camos

When I removed the forks the air collars were left to hang where they were. When re-installing the forks were pushed through the collars before being inserted into the top triple-tree. This all happened pretty much in the dark under the fairing. Ignorance is bliss so it is quite possible there either was or was not a separate part between the collar and the upper triple-clamp. The parts fiche does show part number 74 identified as a gasket but I don't know if it was there or not. The forks are proud from the top of the forks by less than 1/16", as I recall. Unfortunately my recall is rather suspect at times. I would have looked at it closer before writing this response but the bike is at the fabricators getting some new enhanced crash guards. I will hopefully be getting it back today or early tomorrow as I have to work tomorrow afternoon. In any case, when I get it back I'll try to get a pic of each fork in that area so we can see what parts are actually there.

Is that when you drop your Venture and can't get it back up?

The forks will be aligned either by the fork brace or the axle. I usually put the axle in then do up the fork brace but it is pretty much 6 of 1 or a half dozen of the other.

When I re-did the forks on my 89 VR I pushed both of the forks into the triple-tree until they were stopped by the air collars which were stopped by the spring clip below them. The top of the forks were very slightly proud at the top of the triple-tree. There was no plastic ring involved. I have not looked at the parts fiche to see if the 89 is missing something because it went together so naturally that it never occurred to me that something was missing. I'm not understanding references to spaces in this area. The left collar cannot move up or down but it can rotate as FF described. The two o-rings in the collar should seal the air even if the collar does rotate.

I have completely worn out three or four sets of E 3's (can't remember) and never experienced scalloping or howling. Usually try to keep the pressure at 40 for both but only check it monthly or so unless there is an issue. Would never replace a tire that looked as good as your front one. Way too cheap. There are times, mostly due to weather changes that a tire could be down by five pounds before it gets noticed. Since I am not overly attentive to my tires, it makes me wonder when I hear of people who experience such problems with theirs. A bit of a puzzler.

I put some air in the front tire. Not very exciting and yet.... Recently re-packed the head bearings, changed the fork oil and put a new tire on the front. After a week of commuting it still didn't feel right so loosened everything, shook it up then retightened. Phhhht, after another few days of riding it still not feel right. Finally thought to check the tire pressure and don't you know it was zero lbs. Figured the gauge was broken so dug up another one and still zero lbs. Finally it dawned on me that perhaps the tire needed some air. Can't believe it took two weeks to notice the tire was soft. Stupid E 3's don't go flat with zero lbs pressure. Just get a bit tough to steer. I guess that is a good thing, certainly felt like a new bike on my way to work tonight. Still shaking my head over this.

OK so it is a square pin that goes into a square notch. Your assessment does make sense though. Not so lucky, I assembled the forks and then discovered the locator pin so had to re-do it. Spent some time trying to find a matching one on the left collar but to no avail so just carried on. As for the forks not going all the way into the clamp, that did not happen. Probably depends on whether the pin is clear of the clamp or poking into it. The Devil is always in the details.

Are you sure there is a bolt and a bushing. As I recall my Gen 1 uses a shouldered bolt although a regular bolt and a bushing would likely work just as well. Obviously, pull the spring before removing the bolt. It shouldn't be too difficult to stretch the spring with the side stand in the up position. Although using quarters or washers to spread the spring is a very good idea. If the bolt is worn out of round then it just might be hanging up. Once the pressure is relieved using a drift punch should pop the bolt out.

The pin is on the right air collar located just below the top triple clamp. The "groove" is on the top triple clamp. The pin acts as a locator for the right collar which otherwise would float on the right fork. The weird thing is the left collar does not have a locator pin. The only justification I can think of to have a locator on the collar is to align the air hole but since the collar is a larger diameter than the fork tube, the air holes don't need to be lined up. If there is a reason for this I can't think of it.

Stick with IT Rick. Just sayin....

I didn't know there was an adjustment for PMS... ... but if you are referring to the idle jet adjustment the place to start is 2 1/2 turns out.

Before tightening up the triple clamps and the fork brace, put the axle through the forks, with or without the wheel. It is the axle and the fork brace that properly align the forks.

A good place to look is amazon.com where a pair of SMH 10's can be had for a little under $300.

Once you get the forks cleaned up or even better, before there is a problem put on some gaiters. These Rancho RS1952 fit well, are reasonably priced and seem to be of good quality.

Be assured your ancestors did not start slavery, it had been around for thousands of years before The Americas were colonized by Europeans. Slavery is just one example of Man's inhumanity to Man. Slavery was not confined just to the use of colored people. Remember the song 16 Tons by Tennessee Ernie Ford about the mining industry. The really sad thing is it is still going on today in one form or another. PC is often used by evil people to hide their own prejudices. If you talk the talk people will think you walk the walk. Unfortunately it seems to work.

The speedometer drive unit on the wheel has two flattish pins that fit into slots on the wheel. The drive unit also has a locator that must be fit into a slot on the fork. If the lower cable nut comes loose the drive cable will fall out and be lost forever. If the upper cable nut comes unscrewed the nut will slide down the cable which will allow the drive cable to detach from the speedometer head. Usually when the cable becomes unattached at the top end it will fall to the side but, while unlikely, it is possible for the drive cable to be reinserted into the speedometer head and start to work again. It is not very likely that a broken drive cable could become temporarily reattached but it might be possible. This does not appear to be your issue but if there is a problem with the speedometer head it is usually announced by a squealing sound that indicates the bushing is dried out. This bushing is problematic in that it needs grease from the backside. It is possible to force enough grease in from the outside but a special grease nipple fitting must be made. Otherwise the speedo must be disassembled to grease from the inside.

That does not appear to be correct. There is an ongoing controversy with regard to The Redskins club. It does appear to be a good example of PC going extreme. Sports teams are generally loved by their fans and I find it hard to believe that the name of a team could be considered in any negative way.

Looking at the Dunlop site it appears the E4 does not come in a size to fit the Gen 1 Venture. I don't know what size fits the Gen 2 Venture. It appears Dunlop has changed the tread design to include a central sipe. Of 4 different brands that I have ridden that have the central sipe all of them were not so good on metal bridge decks. I can't say definitely but from my limited experience that is not a good thing. Sure hope the E3 will not be phased out any time soon.

Normal or normal for you? Cracks aside, that seems kind of low. I thought Avons generally gave good mileage.

Don't you get roaming charges and or long distance charges when using a service outside the network? There is an issue in the Victoria area and probably other close to the border areas where a call can be picked up by a cell service across the border which results in a huge bill. Apparently, calls can also be picked up by satellite service which results in a bigger than huge bill.

Only 4000 miles and the rubber was worn off? Wow!!! Too many burnouts?

There are also a number of similar apps such as Skype and WhatsApp that do the same. Some, if not all will connect directly to any phone number for a price otherwise they all require both parties to have the same app for their free service. Works great among friends and families though.

I think you are being a bit hard on Americans and would agree more with FF's take on it. That is very colonial of you. The oldest "countries" would be Inca, Maya or some of the First Peoples that progressed beyond tribalism. The controversy regarding sports teams such as The Redskins is a very good example of PC gone ridiculous. While redskins is an example of racial profiling they were also, collectively, an example of fearsome warriors who fought valiantly against the colonial powers. What could be a more appropriate name for a sports team? It is important to remember we humans are all related and basically want the same things. To raise a family and have a decent life. There are only seven distinct strains of DNA that have been discovered and they all came out of Africa which makes all of us related and probably, initially black. Getting back to the original concept of Politically Correct, isn't it just foolish to allow or encourage or accept labeling of any kind? Being PC is too stupid to understand they are being stupid.

If it is running a bit rough with a lack of power I would be inclined to say the wet weather is causing a short/leakage that drops the voltage enough to cause a weak spark. If it was the TCI, which could give similar symptoms, it would take a day or two or more of dry weather before running properly. Clean and grease the battery terminals, check the clips in the fuse box on the battery, clean the connectors for the R/R and stator. Any time you get into the fairing separate and clean any connectors you can see, unless you have just done them of course. The plug wires and caps should also be checked. I had a Jeep that would do the same and the problem turned out to be a tiny crack in the distributor cap and as soon as it started to rain the engine would run rough and lose power. Wouldn't stall just ran like crap.