Great White

if you have an air compressor it's easy. Just slip an air gun under the grip somewhere and give it a little blast. Grip puffs up a tiny bit and slides right off. No muss, no fuss.

Workin' fine here....

I'm actually going the other way with my 83. I'm looking at going to 17" radial MC tires.....

Could this be the fix for your missing second gear.........

I have TomTom on my iPhone. Works great, no issues. They also seem to have maps in my part of the world that are more detailed than the other GPS options on the market.

14MM runs four piston calipers already on the 86+ models. Well, 6 pistons total I guess if you count the four piston front and 2 piston rear.....

I do have a "spare" and the F4 sure sounds like a nice shield. But shipping from Canada would be horribly prohibitive, it's doubtful I could afford a new F4 and I also need my spare to make a power articulated shield this winter. So I'm not a likely donor. It is great to see some support for the old rigs though. And, my post is a free bump for someone else to hopefully see the thread....

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=39900&d=1262559319

I'd say keep the 83 and ride it as much as you want. Cowpuc can show you some serious mileage on an early venture and he seems to be rollin' fine, even with a buggered up 2nd gear. I just jump on my 83 and go whenever I want. Down teh street of 6 hours away. No real worries. Now, if you just want a newer venture because you want one, I say go get it!

Meh. Time and experience has moved me away from things that are done because they "look" cool. It can look cool, as long as it actually has a useful function. Those thing do not. Unless you count looking like a dufus as useful....

My gps, connectivity and media system is my iphone 6 plus. I have a lifeproof case for it that is waterproof. I "communicate" with it via my sena SMH-10 bluetooth headset. When using it for nav, I plug it into a 5V adapter that is plugged into the cigarette lighter socket. The phone slides into a mount I made on the fairing: http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/19D183D6-7CDB-4C07-A3DA-C38510D1C0AE_zps9uiugiim.jpg That's an old pic when I was making it. It's a bit more refined and painted black now. You could do the same thing with a simple handlebar mount. I just wanted something more solid. If it rains, I just stow the adapter and snap the power port shut on the lifeproof case.

Thanks for the suggest, but I'm military and aircrew. Basically, nothing goes in if they don't approve it.... well, nothing stronger than a shot of Wiskey that is..... I also don't respond normally to most medication. No one in my family does. We burn through anesthetic at a super rapid rate, we have atypical side effects, etc. For example: they're currently trying to get an ear infection I currently have to dry out because I have some fluid behind the ear drum. They gave me a decongestant that is supposed to be a stimulant. I'm struggling to stay awake, my ears aren't draining and I've got an upset stomache. Dentists have to hit me 5-6 times to get my teeth to freeze and then I only last about the length of one filling procedure. I laugh my way through cleanings and fillings because "it tickles". I woke up in the middle of my gall bladder removal surgery (I don't remember it, I was 3 sheets to the wind, doctor told me about it). The anesthesiologist said it was all he could do to get me to go back under and was getting worried because he had to give me so much. If something is supposed to make you drowsy, it doesn't for me. If it's a stimulant, I fall asleep. When I get drunk, it's lucky to last an hour and then I'm damn near sober or at least clear headed. I don't get hangovers, even if I mix spirits with beer of wine. Doesn't matter how blasted I get, I wake up the next morning ready to go. I've even gone to bed totally blasted, woke up in the morning with a clear head and the wife got a hangover from being in bed with me. If a drug is supposed to make you foggy, I go hyper-vigilant and vice versa. My pain threshold is weird too. When i broke my wrist, the doctor could fully manipulate my hand. It was only when they xray-d it that a clean break was seen. I ripped my leg open at work and needed 14 stitches. I only went to the doctor because my boss saw it when it happened and when I looked at my leg under my coveralls it was torn open. The nurse looking at it got totally grossed out because it was torn open to the muscle and I was having fun with her twitching the muscle and watching it slide back and forth. They couldn't get it to freeze, so they stitched it up without anesthetic and all i felt was "tugging" as they stitched. Homeopathic cures do nothing for me, I might as well drink a cup of tea, eat a gummy bear or go chew on the grass in the backyard. Doctors just can't figure out my family......we're just medically weird.

It's a 1300 bottom end with a VMax top end. Failry popular modification with the VMax crowd to easily get 100 cc's more.

"stock" venture with V-Boost: http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/10150718_10152337704828679_770325754_n_zpsckeelsqf.jpg That was built by Morely's muscle, it's not my bike....but mine will be similar, minus the USD forks.

Regardless, that doesn't negate the rest of my post.

Seriously, just spend 30 bucks and get a new tank....pressure vessels holding flammables are not a place for "making it work". Heck, even pressure vessels holding non flammables is not a place to muck about! I'm not trying to sound like your "dad" or talk down to you, it's just I've seen the end result of a "bodge gone bad" with pressure vessels several times.....definitely not a place to take a chance.

Carb principles are the same whether on a car or bike. The execution is different. It all really boils down to the Bernoulli principle. Pressure drop over an orifice draws fuel from below that orifice. The jet (pilot, main or otherwise) simply meters how much fuel is allowed to be drawn and mixed in the air stream. The ideal is for the jet to meter just enough fuel to maintain stoichometry, which is the ideal ratio for the otto cycle engine (ie: 4 stroke engine) Since a fixed jet can't deal with transient rpm conditions well, the tapered needles are employed to restrict the main jet at partial throttle openings and are fully withdrawn from the emulsion tubes at wot. The theory is simple, the practice is fairly complex. When set up right, carbs are actually very efficient at what they do. I also "tune" efi cars and diesels. I really don't like the word "tune", thats why its in quotes. I prefer recalibrate, but most people don't quite get the meaning these days. I mostly mess with diesels now. They're actually simpler to do and a bit more fun because the gains for the work are much greater than a Gasser. Carbs are what I cut my teeth on so long ago, kinda like going back to my roots.....And what makes messing with 80s era bikes fun for me.

Simple things first: check cables and connections for corrosion. Solenoid can be checked by jumping g terminals with a screwdriver. I've never done it on a Venture, but if it turns over nromally, solenoid is bad. You WILL get sparks and arcing if you try this. It may bugger up the post threads on the solenoid by some melting.

You dont have to wait until next year: just ride by this year and wave to them as they pull handful after handful of wet, sloppy, mucky leaves out of their gutters.....

Actually, vacuum is a function of restriction. Vacuum signal is highest at idle and decreases with rpm/throttle. Bernoulli's principle is what comes more into play at wot with increased flow rates and subsquent pressure drop in the throats.

Here's a little bit of interesting reading on a guy messing s not with vboost: http://www.vmaxguru.com/Tech/Gen1/VBoost/vboost_info.htm

Big bore kits: http://www.pcwracing.net/page10.htm Part of the VMax difference form the Venture is the pistons. VMax pistons have a pop up crown and the venture has flat tops. LIttle compression ratio bump on the VMax. Used Vmax heads tend to go rather cheap on ebay. But try to find a set with the cams still in them so it's a matched set (IE: worn in together). Most sellers pull the cams out of the heads and want lots of money for just the cams. When the pull the cams, they also tend to pull the shims and buckets to sell seperately also. However, be aware that the VMAx stuff doesn't really start to "come alive" until around 5-6000 rpm. Bigger valves and ports can make it a little softer on the bottom end. I haven't heard too many guys complain about bottom end power on a VMAx, so it's probably not going to be a problem. I know my buddy's Max can boil the rear tire at will, so there must still be good bottom end power there! Check out "Morely's muscle" if you want an electronic VBoost control. They sell Ignitech box with a VBoost control option. There might be another source for those, but I'm not a liberty to divulge what was told to me in confidence by Sean M. If you think about it, you might figure it out.... If your bike is a 1200, you might need 1300 carbs to fit hte VBoost manifolds. The VMax uses 1mm larger carbs then the Venture 1200s, but the same size carbs as the 1300s. Big plus of using 1300 carbs instead of VMax carbs is you can retain the bar mounted choke. That may not matter to you if you are building a bobber. If fact, you may prefer the VMax carbs as the choke lever is on the carbs (IIRC).

any 86+ venture master cylinder will work. I personally would look for the venture master vice other bikes. Mainly because the venture master will support the angles you can get on the handlebars (IE: adjustments). Other masters (for 4 piston calipers) will work fine, but can be a PITA to get level enough to take the cap off without spilling or get full enough for comfort. Brake fluid ruins paint, so I'm fussy about spilling it. If you're just trying to get it on the road cheap to see if you want to keep it or sell it, find a local bike wrecker and buy the front brake lines of any bike that has enough length to fit. There will likely be a single line from the master cylinder to a junction block/pipe and then two lines to the calipers. Some will be saying the used brake lines are a bad idea, but as an interim measure it will work fine. You can even mix a match the older rubber lines if you can't find one that is the right length from calipers to splitter and splitter to master. Copper washers can be reused if still in decent shape. I, personally, would rather replace the rear line than cap it at the prop valve. Even if you use another "scrap yard" line for that. If you decide to keep the bike, change 'em out for some braided lines this winter. You can also get a new line for the rear brake at the same time. If you do decide to keep it, you might consider looking for a set of 86+ forks. The 86+ forks will accept the R6/R1 brake calipers and you can just upgrade and bleed it all once when you put new lines on it. If you want to go that way that is....

The limiting factor in the venture engine isnt just the cams. Its the heads. The vmax heads are redesigned to have larger port diameters and have larger valves to go with the longer duration cams. like all engines, most hp gains live in the heads. you'll be hard pressed to see 150 hp if youre expecting that at the rear wheels. The vmax boys have to get pretty involved to get there. Even fewer are running in the 200 hp range. I'm putting the entire vmax top end on my bike this winter and will be pleased if i see 100-110 rwhp. do some reading over at the vmax forums. Theres a coupke guys running manual controls for vboost and have it open most times. Generally, they seems to leave it closed until the 200-2500 rpm range. i was thinking more about pulling from two carbs, pretty sure it wont make for a richer mixture as each carb is only going to pull stoich at best. More mixture, yes. But richer, nope.

Lots of guys have converted the vboost manifolds to manual operation. I forget the user name, but the chopped black Venture on the board here is one. Used a bicycle level iirc. Not sure on correcting a lean condition if the jetting isn't right. The vacuum signal is the same so it draws the same amount from both carbs. It may work as you suspect, I can't say for sure. I do know some guys leave it open at idle to wot and it supposedly gives a lopping idle like a big cam. Even if it did cure a lean condition in one part of the rpm range, once you "got on it" it will likely lean out again at higher rpm....