GaryZ

Oklahoma passed "open carry" last year. The folks that carry were happy for the same reasons that you mentioned. The anti-gunners were screaming that we would return to the wild west. Not much has changed . . .

My first motorcycle was a Benelli 175 sold through Wards; 2-stroke single that shifted on the right side. It was a POS My second bike was a new Honda CL350; a very nice motorcycle that sold new for $995

State laws must follow the Constitution. When a law needs to apply to all states, an amendment to the constitution is ratified by the states. This system allows you and me to find a place to live where the people tend to have similar beliefs and character. The federal government has forced its laws on states without amendment under the guise of public safety or homeland defense. In many of these cases, such as gay marriage, the laws are not for public safety or defense.

An unfortunate truth about law enforcement is the ego needed to be an officer. This ego, although needed, can easily slip into a power trip. A study I read 30 years ago suggested that 40% of law enforcement officers started out, or have slipped into the power trip mode. I think this is still true. This doesn't mean these officers are bad people, however, they likely will react poorly to back talking and bad manners. Hey, here's a thought; Let's show good manners when speaking to the police and everyone else!

What he said . . .

I have E3's on my '85 VR and I really like them. I railed a few hundred miles in Arkansas in 2013 and over-ran the rear tread while carrying a passenger. The tires hold up very, very well on this heavy bike. BTW: I do not like the E2 tires. They feel vague and the front wants to wobble at low speeds (I presently have a set of E2's on my '92). The second picture is the worn out E2 next to the mounted new E2 on my '85.

I just moved from Oklahoma City to beautiful downtown Moore, OK We have a 30x30 workshop now and need more room. I will be building a storage building with carport for my bikes and my trailer. The insurance companies are screwing us for home insurance! I wonder what Geico is going to try to do on my bike insurance?

It seems obvious that in a perfect world someone could buy a universal EFI, adapt an existing EFI system from another motorcycle, or maybe a small car. The issue for me is the cost; an aftermarket system is likely $3,000, a used system from another motorcycle would likely be $2,000 (if you can find one) and a small car system is likely about $1,000. And these costs do not include the re-programming! My carb idea should be a couple hundred dollars using a rebuilt carb. For me, it's all about the cost. I bought the bike for $600, added lots of cool stuff and have about $1500 in the project. Yes, I could spend $2 - 3,000 dollars and still be way less than a new bike. However, I don't have that kind of money to spend on my toy.

I have been playing with this idea for over a year. My '85 carbs are plain wore out and I want more air to feed my Vmax cams. The concept of feeding multiple cylinders with a single carb has been a standard in cars forever . . . However, I have discovered there are two types of people in this world; those that can make stuff, and those that are completely dependent on others to make their stuff. You will get lots of negative responses from the latter.

I use a $30 kit from Wal-Mart. It is rated at 30W x 2. The lights are mounted low on my crash bars because I wanted additional light up close and on the ground. They work well in the city, not so well in the country because the glare blinds view of the distance. The lights came with a switch and a relay. The switch is not water tight and has quit when wet. I am presently thinking about the new LED driving lights offered at Wal-mart. They draw very low current from the battery.

I have owned a dozen bikes and ran them all on automotive petro oil. I have never, ever had any problems. When I tore into my '87 engine (approximately 40,000 miles) and swapped the cams and springs, I decided to try synthetic non-detergent oil because it's a common belief today that detergents in the oil can hurt a motorcycle's wet clutch. After a 100 miles break-in with petro oil, I changed oil and filter using a recommended synthetic for diesels. The poor engine leaked in three places A forum member here suggested I try Rotella-T petro diesel oil. Presto, 96% of the leaks stopped. This was my experience and others could have similar, or very different results I now run Rotella-T in all four of my bikes . . .

I was told the valve springs allow you to rev to Vmax redline (9000 ?) Without the springs the valves will likely float above 8000. I found this . . . Pilot circuit (zero to 1/8 throttle)- The mixture is lean if: * the bike surges while holding a steady throttle at about 4000 rpm in second gear. * there is excessive back-firing on closed-throttle overrun. * the throttle is lightly 'blipped' and the idle speed 'hangs up' before dropping to the set idle speed (set the idle to 1000 rpm to start). Correction: * turn the pilot screws OUT 1/2 turn or so. If the pilot screws end up turned out very much more than three and one half turns total (stock is about 2 1/2 turns), you should use larger pilot jets (stock is #37.5). The mixture is rich if: * the plugs are excessively soot-ed up or fouled. * the throttle is lightly 'blipped' and the idle speed drops below the set idle speed before rising up to the set speed. Correction: turn pilot screws IN 1/2 turn. Full Throttle - lower midrange: Adjust the needle clip so that the engine will accept full throttle between about 2750 and 3250 rpm. * The mixture is lean if there is a 'dry' and flat in this range. Correction: raise the needle height (e.g. move clip down one groove). * The mixture is rich if there is a 'wet' rhythmic, soggy spot in this range that gets worse as the engine heats up. Correction: lower the needle height (e.g. move clip up one groove). Full Throttle - upper midrange: Set the needle height for the best power between about 4000 and 6000rpm. If the engine pulls better when cold but 'soft' when at operating temperature, it is too rich in the midrange and the needle should be lowered. Jetting the carbs has been my continuing problem. Probably because I am trying to use 1985 carbs!. What I can recommend is; Replace the needles on the bottom of the slides with Vmax parts. Test ride. Make adjustments (see above). You might be happy leaving it alone . . . Shims on the slide needles will raise the slide needles.

I suggest checking the carb slides. If the slides do not move to allow more air and fuel, the engine will stop pulling. You can remove the top of the air cleaner and see the slides. Rev the engine and see if all four are moving about the same. The bike will not be drivable without the air cleaner assembled. In fact, it will do about the same because of too much air and not enough fuel.

A friend snapped this pic of me and the beast before the paint was done The other shot is from a Eureka Springs ride in 2011, love to ride the twisties on my Ninja!

The '85 VR was usually parked in the garage with my '99 Ninja. No problems with the Ninja . . .

I agree with the rain gear as wind breaker. I have put on my rain gear over my cold weather gear and been toasty at 38 degrees.

This is my kind of project! Please keep us in the loop as you progress

Carbs keep gumming up jets, weeping fuel, etc. I have had low-speed jets gum up a couple of times, once had a high-speed jet clog, and two different carbs have suddenly started weeping from the float bowl. Oh, and one stuck float! I fix one problem and another pops up if the bike sits longer than a couple of weeks. I know, it should never sit. But, life happens. I really want to build a single carb manifold for this two barrel Q-jet off of a '80s Camaro . . . Maybe this winter In the mean time I am racking up miles on my '92 VR

My guess is that you blew all the gas out of one or more float bowls. It takes a little time to refill and you were burning it faster than they could fill. You were repeatedly running out of gas!

I have installed Vmax cams and springs in my '87 Venture engine The Vmax heads are pretty much a direct bolt-on. The pretty parts might need mods to look right (side covers). Using the Vmax heads would bring 1mm larger valves to the party (intakes are 29mm vs 30mm, exhaust are 23mm vs 24mm) and some people are convinced the smaller valve stems improve airflow. The 10.5:1 compression for the 1st Gen Vmax is the same as the 1st Gen Venture (1200 & 1300). The Vmax heads on a 1300 Gen 1 should get you about 120HP at the crank. To make more power you will need to use the Vmax carbs and open up the exhaust. These carbs with the v-boost manifolds are taller than the VR set up and will interfere with the fake gas tank that covers the battery and air box. I have a 2-barrel version of a Q-jet carb and one day I hope to make a manifold and bolt it on my beast. My question before starting this project was; Will I lose torque at lower RPM? The answer is no, and my recently acquired '92 VR shows me torque is about the same until the Vmax cams start making music . . . My biggest headache has been the carbs. I have been trying to make my '85 carbs work and have not been very successful. I installed Vmax needles and saw some improvement. Each time I get the carbs working OK they gum up again. I try to run only 100% gas, but, exposure to E10 over the years has deteriorated the seals. A rebuild with newer seals will probably help a lot. I say go-for-it

Where will the rev limiter kick in on my '92 ?

Very nice! Did you do the powder coating? Tell us a little about your process. I have a suggestion for the next time . . . The risers could follow the angle of the forks. This is an old-school thing, but, visually very pleasing from the side view.

It looks like you may be right. . . There are brackets on the saddlebag crash bars where the helmet locks probably were mounted. Anybody have helmet locks and keys???

They are not under the trunk, like the '85, and I haven't seen any helmet locks anywhere else. Are there locks and I haven't seen them???