bongobobny

​HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Pucster!!!

IMHO if you go the route of the Yamaha Star series 650, take a look at the 1100 as well. It seems as a lot of riders outgrow the 650 after about a year or so, whereas the 1100 doesn't. Choosing a bike is really a personal choice and a lot depends on just how the bike feels when you throw a leg over! When the right bike for you comes along, you just know!

The Michelin is a good tire to go with, but the Dunlop E4 is also a great choice! Remember, rear tires wear out at least twice as fast as front tires do because they are the "drive" tire...

Yup, Seafoam does work miracles!!! The most common source of the oil leak you describe is the rubber grommet that the wires pass through from the stator cover. You need to remove the cover and clean up the wires and the grommet as best as possible, then use a thin coat of silicone to both seal the wires, and to seal the grommet where it mounts. Make very sure the mating surfaces are as clean as possible! As far as oil pressure in the stator area, there is virtually none other than oil being "slung" onto the stator for cooling... Also, when you remove the center cover, you will find that the bottom screw has a crush washer on it, and this crush washer is very important. That screw is the only one that the threads go all the way through the block!

Besides what Jack just told you, which is very good information, there is also a method of cleaning the carbs without removing them called the "Shotgun" method. Try doing a search here on the shotgun method or go to the VMax forums and search there. Never did it myself but everyone that has done this method has had great success. These carbs on our bikes are very complex with several "circuits" involved with their operation. They also have to be periodically synced to each other for proper operation. The proper procedure is found here on this site, just do a little searching. If you find that you do have to completely rebuild the carbs there is an excellent video out there done by a gentleman known as Damon_Ferraiuolo@msn.com that is actually for VMax carbs but other than different jet sizes they are identical...

The symptoms you describe today sounds like the dreaded 2nd gen ignition switch failure!! If you double check, the radio should still work as it is on a separate set of contacts but everything else will be dead! There is a member here from Florida that makes a plug and play ignition switch bypass kit, just do a little search on ignition switch. Now if the radio is also dead then the next suspect is a bad battery connection somewhere, with the ground at the other end of the battery being a common one. Sounds like you need to spend a little time with a voltmeter to isolate your failure. If you are not that familiar with troubleshooting electrical, we will be glad to walk you through a few things. If it turns out to be your ignition switch then there is some good technical information on how to rebuild the switch here, and also how to get the switch out in the first place as they use "safety" bolts with no way to remove them except by grinding/drilling the heads off, and the bolts are also secured with blue loctite but once the heads are removed and the switch extracted the studs can be removed with vice grips, and a little heat can also help.

And I think the main reason is we were treated like crap when we returned, and absolutely none of us wants anyone to ever have to go through that again!! I know I will go out of my way to welcome home any and all veterans!!!

Well, there are multiple things that can cause this! The most obvious is improper torque on the head bearings, or bad head bearings. But, a bad tire can also do this as well as a bent rotor that is intermittently scraping against the brake pad, bad wheel bearings, etc, etc, etc! You state that you are running zero air pressure on the front forks. You really need to have one or two psi of air in the forks to prevent the shock oil from foaming. That's all it takes is just a psi or two and it will keep the oil from foaming and keep the suspension working at peak performance. And speaking of front forks, if one is just slightly out of alignment with the other that too can cause oscillations... Hope you get it all sorted out, start with the steering neck first.

Thanks for the heads up, just updated my account as I sold my trailer last year...

There's an inexpensive hotel around the corner from me, and I leave around 10:00 and meet up with the Canucks around noon in Erie, PA...

Scott, the best prayer I came up with is that your brother hears the words "Well done, my loyal and faithful servant!" No, it ,is never easy on the rest of us, so I sincerely hope his suffering is bearable and short lived, and of course prayers out to the family!

And, if Damon is not selling the videos any more, I guess I could burn you a copy of mine...

Venturous Randy has a friend who makes solid aluminum mounts which take the place of the rubber ones...

I stopped by last night a little past 9:00 but no one home...

Well, yes you would be in the right area then but after looking at a Valkyrie radio I doubt they are compatible with the 2nd gen Venture radio. On the 2nd gen venture there is a 3.5mm stereo connector that we plug a "Y" connector into as well as an auxiliary connector on the tape deck where we plug in to interface our cell phones, MP3 players, etc into. So I am thinking either you could switch over to a complete Yamaha system of possibly try a Valkyrie forum for the type of interface you are looking for. I've been on this site for over 12 years and this is the first time I've ever seen this topic come up...

Spring up North? Why, yes, it snowed yesterday and the day before but it did not accumulate...

RDawson, excellent point!! Myself it is a given to smack the bolt or screw once or twice before attempting removal...

I don't have the answer for the jets but I will suggest to check that your carb heaters are getting voltage...

As you are finding out, this is a very caring and giving group!!!

I tried my Tee handles once, and that's when I found out how tight the screws can be and thought I was going to break the handle, so I switched to my long metric allen socket and the ratchet handle...

Yup, my first thought was something is wrong with the throttle cables!! When you get down to the carbs, first thing disconnect the throttle cables there and see if the throttle now turns and do the same with the carb linkage. Up north here a lot of our bikes are stored for 6 months and yet w don't usually have an issue with the throttle freezing up! If the gas smelled as bad as you say I'll almost bet the bike was left alone for a lot longer than a year. Also, if the owner broke the trunk lid the way you said (which can happen) then I'm thinking the guy either has a temper issue or the elevator doesn't make it to the top floor as the damage you describe is not that common. All of us at one time or another forget to ratchet the lid but as soon as it stops moving the light bulb comes on and we stop and reopen the lid... Welcome aboard and keep us posted on your progress. Once running you will ,find one of the most comfortable touring bikes ever made IMHO albeit not the quickest Yamaha has ever built, but you still will blow the doors off of a lot of V-Twin bikes out there!

Nice find, Cimmer! Now if they had rotors too...

Yup, you need some good long metric ones because when you go to loosen them you will swear either the heads are going to strip out or you are going to break either the bolt or the tool! Those puppies have a lot of torque on them!

Hello and welcome aboard Fedonnikov! I am not sure what this emulator is that you are talking about but if I knew what you are trying to accomplish perhaps we could help out. Also, I want to make sure you are in the right area. To us, the third generation Venture is the new Venture that is the current production. This section is the second generation Venture which was made from 1999 to 2013. The first generation Venture was made from 1983 to 1993, and is divided between what we call the Mark 1 made from 1983 to 1985, and the Mark 2 which was the 1986 to 1993. What year is your Venture??

Awww, Carl, you can come too, but you have to spend some of your money for food and lodging...