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skydoc_17

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Everything posted by skydoc_17

  1. skydoc_17
    Hey Tom, Jean here. Earl gets one part from the UK for one of his kits and we placed an order 2 weeks BEFORE Christmas! We are STILL waiting on those parts! When Earl called about the parts to US Custom's, he got a bit "testy" with the guy on the phone and the Custom's Officer flat out told him that if he puts his "John Handcock" on a package, and it blows up after it leaves, then he looses his job, and could be prosecuted, so guess what the Officer said next? "Mister, we don't ship ANYTHING out until it sits around for 6 or 8 weeks", then if it's gonna' blow up, it will do it here. Don't you just love a bureaucracy! Earl has a talent for cutting thru all the BS, unfortunately, sometimes you don't want to hear the real truth about the situation. Your Carbtune is most likely sitting in a warehouse in NYC somewhere, waiting to blow up! Jean
  2. skydoc_17
    Hey Dave, Jean here, I am glad you made it to the side of the road OK! I asked Earl about this as I have never heard of one of these 1300 motor's coming apart before. Here is what he said. He has seen a few of the high compression VMAX motors come apart, but only one VR/RSV motor. The connecting rod usually fractures the wrist pin, (con rod to piston) or it throws the cap on the bottom of the connecting rod off by snapping the bolts. (con rod to crankshaft) Earl suggested two things, first, get a small note book, and starting backwards, document every oil change, air and fuel filter change, to show the dealer you maintained the bike. Second, if the dealer is only going to replace the one connecting rod and piston, then tell the dealer you want ALL of the rotational parts Magna-Fluxed, because you are so close to the end of the warranty! Chances are, they will replace everything with new parts to save time and money, instead of checking the remaining old parts out. If the connecting rod came loose at the crankshaft, it is VERY IMPORTANT that the crankshaft be checked out for scratches and scores on the bearing journals. If it came loose at the wrist pin, you may have bent valves in that chamber of the cylinder head. Needless to say, each "Jug" has two combustion chambers in it, and even if you have to pay for the parts, have the dealer install new valve seals in that cylinder head. The dealer makes WAY too much money doing this repair to just replace the entire engine, so don't count on that at all. The best you could hope for is a bent/scored crank, which is replaced, and a new jug, with one new connecting rod and a new piston. I don't know how well you know your dealer/Service manager but I suggest that you start out with a good attitude, but BE FIRM about what you expect for a repair. MAKE him describe what damage has happened! Getting mad doesn't help, but if you are not happy with the service you are getting, ask to speak with the Yamaha Rep. for the area as soon as things stop going your way. Speak to some of the VR.ORG members in your area and ask them if they know a good dealer with a great service dept. because you are going to need it! Earl hopes this works out for you, remember BE FIRM! Jean and Earl
  3. skydoc_17
    Hi Wayne, Jean Here, I asked Earl, and he said, don't mess around, cut ALL of the bolts off and replace with new grade 8 bolts (ream holes, use 1/4 inch bolts). The chances of getting the nuts off those bolts after 27 years is pretty slim. Even if you could get them off,they will not retighten properly. He also said, for the header nuts, (for the exhaust pipes) use PB blaster, and a bit of heat if the PB Blaster doesn't do it by itself. Earl says hey. Jean
  4. skydoc_17
    Hi Pete, Jean Here, I saw your post, and asked Earl if he wanted to comment on the project you were doing, here is what he said. First off, he said, these load resistors get SCALDING HOT!!! Like so hot they will melt plastic parts! They need to be mounted where air can get to them. AND not mounted on ANY plastic surface! The next thing he said was it takes 200 ohms of resistance when installing LED's to keep the self canceling units functioning and to keep the "bulb burned out" Icon from coming on. So if you have a 50 ohm load resistor, you will need ONE for every light bulb. He is not exactly sure how the Second Gen. is wired for the turn signals but for sure on the First Gens. he had to install a 50 ohm load resistor on each light bulb to make them function properly. Because of the addition of the load resistors, there is absolutely NO POWER savings by running LED lights, so if you didn't spend big bucks on some really bright LED's, then you are spinnin' your wheels thinking you are going to reduce your current draw by putting LED's on your bike. The reason is you negated the power savings of the LED's by having to add the load resistors to get the other items to function properly. Earl thinks it is money better spent to leave the stock bulbs in their location, and add EXTRA LED's to other places on your bike, and DO NOT add the load resistors at all because of the heat and melting problem. Earl did want me to tell you Pete that he wishes you the best of luck with this project. Jean
  5. skydoc_17
    Hey Randy, It was VERY astute of you to pick up on the fact that BMW has made a pretty good attempt to copy some of the finer aspects of the design of the First Gen. Venture Royale!What surprises me is that any Motorcycle Company would take a good look at the First Gen. VR and FINALLY figure out that this machine was a "Kick A$$" bike and incorporate it's design features into it's design, for a motorcycle produced 28 years after the First VR was produced! Not to mention that there is a very large segment of the motorcycle riding population that actually enjoys riding a motorcycle that sits you better than any sport bike on the planet, and allows you to carve up the twisties with a "full bagger" scoot. The REAL shame of it all is that YAMAHA didn't realize this fact, and chased after Harley Davidson like a puppy looking for snack! I personally don't think that the new Goldwing holds a candle to the First Gen. VR, BUT I would be hard pressed to try to talk someone out of buying the new BMW because it is so much like the First Gen. VR, plus it has ABS! My thoughts, for what they are worth, Earl
  6. skydoc_17
    This topic has been talked about recently, here is a link to the thread: http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?p=534780#post534780 Many of the parts talked about in this thread are addressed by Venture owners that have them. You may find this previous thread useful. Earl
  7. skydoc_17
    So, It sounds like it would take an entire Troop of Boy Scouts to keep one woman happy! Trustworthy, Loyal Helpful, Friendly, etc,etc,etc, and maybe one or two Chippindale's for the weekends! Earl:Laugh:
  8. skydoc_17
    Hey Norm, I have the Garmin Nuvi 855 and it has a feature where it sends a signal to the FM radio on my bike. The MP3 player in the Nuvi can be heard thru the speakers on the bike as well as the voice commands for turns, etc. There is no "hard wire" connections required, I simply tune my FM radio to a station that has no FM music coming from it, plug the FM station number into the Nuvi, and go for a ride. If the station picks up a broadcast, I simply change the station, and I am good to go. I purchased a refurbished unit off of Ebay for $180.00 2 years ago. (now around $100.00) I bought a few expansion cards to load different types of "mood music" on and can basically listen to anything I want, for as long as I want. Each mini SD card holds over 1000 songs. I found the "no cable hook up" feature really cool. I use the same GPS in my car and truck the same way, tune in an FM station, adjust the GPS, and listen to the music I want. You can also "mute" the verbal driving commands without loosing the ability to listen to the music on the MP3 player. Just another option to consider when selecting a GPS. Earl
  9. skydoc_17
    Hey Herb, It is nice to see you on the site, I haven't seen you in a while! Thanks Gary for the detailed answer for Herb's Questions. To expand on Gary's information, The MKII Anti-Dive Solenoids use 12% of the total amount of electricity that the stator produces weather you are "Diving" or not! Even sitting at a stop light, if you have the front or rear brake engaged, you are using 12% of the electrical power available to run all of your lighting or recharge the battery. EVERY TIME you have the brake engaged, weather you are moving or not! Because I have the stock stator, (not the high output one) a 12% savings in electrical power was HUGE for me. This was reason #1 for removing the Anti-Dive Solenoids for me. I would honestly have to say that reason #2 was Cosmetic. Now in the case of the MKII solenoids, the removal of the Anti-Dive Solenoids was modest, BUT in the case of the MKI Hydraulic Solenoids, getting that Large, "Clunkly" Hydraulic Valve and the additional brake line that runs from the front caliper to the Anti-Dive Valve makes a world of difference in the appearance of the front forks on the MKI VR. If there is an "UGLY" area on a VR, it would have to be right here, at the Anti-Dive Valves! If I could be honest with you for a moment Herb, If you just disconnected the electrical lines from the Anti-Dive Valves where they connect up under the fairing, you will get the same power saving benefit as you would from adding the block off plates. I made these plates to solve an issue I have with the power consumption of the solenoids, and to change the appearance of the front forks by removing those solenoids. If a 12% total loss of electrical power doesn't bother you, or if those "clunky" Anti-Dive Solenoids sticking out the sides of your front forks doesn't bother you, then there is absolutely NO reason for you to purchase them. These plates are something I custom made for my bike, thought they were "cool looking", and they solved an electrical issue I had on my MKII VR. I thought other First Gen. owners would think the same way, so I offered them in the Classifieds. If you don't happen to be one of those VR owners that feel the same way, I don't have a problem with that at all. Because our selections of "Safety Chrome" type items are now limited because of the age of our bikes, I thought this would be an excellent addition of a high quality Stainless Steel polished, "Safety Chrome" type item in an area of the bike that doesn't look all that great to begin with. Plus the addition of the power savings made this a logical choice for me. Earl
  10. skydoc_17
    Not Bad for a rookie, I would have went over...Backwards! But that's just me! Earl
  11. skydoc_17
    Hey Pete, A swift tap to the one set, (YOURS) and you won't feel much like ridin' anymore! Problem Solved! Seriously, Because you have what I call a "high mileage bike", meaning you put a lot of miles on your bike regularly, it would not be unreasonable to expect the steering head bearing nuts to need adjustment. I would suggest purchasing one of "Dingy's" Spanner wrenches and adjusting the Steering Head Bearing Play. There should be NO Lateral movement in the front forks. This is not the fault of the mechanic that installed the new set of head bearings, this is a condition of many, many miles of riding the bike. As with all mechanical assemblies, play that would show up on the average RSV owner's bike in a few years, shows up in less than a year for you Pete, because you ride so much. There is a procedure in the Second Gen. Tech. Section and Dingy has the tool. And Please, Leave that other set of fasteners, UNADJUSTED! Earl
  12. skydoc_17
    Hey Chris, Welcome to the VR.ORG Site! Now, lets talk about that bike! You said good spark to all 4 cylinders. You said 1 plug dry 3 plugs wet. Well, since the TCI controls the spark, it sounds like the TCI is doing it's job. Gasoline ONLY burns if it is a vapor, if it is a liquid, (wet plugs) then the Carbs. are flooding the combustion chambers. You said you cleaned the Carbs., did you remove them? Did you take them apart? There are passage ways inside these Carbs. that a human hair would barely go thru. It sounds like you have gummed up Carbs, and at least one fouled plug, most likely three. I would first try a fresh set of plugs, and an ounce or two of Seafoam per gallon of gas in the tank. Is there fresh gas in the tank? If not, drain all of the old fuel out. Then add fresh gas, with the Seafoam in it. Don't go crazy with the Seafoam! There are directions on the can. Try to get the bike to run for a while so it will come up to operating temp. then ease off on the choke. There is more than one fuel path inside these Carbs., so increasing the throttle, (Rev the engine) will get the treated fuel into the different areas. As the Seafoam works thru the Carbs. it should run better. If not, then the Carb. rack will need to be removed and the Carbs. disassembled and cleaned. This is a common problem with these bikes when they sit for a long time. You didn't mention your mechanical ability, so I would try the Seafoam trick first. It can be purchased at Advance Auto, Sometimes Wal Mart has it. White can, red letters. A pint is around $8.00. Go to the First Gen. Tech Section, (Click "Forum" Icon, upper left on home page) and down load the Service Manual for the MKII (1986 to 1993 VR) Find the Idle knob, (Left side of bike) and try to get the bike to idle at 1000 RPMs with the choke off and the bike warmed up. If you want to PM me for some other ideas, that's OK too. I have attached a pic of the Idle Adjust Knob. Good luck with this project, Earl:thumbsup2:
  13. skydoc_17
    Hey Gary, THose are EXCELLENT Graphics you have there! I can see those going into the Tech. Library in the near future. As always, you have out done yourself! Thanks for taking the time to share these great pics with us. Earl
  14. skydoc_17
    Hey Mike, Thanks for the kind words about the block off plates! Because there are literally NO straight edges on outside of this part, and I am milling these parts on a manual mill, this project has been one of the more complicated parts I have production machined at home. I am using my milling machine and a rotary table to create all of the radii around the outside of the part. Not to mention that this 304 Stainless Steel is some pretty tough stuff to machine! Would you mind posting a pic of the plates installed? I don't personally own a MKI VR, (and the MKII VR has a different configuration) and was wondering what the finished install looked like. Thanks again for the kudos, This has been a very exciting project to accomplish! Earl
  15. skydoc_17
    Hey Annie, If you know of an Aussie song that would play well on the Mountain Dulcimer, I could try to get some sheet music or a recording of it, and we will get Dave to playin' it, and by the time you get here, he will have you cryin' in your Foster's! Nothing is too good for our Aussie friends! Earl
  16. skydoc_17
    Dave Wells Stopped by our place on the way back from his NY Christmas Vacation and brought his Mountain Dulcimer with him! This guy is amazing! We had such fun listening to Christmas songs on his Mountain Dulcimer and he was so generous with information about the instrument. Thanks Dave, you certainly brightened up OUR Christmas! Earl and Jean
  17. skydoc_17
    Hey Karl, Both Jean and I are glad to hear that your daughter is home safely! We are sorry to hear that you had such a bad time with the Hospital. I hope that this new doctor figures this out so your daughter can resume a normal life. Keep us posted, Earl and Jean
  18. skydoc_17
    ALL First Gens. cut the head light out when you push the start button. I wanted to address the statement made by BOO, and perhaps other members will find it useful as well. If you find that you have a charging system failure, (low/no stator output) and you are trying to "limp" home or to a shop for repairs on just the battery, Pull the headlight fuse from the fuse box, slip it in your pocket or another safe place, then once the stator issue has been addressed, just return the fuse to the fuse box and you will have lights again. Because of the "headlight off when starting" feature, and the ability to remove the headlight fuse in the case of the stator malfunctioning, I for one, don't believe that there is any need to put the lighting on a separate switch. To me, riding is supposed to be "fun", and remembering to turn on a bunch of stuff sorta' takes all the fun out of riding my bike. Not to mention, my CRS (Can't Remember $hite) seems to be rearing it's ugly head the older I get. Yamaha incorporates an excellent lighting canceling feature during start up, I let the bike do it's job, and worry more about where I am going to ride that day. In the case of the HID Lighting, I understand the need for the seperate switch. Just my thoughts, I apologize if I strayed to far off topic, Earl
  19. skydoc_17
    Having worked with thread lockers in the Aero Space Industry for 38 years I learned a long time ago that Loc-Tite and plastic don't mix. There are even thread lockers that are so caustic that they will dissolve aluminum! I have to be real careful when using fasteners and chemical thread lockers on the air planes I work on. Over the years, I have MANY times used a single wrap of the white Teflon plumbers tape to tighten up a loose fitting screw in a plastic thread. Now don't go crazy and put ten wraps of the tape on the screw, or you will split the plastic female thread, but a single wrap will snug up that screw just fine. PLUS every time you remove the screw, just re wrap the screw and you are good to go. The tape is easy to find, is cheap and there is NO chemical interaction between the screw and the plastic. I am sorry that you got this info late, but someone else might find it useful. Earl
  20. skydoc_17
    Hey Dug, The 95 degree temp. they are speaking of is if the engine has been RUNNING! This is the MAX. Temp. you could check the valve clearances. The reason they specify this MAX. Temp. is in case a bike comes into a dealer, and a mechanic starts to work on it right away, if the bike is still "hot" the clearances will be wrong. Warm your garage a while to normalize the temp. of the metal parts of the bike and you should be just fine. Earl EDIT: A few Members on the site were kind enough to point out that the word MIN was a bit confusing. I have corrected this error, replacing it with MAX. and thank them very much for bring it to my attention. The point I was trying to make is, you can't check the valve clearances at near operating temps. Earl
  21. skydoc_17
    Hey Zane, Needless to say, I have Tapped a few holes in 38 years as a CNC Machinist. I just happened to know that one off the top of my head. That was a very nice chart you provided the forum Zane, I am sure more than a few mwmbers will be bookmarking that page. Ya' done good there. Earl
  22. skydoc_17
    Hey Bill, The Tap Drill for a 1/4"-18 NPT is a 7/16". Happy New Year, my friend. Earl
  23. skydoc_17
    Hey Frank, I think that Dingy has touched on the two main problem areas with the high voltage system on the 83'VR. Now, the TCI problem is a tough one to cure because of the limited options you have as far as a replacement TCI goes, BUT the replacement of the spark plug wires and keeping fresh plugs in these 1200 motors is something that can easily be addressed, and for a moderate amount of money, will give you the best chance of having your 83'VR start dependably until the TCI finally fails. I keep a back up TCI available for my MKII 87'VR and if I had the MKI 83'VR, I might even have two! I can't even begin to tell you how many "problem VR's" I have worked on that have totally changed to a dependable first start bike, when the TCI was swapped out. When a VR with "spark/start" problems comes in for repair, If it has 20 plus year old ignition wires still on it, that is usually the first thing I change. I consider spark plug wires and spark plugs "perishable items" and in more than 50% of the time, the replacement of these two items yields a drastic improvement in the performance of the high voltage system. Now don't get me wrong, a set of plug wires is not going to correct an ailing TCI, but with that variable removed, it makes troubleshooting the TCI a heck of a lot easier. Earl
  24. skydoc_17
    Hey Ed, Having an 87'VR myself, I feel your pain. I could not even think of selling mine, but I am sure you had your reasons. I hope you don't give up riding for good. As I have gotten a bit older, I am now thinking about things that I need to change in my life that I would have NEVER though about changing when I was a puppy. It reminds me of the old joke where two bulls (one old and one young) are on a hill side and looking down they see a heard of cows. The young bull says, " let's run down there and make love to one of them cows", and the old bull says, "NO son, let's WALK down there and make love to ALL of them"! Until you get another bike Ed, I hope the memories of your 87'VR keep you warm thru this winter, and when spring comes, and you are "feelin' your oats" I hope a "new to you" bike comes your way. Don't be a stranger, Earl
  25. skydoc_17
    Hey Brian, Here is basically the deal here, for the $2500 to $3000 (cost to purchase plus parts) you are going to put into this bike to get it back to where it was before the crash, you could buy a pretty nice, fully functional MKII VR ready to ride for the same price. NOW, if you are looking for a "project bike" and believe me, this will be a PROJECT, you have found the right bike. I would try to low ball the owner if possible. The fact is, the front fairing halves are no longer being produced by Yamaha, so that means that you either totally "luck out" and find the front fairing and side bag from the same model year and color as this bike, used, or you buy a different year and repaint the entire bike. Or, option 3 is drive the bike with different color parts on it. Now, if you want to part this bike out, there is most likely $1500 to $2000 worth of parts on the bike. The pics weren't all that great but usually you can count on about that much from a VR that has had the front fairing "popped" on the one side. There is a fair amount of work to disassemble one of these bikes and there will be a bunch of parts that you will have trouble getting rid of, short of giving them away. When taken apart, this bike will cover a 10' X 10' area pretty quick. If I was going to "fix" this bike, I wouldn't pay $500.00 for it, but if it was a parts bike I would. I have an 86'VR and 89'VR here at the shop right now that started out looking as good or better than this bike, I have sold MANY parts off of them, and use other parts to make repairs to bikes that I work on. I have also given away a BUNCH of parts off of these bikes. Good luck with this project, which ever way you decide to go, Earl P.S. I took another CLOSER look at the pics that show the signal light and those vertical scratches on the left side fairing were put there by this bike being PUSHED ACROSS THE PAVEMENT on it's side! Unless of course the car that "side swiped" this bike hit the bike, then went VERTICAL! So either the owner is BSing you about the fact that it went down OR those scratches should be running HORAZONTAL! You NEED to be the judge of that! Earl
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