bongobobny

I dunno, Puc, your write up kind of burns me...

Yup, they pop up once in a great while, but they are as rare as hen's teeth... Steve Wagner was a member here and designed this really nice looking plastic grille! Unfortunately, Steve is no longer with us...

Hey, Don, were you from Buffalo or the suburbs? I grew up in Hamburg myself. What year did you leave? I'm familiar with your last name, I probably know of some of your relatives...

Yes, it should be fine! Tire manufacturers recommend not using any tire over 6 years old. Generally, even a "fresh" tire is going to be 3 to 6 months old due to distribution times, and I wouldn't bat an eye at a one-year-old tire. Two years is a little long but I wouldn't be too concerned. At 3 years old, though, I would complain about it, but it should be OK to use. Is it a front or rear?? Generally, you will go through 2 rears for every 1 front tire...

So, did you get a ticket???

The hardest part of replacing the clutch slave is physically getting the old one out and the new one in!! Once unbolted, it takes a combination of twisting, swearing, and throwing things before it finally drops out onto the floor...

Umm, that depends on how deep your pockets are...

Well, Puc, "pricey" is a relative thing! Last I knew of, Triwing out of Canada was still making kits for the first generation and was priced at $7,000 and is a do it yourself! To do the 2nd gen, Hannigan wants upwards of $15,000 or more depending on what extras you order! Yes, Don, Motor Trike, that was the company! I've seen their 1st generation conversions before!!

...or was it the 4 "tamper-proof" screws (one for each carb) that you need the special bit for??

Replacing the speakers with better coax speakers makes a big difference! There are several good brands out there, like Polk, Kenwood, etc! Yes, many have ditched the cassette deck and used the space for storage, etc. You just have to jumper a couple of wires on the plug that is for the cassette! That would also be a great spot to install a jack to plug in a Bluetooth receiver. Otherwise, you can just buy one of those cassette adapters that plug into the deck like a cassette and has an audio input jack. There is also buy one of those cassette adapters that is, in reality, a Bluetooth receiver! Otherwise, if you go to an aftermarket receiver, make sure it is a Marine grade one...

The main area of concern with the '83 frame only was the area where the bracket for the rear shock is. There was a rusting issue from the inside out which was corrected with the '84. Other than that you should be good...

Looks a little like a Roadsmith, but there was a company making kits for 1st Gens that went out of business, forgot their name. You're right, Puc, it has my interest...

Yup!! Step 1, do a compression test both dry and wet! That will tell a tale for sure! Step 2, get yourself a spark gap analyzer, available at most auto supply stores for about $10 - $15 and see how much of a gap you can draw. You should get at least 0.100", I think the spec is 0.110 or someplace around there. Step 3 is the carb dance as described above. Torn diaphragms are a common issue. Step 4, try to borrow a known good TCI unit. There may be a problem with the advance circuit inside. While you are at it, test your "boost sensor" or vacuum advance unit for proper operation. Step 5, which actually could be step 2 1/2 is to check for vacuum leaks. Step 6, check the sync on your carbs if out of sync and way out, it could cause the issues you have mentioned. My bet is on the carbs itself, especially if they had sat for a long time. Be prepared for a lot of work and money to properly do the job. There are good videos out there but the best is Damon (forgot how to spell his last name, something like Ferrello).

Yup!! My 2nd Gen is far comfier than my 1st Gen, but I had no problem riding the 1st Gen for hours regardless...

Well, yes, sort of. PCW Racing still has my 1300 engine, it is now bored out 0.030 making it around 1350cc. It has the 1200cc VMax heads and the PCW cam installed along with the PCW stiffer valve springs. John has had some medical issues so he is down at present. I have the V Boost setup here at home, patiently waiting for the delivery of my engine and installation onto the frame. I was toying with the idea of FI but the company that was making them went out of business but Flying Fool has the blueprints and I am waiting on seeing what he does with them. I have a pair of Jardine mufflers and still want to buy a Marks collector if they are still available... PS I have over 6 Grand into the engine...

They are pretty much the same carbs but jetted differently due to the compression ratio and hotter cams. Also, the VMax has bigger valves... Your restrictions on the rear tire are going to be the width of the swingarm and the total travel of the suspension in relation to the frame... So, to answer, the carbs depend on what modifications you are planning for the motor, and the tire is dependant on what modifications you make to the suspension.

The story of my 1st gen goes back to 2004, and actually back to the 80's when they were new! Back in the day when the Venture came out, I fell in love with them both because of their looks and by their performance and specifications. They were light years ahead of the competition, but at the time all I could do is stare and dream every time I saw one! All I could afford was a used Yamaha XS500 that I got an excellent deal on! Fast forward several years and another bike later, a Honda CX650 which was a fun bike for several years but also was in a minor accident (3 broken ribs and a rotator cuff injury) and was neglected for a year and finally got blown over in a windstorm off of its center stand. I gave that bike away to a coworker and was in search of another bike. The wife gave the OK to get another one only if she was comfortable on it as the CX650 left a lot to be desired after riding for more than a 1/2 hour. Well, there was a guy I worked with who had a neighbor with a "big" bike for sale. I went to look it at it, and it was a 1984 Venture Royale that the original owner bought, added a bunch of aftermarket accessories, and proceeded to die! The bike had less than 8000 miles on it! The wife never got around to selling it for over 25 years!! The guy I bought it from got it running and put a few miles on it, but his wife didn't like it, and it was just too big for a solo bike, and he managed to drop it at the end of his driveway getting the mail, so he wanted to sell it. I went with Becky and took it out for a test drive, and I fell in love!!! Becky liked it but had some minor buffeting, but she had a half helmet and the windscreen was cut down, so I figured a full face helmet and a taller screen would fix that! The guy wanted $3000, I had cash, so I ended up getting it for $2700 which at the time was a super deal! Wel, over 10,000 miles later we had the great wiring fire of 2009 and afterwords Becky said "Why don't you buy a new one" and within 24 hours I test drove a couple of new bikes and came home with a brand new 2009 Royal Star Venture S model for $17,300 and the rest is history! I still have "Goldie" and I have been restoring her to better than new since then. Right now I am patiently waiting on PCW Racing to finally finish a 1300 cc motor I dropped off along with VMax heads and a few other performance parts, and it is coming back bored out 0.030 and will be a 1350cc VMaxified monster!! I have also replaced every bearing and piece of rubber with new stuff!! Only problem being with my limited balance I might not be able to balance it anymore so I might turn Goldie into another trike. BTW before it got the name "Goldie" its name was "BIG!!!"

Can't you MacGuiver some kind of dummy shock???

Holy CRAP, look at those gas prices! That's near twice the National average...

There have been a few people here that have turned their venture into a bobber. I'm sure they will chime in soon enough. Some, but not much of the wiring can indeed be eliminated but you are in for building your own harness. These bikes have a very complex starting circuit and a bunch of safety features built-in to it. My feelings on straight pipes are they can sometimes cause issues with burnt valves as they need a certain amount of back pressure. Also, you will most likely end up having to rejet the carbs. Yes, it can be done... Good luck with your project and keep us posted! The best place for finding the plastic you are looking for is eBay. If you are just dealing with cracks and broken mounting tabs then it is financially more efficient to just learn plastic repair which many of us have done. It is pretty easy and there are several effective methods for doing this. Myself, I like using the 2 part plastic epoxy and if needed pieces of plastic to graft in when replacing larger areas. Chances are when you buy pieces of fairings, etc. off of eBay they will need minor repair anyway! For the most part, pieces from all 1st gens are interchangeable but there are a few differences between the MK1 and MK2 like saddlebags, trunk, headlight bezel, and lower chin pieces, so in the case of your '85 try to limit it to '83 to '85. What pieces are you looking for???

You would think that all the fuses "should be" inside the battery cover, but think again! The radio was an option, not standard equipment, so they put the fuses in the wiring harness for the radio, which plugs into the main harness... Once again, one of the big issues with that harness was it would get pinched between the fairing and the frame if it was not properly installed. Even dealers would screw that up! The inline fuses are inside those two protective plastic covers.

Yup! The difference is the angle of the slots! I think the JIS has a bigger angle and that is why the SAE rounds out the head...

Actually, that picture is a harness transplant after a short happened in the original harness, so you are seeing double, plus a whole bunch of additional wiring for air horns, driving lights, GPS, LED's, etc. One upside of the great electrical fire of '09 was the wife asked me "Why don't you just buy a new bike??" Took me less than 24 hours to test drive a few bikes and come home with a brand new RSV... If you look around the front forks you will see the harness for the radio/audio system!

Or, we can draw Earl's attention to this thread... @skydoc_17

That looks like a nice cup of coffee you are pouring, Ed...