the float seated, you should not have had leakage when you tried to start it. The one time I had a float valve stick and it was dumping fuel all over the ground, I pulled the air box, found which carb was over flowing and disconnected that fuel inlet and blew low pressure air into it. It bubbled in the carb and then I put the fuel line back on and started it. I may have changed that plug(don't remember), but I have not had a problem with it since. RandyA

It sounds like you may have a linkage issue. You also need to check to see if you have a leakage issue. Any time you are having any difficulty with vacuum issues, you need to make sure you do not have any vacuum leaks by spraying around the boots and manifolds. This can have a big impact on trying to sync. RandyA

It only takes a second of distraction and everything changes. Sometimes we are lucky and it doesn't matter and sometimes it means everything. Sad day indeed. RandyA

Where are you getting $294 for an E3? This is free delivery to your door. The MU90-16 for a 1st gen rear is $137. RandyA http://www.bikebandit.com/dunlop-elite-3-bias-touring-tire

To me, the best handling combination on my 1st gen is with a Venom on the front and Dunlop E3 on the back. I just replaced the E3 on the front with a Venom because I liked it before. As far as the 404, not sure, but can you get an E3? RandyA

A 1/4-20 3/4 inch long worked perfect for me. You can get the Stainless Steel ones at Lowes or the standard steel ones. I just used Permatex gasket sealer as all you are trying to do is seal any possible leak around the threads. With as hard as the screw bottomed on the top of the port tube, I can not imagine it ever leaking any way. I wish I had done this many years ago when I removed the YICS. This past event is the 3rd or 4th time I had a rubber cap fail and before it was one of the middle ones. You don't have to use Allen head bolts, I just used them as I may put rubber caps over them. RandyA

On the 83/85 Ventures, Yamaha added something to the induction system where it was ported to a box with four chambers that was over the front head. It was supposed to improve low end torque and help gas mileage. The problem is that with these bikes being about 30 years old, with the hoses and a plastic box, many create more problems than they are worth. You don't have to worry about this because when your bike was made, it was discontinued. RandyA

You may be right, but to me, the shiney gray threads look a lot like my threads when I remove them and they have anti-seize on them. Maybe the OP will let us know. I just did a thread on plugging the YICS system and suggest anyone that has not removed their entire YICS system should do so. I suspect there are a lot of MK1's running poorly and have difficult tuning because of the YICS system. With 30 year old hoses and a big plastic box that cracks, it all needs to come off. http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=86100 RandyA

Many years ago I removed the YICS system and eliminated some tuning problems. If anything, my gas mileage went up and I did not detect any reduction in power. I would recommend all MK1 owners do this if they have not already done it. The downside I had with this is over time with the caps I was using, that I got from the auto store, would deteriorate and bust the top off. To make it worse, it was always one of the two in the middle under the carbs. While on a ride Monday in the mountains of NC in the middle of nowhere, as I was pulling out from an intersection, I heard the POP and the rough running and knew immediately what had happened. Now, this would not have been a big deal, even though difficult if it is one in the middle ones, as I always carry a spare in my tool bag, except I had left my tool bag at home. So, I really had no choice but to ride it the way it was with a storm coming. I came up on a country store that was closed, but there was a lady that had a side door open doing something. I pulled in and asked if she had any hose, but what she had was either too small or too big. Just on a whim, I got a 1/4 20 bolt and with pushing a little and using a wrench, it started into the hole. This got me home with the bike running good. This morning, I found an Allen head bolt and with putting some sealer on the threads, I bottomed it out. Then I put the spare rubber cap over that. When I get time and some more Allan head bolts I am going to do them all. I have included some pics and you can see where the first screw made threads in the tube. When I put the shorter Allan head screw in and it bottomed out, it was very tight. The last picture is with the cap over the top of the Allan head bolt and as you can see, that cap is not in good shape.. RandyA

When the weather is warm, my bike will start and run without using the choke, but the throttle is not as responsive as when I pull the choke on a little, until it has warmed up. To me, mine works as it should and I get good mileage. RandyA

It looks to me like there is a lot of anti-seize on the threads and I wonder if that may be some left over residue? RandyA

My fix on this problem many years ago was to clean both surfaces after removing the rubber grommet and using industrial strength Velcro. I have never had a problem with the heat melting the glue and it works for a long time. This is a lot easier and cheaper than using any kind of ball stud. I also carry some spare Velcro in my tool bag. RandyA