Freebird

Here is the image. Can you see it when I post it?

The picture shows up just fine for me.

No, the case itself does come apart but you have to remove the pads to get to some of the screws that hold it together.

They told me that to ensure that they actually got the correct connectors for this first batch, they actually ordered them from Japan.

Looks great. Glad you found one so quickly

They are pricey. Mine wasn't terrible because I didn't need the third component, the 5 to 4 adapter because the lights on my Bushtec match up without it. Mine came to about $126.00 plus a couple bucks for shipping. If you can do it better and/or cheaper, then you should go for it. I haven't seen it yet but they told me over the phone that there are three connectors connecting it to the bike. I don't remember but something like an 8 pin, a 5 pin, and a 4 pin. There is apparently not a single location to tie in the connector as some of the lights are on the saddlebags.

It's not as bad as it sounds. I have peeled off the rubber and put it back on using the same tape at least twice with no issues.

Yep, you can use any engine from 1999 - 2013 when they stopped making it. There was no difference other than some being silver and others having black fins.

Real work is the absolute truth. I "retired" from my regular job back in March to do the stairlift business full time. I thought I would work a couple of days a week and be good. It turns out, I'm working 5 to 6 days a week and sometimes 7 days a week. It's been crazy lately. Congrats on the retirement but I hope you actually have time to enjoy it.

You probably could. It's too late for me but I'm sure there will be others needing them. It's not like the usual ones. Due to the way the lights are setup on the Star Venture, it requires three separate connectors on the bike side. You would have to find one to look at.

Got mine ordered. Very limited supply. They only had three in this first batch. Will have more in a few weeks. After I ordered mine, they only have one left.

I will simply add that you have to be careful when replacing the speakers. The Hertz models that were mentioned may work in the front but likely would NOT fit in the rear. I bought 2 sets of Alpines once for the '99 and they were OK in the front but due to the size of the magnets, would not fit in the rear pods. You are really restricted on what will work in the rear. The earbuds are the absolute the best choice if it is good quality sound that you are after. The Edsets mentioned have a jack on the module that you can plug them right into and not use the helmet speakers at all. They simply replace the helmet speakers so your cb and intercom still work as they always did. They are a bit of a pain to put in and then put your helmet on over them every time you stop but you will get great sound.

I had a similar situation over 20 years ago. Sometime around 1991, I went to work for a company that provided me with a nice company car. I worked for them for about 14 years. I sold my personal car as I was allowed to use the company car as my personal car also. After more than 10 years of driving the company car, I got tired of the nice but rather boring cars that they provided me with so asked them for a car allowance to provide my own car. They agreed to that. So I went car shopping and picked what I wanted only to find out that getting insurance was an issue. Though I had been driving all that time, the company car's insurance was in their name though I was listed on it as a driver. The insurance companies didn't recognize that as ME having insurance so I ended up having to go with one of those "high risk" companies and the insurance was nuts. I had to pay those high prices for at least a year, don't remember exactly, before a regular insurance company would take me. I checked with every insurance company that I could find and none would cover me. I had a near perfect driving record but because the insurance was not specifically in my name, none would accept that I had been insured.

Cool. I don't know what the heck I would do with it but you gotta admire the creativity.

HEY...that's a LOW BLOW. We actually did get out for about 75 miles on Sunday but that's not nearly enough. Very soon I hope. Yea, my cupholder is on backorder also. Nobody had it anywhere I looked. Supposed to ship sometime in October. I went with the black and the mesh basket. I had the chrome version on the RSV and really liked it. Also had the passenger version but am going to have to figure out a mounting method for a passenger cup holder. I've never been a fan of the YamaLube but will likely go with it also. Seems to be a lot of disagreement on the best oil for this bike but I figure that I will use the Yamalube and take advantage of their 100,000 mile guarantee. The ride home from Buffalo was around 300 miles and I averaged 42 MPG. That was keeping the RPMs within the break in RPMs so usually 65 to 70 MPH. I was very satisfied with that. Love the way this engine runs though. Torque at low RPM is amazing. Really suits me well.

I think that this is the most likely culprit. Very common and very easy fix.

I agree. It's certainly nothing that I'm going to stress over. If there is indeed an issue, Yamaha will take care of it. I agree with you that if it were a widespread issue, the reports would be all over the place. I don't know of any bikes that have never had an isolated issue. I know of at least one rider who had the engine replaced by Yamaha in his '99 Royal Star Venture shortly after purchasing it. We had the second gear issues and stator cooling issues in the first Ventures that came out. Honda had the frame issues (that WAS a widespread problem) when the 1800 Goldwing came out. BMW had rear seal problems when their K1200LT was first introduced. Harley is, don't know if it has been resolved or not, is having problems with their new M8 engine with it losing primary oil somewhere. At least I THINK that was the issue. If it is mechanical, there will be glitches. No big deal.

Hey ChiefGunner , have you made any progress on determining the range of serial numbers that might have been affected by the lifter issue? Apparently the dealer I bought mine from had been sitting on it for a while because the serial number is lower than some I've seen posted here that bought theirs a lot earlier than I did. My last 4 are 0296. The owner of the dealer called me yesterday just to follow up and make sure that I didn't have any questions. I asked him about this issue and he told me that he was aware of it but that my bike was not affected. I should have asked if he knew the range of serial number that were affected but didn't think about it at the time.

I will take some pictures over the next couple of days. Weather permitting.

LOL...yea....they have to get up earlier to fool THIS idiot. I know what you mean about chrome. I had about every piece of chrome ever offered on the '05. I'm kind of liking the change though. I can always have it chromed later if I get tired of the black.

But but but....i don't have my cup holder.

All done with deflectors and saddle bad lid protectors. Just need my cup holders to get here now and it will be done for now. Well....except that Nancy from Ace High Leathers and I are working on a bib/tank protector for the SVTC and Eluder. I have to get a pattern in the mail to her. After that though, I'm done.

OK...that wasn't too bad at all. It is much easier when you take out the CORRECT bottom screw. At least I figured it out before I broke anything. So they are installed and it's all back together now. Now I'll install the saddle bag lit protectors. Then maybe I'll be finished drilling holes in this brand new motorcycle. I hate doing that but at least Yamaha did a great job marking where to drill. Nice touch.

OK...but it's scary. I have it loose except for what I guess is one of those rubber grommets at the bottom front. Does the entire thing pull straight out? That bottom one doesn't see to want to come loose. Does it pull out straight from the side just like the others or does it pull forward?

Maybe at some point, I'll get in the mood to re-type all of this to make it easier to read but for now, here is a picture of the instructions for removing he trunk on the Star Venture. I was going to write it up after installing my trailer hitch but these instructions from HitchDoc were actually very good.