Freebird

The problem is that the crash bars flex too much when they are dropped and they will push back and crack the lower just above the mounting tab. It has happened to MANY people. That is why many of us have purchased the crash bar stiffeners from @Carbon_One They consist of a bracket or rod that bolts to the bottom of the floorboard bracket and then, with clamps, to the crash bar. I had them on my '99 and have them on the '05. This is an old version of them, the new ones are make different, but gives you an idea of what I'm talking about. https://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?8054-Crash-bar-supports

Sad to say that many dealers do a terrible job synching carbs. Many of the younger techs know nothing about carbs. I've synched a LOT of them for people who had just had them done at the dealer and they were way off when I checked them. Another possibility is a pinhole leak in the exhaust. There were a number of bikes that had such a pinhole on the left side, just about where the pipes "Y". You could feel the exhaust pulses on the palm of your hand if you reached around behind the "Y" area with the bike running. Easily repaired by lightly sanding he area and daubing some JB Weld over that area. It's on the backside so doesn't show.

They got home on Monday night. Julie has some road rash and Paul has some cracked ribs and I think he said a cracked collarbone. Also some damage to his spleen but they think it is going to heal on its own. So they are a bit beat up but were really pretty lucky. Bike is also home but likely totaled.

Yes, I posted about it in the prayer request section on Saturday I think. They are home now. Got home Monday night and are doing pretty well. Julie has some road rash and Paul has some cracked ribs and I think he said a cracked collarbone. Some damage to the spleen but hopefully it will not require any surgery. I spoke to him yesterday and he was in decent spirits.

Yes, that is way too large for the pictures. Like I said, the system will try to resize them but it will continue to cause you problems and puts a good deal of strain on the server. You really need to resize them before trying to upload them.

I think that nearly every bike out there has similar things in the manual. A lot of us still do it though. I guess there are some instances where it could affect your warranty but they have to PROVE that towing caused the issue. I guess I'm a bit stubborn, on any vehicle I own, I use it the way that I want to and need to. If I ever have a problem, I'll fight the battle.

Yes, I did. Thank you.

You may or may not have noticed that we have a "read only" technical library section within the forum. That area is for technical articles that have been submitted by our members. It is a "read only" section because I try to keep the various tech articles easy to find and not buried many pages deep in the general forums. Please take a look at the articles posted for the other bikes and you'll get an idea of what I'm talking about. I have created the area and posted the links to the downloads for the service and infotainment manuals in that section. At this point that is the only thing there. So, I am counting on you who own these new bikes to submit your articles as you document the work that you do. Whether it be a maintenance item or whatever, if you can take the time to document it and take supporting pictures for the article it will be much appreciated. You can't post to that section as a rule of thumb. What I will do though is give you temporary posting rights as you have articles to add. Simply shoot me PM if you have something to contribute and I'll give you the required access to get it done. Thanks. I hope that some valuable information and tips will be added over the next weeks, months, years.

Done.

For some reason, the "rotate" feature on the phones confuses the system. The only real way I've found to get around it is to open the picture on your computer, make sure it is oriented correctly and then "save" it. Even if you don't make any changes, "save" it and it should work fine. As for them not always uploading. What size are they? They shouldn't be more than 1024 x 768 and no more than 200,000 bytes. If they are larger, the system will try to automatically resize them but it will often fail if they are just really large files.

In that case, I have to agree that it was the dealer's error. When I read the original post, for some reason my mind immediately went to the triple tree. Don't know why I jumped to that conclusion. Sorry.

I doubt that installing the front end is part of the dealer assembly. I am almost sure that the bike is shipped from Japan with the front forks installed. That means that they were likely left out or loose at the factory. Still, part of the dealer assembly is to go over the bike and make sure that all the nuts and bolts are tight. Would be very easy to miss something though.

I have the member map working somewhat again. I made some changes to the code and the map is not showing up and all our pins seem to be there but it is dark and marked "developmental". Folks, the problem is, I am NOT a coder. I dive in and do what I can but am limited. I'll keep working on it but at least it is usable until I come up with a fix or replacement.

I've never owned a Goldwing but have owned Mustang seats for other bikes. They make a decent seat but I always found that they actually raised me up a bit, not lowered me. A Corbin seat will lower you. It is a hard seat and people either love them or hate them. I am in the "love them" category but it's a matter of preference. It will probably lower you about an inch though. Baron's makes a rear lowering kit that includes a caliper relocation bracket. Sliding the front forks in the triple tree, as already mentioned, is a "free" solution that will help.

I haven't owned all those bikes so have no opinion on some of them. I am only 6'2 but have long legs. The first gen Venture was absolutely not comfortable for me. You don't list the Royal Star Venture and to me, it is one of the most comfortable bikes I have ever ridden. The only other one that was as comfortable, or very close, was the 2013 Harley Road Glide Ultra that I owned. I'm sure that the Electra Glide would have been just as comfortable as they are the exact same bike from the fairing back. I originally planned to purchase the Electra Glide but though the seating and leg room was the same, the fairing felt very close to me and it made me FEEL less comfortable. In reality, it would be the same in regards to riding position. The truth is though, the Royal Star Venture, in my opinion, is at the top of the list for taller riders. With the addition of leveling links and offset highway pegs, you can stretch way out. My current setup is the 2005 Midnight RSV. Kuryakin longhorn offset pegs. Leveling links that raise the rear one inch. Russell Day Long seat that probably raises me another 1 1/2 - 2". At 6'2 with a long inseam, I can JUST flatfoot the bike. Most people who get on it are on their tiptoes. I have a backrest and with the highway pegs set the way I have them, I can lean back against the backrest and really stretch my legs out and there is a bit more adjustment on the pegs where I could go even further out if I wished to.

If you are so inclined to do so, please keep member Motiv (Paul Heiba) in your prayers. Paul and his wife Julie were returning from a fantastic ride up into the Nova Scotia area and somewhere around Corning, NY, he had a blowout on his rear tire. Back end got real loose and though he got slowed down a good bit, he finally lost control. He managed to get off the pavement I think but am not sure. They went down pretty hard it sound like. Julie escaped with some road rash to her face. Paul was knocked unconscious and doesn't remember exactly everything that happened. They airlifted Paul to a hospital in Sayer, PA because they thought he might have ruptured his spleen and thought that they would have to do surgery. Upon further tests, it was decided that it was possibly cut and damaged but they think it will heal. He does have some broken ribs and a broken collarbone. He felt well enough to call me from the hospital but he was obviously shaken as I would have been. Bike is likely totalled but that is a minor thing. The important thing is that they will both be OK and hopefully home in a day or two. I offered to drive there and bring them home, he lives just a few miles from me, but he said that arrangements had already been made to get home. I pray for their quick recovery and give thanks that things weren't much worse.

Great. Would love to have a real answer. My local dealer is pretty much useless to me.

I am with Progressive for the motorcycles only. My house and cars are with somebody else. I pay $156.00 per year for the '05 RSV and the '16 Slingshot. I carry only liability on them. I think it was $85.00 per year for the RSV only before adding the Slingshot. I was with State Farm for my house for more than 25 years. I never had a claim but it went up every single year until I finally got sick of it. I called around and got more coverage with a different company for about $600.00 per year less money.

That's exactly right. Nobody knows if the current part number is an I basket or not. I would have already ordered one if I knew that is what I would get. I've read some reports that the only way to get an I basket if for a dealer to call Yamaha support and specifically order it.

Was outside sitting on the front porch drinking a cold one but felt bad watching Eileen mow so decided to come in and check my email.

It wasn't me that said that. Not sure who it was. I've never swapped one.

I did and mailed them several days ago. You should have them very soon.

Looks fantastic. That's a lot of work.

To my knowledge, the Dunlop is the only one available in the wide whitewall. The 404 always seemed to handle ok but didn't wear very well. Some will disagree with that however and seem to like them just fine.