Seaking

I've done mine 3 times now.. the LAST thing I'd want to do is do all that work over a hot engine Bad enough in summer heat let alone engine heat.. hence why I do mine over the winter months.. besides, it's easier waiting for shims when there's snow on the ground..

As best as I can tell, the drive shaft stays attached to the rear diff by means of a circlip inside the housing which itself it attached to the rear diff by 4 acorn nuts (the same ones mentioned in a technical bulletin for rear diff / shaft alignment). There is a spring inside all this that allows the drive shaft to travel back and forth inside that. The end of the drive shaft inside that housing is not wet lubricated by the rear diff as there are seals between rear end of the shaft and the internal parts of the rear differential. In order to grease the rear end of the shaft, it would appear that you would need to undo those four acorn nuts to access that end of the shaft.

I just changed mine a couple of days ago.. maintnance records show they have 25K miles on the rear.. I'm heavy on the rear brake for advance rider demos and such. I did flip the pads a while back which help even out the wear.. I did however find that one of the inside pistons was stuck and took a little more effort to push it back (bleed valve open). I guess a rebuild is in order this winter.

If you're going to change the plugs, do the synch afterwards, same as cleaning / changing air filters.. all little changes.. The process is very simple and quick that I end up doing it every oil change or every 2 months depending which is longest etc.. and always found a little change.. (perhaps not anymore now that I know to blow the vent hoses out periodically!) Speaking of which, I checked a buddy's RSV who showed a lot of grunge on the left side of the carbs and found he also had the same vent line clogged.. He noticed a difference in the bike after that change.. Now we know where the grunge comes from.. In regards to Goose refuting the difference between idle and higher revs synch'ing, I differ to his judgement, as no one knows these bikes more than Goose. Next time I get the opportunity to synch the carbs, I'll do it at 1,000 rpm idle and see what it does.. All good info.

For ****z and giggles, I set mine at 3,000 rpm since most of my riding is in the range anyway, just to see how much of a difference it would make.. Once I set the synch at 1,000, I then set it to 3,000 rpm.. and oddly enough it was close to perfect at idle but locked solid at 3,000 as perfect synch.. OK, cool. Riding is much smoother at highway speeds. At idle, I don't notice the slight difference.. So I left it as synch'd at 3,000 rpm. However, after unclogging some vent lines and changing a bunch of relays, the synch is out again and I have to check it again soon.. buzzing in the hands though the mirrors aren't buzzing.. Maybe the synch at idle is all she needs again.. it might have been compensating for those clogged vent lines etc.. Anyone else try synch at 3,000 and notice any difference?

A great many thanks to those who were instrumental in helping me get Alice back up and running again.. After three days of hard test riding, I think I can call this one 'fixed" with a cautious tone... With a new ignition switch, side stand relay, starter relay and spark plugs, the bikes has been starting well with authority every time.. I took the time to clean off all the electrical connectors to and from the battery, fixed any dodgy looking connector ends and wires.. And for the first time in a long time, without the need of choke. After un-kinking and unclogging a couple of crank case vent hoses, the bike runs like never before. Smooth, with noticeably more power. With just over 125K miles, the girl was showing her age before the change of parts.. Riding the highway and back roads, in the heat and in the rain, leaving it outdoors overnight (nights are cool now), the bike starts well every time. Not sure why but the revs even dropped down a tad at given speeds. With the VMax rear diff installed, I used to cruise the highway at 70 mph turning around 3800 rpm which gave me a consistent fuel milage. Reserve was reached at around 165 to 170 miles with a 50 miles reserve till dry.. Now, it's turning around 3650 to 3700 rpm at 70 mph and reserve is reached around 170-175 miles on the last three tanks.. The fact that the annoying low end rumble is now gone might be due to those clogged vent hoses. Cruise controls work fine, everything else works well on the bike.. smooth power, no hiccups or weirdness about the bike anymore. However, the mention of the pickup coil in earlier posts is still on the list of things to be checked next time if the bike fails me again.. perhaps changing it out this winter for nothing more than the peace of mind.. Later on, when time permits I'll be doing the bypass relay thing. All that's left now is to re-tumble the gas cap and bags locks to the new key and all is good. Thanks again! Cheers

I was running an OSRAM 100/80 Halogen lamp (part# 62203) for a while on it's own H4 curcuit off the battery into the bike's connector for the hi/low beam functionality.. now THAT'S bright! Even with the 40W amp running the radio's sound system, it didn't over tax the charging system since the highway and running lights are all LED. But it was noticeably yellow compared to the LED highway light so I'm trying out an LED headlight.. white, but doesn't seem to throw light as far or as bright as the OSRAM, but possibly as bright as the 65/55 typical H4 headlight bulb if not slightly brighter....

Same.. Trip 1 is my fuel gauge.. Since putting on the VMax pumpkin my reserve consistently hits around the 170 miles on the highway (with 50 miles of reserve).. Fuel gauge stopped working properly a couple of years ago and when I have time I'll be installing the new one I recently purchased (dealer gave me a super good price on it.. I couldn't refuse Hopefully THAT will work and get rid of the 8 blinks on the fuel gauge..

The owner's manual says the fuel odo will reset itself if you don't reset it manually.. If you manual reset the fuel odo, it then goes back to trip 1 odo.. If you select the odo it will cycle through the odo, trip 1, trip 2 and fuel odo.. If you're planning on logging your whole summer riding on only a trip 1 odo, you're not going far at all? How far does a trip odo roll to, 1,000 miles before rolling over? Never paid attention to that.. curious.

Hmm true... you'd get confirmation of spark or not.. and a comedy show at the same time.. Just hope you can run faster laughing than he does mad.. Just heading out for hopefully a full day of test riding... Carb synch later today if all goes well... (fingers crossed)

Spray Paint product called "Plasti Dip".. comes in various colours.. People paint their whole cars with it.. the more layers you put on, the easier it is to peel off when you want to peel it off.. Its quite durable and resilient.. and flat.. Work really well in this case, as evident in the photo you showed..

Thanks Mike.. Next time "if" the bike fails I'll be sure to check that. In regards to the kinked hose, it's the hose that's attached to part #22 under "intake" in the parts fiche.. and the closest thing I find that might connect to it is "breather hose" part #31 under "radiator" in the parts fiche.. In one of the lower turns is where it's kinked.. I don't think it's pinched off completely, but suffice to say it's restricted air flow.. Thanks for your input.. Cheers

Once I got it started it last night, it has started fine since then.. even better than ever before.. very little to no choke required on a cold start (this bike kinda always needed 'some' choke after a day sitting idle).. Rode it a bit last night for a while, started up fine after 30 minute shut down.. Started fine this morning after an overnight sitting idle.. After work this evening, started fine with little to no choke.. quite quickly too.. nice. Better than ever before. I'm guessing that the switch was dead on the two wire side of things.. Bike wouldn't start few weeks ago but would if I did that jumper trick.. then it wouldn't start at all. That's when I noticed the lack of neutral light and such.. Ignition switch needed recplacing but once installed didn't fix it all.. but the side stand relay replacement resolved the additional problem. The starter relay was a "might as well before it too dies" replacement. As for the no spark thing? Hmm out of curiosity, I pulled one of the rear plugs out, laid it against the engine casing to ground it and cranked it over.. NO spark visible.. huh? But when I put it back in, the bike started fine and produced heat to all 4 cylinders.. Either I'm blind as a bat or the spark is that tiny I can't see it. Either way, it all seems to be working well right now.. However, the proof will be in the pudding next week when the rains return and we'll see if humidity has anything to do with anything as well. I still plan on doing the pick up coil check as described, just to make sure.. In short: Ignition switch needed to be replaced to find out why no spark.. Once replaced, determined that side stand relay was duff (continuity check across diodes failed) and that was replaced. Bike still would not start but it did turn over strongly.. As suggested by someone, perhaps it would not start because it was flooded or stale gas in the carbs.. nonetheless, when it did start it has been working fine.. So the last 'no spark' issue after the switch and relays were replaced might not have been an issue at all.. just needed to catch and sort itself out properly after sitting idle for so long waiting for parts. Tomorrow I shall be road testing it properly, long haul, power hauls etc and see how she plays well with others.. I have CAA (our version of AAA) so if she dies on me again, it's a free trailer haul back to the house up for 300 and some KMs worth.. Fingers crossed. I have a cross continent road trip planned for next month so this babe has to perform.. well.

I think that's where it is Mike, according to the other sources.. I'll have a look in a few days and confirm it. I took the bike out tonight and wow, a little clean up on the hoses and connectors brought new power to the engine... smoother and more responsive.. The idle needed adjusting and no doubt the carbs will require re-sync'ing now that all is changed around on the bike stuff.. All that's left is cleaning out the air filters, glass bead the clutch plates, oil change, lube, tighten the neck and this bike is ready for another 100K miles.. (now at 124K miles on the odo..) The valves were done 25K miles ago so should be good to go for another 25K miles before I have to get to that one again. Only one thing I couldn't resolve yet.. When you look at the air chambers above the carbs, there is a hose that runs forward from the interconnect and tucks in under the left side of the front of the carbs.. I have a bit of kink in one of the bends.. this is about a 1 inch size hose.. Its routed properly but at one of the preformed bends there's a pinch / kink in the hose.. Wondering how much of an effect that has on the engine with some restriction of the air passage like that? I couldn't un-kink it.. seems to formed in there with time.. a new hose in the future.. Next on the line is to take the bags and trunk locks to a locksmith and get them retumbled to the new key..

Ok.. so here's where are now.. New ignition switch (no bypass stuff installed) New side stand relay New Starter relay All new fuses "everywhere" (thanks for the chart) All connectors to and from battery and switch and relays and where ever cleaned and brightened.. New spark plugs installed. Vent lines blown clear, (one clogged, another pinched) (did not want to pull battery box out tonight.. sigh) On side stand, Key ON, choke out, neutral, clutch in (neutral light is on) and cycle the kill switch... fresh charge on the battery... Hit the starter.. crank crank crank.. sigh.. Hit the starter.. crank crank POP.. huh? POP?! wait a tic.. Hit the starter and cran-- ROAR... whoa Nelly.. she's alive!! wow.. Ok.. let it warm up.. gentle choke off..idles lower than before.. but still holding on.. Hmm twist the throttle and she roars.. Hmmm ok... that sounds better.. but will it start again..? Shut it off with the key.. wait 1 minute.. no choke hit starter etc and roar.. wow.. nice.. Shut it down.. wait 30 minutes.. start the bike, roar.. nice again... OK, so everything "seems" to be working OK.. time to button up the bike and take it out for a test run.. after the rain stops.. sigh.. Question.. does the fact that it took several cranking attempts indicate something amiss or just the bike being cranky ol nasty for sitting idle for a few weeks? There are a few new sounds and different vibes while bike is on idle (all good mind you)..,. thinking the new switch and cleared vent lines is making things breathe and function with better authority now..?? I will still take the time to check out the pick up coil resistance over the weekend JUST to make sure.. Will let you know how the bike runs after a few runs and how she starts after sitting idle for a day or so.. see how she starts,.. I'm now starting to say nice things to my bike again.. with a softer gentler voice... ya never know, it might help.. Hmm I can see the VStar getting jealous now that it won't be ridden as often now that the RSV is alive again.. More as the test runs proceed..

Which makes awesome forums like this one worth every penny of subscription costs!!

Great info, thanks!! Sucks that I JUST put the dang battery box back in just recently after changing out the two relays... (palm to forehead...) At least I can do it again, quicker this time. Gents, thank you for the info, hopefully tonight or this weekend after work I will be able to tackle this and see what the score is. I used to be an aircraft technician who is used to having detailed technical orders detailing everything for location, various values etc.. Who ever wrote this Venture manual should be forced to recite it out loud in front of all frustrated RSV owners while being pelted with rotten vegetables of various sizes and shapes.. Cheers

Sweet! The image much appreciated.. I'll etch that info into the cover! Thanks!

Phew, ok so I'm not the only one with this problem If you get a chance, can you have a look at the label inside that fuse box and let me know what the writing is supposed to be (from left to right as you're facing it?) Fuses are good all around.. so now that I have a better idea where to dig out that pick up coil connector I'll be able to check that out after work tonight.. I have the Dyna3000 installed on this bike.. if I can find my OEM box I'll swap that out as well.. ya never know.. Thanks gents.

Thanks Mike, same docs and manuals I have here.. Notice in the image that they show the cables coming off the items with a cut off line.. basically not indicating where they pop out of the bike at the other end? Ok, this is where my search begins. I know where the stator and the pickup coil is, but I'm trying to find out where the connector is so that I don't have to pull off the cover and having to purchase a gasket.. "under the left side cover" is what I'm reading and finding but either my bike is a bass-ackwards bike or there's a misprint somewhere because those connectors are not there.. For the electrically challenged (me) this is furstrating. The books, manuals and FAQs all assume you know exactly where each item is located on the bike. "check main fuse".. ok, where is it? Check ignition fuse.. same deal. I'm going through the manual and parts list trying to locate where various items are that people are recommending that I check but where are these items? The manual might as well just say: "You'll find it between the front and rear wheel".. But I do appreciate your assistance!

Thanks Mike, under MY left cover is the fuse box and fuel pump.. connectors for fuel pump and speedo.. As far as I remember, behind the left side passenger floorboard panel is the starter relay.. Though I'm able to do most of my own mechanical work on this bike (valves, neck bearling, clutch, wheels etc..) I'm at loss with the electrical stuff. The book mentions "main fuse" but declines to mention where it is.. The fuse box under the left side cover has writing inside the cover but mine are all bodged over and unreadable.. From front to rear of the box, I have a 10, 10, 156, 15 and 10A fuses.. Can anyone tell me which is which? Thanks

Thanks Mike. While I do know I have fuel (pump works, sprays out fuel when key turned), I have no spark. The hardest part of all this is not deciding to do it (I have no choice but to do it but the hardest part is figuring out where and what everything is, and how to do it properly.. Still doing the research.. Not getting far yet.. Thanks for the heads up. Cheers

Yes, everything in regards to anything "bypass" has been removed and tossed to the side. New ignition switch is plugged directly to the bike, all connectors cleaned and connected properly.. Bike is back to OEM configuration in this area.. Cheers

Good question. I spark tested the plugs with them pulled out and grounded to the engine casing, and cranked the bike in the dark looking for any hint of spark (none). I'll check the condition of the plugs next time I have everything back together again and crank it over some more. If fuel at the pump but dry at the plugs, what should I be looking at next? Cheers

Many thanks, Neil.. I'll have a look at this one.. Too nice a day today to be tossing wrenches at this bike, went out on a day long ride on the suped up VStar.. now ready to get back to work.. Cheers