CMIKE

Little Bob...I am sorry it is Color Rite that has the paint to match our bikes. You can buy it in Touch-up pens to Aerosol cans to quarts. They have frame/wheel color, engine color, midnight or the blue colors offered for the 07 bike. Also other years. I had a scratch on my trunk when I bought the bike...ordered some touch up paint and you have to look really close to find where the scratch was... http://www.colorrite.com/matrix-colors.cfm?CFID=658722&CFTOKEN=59989477 Now got2mnytoys (Scott) seems to have something with the spray tint. I thought about that first but was concerned it may turn purple like some of that cheaper film. I have saw some tint for clear tail light lenses to blacken them...it that what you used? I guess fill us in on what you used for the tint. This should take care of the concerns about the paint interacting with the plastic...

I was working offshore in the Gulf of Mexico for a drilling company...driving all over the GOM coast week after week to go to work anywhere from 300 to 700 miles. Once in a while I would see some bikes sitting with covers on them that belong to other guys that were doing the same thing - going to work. I thought man that would really make my drive more enjoyable. I was pretty much already brand loyal to the Yamahas. This was about 83-84, I went to the Yamaha place in Jackson MS and looked at some Ventures. Really liked them...but they would not let me test drive them. I had never been on a big bike and was not really sure I could handle what seemed like a beast of a motorcyle. A friend of the family heard what I was thinking and owned a gold wing. I talked to him about the big bikes and he told me I need to ride a big bike a little before I jumped off into a bike that big. I took his GW out and was scared to death of it. I was used to smaller bikes where you just flipped them around in the road...I rode Motocross for many years before this. I soon pushed that idea out of my head out of fear of the bike massive Venture. I was only about 120lbs at the time. Several years passed, about 25 years I guess. I had got back into Motocross since my son was racing now...and he was wearing me out on the track. I got to where I was of more value coaching from track side than on the track with him during practice...plus I had some pretty good spills and it was a lot harded to get up. I realized I do not bounce like I used to. I got the itch for a street bike. Several of my buddies had big Harley Ultra classic bikes and went on some good trips several times a year. The wife was kinda wanting to ride with them also but we were not real sure we could ride on the street. We were kinda scared of all the cars and somebody running over us. I bought a new VSTAR 650 Midnight for a heck of a deal. Thought we would try it out. The Wife and I loved it. We road that little bike every chance we got. We rode over 400 miles one day and it wore us out...on the way back..we would go 50 miles and have to stop to rest out tails. Since we like the street scene so much it was time to look for a bigger bike. I rode a couple of Harley's and I guess I had great expectations with the harley. It was OK but not what I expected. I actually thought something was wrong with the first Ultra Class I got on. I just felt funny to me, like the tranny or drive chain was loose or something. My wife wanted a White Screaming Eagle., but I could not force myself to pay that for a bike. I am not bad mouthing the Harley they are very good bikes...beautiful bikes...it just did not fit me. I Lerked on this site...and did a lot of research. I was really hoping for an upgrade for 2009 to the RSV. I was really disappointed when they did not upgrade the 09 bike. I was about to buy a harley. I just could not do it. I would go to the harley shop to look and I did not seem to fit the harley crowd. I do not like real loud pipes. I decided to buy the Venture but did not like what my wife called fishing lure colors of the 09 or 08. I really wanted a midnight RSV. I thought about buying a gray 08 and have it painted black or even maybe white. Too much trouble. I figured their had to be a 07 midnight some where in this USA of ours. I got the dealer to find one...he found one in Kentucky and I went after it for the dealership. Keep in mind I had never rode a RSV at this point but from all the information I found on this site...It was the bike of choice and it was a Yamaha. I have owned 12 Yamahas, over the years mostly all racing bikes...they were rock solid. I borrowed a trailer and went after it. I was afraid to ride it up in the trailer since I had never rode one yet... I hauled it home...washed it up real good...got the tag and insurance, took off on it and never looked back. I purchase it 10/30/08. so far I got 3000 miles on it and cannot wait till spring/summer. A 400 mile trip on this bike is like sitting on the couch. The wife loves it and is also looking forward to the summer trips. We are currently preparing the bike for trips with a few accessories needed...fully in anticipation for spring/summer. I hope to see some of you on the road soon.

Kinda thinking about the clear lower wind deflectors on the front forks and the clear wind deflectors on the bottom of the front fairing... Since I have a Midnight venture to keep with the midnight theme...I thought they would look better BLACK. I have found Duplicolor paint that is suppose to be exact match to the black on my 07 RSMV. I was thinking about removing the clear plastic lower wind deflectors and the clear plastic deflectors on the bottom of the fairing and painting the inside or back side of them black. This would keep the shine of the clear plastic and prevent rocks and other road hazzards from beating the paint off them. I know I need to becareful with the paint reacting to the plastic and possibly melting them and maybe a special paint may be in order for this. What does the group think about this... What would they look like Black?

I conneced to the wires under the seat...ran some extentions under the passenger seat and mounted the load equalizer under the trunk with tyraps close to the back seat. Some of the load equalizers get hot during extended use such as a parade or very long traffic lights and must be attached to the frame or something metal to help disapate the heat. The unit I used (ITEM#: Signal_Stabilizer from http://www.customdynamics.com/loadequalizer.htm) does not get hot and you can mount it any where you have room...but as you probably know...not much space around the battery if like me I added an aux fuse box in that area around the battery for my other accessories. But it will go next to the battery if you do not have anything else installed there. OneLoad equalizer works for both front and rear turn LED signals. 4 way flashers also work at the DOT required speed also with this equalizer. To hook up the load equalizer... You need DC positive(Orange to Blue running lights on the Venture) and DC negative black to black on the Venture) to power the load equalizer then Purple to the left turn signal wire Brown on the Venture. Brown wire to the right turn signal wire Dark Green on the Venture Now some folks do not use load equalizers...the turn signals just blink real fast...some faster than others... Mine flashed at 145 flashes per minute. DOT says they must flash 60-120 flashes per minute. Also turn signal cancel works just as it did before I installed all this. Hope this helps.

My 07 started making the famous clicking at 800 miles from brand new. Dealer 2 1/2 hours away, not sure they are competent enough to handle the problem anyway and did not want to leave it with them for 2 weeks or more till they got their act together. I purchased Loctite Moly Paste at Grainer and tore it down myself using the tech service bulletin. No more clicking. It is not hard to do.

I prefer a 45 ACP with Federal Hydro-shock ammo. No false alarms waking the neighbors. I hear you get insurance discounts with electronic alarms...it that correct?

Man...one thing is for sure...those first gen guys never give up. Never for a minute do they let us forget that the first gen Venture was/is a wonderful bike whether we all believe it or not...they will convince us. I would love to have one, but just have not found one that was in as like new condition as I would like it to be. I almost bought a new one in 1983 but I got over it. How could you not love this place. huh. Yamatime, you are correct...I had my right lower fairing off this weekend and there it was "Audio Fuse"...labeled and everything.

Royal Star Venture has 1" bars

In the past I have had some similuar things happen to me one recently with a Toy hauler camper, another with a cargo trailer. I purchased a camper brand new...actually ordered it with all the options I wanted. We use this camper for Motocross racing and there is rarely power or water availible where we use this unit. First trip with the camper, the factory installed generator did not work. Engine ran but no electricity. Keep in mind this was a brand new unit. We are 400 miles from home at a big 3 day race and it was 18 degrees outside in the middle of the night when we got there. The Dealer where I purchased it said it was up to the manufactor to handle it. (the camper dealer was supposed to test they unit before delivery and it appeared to work at the dealer but they had the camper plugged into the A/C power so was it really working ) The camper manufactor said it was up to the folks who made the generators or the dealer for not checking it out. Finger pointing all over the place. I decided I was not gonna take it. I made phone calls and emails to everybody involved from the shop forman to customer service to the presidents of the companies involved. Finally they said they was gonna fix it but use remanufactored parts. OH no...I purchased a new unit for over $4500 and expected a new unit in my new camper. I continued hammering all involved till finally after 6 months...The camper dealer called and said they had a new generator to install in my camper. They did just that. All is well now. The cargo trailer. I needed a cargo trailer to haul our motocross bike on short runs. I searched the web and found some dealers with good prices. We made the deal on the phone and they wanted a deposit to hold it till I could pick it up, no porblem. The day arrived to pick it up. I drove over 300 miles to pick up the trailer with cash in hand. Got there and the trailer I had requested was no where to be found. Why did they let drive all that way when they had no trailer like I wanted. They offered a smaller trailer if I would go to the factory and pick it up 200 more miles away for the same price. Then the did not want to give my deposit back. I was pissed. It is a good thing I did not have a shot gun cause I would have shot the ceciling out of that place. I went on a letter/email and phone call campaign. I talked to BBB, the trailer factory that supplied them with trailers...every site that had an advertisement on their website for this trailer dealer. I was gonna make sure they paid for this error. About 2 months later they called me and offered me $400 for my trouble and aske me to stop calling and emailing everyone, I was damaging their business. I accomplished what I had set out to do... They paid for my gas and time. Do no let any company do you wrong. Stay on them till you get reasonable action. Do not be nasty or talk ugly to them...state the facts and be persistant. Do not give up. If the bike is still under warranty...make them repair or replace the engine. When you talk to folks take notes who they are and their title. Ask who is the boss...call them if you do not get the results you want. Keep going up the ladder. Call again in a couple of days. Send emails to follow up conversations...email them again to get status of your problems. You can make their life hell just keep after them. If they think they can get away with it...they will try to get out of it if they can. Do not go away. Refuse to be a victim.

If you are a firefighter...I think you can do it. I was really scared when I installed the trunk wing...calling in re-inforcements to look at it with me to make sure it was straight. Trunk rack was kinda scary also...hated drilling the holes in that trunk lid. Take your time on these two items. Check and double check. All the rest is just bolt on...not really a big deal. Take your time...do not rush and if you get stuck...yell out for help...there is more than enough help here on this site to assist you with photos, and knowledge about how to get you over a snag if you hit one. That color sure is nice. I know you will really enjoy the bike.

I looked all over the place but did not see this answer...so if it is a repeat...I appoligize. I have been torn over whether to install the chrome Air Filter covers on the RSV...I see on this site where some has had problems with chrome pealing off and the cost is a big issue. Yamaha says will warranty all accessory parts for 1 year, gee I figure something that small that cost close to $300 for the set just for looks ought to have more warranty than that. I really like the look...but so far I have not got up the courage to make that purchase. But they look so good... I know it is coming in the future and I found the K&N Air Filters at a steal of $74 for the pair so I jumped on them. Best I could find else where was around $101. I understand you need the K&N filtes for the new chrome covers. Not sure why at this point. Now I have a set of K&N Air filters and no chrome air filter covers. I was wondering...can you use the K&N filters with the stock air filter covers? I know I put a K&N stock replacement air filter in my VW Jetta TDI diesel and gained about 2 MPG, that pushed me up over 50 MPG mark, so it has gotta help if I can use the on the RSV. Thanks, Mike

OK here we go. I wish I would have took photos of this when I had it down... Smoke is coming from the top of my head trying to remember all of it now... As you know there are 2 red connectors on the key switch. One has 3 wires in it... and one has 2 bigger wires in it. The one with the bigger wires (RED and Brown/Blue) is the only wires were are gonna modify for this. Red DC positive - T splice into this wire and connect to terminal labed "30" (this is the common) on the on the relay. This feeds the relay with DC power to the system. Cut the brown/blue wire. Connect the piece of Brown/Blue wire that goes back into the wiring harness to terminal labeled "87" Normally open contact on the relay. This will be the DC coming out of the relay to the wiring harness. Connect the other cut end of the Brown/Blue wire that goes to the ignition key switch to "86" (one side of the relay coil) This will allow power from the DC positive RED going to the key switch to entergize the relay coil when the key switch is in the ON position. Connect a wire to terminal "85" to Ground. There is a ground lug on the right side of the frame neck (it has a wide flat taped up wire under an unpainted bolt with a 10 mm (I think) head). This will complete the circuit for the relay coil. Keep in mind Red DC positive stays connected to the key switch to give power to the ACC section of the key switch that powers Radio, CB and Audio system and to power only the new relay in the ON position. There is another set of contacts in the key switch that connects the small blue yellow and the blue black wires in the red connector that go to the ignitor. After you do this modifcation and the bike turns over but does not crank it may be related to this set of contacts. There is a place under the tank of the 2nd Gen just above the Cruise Throttle Cable Joint where the relay can lay next to the frame and be out of the way for the tank to go back on. I tyraped it to the other wires to keep it from rattling. I kinda messed up on mine, I made the splice and cuts in the switch side of the red plug, which I had not planned to do that... just got distracted and did not notice till I had already cut the Brown/Blue wire before I caught myself. It really does not matter, it will work either side of the red connectors. I was thinking it may cause some problems if the dealer had to change the key swith under warranty or something, then all the connections would be removed with the switch. If you want to make sure it says wth the bike make the connections on the wiring harness side, not the switch side of the key switch. I purchased the relay from Autozone 40 amp 12 VDC for $7.99. Here is 5 pack of them on Ebay. See Item number 350109093608 I soldered all the connections to the wiring harness and used heat shrink and tape to insulate them. I used nylon crimp-on spade connectors 1/4" with heat shrink to connect all wiring to the relay. Keep in mind the main fuse is 30 amps and fuses are to protect wiring...so make sure your wire is big enough for that main 30 amp fuse to protect it. #10 AWG is perfect for the terminals on 30 and 87. The wire used on 85 and 86 can be small 14 or 16 AWG. I also taped up the relay and the wires connected to it to make sure there is no way for nothing to get pulled off or short against the frame. I think you can get that FJR up with this method. I wish I was close, I would come over and give you a hand if I could ride that FJR beast just once...but probably not a good idea. LEt me know if anybody has any questions. PM me and let me know what happens.

Looks like it basically is the same thing...just you are picking up the ground on the relay through the system. Did you do this as a preventive measure or to get you out of a bind? I have only owned my bike since Sept and had no problems with the key switch, just want to prevent problems in the future.

Rick I have read a lot of your post am very inpressed with what you have contributed to this forum as well as the stuff you do for the group. (Butler mods) I am refering to a 2nd gen on this now...know nothing about a 1st gen. After reading about folks loosing the key switch, I studied the prints really good and discoverd just about all the current for the whole bike comes through the ON contacts in the ignition key switch except what runs through the ACC side with is Radio, CB and Audio stuff. From indications the ACC part of the ignition key switch never failed. I thought as a preventive measure why not go ahead and remove the load from the ON contacts in the ignition switch by installing a relay to handle the load and run the current of the relay only through the ON contacts prevent the ignition swith from failing later on...down the road somewhere. By the way...50 amp I think is an over kill on the bypass switch...the wire that supplies the DC power to the switch will not handle that much current and the MAIN fuse is only a 30 amp...so a 30 amp relay will do just fine. I do not see why you could not use the ACC of the FJR to power the relay and get the bike up... But you need to also know that in the ON position...there is a contact that connects two wires L/Y and L/B together for the ignitor for the 2nd gen... I think it will work...it is definitly worth a try. See drawing of what I did. Let me know how it goes.

You are right, Yamaha does not say nothing about a relay. They say on the website "recommend dealer installation". I don't know any stealer I would let touch this job. But the proper way to install them is use a relay to contol the load of the new lights Let the switch turn the relay on/off and the contacts of the relay open/close to turn the lights on/off. I tapped into the wires for the low beam or running lights under the fairing for power through the switch to control the relay. I mounted a BUSS AUX fuse box (6 circuits from Autozone $7.99) under the seat next to the battery. This fit great againist the right back plastic wall under the seat. I ran a #12 AWG wire from the new fuse box under the seat to the fairing where I supplied the relay, when the low beams come on, the relay is entergized and the passing lights come on. I installed a 3 way toggle switch instead of the supplied switch below my DC power outlet on the left inner fairing. This switch allows me to select AUTO, which allows the lights to come on/off with the low beams, or MANUAL so I can burn them with constantly if needed with HI beams or Low beams. Manual just turns the power on to the relay as long as the toggle switch is in MANUAl. I also installed an indicator light so I can tell when the passing lights are on/off. This light is on anytime the relay is on. Word of Caution - if you do not run the power straight from the battery for the passing lights, the extra load of the new passing lights will run through the ignition key switch and this extra load is a possible cause of ignition switch failure. Nobody I can find has actually confirmed this yet but it is highly suspected. All power from the battery except a couple of circuits for the Radio, CB , Audio system goes through the ON section of the ignition key switch. I also installed another relay removed the main load from the ignition key switch. Now the key switch turns on the relay and all the power runs through the relay instead of the key switch. You must leave some power on the key switch to take care of the ACC section which is where the Radio. CB/Audio section recieves its power. Nothing would mess up a 3000 mile trip more than bike not starting due to a failed ignition switch. So watch out. I hope this helps...I know it may seem kinda confusing but take a look at the prints in back of the shop manual

Very funn...:rotfl::rotf:

Sorry to hear of the death of a fellow Venture rider. Many prayers out to his family.

Atlanta always did have some pretty women.

I 'll take my chances...MS law says nothing about such foolishness... You all know it is all about being seen when you are on the road. Catch me if you can. Many cops I have talked to agree more visible you are the safer you are. I used to get stopped regularly back in 1975 about loud pipes on a Honda 350. Got several tickets for that. Now days...most cops will not even look twice at a bike with loud pipes. I know that Honda 350 was not as loud as some the Harleys around town. We will see what happens.

VW uses a small 3.2 watt charger to keep the VW batteries up while they are on the lot or in transport. Some go with the cars some stay at the dealers. This is a little small 18.8 max voltage unit with a cigarette light plug on it. IT is used only as a maintainer charge. You can go to Ebay and type in VW SOLAR Charger...it will come up with many for about $20 - 25. cut the ends off of it...and put some clips or a plug to connect to your battery. This should do as a .26 amp trickle charge on a bike battery.

It was way to wet and cold to ride last week, so I worked on the bike for a week solid. Those at LED's that came from Custom Dynamics. They are the " Knight Rider Non-Sequential Dual Intensity 12 LED Light Bar with Flashing Brake Alert LBO3". The license plate frame came with the Knight rider sequential with flashing brake alert. I wanted the same light bar without the sequential lights. The flashing on this license plate frame will blind you from the rear of the bike when they flash. The flashing is built into the light bars. I was thinking electronics should be the same on the non sequential light bars if they were the exact same light bars... and they should flash together when the brakes are applied...WRONG. Running lights are fine...when you press the brakes...both the light bars under the bags flash together about twice then they get out of sync. I was afraid folks would think I was turning or something so I disconnected them from my brake lights for now. I may hook them up to my turn signals to see it the power says on them long enough to flash them with the turn signals, cause they go off first then flash. I am having trouble I did not like the brake flashing alert blinking all crazy back and fourth. If you decide to use them...buy the LB01 non flashing brake and non sequential. These come with the 3m tape already on the back of them, I figure if that tape will hold moolding on the side of a pickup...then it ought to hold these little ole lights on those brackets. I took some 1/2 x 3/4 x 1/8 aluminum angle from Lowes and built a T to mount the lights then built a clamp to clamp it to the 3/4" pipe saddle bag supports. I used stainless bolts and nylon locking nuts. They are positioned about 1/2" from the back edge of the bags and about 1/16 from the bottom of the bags kinda tucked up under the bags some. They are not flush with the bottom of the bags. but not level with pipe that hold the bags. Also a little over 1/2" from the exhaust. So they are back up under the bags some. I painted all the brackets with satin black paint so it would blend in with all the other stuff under there. I have not rode the bike yet with these mounted. I just did this last week and had to take off out of town to work and the weather was cold rainy before I left. I am not even real sure they will not melt, but I do not think they will due to the clearance and the wind blowing by them. The light bars are real light weight and the brackets are real light and mounted very tight so I do not thing they will bounce or vibrate. I got some more stuff on order and should be in when I get back...so I can finish up on the project I am working on for the bike. I was gonna send a full set of photos when I completed this and made sure it was all gonna work like I wanted it to. Take a look and if you want more photos PM me...I will have to get them when I get back home, next week.

I am so sorry to hear about what happend. I would have a pain in my stomach for a while over that. Tip for the future...drop the bolts in the saddle bag for storage while you are removing the bags. Also Colorright http://www.colorrite.com/matrix-step1.cfm?type=2 sells touch up paint and I think up to quarts of paint to match most all bikes. If the scarches are not too bad....you will be surprized what you can do with touch up paint and some 3M finishing glaze. When I bought my bike it had a scratch on the rear trunk. I have a Midnight that is more of a metalic black. The touch up paint matched perfectly. After it was dry I polished it with the filling or finishing glaze. You have to look real good to see that it had a scratch on it. If it is not really really bad...I think I would try it before I spent all that money on body a body man. WORTH a Try.

Yep Custom Dynamics. 56-59 dollars...mounted on a really nice chrome license plate frame. Comes wiht Chrome mounting hardware also. REally bright LED that flashes for about 5 seconds when you apply the brake. That was the first thing I installed on my bike. Look at the license plate frame in the photo. The other lighting is a the result of some of the work I have done recently. Still not finished..one more part on the way. Check out the LED's under the bags.

Ok...folks today is the day that the auctions end...Get over there now and bid. Come on...there are some really neat stuff to bid on, besides it is for a good cause. Get your St Judes hat, T shirts and other accessories. Hurry before it is to late!

I will take a set if you are gonna make up a batch. Just let me know how you want me to pay. Paypal, Check, credit card? PM me information if you are willing to gets some out. Thanks in advance.