Great White

Why the goldwing? To put it simply, its the last man standing on the full boat touring bike segment. Natural selection? Survival of the fittest? Who knows....but it is the 'wing or nothing in its weight class. It's been the only player for so long, I doubt even a big money company like Yamaha could dent their market. I doubt anyone would even want to try anyways with it being considered a "niche" market these days and everyone seeming to obsess on the "Harley look".

I can turn you out an aluminum plug if you want, as long as its not too big I should be able to turn it out some leftovers. Get the dimensions and shipping and its yours (or his as it were).

Not sure on a 2nd gen. Someone else can hopefully help you out with that one. I think there's a downloadable service manual here on the forum. That would give you location and troubleshooting info. Edit* Here's a link to a 99 manual: http://www.yamahaventure.nl/en/servicemanuals.html Looks like its up behind the fairing, kind of similar to a first gen. Page 8-72 shows you how to make the system do a self diagnostic. That won't find a vacuum leak, but at least it's a starting point...

+1 on the recent rear brake work being a likely source of your issues. Well, maybe not the flat tire....

How about you guys ride to nova Scotia instead? I've got a perfect abandonment spot in mind for ya......

If it's in decent shape and 1000-1500 bucks it sounds like a decent deal. Parts will probably be a bit of an issue if it breaks, but at 1000 bucks i would think it could be parted out and the purchase money recouped if henran into a part he needed not being available. If he's OK with that, I would say grab it. At a 1000 bucks purchase, even if he only gets a year or two of riding out of it the bike will owe him nothing. I've never owned one, but I seem to remember them being BIG bikes.he might want to try wrangling it around a little bit or test driving it if the owner is OK with that. Also try all the little gadgets. Any that don't work are likely to not be fixable on such a short run model, or he'll have to get creative with fixing/replacing bits. I think it was only made for a few years. Parts issues again.

Kinda sounds like a vacuum problem....

So you say it feels like it's missing? If it still has the OEM spark plug caps, pull them off the wires and meter them. They just unscrew from the spark plug wires. It's quick, easy and no cost. Mine was running, but I was chasing an intermittent miss and poor MPG. It was also occasionally sneezing back through #2 carb. I metered my caps and found #2 showed as an open. Took it apart, discovered it was corroded inside, cleaned it up and my miss was gone. What was happening is the corrosion had increased the resistance so that it showed as no continuity on the meter, but the spark energy would jump the resistance and still fire the plug at higher RPMs. Crappy running ensure everywhere as a result. If you do find something similar, remember NOT to clean the little blueish "bar like" object that is inside the cap. It's actually a resistor and anything abrasive will ruin it. Just hit it with electrical contact cleaner and put it back in. It's the brass and spring components in there that corrode and add too much resistant to the circuit. Here's more or less what you are looking at: http://randakksblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/spark_plugdetails.jpg That's an ngk cap, but same stuff different pile for the OEM cap. The other option is to just toss the oem cap and replace it with a new NGK cap with the proper resistance. I'm not saying your carbs aren't the problem, but I also chased what I though was a carb issue until I found that one PITA spark plug cap. You description sounds pretty much bang on with what I was fighting with. Oh, that shop that said a sync is not required because they are "mechanically linked" and he "fiddled with the screws to smooth the bike out"; never go there again. They don't know what they are talking about. You must have had the "tire changing guy" working on your bike or something. The V4 Venture, just like all multicarbed vehicles, must have the carbs synchronized to run efficiently. That's why the procedure is in the manual and there are sync ports on the intake manifolds. Good luck.

Had the stock NGK DPR8EA-9 plugs. Bike ran OK, but I've been fighting to get it running well. Fixed some of the "roughness" by fixing the high resistance in the OEM spark caps. Then went looking for the Yamaha service bulletin (#M83-030A) recommended plugs - DPR8EV-9 (thin wire gold electrode) or DPR8EX-9 (thin wire platinum electrode). They are an additional recommendation in the Tech bulletin to help eliminate misfires. Gold is no longer made, the platinum I can get but are special order at all my local parts places. Went to NGK DPR8EIX-9 (thin wire iridium electrode, NGK stock #2202) which is the "step up" from the platinum tip. Will never, EVER, go back to DPR8EA-9 again. Sharper spark, runs much better, even pulls cleanly when lugging in high gears between 2000-3000 rpm with the missus on the back. Shop gave me a military discount which made them just about the same price as the regular old DPR9EA-9. Well worth the swap.

It appears from the discussions that the issue is the engine mount. You may be able to get around the issue of the RSV down pipe is used, but I'm only guessing...

Pretty sure I read somewhere that the 1st gen heads (IE; vmax) won't fit on a 2nd gen. I want to say I read it on VMaxforum.net for some reason. Something to do with the frame being in the way of the exhaust ports IIRC. I think Dingy is trying that kind of hybrid, isn't he? *Edit* Found it: http://www.vmaxforum.net/showthread.php?t=26938

Get ready for lots and lots of modifications....lol! Our 35 footer has lots of changes post purchase. Most to make it more convenient. Racks, holders, macerator pump, led lighting, honda generator, etc. We also upgraded things like the faucets (they're usually cheap plastic) to standard house ones, an "oxegenator" shower heads (more pressure with less water for low pressure camp grounds) and I re-plumbed most of the trailer as it was a chinese pex knockoff instead of the real pex. I've known guys who spend long term travel in their rigs that have just "dumped" the combined audo/video head units in these rigs for regular dvd players and stereos. Jensen and the likes are not exactly "high end" and when watching a movie they want the comforts/quality of home. get yourself some "x-chocks" and "linx leveling blocks". Worth their weight in gold IMHO. 5th wheels have the "basement" so you've got a place for sewage hose storage, but you're still going to want some bins to keep them in. You'll want a couple lengths of sewage hose and something to couple them because no matter how much hose you have, it always seems you're juuust that little bit short to the dump point. I like the "rhino hose". Avoid the cheap thin blue plastic hoses. Get a couple boxes of disposable gloves, for obvious reasons. You're going to want a drinking water hose and make sure you get a separate hose for flushing the septic. Keep those septic hoses separate from everything else; both the sewage lines and the flushing hose. Let your septic and grey water fill a bit before dumping. The reason is you want some liquid to keep the "pyramid" from forming in the tank and some volume to flush it out. You're level indicators will eventually stop indicating properly, it's filth on the sensors. I just chuck a bag of ice in the tank before we drive to the next spot. The cubes scrape the sides clean and melt on the way. Then when i dump it, it's just water. I also recommend you look at the "max air" roof vent covers. I have them and they're worth every penny. The let me keep the roof vents open in rain when stationary or moving. They cover the vents and keep the wind from ripping them off, especially traveling down the road. I leave the roof vents open when traveling so the trailer isn't smoking hot when We first stop. It also keeps it fresh inside. If you're traveling a lot and long distance, you may want to consider "pinning" your awning shut. I've done it to mine. I've seen one to many trailers pull in to the camp ground where the power awning failed and allowed it to roll out on the highway. Results are not pretty.....

Oh man, broken ribs are evil! And the sucky part is there's not a lot to do about it except suffer through until they heal. Just liem busted toes, except they're not (as) evil. All that can really be done is lash em to the next toe and wait for it to heal. Best wishes for a speedy heal.

My 83 has the bracket at (what looks like) an odd angle. I had to thread the nut off the switch before it would pull out of the bracket.

Makes it easier to take a sip while strafing the apex too!

Hmmm, maybe a "camelbak" of coffee would work?

I'd say that qualifies as abnormal wear! We're the splines dry? Ie: no grease?

http://torontoist.com/attachments/toronto_karen/2007_06_26CanadaDay_01.jpg

I have a 10. Works fine. Does what I want. Phone music, etc. The 10 will also share music like the 20. I like the jog dial, main reason I went with a 10 over the 10R. Unit sticks out a bit, but that doesn't really bother me. Battery seems to last forever. The 20 has an iphone app to manage it's settings and it can conference more riders, the 10 is limited to 4 at once IIRC. I read several online reviews on the 20 that complained about the docking pins loosing connections. That's mainly why I went with the 10 over the 20. Well, the 10 is a little cheaper than the 20 right now also....

Ah, it's a Guzzi alright: http://www.guzzioverland.co.uk

Glad you're OK. A bike can be replaced.... Edit: just noticed your sig line, does this mean you'll be keeping the 2002 rsv now for the next while?

The front suspension certainly is interesting...

I'll be danged if that doesn't look like a Guzzi under all that....er, "stuff".