Freebird

I've done it. I think it's an improvement but not nearly enough to make it worthwhile. I am not sorry but would not do it again.

Or at least SPRING. I'm really tired of winter now. I know that some of you are getting some really bitter cold right now. Bad enough here, 9 F right now but also 27 MPH winds gusting up to 40 MPH. Makes it pretty nasty. Got just a covering of snow last night and the wind drives it right through you. Picked up a used hot tub a couple of weeks ago and spent all day yesterday building a base to sit it on. Digging 3 ft. deep holes in this ground was not all that much fun. Got it done though and got the hot tub on it. Filled and warming right now and plan to sit out in the 4 degree or so temps this evening and ENJOY it. Just need to run to the store and pick up some Baily's for my coffee.

I know what you mean....don't you wish you could go back and make that decision again?

Yes, that is the corporate headquarters but all the bikes are indeed made in Japan.

Mounting Gauges on the RSV General info The toughest thing about mounting gauges on the Royal Star Venture is finding a place to put them. As there is very little space available, smaller gauges are better. The vast majority of gauges are 2” in diameter or larger, and these do not fit well at all, but if you look long enough, you can find some that are 1 ½ “. JC Whitney sells a triple gauge set this size in black which I used on my 05 RSV, and I have seen other 1 ½” sets in various auto parts stores. O’Reilley Auto Parts sells the very nice iEquus Performance series gauges, and they have a white face 1 ½” triple gauge set at almost the same price as JCW. Unfortunately, you cannot get this set with an ammeter, so I just used the water temp and oil pressure gauges on my 07 RSV. If you want to get adventurous and modify your fairing, a three gauge set will fit nicely where the cassette door is. Just for reference, here are pictures of the dash from both bikes showing several mounting options for the gauges that do not require modifying the bike: Once you figure out how to mount the gauges you select, the rest is pretty straight forward. I’ll take them one gauge at a time. But first, here is a picture of the various additional parts to which I’ll refer in the detail: Oil Pressure The gauges I used are mechanical gauges, but the process would be essentially identical for electrical sending units. The oil pressure test point on the RSV is a huge 20mm plug on the right side of the engine next to the floor board and right above the header pipe. You will need a 10mm hex key or Allen wrench to remove this plug, and if the bike is on the side stand no oil will escape. While most gauges come with several size adaptors for both SAE and metric engines, none that I have seen have anything this big. The easiest solution is to buy an M20-1.50 oil drain plug at the local auto parts store and drill and tap it for the connection (I got my Oil-Tite! brand plug at the local O’Reilly Auto Parts). You will also need a standard brass “street elbow” in 1/8” male to 1/8” female pipe threads (I bought a Watts A-712 street elbow at Lowes). To complete this modification, drill an 11/32” hole in the center of the plug and use a 1/8x27 NPT tap to cut the threads for the oil line connection. Now wrap the male end of the street elbow with Teflon tape and screw it into the plug. Don’t make it completely tight yet; because, you will want to install the plug into the engine first and then finish tightening the elbow to face forward. Once you have the plug and elbow installed and pointed in the right direction, install the compression fitting used for the oil line into the female end of the elbow. The last thing to do is route the oil line from your gauge down to this plug. Some people like a braded stainless steel oil line, but I just use the small white nylon tubing that comes with the gauge. Although this white tubing is very visible when new, it virtually disappears as soon as you start the engine and it fills with dark oil. You can see in the picture below how I routed it along the wire bundle running up the right side of the frame. Just connect it with the supplied compression fittings at both ends and you are done with the oil pressure gauge. Ken Chapin (a.k.a. wuzfuzz) tells me you can buy a plug already drilled and tapped for $16 at www.cycleoneoff.com, but I have not checked this out myself. Water Temperature For the water temperature gauge, you need to be able to mount the sending unit or sensing bulb into the engine water jacket somewhere. Mechanical gauges have a long capillary tube and temperature sensing bulb permanently attached to the gauge, so you have to mount the gauge first and then carefully thread the bulb and capillary tube along the existing water return line to the mounting point for the temp sensor on the top of cylinder number one (left rear cylinder as you sit on the bike). If you remove the spark plug wire on this cylinder you will see a black hex key plug just inside of the spark plug and a little higher. Here is a picture of the cylinder head with the pug installed (but already loose) and then removed: And here is a picture of what it is going to look like when you are done: This plug has thread sealer on it which makes it quite hard to remove. You will need your 10mm hex key again, and you will probably have to tap on the wrench with a hammer to get the plug turning. There is NO need to remove the spark plug or drain the coolant, but you will need to remove the chrome covers on the head to give you room to get tools to the plug. These are just decorative and come off with the four small hex key bolts you see on top of them. Once the plug is out, you need to get a little creative to mount the temperature sending unit in its place. The plug is 18mm-1.50 threads, and no gauges I have seen come with a metric adaptor this big. Some metric bushing kits may come with an 18mm adaptor, and outside the US it may be easier to find one at an auto parts store. If you can't find one locally, you have three options – either find one to order from the internet (here is one source: http://www.egauges.com/vdo_indA.asp?PN=R7965), buy an 18mm oil drain plug and drill and tap it to the right size to fit your temperature sender, or use this neat little trick to modify an easily available brass fitting from any hardware store: To make an adaptor to fit the water jacket hole, you will need to purchase a brass ½” tube to ½” female pipe adaptor (I got mine at Lowes, Watts part number A-218). In addition, go to your local auto parts store and look for a Help! brand “Spark Plug Non Fouler, 18mm with gasket”, part number 42009. This will only cost about $2.00, and you want the one with the gasket instead of the tapered seat so you can use the gasket when you mount the adaptor into the cylinder head. Now take the ½” tube to ½” female pipe adaptor and take off and discard the nut and tube insert. The threads in the Spark Plug Non Fouler are identical to the threads in the cylinder head, and you will find that the brass adaptor “almost” fits – it will screw about half way into the hole before it binds up, and the steel non-fouler is the perfect tool to use to form the brass threads into the metric size needed. Just put the non-fouler into a vise and use a wrench to force the brass adaptor all the way into the threads, and presto, you have a perfect part! I use the non-fouler to do this so I don’t risk damaging the threads in the engine head while the brass threads of the adaptor are being reshaped to fit. Now all you need to do is select the appropriate ½” adaptor that came with the water temperature gauge and screw it into the metric adaptor you just made, then mount them both into the engine using the spark plug gasket that came with the non-fouler. Here are pictures of using the non-fouler to reshape the threads and the two adaptors screwed together and mounted to the temperature sending unit: I have found that the aluminum spark plug gasket that comes with the non-fouler provides an excellent seal for the connection in the cylinder head. The last thing you need to do is make sure the capillary tube is routed exactly as you want it and then mount the temperature bulb to the adaptors you already screwed into the cylinder head. Be very careful to not kink the capillary tube as you work to get it all positioned as you want it, and since you cannot shorten it, you will need to loop the excess and secure it somewhere. Here is a picture of how mine is routed and secured. This particular capillary tube is covered in rubber and looks like a wire harness (others are metal and covered with a spring). You can see mine strapped to the top of the coolant return pipe on the right side of the engine between the carbs and the air box, and the excess tube is looped around twice and secured in the wire strap under the plastic cover on the right side of the steering head: Ammeter First, let’s have a little discussion about ammeters. They used to be very common way back when (50s and 60s), but they have just about completely disappeared, replaced by the simple volt meter. Personally, I don’t believe you can tell nearly as much about the condition of the battery AND the charging system from a volt meter alone. Although I prefer to have both ammeter and volt meter, if I have to chose, I would go with the ammeter first. I guess I am just a bit strange. Anyway, hooking up an ammeter presents a bit of a challenge, and I suspect this alone has fueled the switch from ammeter to volt meter in most automotive applications. Whereas a volt meter can simply be connected to any main +12V power source, an ammeter must be connected between the battery and ALL loads. Virtually all automotive ammeters require that they be connected physically in series with the load instead of using a shunt, and this means that a single wire large enough to handle the maximum current draw of the entire vehicle be run from the battery to the ammeter and then back to the main power feeds. To be effective and accurate, the ONLY load that can be connected before the ammeter is the starter motor, and this is just for convenience, as a starter draws so much current it is impractical to connect it after the ammeter. In most applications, you need 10AWG wire for this primary loop to and from the ammeter. 10AWG is big wire, which is not particularly easy to work with. Now lets talk a bit about the specifics of the power circuits in the RSV. The schematic shows the battery power runs through the main fuse then splits into two wires to exit a plug, where the two wires are rejoined into one. The reason for this 1-2-1 configuration is that the pins in the plug cannot handle the full 30 amp load that this main power feed must support, so they need to split that current over two separate pins in the plug. Our ammeter must be connected somewhere between the main fuse and the first connection to any load. The only place to easily tap into this main power feed is at the plug connecting to the main fuse. This is located just behind the primary fuse block under the left side battery cover. To access it you must remove both the battery cover and the left side passenger floor board and then the plastic cover where the passenger floor board is mounted. Here is a picture of the plug connected in its normal position, then unplugged to make the wire modifications easier. All I have done at this point is unstrap the wire retainers to make it a little easier to see the plug. The main 30 amp fuse for the bike is on the right side of this plug and the one on the left is a spare (see page 7-32 of the owner’s manual). Disconnecting this plug removes all power to the bike, almost like disconnecting the battery. You can see the two large red wires coming out of the plug – these are the two wires to which I referred above, and this is the easiest place to tap into the circuit to add an ammeter. To connect the ammeter, you will need at least 12 feet of 10 AWG multi-strand wire. I prefer to use two colors, 6 ft of red and 6 feet of black, so that it is easy to distinguish between the wire going from the battery to the ammeter and the one returning from the ammeter. First, slit the tape back a few inches so you can access the wires. Now cut both red wires, being careful to not cut the two other wires in this plug that activate the starter motor. Now solder the red 10 gauge wire to BOTH of the red wires coming out of the plug, and connect the other end of the red wire to the battery side of the ammeter. Solder the black 10 gauge wire to BOTH of the red wires going into the wire bundle, and connect the other end of the black wire to the load side of the ammeter. Besides just connecting the black wire to the wire bundle, I suggest also soldering a 14 gauge wire to the same point for use in connecting any other after-market accessories that you would normally connect directly to the battery. Remember, for the ammeter to work correctly, no other load can be connected to the battery; it must be connected AFTER the ammeter in the circuit, and the only easy way to do this is to add an additional wire like I have described. In the picture below you can see a yellow wire connected with the black wire. This runs up to an in-line 20 amp fuse right in front of the battery (for easy access), and I use this power feed for my horn and driving light relays. This way they do not overload the stock circuits, but any current they draw is shown on the ammeter. After soldering the wires together, make sure you insulate them well. In the picture I just have heat-shrink tubing on the joints, but this is not enough, as it is quite thin and easy to tear or rub through with very stiff wires like these. After I took the pictures, I used liquid tape to heavily coat these connections, then re-secured all the wires with the original wire straps. That is all there is to it. Put the bike back together and start enjoying the new gauges and the information they give you about what is really going on with your bike. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me through the VentureRiders forum. Ride Safe! Kent (Goose) Maurer

That had to be about the hardest thing you've ever done Gary. My prayers are certainly with you. I have pictures from a couple of funerals that I was actually able to attend but am not even able to look at them even now, years later. I admire your strength.

All you do is go to the YouTube page, copy the URL from the browser address bar and paste it here. I have special software installed that automatically does the rest.

A little trick that many of us learned and use. When you press the set button, immediately toggle and hit the accel button. This will eliminate the problem.

Yamaha will not release the information on how many they have sold. I've searched extensively for that info and it is just not to be found.

I received an email from Paul Meyers "Newman" asking if a "computer help" topic area would be useful. This was actually also suggested long ago. At the time, I kind of thought that there were enough computer site helps out there and never did anything. The truth is though, we do get quiet a few computer questions here. It's just natural that when you have a club that communicates via a website that computer questions will come up. Whether related to the way something works here or computers in general. We already had an area dedicated to "Tips for using the forum" so I've simply expanded that title to include computer help in general. Paul has offered to help with the questions posted there and I know that we have several other members here who are very good (some even do it for a living) that will jump in and help when needed. With such a great base of knowledge here and people who are willing to help, we may as well do what we can to help each other. So, that topic has been renamed "Computer help and tips for using our site" or something like that. Near the bottom of the main forum page. We get the questions anyway, usually in the Watering Hole, so why not start taking advantage of the area set aside for such things. I'm sure that we can all learn from it.

I did too. Post number 4.

I really don't understand why you feel the need to report to us every shooting that you read about. First of all, we DO get the news here. Secondly, we KNOW that there are killers in the world. Some use guns, some use other methods. It is an age old argument and these type of reports will certainly not change the minds of those on either side of the issue. If somebody really wants to kill another person, they are going to. They may use a gun, a knife, a club, whatever. If they REALLY want to kill, they are going to. The issue is not usually the gun put a deranged person. Sorry...but I do have personal experience with this. My sister was murdered. Yep, shot with a gun. I loved her very much and miss her dearly he was going to kill her one way or another. I'm very thankful that she wasn't slowly beaten to death or carved up. I think that the gun issue thread has just about gone on long enough. Maybe we should get back to motorcycles.

Here's is what most of us have done with MP3 players. Should be the same. http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=3905

WOW...love that car. I want it.

Here you go: http://www.myradiostore.com/antennas-cables/for-roady/ They have them for other models too. Don't know which one you have.

I'll join you in the minority. I've owned so many bikes that I'm not sure that I could even remember them all. I've never kept up with the mileage. Would be fun now to know but just wasn't important to me at the time.

I have had XM for several years also. MOST of the music channels are commercial free...EXCEPT for them touting other XM channels which are STILL commercials and I could do without them. I don't like Howard Stern but Opie and Anthony aren't much better so you are paying the salaries of one or the other. I do like Fox News Talk's Brian and the Judge and also O'Reilly as well as Glenn Beck. I think that Talk News may be on Sirius also but I don't think that Glenn Beck is.

I guess I'm in the minority here but I suppose it depends on how you really plan to use it. I bought a used trailer last year for picking up the occasional bikes that I buy to part it, sell, etc. I've pulled enclosed and open trailers and just prefer pulling the open ones. They are less affected by high winds, headwinds and crosswinds, and serve my purpose very well. I agree that there are advantages to the enclosed ones. Your bike will be more secure if you are staying overnight at a hotel. It is protected from the elements. Being on an open trailer though is no worse than if you were actually riding it to your destination. It is then exposed to the elements and sitting outside the hotel rooms at night? I mean, they ARE designed to handle the outdoors. I also agree that it is a good storage space when you are not using it. I know that the way it works around here though is that it would be full of junk every time I need to use it. I would then have to unload it and put all the stuff somewhere else every time I need to use it. Here is the picture of the trailer that I bought last year. The stone guard and sides do offer some protection from things being thrown up from the road. I works very well for me. Not large enough for two large touring bikes though.

It's only on the search button at the top of the forum.

PM sent

Buy the tickets, win the trailer, if you are happy with the Piggy Backer...sell the Bushtec on Ebay....make more than enough to pay for your current trailer and the entire trip.

I'm not much into sport bikes but this is a nice bike. Wouldn't mind playing with it for a few days. 180 HP twin cylinder. http://www.webbikeworld.com/ducati-motorcycles/ducati-1098-r/

Very common. Usually caused by the bolts being over tightened right at the crash bar. They should replace it under warranty. Many have had it done.

Just for all our new members here. I do still have some of our custom cast VentureRider Guardian Bells if anybody wants one or more. Details here: http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?p=155829#post155829

I have no idea. I looked briefly to see if I could find something but not yet. Sorry.