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Freebird

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Everything posted by Freebird

  1. Freebird
    Yea, Honda is sure not immune to problems. They have had their share of them over the years. Don't misunderstand, I think that they are great bikes and would not hesitate to own another one if they come out with one that I like but they have their issues like anybody else and I can tell you from personal experience, they are no more eager to admit and correct the problems than Yamaha is. My last experience was with the Honda Shadow Ace. I used to have a discussion forum for that bike and a LOT of our members started noticing that the batteries were overheating and spewing acid out onto the frame. The acid was eating up and corroding the frame in that area. The Ace used a specially designed battery that was offset, narrower on one end. It was about 4" wide on one end and then about 3 inches from the other end, offset to about 2" or so wide. We contacted the battery manufacturer, Yuasa, and they told us that it was NOT a good battery design and that it was overheating but they had designed it to Honda's specifications to fit in the area they had. They said that we needed to contact Honda about it because they had told Honda that it was not a good design. Honda then claimed that it was the problem of the battery manufacturer and that they were not responsible. We went round and round on this and after MANY letters and threats of lawsuits, Honda finally admitted the problem, got a new design for the battery and replaced them. They also paid to have the frames cleaned, sanded and repainted. They did not do it willingly though. Before that, my last Honda as a V45 Magna. The problem with those bikes and also the V65 I THINK, was that the cams were made of too soft a material and wore down prematurely. I don't think that Honda ever owned up to and offered any resolution to those owners.
  2. Freebird
    All of mine were high the first time I checked them also. I wonder exactly what affect that has on how the bike runs and performs? I know that mine runs much better now but I did so many things, I'm not sure what the affect of this was. It is a fairly big job but is much easier the second time. It will probably be a LONG time before I pull mine again though.
  3. Freebird
    OK, fair enough but I still love my RSV. That's why there are so many different bikes on the market though. We won't all have the same experiences. I would like to see the total cost though. You say that it will cheaper and more reliable. I don't think that statement is all together true. It may be more reliable than YOUR RSV and I'm truly sorry about that. Mine has never let me down anywhere. As for being cheaper? You get it equipped exactly like a Venture and report the total. Stereo, CB, Trunk, Hard bags, fairing, electronic cruise, hard lowers.........add all the options to make it the same as a Venture to the selling price of that bike new. From what I've seen on the cost of aftermarket fairings, bags, trunks...etc. from companies like Corbin and others...I doubt it will be cheaper and then remember to custom paint everything so that it all matches.
  4. Freebird
    Done. We'll see how it works out. I may cut it back to two full lines later.
  5. Freebird
    I think I would try the fire and ice first. It is a long established procedure for many things. When I was an electrician in a power plant, I installed hundreds of bearings to motor shafts that way. Freeze the shafts and heat the bearings with a heat gun or in an oven. They would slide ride on.
  6. Freebird
    I think that would be a lot of fun. That is only about 20 minutes or so from my house. Don't know if they would allow such a thing or not though. As for the burnout contest, I think I'll pass and just watch the rest of you.
  7. Freebird
    I changed to synthetic at around 2,000 miles and would do so again next time. Everybody has a different opinion on that though and I'm not saying that mine is any better than yours. I agree with changing the rear end oil at around 800 miles the first time. I would agree to change it again at around 2000 miles but after that, I change mine once a year. I don't use Yamalube in anything though. I use Mobil One synthetic in the rear.
  8. Freebird
    Have you ever repacked the head bearings? Yamaha puts about as much grease on them as they do on the rear splines. Too many people just tighten them but never go to the trouble to repack them. At 80,000 miles, if you have never repacked them then it's probably too late and they need replacing. I think if people would go to the trouble to repack them early on then they will last for many more miles than that. It's not a quick job but do it once and they will be good for a LONG time.
  9. Freebird
    I think that you may be right but I hope not. If that is the case, then the only NEW bike that will really appeal to me is the Harley Ultra. I think it would be music to the ears of our first gen owners though who never liked the cruiser styling of the RSV. By the way, I was driving along Route 33 just east of Weston, WV today and there was a Vision riding in the lane beside me. First time I had actually seen one expect in pictures. I really wasn't sure from looking at the pictures whether or not I liked the style. I can pretty much say for sure now that I honestly don't. Just not a bike for me.
  10. Freebird
    I'm not really suggesting that we should be riding that fast. It's just that I KNEW my bike was not running right. Acceleration was not what it once was and me trying to open it up was just sort of my final way of confirming that I was right that there was something wrong. Acceleration is MUCH stronger now also. Don't worry about the rubber caps. They will probably break up when you remove them if they are cracked. They get brittle over time. Most auto parts stores have new ones that work great. I've replaced mine a couple of times over the years. If they are cracked, you need to replace them anyway. You could be sucking air through them already.
  11. Freebird
    There is absolutely no reason to run high end gas in the bike. The manual calls for 87 Octane and that's what I've run in mine since buying it in '99. I've tried mid and high grade from time to time with no improvement of any kind, performance nor fuel economy. I change my oil every 3,000 miles. I run pure synthetic and could go longer but it's just an old habit that's hard to break.
  12. Freebird
    I see a problem there also. I've never had even a hint of front end shake on the RSV at any speed. I'm not sure about the Royal Stars. I know that due to the smaller carbs and restricted air flow that they were a lot less HP than the RSV and the newer RSTD. That may be about right on a fairly stock Royal Star.
  13. Freebird
    Last week, I replace a bad coil on my RSV. It was the right rear (number 3) coil. I was talking to a couple of other RSV owners today and they commented that everybody they know who has had to replace a coil it has been the number 3 coil. If you have replace a coil, which one was it that was bad? I'm just wondering if there is a pattern here and if so, why the number 3 is going bad.
  14. Freebird
    Over the years, I've seen posts from several people who have claimed that the top speed on their RSV is about 90 MPH. I've never understood that and am now wondering how many here have bikes that top out around that speed. What got me thinking about this was that over the past months my bike was not running well. A couple of weeks ago, I opened it up and found that 90 MPH was all it would do. Now I had had mine to close to 120 MPH in the past so obviously something was wrong. Unfortunately, I got frustrated and took somewhat of a "shotgun" approach to the problem and so don't know just exactly what corrected my problem. I changed plugs but had done that before so I know it wasn't the problem. I also changed my number 3 coil which I think was breaking down under load. I pulled the carbs and reset the floats. One was a bit high. I also suspect that the air box was not seated good on top of at least one of the carbs. The bottom line is that when I was done, I took it out again and it runs like I knew it should. Acceleration is very strong and I took it up to about 112 and it was still climbing pretty good. I have the Speedohealer so that is true speed. I was later talking to my friend Bob Dakin and he told me that his Midnight Venture has never run faster than about 90 since the day that he bought it. I am convinced that there is a problem with his and he is going to come over one day soon so that we can figure it out. How many of YOU have the same problem? If your bike tops out under 100 MPH, I am sure that there is a problem and I don't think it would be that difficult to figure it out.
  15. Freebird
    Geezzz .... the first gens had their share of little quirks also. Frames breaking, 2nd gears going out, cooling problems on the early models. Yes, SOME of the RSVs do have some quirks also but most are frustrating but not serious. I've owned my '99 as long as I've owned any type of vehicle and though have thought about trading it a few times, have still not found anything that I like well enough to do so. There are thousands of these bikes on the road and you hear complaints from a very small percentage of owners. Spud, that is a nice bike and I hope you are very happy with it. There is not much worse than owning something that you hate. As for comparisons though, it is a far cry from being equipped anywhere near the Venture. No stereo, intercom, cruiser control, had bags, travel trunk.......I could go on and on. That's not to say that it's not as good a bike and a better choice for some folks but sure wouldn't cut it for me. I love all the extras that came with the Venture. I don't plan on doing anything until I see what Yamaha does with the 2010 Venture. If they go with the 1700 engine and keep the cruiser stying, I'll finally think seriously about trading but otherwise, I'll probably be riding my RSV for a while.
  16. Freebird
    and you just let that be a lesson to you.
  17. Freebird
    The TSB on the rear end is posted right here: http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1705
  18. Freebird
    I would never recommend this except as a last resort but it sounds like you are about there. I would be contacting an attorney. The rear rotor is questionable but everything else on your list should absolutely be covered. At the very least, get an attorney to send them a letter. That may be all that it takes and shouldn't cost you much. I know for a FACT that they DO respond when you get an attorney involved.
  19. Freebird
    I had seen it and it does make a good point and NO...I did NOT see the bear the first time I watched it.
  20. Freebird
    Well, you've SEEN those pond monsters. Do you REALLY want to catch them?
  21. Freebird
    I can't honestly say because I've never had any issues with the chirping on my '99 or any problems with the rear end. If you have a noisy rear end, then it would likely help. I don't see it doing anything if you have the chirping problem except possibly moving it to a different RPM range.
  22. Freebird
    Jack, I wouldn't put up with that nonsense for a minute. A woman who mows he yard, repairs the gutters...heck...with just a bit of training I'll bet she could polish chrome and sync carbs too. I think it's time that you just cut her loose. She can come to my house for a while if she needs a place to stay.
  23. Freebird
    I agree with him. The Honda Moly grease has been recommended many times here and greasing the splines with every tire change is just routine maintenance. Unless there is indeed some damage, your problem will likely be solved.
  24. Freebird
    I've got to agree with Jeremy on this one. I've never had one return to center either. They way I adjust them is with the bike on a stand so that the front tire is just barely off the ground, I gently swing it so that it bounces off the left or right stop. When it bounces off the stop, it should gently come to a stop without swaying back and forth either direction.
  25. Freebird
    You folks can be happy that Firestik discontinued the fold down mount with the wing nut. It was JUNK. I had those on my '99 and lost two antennas because of them. They were made of a cast or pot type metal and could not take any stress. I now have the fold down mounts with the spring slides that I picked up at a truck stop. Yes, there is some wiggle but they work great.
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