camos

I have to say using an air impact driver on the fork cap is a dangerous idea. The threads are very fine and are extremely easy to cross thread. Using an air impact driver will make it very easy to create a new thread pattern. Once it is properly started the cap will go in very easy.

I don't have an answer for your question and I wonder why anyone would think spending the time to come up with such a system would be beneficial. The total amount of oil in the forks is not as important as having an equal amount in each side. Any inequality will cause each fork to operate differently under load. A small difference may not be catastrophic but it will be there and will affect handling to some degree. Any time you change fork oil you should also clean any sludge out of the system or you will be contaminating the new oil which could lead to plugging up an orifice which will also affect the action of one or both forks. Taking the top fork cap out is not the least bit difficult if you remember to release the top triple clamp bolt first. Putting the top cap back in does take some care to prevent cross threading and of course does require quite a bit of muscle power to overcome the pre-load. Perhaps the most difficult part of doing this job is having to pump some iron every two years so you are fit enough to get the cap back on.

Is the Bluetooth receive only or can it also transmit to headphones? Your choice of mount seems a bit extreme. Why not replace the radio/cassette with it?

I find it confusing too. The trouble with flowery or convoluted language Steven, is that often your point gets lost in the brush. I can't tell if you are trashing all Shinkos and all Dunlops. I don't have any experience with Shinkos but am very interested in the 777's. In my experience, the Dunlop E3's are excellent and cannot be compared to the Dunlop 404's which are pretty much junk tires. It's unfair and uninformed to say Dunlops are great because you like E3's or to say Dunlops suck because you don't like the 404's. When it comes to voicing an opinion, clarity is everything.

This was on the unintentional side and was not one of my finer moments. It was time to replace the front tire with a new one that had been mounted on a spare wheel a month before. Decided to take the opportunity to grease and set the steering head bearings. Got it done just before heading off to work. As I mentioned, it drove like a truck and unfortunately I assumed I had gotten the steering screwed up. Never even occurred to me to check the tire pressure. Redid the steering and it still drove like a truck. Adjusting the steering bearings isn't that easy to mess up so finally thought to check the tire pressure. Good thing I only had to go 10 miles to work on slow back roads so 0 pressure was enough to keep the tread on the rim. Turned out there was some corrosion on the rim in the valve stem area that was not properly dealt with by the guys who mounted the tire. Kind of embarrassing but I'm putting it down to CRS caused by old age. Perhaps I will totally forget it ever happened.

Good to know, thanks. When in doubt do nothing still rules.

Well, 32 oz of water per day might make you pee more but 32 oz of soda per day will put you underground before you are ready to make that trip.

That's where I thought it might go too but the bolt didn't seem to want to come out. Looks like a bolt with a big washer on the outside then on the inside there is a tube with holes in it that appears to be attached to the outside bolt. Inside the tube there appears to be a roll pin that may attach the outside bolt to the tube. Anyway, didn't want to fight with it or open a kettle of fish, so to speak and decided to leave it for another day if and when I might actually understand how it all goes together. No leaks so far which, to me means success.

Had planned to change oil and filtre on my first day off. While warming it up I noticed a little hole in the right front collector stub. While lying on the ground getting out the drain plug I saw a nail sticking out of the rear tire. Serious bummer. Had a hard time getting the filtre cover off. Must have over tightened it the previous change. The NAPA filtre came with a large o-ring and a small o-ring. After pulling off the filtre cover, couldn't see a small o-ring or any place such an o-ring might be fitted. Reassembled without the small o-ring. Anyone know about this small o-ring? So the next day I start dismantling stuff to remove the rear wheel. Got the saddlebags off and was removing the cotter pin for the rear axle when I noticed the angle of the nail was kind of odd. Had a good look at the nail. It was horizontal through the tread. Checked the pressure and it was good. No hole into the case. Whooo-Hooo!!! In celebration, I changed the oil in the rear end. Interesting difference between E3's on Gen 2 and Gen 1. When I had a flat front tire I couldn't tell it was flat without a pressure check. Even rode it 10 miles to work and back in a 0 PSI state. It drove like a truck so obviously something was wrong. Not recommending trying this, just saying.

The loop does not need to be very large, just enough so that there is always brake fluid at the bleeder otherwise air can get in. Since this method is moving fluid at 0 pressure there is not much force to break up air bubbles. I usually pump fast just because it is the movement of the fluid that carries the bubbles downward so so pumping slow will allow the bubbles to rise which can only delay the process. This method works very well for me every time without fail. I can still remember with clarity, about 10 years ago spending 7 hours, on again off again while working a night shift, trying to get the front brakes on my Virago bled. I bet I tried every failing suggestion that shows up in posts like this. Tying the brake lever half way in was my Hail Mary attempt that did finally get enough brake pressure to make the trip home. So while that method does have some validity, it does not come close to being a good solution.

Bit of overkill there but whatever works for you is great. I use a 24" hose and an 8mm wrench and it takes 10 minutes to bleed the clutch. This is of course on a Gen 1 Mk II and all other Ventures may not be as easy.

Seems like a pretty good choice if you don't ride much like VAZ mentioned. The tires will probably be expired by the time he gets to 10K miles. On the other hand, if you put miles on the better deal is Dunlop E3's or E4's which will give you about 20K miles for just a little higher initial cost.

I use a dial tire gauge with a screw on hose so it does not need a right angle valve stem to make it easy to attach. Checking the pressure is as easy as rolling the bike in the appropriate direction to get the valve on the bottom of the wheel. Of course it is still necessary to lay down to do the rear.

Import tariffs are nothing more than a tax on the consumer that fills the guvmint coffers. As such, being a tax dressed up as a trade bargaining tool to fool the unknowing, it is quite possible that they will be unlikely to be temporary in the short term. If I recall correctly, HD sales have been rising in the EU while falling in the USA. It would seem HD's decision to manufacture bikes destined for the EU in Thailand or elsewhere is a good one if it gets around tariffs on products from the USA. Using tariffs is an unfortunate method to influence exports or imports because they will potentially force up the cost to consumers. That's why Canadians get to pay so much for dairy products by charging a 270% import tariff that goes straight to the guvmint and keeps the price of dairy high in this country. The US should charge the same ridiculous tariff on Canadian dairy that gets dumped into the US at a price far lower than we have to pay for it.

Picking up on this wooden feeling. I have experienced it twice, once with the front brakes on my 1100 Virago and once with the rear brake on my 90 VR. Both times were resolved by a proper bleeding. For what it's worth, I can't say that sticky pistons did not play a part but I did not clean them at the time. It's my belief that the brakes should never feel wooden just because the normal rubber lines with allow some expansion under pressure. If there is a wooden feel then it is most likely that there is some kind of hydro lock between the MC and the flexible lines. This is just a theory as to the cause since it has only happened to me twice.

I would like to point out that if the rear MC is overfilled just normal braking can warm up the fluid enough to cause the pads to drag which will make the fluid heat up faster leading to a seizure of the rear brake. I had that situation happen to me once although it was not from overfilling the fluid but improperly adjusting the pedal clearance.

And the connector for the three white wires coming from the stator. And the connectors coming from the R/R. And the R/R base where it connects to the frame. The latter is the heat sink and the ground for the R/R.

I have the SMH10 with modular helmets and the only time wind noise has been a problem was when the mic was in the wrong spot. Just a matter of moving it around until the noise goes away, usually down a bit. The mic's have a clip on shield that goes on the far side of the mic and then I've always run them with the sock over it all.

Yikes!!! It isn't even the hot months yet. Looks like San Angelo is located close to the edge of Hell.

When replacing the brake pads, don't forget about cleaning the pistons. It's a whole lot easier to get them out before they get stuck.

You have tripped my curiosity button with your apparently integrated brakes and transmission systems. Since you don't have any problem with engine oil would that be because you only run brake fluid? Couldn't resist. Perhaps going back to OEM would solve the shifting problem.

Looks like a fun list. Swing arm bushings? Perhaps drill and tap for grease zerks. Valve clearance? Just to make it even more fun.

Yeah, I'm 71 so I'll be dead when and if Yamaha ever comes out with a Gen 3 Venture and doubt I could afford one if it ever did. When I get too old to ride my Gen 1 I'll probably resurrect my Virago 1100 but it's so little that I'm not really looking forward to it.

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You are absolutely right there will be a variation due to suspension geometry. That is why I suggested filling it to the mark when on the center stand or when vertical then checking it again when put on the side stand. Not being familiar with the Gen 2, I did not know that it laid so far over that there is no oil level displayed when on the side stand. I gotta watch these assumptions.