Freebird

Well....that's what you get. I actually called Rick last week but he was out for the afternoon. I was supposed to call back the next day but just hadn't done it yet. I guess my lapse was for the good, now you have to take YOUR bike apart and I don't. Actually, I'll still follow up with Rick. It won't hurt to have him looking at it also.

I've not had to change mine yet so can't say 100% but I understand that they are one piece. When the time comes that I do have to change them, I will probably go aftermarket so that I can do only the wires the next time around. I'm not sure but I THINK that Dynatek makes a replacement coil that will work on our bikes. http://www.dynaonline.com/english/cruisers.htm

Check out http://www.diamondraccessories.com They are the only ones I know of that make them. They are also a fantastic company to deal with.

OEM Bag Rails- Do the Lines Look Right to You? By Brad Norris “Boomer” OK, I couldn’t wait until I bought a set of OEM bag rails from a guy on bay. These were the Real McCoy and came in the OEM box. I made special time on a busy Saturday as soon as they arrived and mounted them up. Installation is quick and easy with the most time spent on removing the bags. After installation I admired them from all angles but wasn’t quite happy with the fit up. It appears to me that the bottom of the rails, when compared to the lines of the bag, just didn’t look right. The back end of the rails appears to be higher than in the front. Also, the back of the rails sat right under the turn signals- in fact, they touch each other. I quickly became suspicious of the Ebayer I bought these from but after looking at many pics on the forums I subscribe to, I saw the same trend in 95% of those I saw. Here is a side shot before with the camera leveling out on the rail. Muffler removed for clarity. http://www.venturerider.org/bagrails/pic1.jpg The rear distance from the bottom of the bag to the bottom of the rail is much different from the front measurement. Mine was out ¾”. To make the “gaps” closer to each other, either the back of the bags must be raised or the rails lowered in the rear. Since it is impractical to raise the bags, I decided to lower the rails. To do this, remove the bag and loosen the front mounting bolt on the rail. Here’s a back shot of the bike with the OEM mount up. Note that the rail rubs the signal. http://www.venturerider.org/bagrails/pic2.jpg I would suggest you do your own measurements to determine where to drill the new hole for the rear mount. Use a small “C” clamp on the rear mount when you think your measurement is close and then set the bag back on to see how it looks. It’s a bit tricky, but better to measure twice- and drill once. Important- Since the chrome rail you will drill into is “U” shaped, be mindful that you will have to put a metric nut behind it for the bolt. If you drill too close to the edge of the rail, you may not have enough room to thread the bolt in the new nut. The back of the rail has foam in it. Just make way for the new nut. I can’t remember the size of the nut but I bought it at Home Depot. When you have the final position, hold the back of the rail in place and use a spring loaded center punch to mark the new bolt location. http://www.venturerider.org/bagrails/pic3.jpg A spring loaded center punch makes this task a bit easier. If you don’t have one, GET ONE. Here’s a pic of mine: http://www.venturerider.org/bagrails/pic4.jpg Be sure to put some scrap metal behind the bracket before you push the drill through the fender and god forbid…the tire! Now, place the rear bolt that came with the rails through the support in the hole you just drilled and fasten with a nut (metric). Retighten the front bolt and install the bag. You should have something that resembles this: http://www.venturerider.org/bagrails/pic5.jpg When you’re done, you will notice the rails-to-bag lines look much better. http://www.venturerider.org/bagrails/pic6.jpg In the rear, the bag rails no longer rub the signals. Enjoy! http://www.venturerider.org/bagrails/pic7.jpg http://www.venturerider.org/bagrails/pic8.jpg

They are probably just WRONG WRONG WRONG. I've heard and seen this happen before and it had nothing to do with rings or valves. They were just out of adjustment enough to cause it to happen. Bob Dakin had the same thing happen. He finally used the Carbtune and got them adjusted just fine.

Mine is set on 7250 and curve 3. I think..but am not sure...that is the setting that most people use. You should not have to rejet after adding the mufflers. Most people don't and they work great. A couple of people have mentioned that you can indeed improve the performance a bit by rejetting though. I've run several different mufflers and have never felt that I needed to change the jets.

It came with a pigtail that hooks to the battery and comes out from under the seat. Just park and plug it in to the charger. Works great.

I'll also add this. The Battery Tender WILL top it off. There have been many times when I am working on the bike in the garage and have started it a few times, played the radio, etc. When I'm done I put the Battery Tender back on it and after a while, it shows topped off again. I also said that I've used it for the past couple of winters but in fact, I pretty much keep the Battery Tender on it year round. When I come in from a ride, I just plug it in.

It's OK...take a look at the following link. The Battery Tenders will NOT charge a discharged Odyssey battery but it WILL work on a charged battery to prevent it from going down. http://www.odysseybatteries.com/charging.htm Here is the section that I am referring to: There is another class of chargers that is designed specifically to maintain the battery in a high state of charge. These chargers, such as the 1.25 amp Battery Tender® from Deltran are not capable of charging a deeply discharged ODYSSEY® battery. This is due to the fact that these chargers have very low output power. They should only be used either to continuously compensate for parasitic losses or to maintain a trickle charge on a fully charged stored battery.

Yes...I've had a battery tender on my for the past 2 winters and it has done great. Don

I'm starting my 4th year with the Odyssey and really like it. No problems at all so far.

Thanks to Bikenut for this excellent information. Here is a list of replacement U-joints for the drive shaft on the 1st Gen Ventures. I have been running the B110 datson u-joint on my trike kit and it works great. Here is the list 1966 thru 1973 B110 Datson Car parts store Trw 20128 Spicer 5-1500X AEC 1064 Precision 392 Keith Yedica Bikenut Casco,Wisconsin Before you go this route, please read the next post.

Squeezes post has been copied to the tech library and award issued. Thank you very much.

Originally posted by "Squeeze" In cold Conditions, and if you use a Standard Lead/Acid Battery, i recommend, before Starting the Engine, leave the Lights on for 30 Seconds. Seems to be stupid without Explanation. It is not ... The starting Power the Battery is able to give ist in direct Context to the inner Resistance of the Battery. If the Acid is cold, the Resistance will be high, e.G. 10 Ohm. If you start the Bike right away, the Resistance in the Battery is much higher than that of the Startermotor. The Startermotor ist in short Circuit in the first Moment of putting Current on it. As the Startermotor starts to turn, the Resistance rises to the normal Level of about 2 to 4 Ohm. The Resistance of the Battery with 10 Ohm and the Motor with Zero or maybe 2 Ohm, is much more a Batteryheater than a engine starting Subsystem. The Power of the Battery gets lost while heating and cranking the Engine. If the Engine doesn't start right away, the Battery power gets weaker and weaker, even if it is now heated with own its Power. There is no more Power left to deliver to the Starter. If you put on your Lights first, the Battery will have the same starting Resistance, 10 Ohm as i said. The Bulbs have a much higher Resistance, so, the Bulbs will shine and the Battery gets also heatet but not that quick and not that energyconsumpting as a failed starting Sequence will have used. The inner Resistance of the Battery drops down on warmer Condition inside the Battery. 30 Seconds later ... Voila... press the Button and the Starter cranks more powerfull, because this Circuit isn't a Batteryheater anymore. By "preheating" the Acid, it is more Capacity awakened as the Loss by the Lights is. The 10 Ohm as the inner Resistance is not the correct Value, it is just for explanation and better Understanding of the System. In Fact the Resistance is more 1 Ohm than 10, anyways, this tiny Trick works on all Lead/Acid-Batteries for sure. Cars, Bikes, Trucks ... Might also be helpful on Batterytypes, but not that impressive, because other Types have a way smaller inner Resistance by System. This is not my idea, i did learn this Years ago, when i was 3 Days send to a Battery manufacterer for a 3 Days Seminar. __________________ Life's too short to have bad Drinks ....

I've got the Barons Tach that is mounted on the reservoir and I really like it a lot. They DO still make it. They just don't offer it as a package now. They sell the reservoir mount as a separate item.

Utopia never made a centerstand...it would have to be Diamond R. You can find them at: http://www.diamondraccessories.com They are great folks too.

I had them at one time. FANTASTIC sound but I finally got tired of any excess noise and went back to stock. They are excellent quality though and can be repacked if they get too noisy for you.

I've heard nothing since the email asking for my telephone number so that he could call me. He never called. I sent another email last week and have heard nothing further. Maybe I'll try to call him tomorrow.

Yes...I would say that it's definitely a matter of time. Shouldn't be too hard though to build a stand off.

Well...my answer wouldn't be quiet that drastic. I would inspect them well for hairline cracks on the sidewalls and between the treads. If you see no cracks...then you should be OK. Now if they are the Bridgestones...I would have thrown them away regardless of how old they are.

It is a 2006. They didn't make the white in 2005.

So what are you guys doing about the lower air deflectors? I know that if the rubber stop is not up against the forks, they will reverberate and break the brackets.

Graphic Equalizer in place of Cassette. Submitted by John Richie Most of the credit for this installation process goes to Kevin Wisor who brought up the topic back in Dec 06. I am providing the steps with photos. The 7 band graphic equalizer is the Pyramid Model 403G, $25.00 at www.etronics.com, advertised as 100 watt amp with a 12 db boost for each band. Dimensions are 4.8"W x 4.75"D x 1"H. The new sound is an improvement over factory, especially if you boost all of the bands, but is only for the speakers, not the headset. This setup disables the cassette player and removes the connector for the CD player (attached to cassette circuit board). The equalizer fits perfectly in the original case for the factory cassette player, but does require modifying the face plate to accept the front of the equalizer. Removal of the cassette player also removes the factory AUX plug, so run an extension line from the factory head unit to a new location on the inner fairing. The speakers work both with the power turned on or off for the equalizer. Installation requires tapping into the speaker wiring harness, as the equalizer needs an output source from the factory amplifier. I cut the wires from the front left/right speaker harness, and used as the left and right “output” as shown on the electrical connection diagram. These go to the “input” on the equalizer. Run new wires to all speakers from the equalizer. Since I could not locate the rear speaker wire in the front fairing harness, I just ran new wires to the rear speaker(s). This disengages the factory fader control on the handlebar remote, but the equalizer has a fader control for the front to rear. The basic installation steps follow, with photos: Remove (split) the Front Fairing. Remove headlight assembly. Remove the brackets holding the stereo head unit, move head unit to left side (out of the way). Remove the four mounting bolts for the cassette deck, and remove the two screws that hold the cassette face plate to the inner fairing. Unplug AUX line and cassette deck wire connector. Keep the cassette deck front door closed for removal of cassette unit from the inner fairing. Carefully (toward the front of the bike) pull the cassette unit out of the inner fairing. Photo of cassette deck. Cut clear protective tape, remove the two lid screws, and lift the top from the deck. NOTE: Do NOT remove the side screws that hold the door assembly! Bottom: remove screws, clamps, and remove the cassette works (mounted with four rubber shock mounts). Pull off the rubber grommet protecting the rear deck wires and reuse when installing the equalizer. Also, I used the connector cap for the CD connector to cap off the original wiring harness connector for the cassette deck. Measure and cut the face plate of the cassette housing to allow mounting of the equalizer. Carefully cut the plastic face plate with a Dremel. The equalizer should be pushed into the face plate enough to use the fader and power button, but not too far or the front door will not close properly. The cut area should be made to fit between the top lip and the 2 fairing mount screw holes at the bottom of the cassette plastic face plate. After I did the rough grinding, I carefully used a small file to fine tune the cut area until the equalizer fit snugly in the face plate. Final mounting of the equalizer in the housing. I did not use the supplied mounting brackets for the equalizer, but instead removed the side screws from the equalizer box, drilled a hole on each side of the cassette housing, and mounted the equalizer with a metric machine screw on each side. The equalizer is held in the front by the plastic face plate and on the sides by the two mounting screws. Re-use the rubber grommet from the cassette deck wires to mount the wires from the equalizer on the rear slot of the housing. Re attach the top lid to the cassette housing and cover with clear packing tape to protect from water damage. Make sure that the door opens and closes properly. Reinstall the equalizer/cassette housing unit in the inner fairing, and again check the door for smooth operation. Disconnect the wire to the rear speaker(s) and run a new set under the seats and gas tank to the front fairing. Since I removed the trunk from my RSV, I only use one speaker in the rear, mounted between the bars of the passenger back support. For those with the trunk, the factory configuration uses only one set of wires for the two rear speakers (mono sound), so now is your chance to run two sets of wires, one to each rear speaker, for true stereo sound in the rear. Hook up all of the wiring for the equalizer using the supplied wiring diagram. Turn on the key, power up the equalizer, and check that all is well. Re-mount the front fairing and enjoy. Thanks, John Richie

The fallen soldiers and their families and friends will be in our prayers. So sorry to hear more of this news.

First Generation Venture Starter Clutch Repair Thanks to GeorgeS for the GREAT write-up On my 89, I completed pulling the Rotor and Starter Engage Clutch Assembly today. --- Here Is what I found ---- ---- One of the three mounting bolts, was--- loose---- and backed out about 1/2 turn!!!!! It appeared to have not had any Loctite applied at the Factory. ---- The other two mounting bolts were Tight, they -- Obviously--- had Loctite applied at the Factory Installation. -----One of the small springs was bent, another had damage on the end, and the third appeared to be OK ----- One of the spring caps, had lots of wear on the open end, and tip. Other two, not bad. ----- The about 1/2 Inch thick material that makes up the Center of the " Starter Engage Unit " ( which appears to be Brass, its copper color, but much harder then copper) Has a Crack completely through it !! Another photo of Cracked engage Unit. Also the ElectriX After market Stator. ( For anybody who may be interested, note the larger diameter wire, than they used on the Stock Stator units ) Another comment, on pulling the Rotor, It did not move Until it finally came off. It Flew Off. After applying heat for about 30 seconds, on the 4th try, of heating and Tapping with hammer, it flew off, went about 2 feet. ( I used an Automobile harmonic balancer puller, you will need to buy 3, 8mm bolts, 3 1/2 inch long, fine thread ( 1.25 pitch ) ( High Strength Steel bolts ) for the rotor pulling job. Also a butane soldering torch will come in handy ( map gas, whatever you have for heat ) I did not find any Damage on the 72 tooth Gear, behind the Rotor. -----I'm adding a close up view, of the three Mounting Bolts, so you can see the " Staking method " used by the Factory, as called for in the Service Manual. One bolt was loose so, obviously they did not Do It Right. Note: In the photo below, see the 8mm 1.25 thread pitch " Tap " I used to clean out the threads in the bolt holes. This is the best way to remove the Old Loctite there, before reassembly, be sure to clean threads with solvent, before reinstalling the " NEW " bolts that you are going to order , when you order your New " Starter Clutch Engage Unit " -----Also adding Photo close up of the springs + weights that fit into the assembly. ( Note: the Crack in the Brass material ) -----Also Photo of Starter, and Gear Drive to the 72 tooth sprocket. ----- Also view of Entire Engage Unit as to how it fits to the flywheel ( rotor ) -----------My, Entire Engage Unit, needs to be Replaced. --------- -------The Unit has 57,300 miles on it.------ ------- The first time I heard the noise was around 20K. -------- I have Done All the Other Fixes as discussed on this web site: This is the first time I have pulled the Rotor Off. It took me about 4 hours, but I'm retired, and I don't work fast for anybody anymore !!! ( that includes the wife !!! ) Still waiting for the New Parts to get here. ( Going to be 50 F tomorrow !! well I guess I will just have to ride the Busa until I get this job done , Darn !!! )