Great White

Wife dragged me to the MIR. Concussion. Off work for a bit. gotta say, my thoughts are a little muddled. Not feeling up to snuff, but ok otherwise.

Raining today and went out to check the backyard pool as the filter was making odd noises. Slipped on the steps and rocketed to the bottom. Wrenched my bad bad an hammered my elbow. Bu tI think I whacked my head in there somewhere. I'm a little fuzzy, low grade headache and my eyes don't seem to be tracking well when I turn my head (kind of a ghost image). I also found myself trying to do things twice in the kitchen making breakfast. Funny thing is, back of my head doesn't feel like it would had I whacked it. i can push and prod all over the back and no pain. Haven't decided if I'm going to MIR or not (base hospital, I'm military). I may because I'm a flyer and can't be operating aircraft if your noodle isn't all there. Just don't know if I should go get looked at or not. Wife is of a differnt opion: she's on her way home right now. I may not get a choice....lol!

Have a read: http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?91756-Antidive-removal&p=877611#post877611

Sean morely actually got it done: http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/1082236_10152337704828679_770325754_o_zps5dpifrjh.jpg Heck of a bike. I would probably go more along the lines of a vacuum controlled microprocessor of sorts. Not a real challenge for me. That's all way off in the future though.

Ouch, that's one you don't hear every day. But busted ribs are evil. Gawd help a guy if he sneezes.....

If you're concerned with accuracy in the sight window and not being on the center stand, just cut a couple pieces of 2X6 and drive up on to them with the rear wheel and side car tire. That should simulate the center stand angle fairly well. A 45 degree cut will make it a tad easier to drive up on to them.

It is in the back of my mind. Alas, money and wife dictates it shall have to wait for a later date. On the split washer subject: did changing the split and thrust washer work long term or did you end up with a skipping second year anyways?

I have been perusing your older threads about the vmax rear and 2nd gen transmission with some interest. Alas, not in the cards for this winter. Money and the wife is going to say no way. Vmax heads, transmission fixes, r6 brakes, mkII forks, aftermarket audio system, mkII wiring harness with class and venture cruise will be it. Last thing to buy was the vmax heads and barely got that past her. Probably has something to do with just having bought the xzv12 and the fj1200 only a month or so ago. Hmm, this is getting to be pretty long for an "easy yes or no". http://mingle2.com/assets/smileys/rofl.gif

Well, here's my suggestion. If you can see oil when you remove the filler cap, you can have a cap with a dipstick made. Fill the crankcase and confirm the correct level in the window. Insert the "new" cap with dipstick. Then pull the filler cap with dipstick and mark a line where the oil is as "full". This will now be your quick reference, but the cap is a pain to get off a 1st gen anyways due to the bodywork and the rear brake lever cover panel. A cap with a dipstick is easy to make on a lathe, but of course; you need a lathe. Or find a machine shop that will make one for you. It's just a cap with a small bore in it to accept the dip stick portion. I would not recommend trying to modify the original cap, unless it's made of Al and not plastic. I'd build one out of aluminum and use a grub screw to ensure the dipstick does not come adrfit from the cap. It's an easy afternoon project for someone with half decent machining skills, but it's probably mostly limited to your type of application as it's easier to check the window on a "regular" 1st gen than dealing with the bodywork covering the filler cap.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Well, you're home and the rest of your clan is safe. The rest is just money and stuff. That can be fixed or replaced. It may be hard to see it right now, but the important things are safe (family). That's all that matters.

I have no association with these guys, just found it on google: http://www.demonspeedracing.com/product_info.php?products_id=69

My guess would be timing issue....

I'm going to have to respectfully disagree. As long as I'm not misunderstanding the diagrams above (from parts fish) number 14 is the driven gear for #2 . It is located on the driven shaft (or middle shaft if you prefer). The driven shaft is kept from "walking" by the split/thrust washer in question. If the washer in the tech bulletin is worn, it's going to allow the driven shaft to move (or walk, or jack, etc) when torque is applied. More so in this design since it's also dealing with the tendency for the right angle drive to "climb". This would allow the #2 driven gear to move with the driven shaft and could result in insufficient contact with the dogs and the skipping. The service bulletin says the same thing, just not as expanded. This is even worse if the dogs don't have much contact to begin with, as seems to be born out by anecdotal comments and Yamaha redesigning the gears for increased dog engagement in the 85+ models. Just for good measure though, once I have it out I'm going to set up the rotary table on the mill and undercut the dogs about 1-2 degrees. No more than 2 degrees though, it's a street bike not a race bike. I'm also going to shim the gears with the Vmax shim pack to remove additional side play. The bike is not going to be an unholy powerhouse or be ridden overly hard, I just don't want it to let me down somewhere far away from home. Admittedly, I'm still reading and researching, and I could turn a 180 once in get the box open and am looking at the components vice diagrams. This is all stuff I learned (and forgot) more than 20 odd years ago when I left the trade. But it's still in there, just needs some updating and refreshing....

Oopps, the Technical bulletin is available on this forum, but Dingy posted a better version of the same one on the VMax site: http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/TSBTW_zpssgt07ste.jpg I'm not trying to be argumentative, but that sure looks like the assembly I posted in the first pic....

Care to point out the proper one? http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/transmission_zpsmcq01oh6.png http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/middle_zpsiuwchkze.png I ordered the parts from the Yamaha service bulletin M85-014 (can be found here on the forum) that identifies the second gear issue and the bulletin showed the middle shaft. Parts fish also jives with this....

Hold on a second, that didn't work. Let me try another way... Nope, you'll have to click on the link, I can't get it to post here.

Now that's a touring bike not to be messed with!

Thanks. yep, I'm aware of the need to split the case. My 83 only has 31,000 Kms (~19,000 miles) on it and no indication of second gear issues. I'm tearing it down to put VMax heads on it this winter. I figured since i was going to be almost torn down to the cases anyways, it would be a good time to put in the hardened thrust and split washer and make future second gear issues more unlikely...

This is the split washer/ thrust washer that causes all the problems: http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/EB2D25C5-0B59-4B60-83A8-B3D01E5199D4_zpsezhncgs9.jpg yes or no?

My bike is an 83, so it doesn't have the little factory front lower chin spoiler the 86+ models have. I'm sure we all know what I'm talking about, but here's a pic of the chin fairing just in case: http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/d83ace77-d5c3-4276-8850-ceceb2f6fe8a_zpsrewnzs3k.jpg I've already got one from "The Pile" and the engine guards/brackets to mount it. It's a simple bolt on affair to put it on my 83, although I'll have to have it painted (The Pile was brown, mine is burgundy). I'm a little back and forth on whether or not I like the look, jury is still out on that one. But I have read online that the intent of it was to provide some wind/weather protection for the ankles and feet of the rider. Can anyone confirm that it actually does this? Or is that just a bit of advertising hype?

My bike is an 83 so it's prone to the second gear issues 83-84 are known for. However, my 83 only has 31,000 kms on it (19,000 miles) and shows no signs at all of second gear issues. If I'm lucky, I'll only put another 3-4000 kms on it before winter. This winter, the bike is getting torn down to have an 86 harness grafted on (for CLASS, Cruise and the 41R TCI) and VMax heads installed. I'm wondering since the bike will be torn down anyways, if it's worth addressing the second gear issue which (to my understanding) is caused by a shim and circlip issue. As my bike is very low mileage and has no issues, I'm wondering if I can prevent the second gear issues by replacing the circlip and shim. With such low mileage on the bike, I'm kind of more in a "recall to prevent the issue" rather than "fix the damaged part" scenario. There is no "punch mark" on the gear housing like there should be if it was recalled, so it appears it's never been recalled or "fixed". I bought it from the original owner and when he listed off everything he could remember done to it (and he was pretty detailed) he never mentioned anything about 2nd gear being fixed either. I've also read on the VMax forums that there is a shim kit for the gear stack as well that takes up the slack in the assembly and also helps to prevent the second gear issue. Here's a quote: It sure would be nice to address the issue before it starts and spend 50 or 60 bucks instead of 600 or 800 bucks. So, worth it to pull the cases apart and change the shims or not? Keeping in mind, I'm almost going to be at that point anyways.....

It sounds like your windscreen might be too far gone for my trick, but you can give it a go if you want: Use "sealer and glaze" on the windscreen and polish with a soft cloth. Sealer and glaze is not hte same as using a carnuba wax. It fills small scratches and makes for a smooth surface. These small scratches in the windscreen is what makes it so hard to see through. The scratches scatter the light and make it "bloom" in the windscreen. The glaze makes the rough "white-ish" edge in the scratch that scatters the light almost clear again, so it doesn't scatter the light as much. It's not a perfect solution, but it works pretty good and is easy to reapply if the windscreen starts to "bloom" in the lights again.

Yep, I get it for sure. My 83 is just a back and forth to work bike and local squirting around. Bags make using it for a run the store and back a great option. I run the stock gearing and it works fine for me, but can see where a slightly lower final would benefit. I just struck me a little bit of a "ha ha" that they swap venture parts and we swap vmax parts and the use appears to be opposite for the machines intended purpose. Not trying to make any points, just noticing. Of course, once the Vmax heads are on and the carbs are re-jetted, I may be more in the 'max camp with the power to easily pull higher gearing. Even though it already moves out quite nicely for me as is. Jury is still out on whether to use the OEm 'Max cams or go with a custom grind. Hmm, I wonder if I should do the second gear upgrade while I have it all out? Mine doesn't have it yet, but it is one of the first months of production 83's....just change the forks and shaft since it's still in good shape otherwise.....

The venture riders tend to want to add a Vmax final drive gearing for more performance and the VMax camp looks to add the venture final drive gearing for a bit lower cruising RPM? I understand the reasoning for both and not everyone wants to swap 'em out, but it just seems like a funny little "grass is greener" scenario.