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Freebird

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Everything posted by Freebird

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. and you just let that be a lesson to you.
  4. The TSB on the rear end is posted right here: http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1705
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. Well, you've SEEN those pond monsters. Do you REALLY want to catch them?
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. Ron, I just happen to have a spare. I was saving it for a rainy day but hey, sounds like you need it worse that I do. PM me your address and I'll get it shipped. I'm out of town right now but should be home on Friday and will get it shipped no later than Saturday.
  14. I would suggest that you check: Spark Plugs Carb Sync Make sure carbs are seated correctly not only at the bottom but also at the top in the rubber boots from the air box. Harder to check but also possible causes are: A bad coil Possibly the carb float levels. One may be too high.
  15. Where did you find the info that it is adjustable, unless I missed it, the service manual just says that it must be replace if it's out of spec.
  16. For me, it would be a screwup because my wife LOVES riding on the Venture. Bottom line though, if you are happier then you made a good deal.
  17. Mine was sort of doing that also before I finally got it running right again. Just curious, have you opened her up to see what the top speed is? I found that I could only get 90MPH out of mine when it was doing that. You may have a bad coil. Another thing could be a simple carb sync but it would have to be out pretty bad to cause that kind of vibration. I have seen them that bad though.
  18. I really wouldn't mind doing it and would just check it with the Colortune but I wouldn't know which way to go. Change them all to 117.6 or 120 or ????? Besides, I don't even want to TOUCH mine right this moment after finally getting it running good again.
  19. I saw that method of testing in the manual a couple of weeks ago when I was checking my bike trying to find my problem. I never did check the resistance. When I where it said that it was not adjustable and would need replacing if bad, I decided to just focus on the other things first. Next time I get a chance, I'll see what mine reads.
  20. It is a straight bolt on if you buy the one from Sportmax. If you just buy a VMAX rear, you will need to have it machined to accept the speedo sensor. Near as I can tell, it hurt about 1 to 2 MPG at the worse and I think actually improves it in some conditions.
  21. Yes, it could be glazing but that is why I said PROBABLY a warped rotor. I agree that pads would not be covered but I am just saying that he should not give up on the warranty until he makes sure that it's not a rotor.
  22. I've done the swap and it is probably the single best thing I've ever done in regards to performance for my bike. The RPM range is just perfect for these bikes with the swap. It is especially nice when riding two up in the mountains or bucking a strong head wind. I will never go back to the stock rear end.
  23. Trainwreck, I think your response is a bit strong and that FLB's comments were meant to be humorous. You have to stick around for a while and learn the personalities that we have here. Please don't start off here by getting offended and mad, hand around and give it some time and you'll soon learn that no harm is generally meant.
  24. I never bothered with it. I change my oil often enough that it's never all that dirty. The little bit that is left by not removing that screw is really insignificant in my opinion. It will be so diluted with the new oil that it doesn't matter.
  25. The only thing on that list that MIGHT not be warranty is the front brake pulsation. I would even fight that. If it's a pulsation, it's probably a warped rotor and that should not happen on a bike that new.
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