charlie h.

They make a special bit for Lexan and plastic, you might want to buy one they are 5-6 bucks, and drill carefully on a scrap piece first. Gustaffson plastics is where I got mine. http://www.bikescreen.com

I have a couple 83's also, mine is a champagne gold and beige... (blonde) I have worked on this one a few months, it started as a black one but I have stripped several 'blonde' ones, and was able to put together a whole bodywork. Your clutch Master cyl screws should be replaced with the same type, but with 2.5mm allen heads. they are available at Fastenall, I had to buy a whole box, but hey... saved alot of hassles instead of philips heads, and I have alot of Yamaha's and they ALL use the same ones. Your clutch slave cyl. will most likely have to be rebuilt, new seals and a proper honing or sanding with 600 grit wet/dry, followed by a polish of neversieze inside on the walls, helps the new seals from wearing, and they seal well. Not a big job, but there is only one way for it to drop out, and you will have to find it. Sounds like your venture's should give you many years of riding, I just sold an 89, two tone blue one, to a very good friend of mine, and he loves it. They are superior to a Gold Wing in almost every way, and I hope to have many miles more, God willing, on mine! Welcome to the Forum! P.S. - I also have a sidecar for one hehe, painted to match the 'blonde'. it's a California Friendship with smoked windshield and brown tonneau cover!

Ebay has great inline blade fuse holders available for $10 $12 or so... http://www.ebay.com/itm/350807935814?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649 This should be the link to one example!

Hi Guys and gals! has anyone successfully added a steering damper to the 1st gen Venture? I have owned several, and it seems that would be a great upgrade for stability. I have Progressive springs, and new lower fork bushings and slider bushings, and will add a condor fork brace soon. I believe that a steering damper could be added with positive results also. Anyone ever do this??

I have a Schwinn cup holder that works the best of anything... had a Ram mount swivel cup holder and it did nothing but slosh coffee all over my tank, hehe. The Schwinn has two mounting holes, and I cut a small strip of 1/8" steel to mount it to, drilling the proper holes in it, then used a 10-24 screw through a third hole in the center of the small strip of steel, and then bolted it through the handlebar riser on the throttle side, through the hole in the riser, there is a split or groove and a hole at on end, the bolt goes through there, and then a washer and locknut on the inside... holds my travel mug very well! They still sell these for about $8 at any place that has bicycles or accessories.

I know welding plastic is a hard thing and not very elegant at the best, being a welder for 37 years... so I found the Plastic Welder cement sold at alot of places, and under different brand names to work the best of anything. With a PSI of 3500, it is the strongest thing out there, and you can cut and splice a fairing with minimal fuss. I have a few fairing pieces (literally) from a wrecked Venture that I cut and spliced into another fairing piece, and it is holding up well. I have used this two-part cement to weld back together ABS on a Honda V65 Sabre Fairing, and several Ventures. It is, in my opinion,the best way to repair a crack, or break in ABS. I also use a rotary file to groove the BACK of the repair, and then 80 grit sand the area around the BACK of the repair, and smooth the cement into the groove with a light build in the sanded area, it will never break there again! At $5.99 a tube, it is reasonable and easy to use. Hope this helps!

Yes! I just mounted a Shinko 230 Tour Master, and am very impressed with the rear 140/90-16. For the price of one EIII Dunlop, you can buy both front and rear Shinko 230's, and have some very nice tires. They handle great! I read a review, two by V-Max owners and a V65 Sabre owner that satisfied my curiosityt. I also have two Shinko 712's on an 82 Vision, and they handled so well, I took my race school on them, and had loads of fun on two tires that cost less than $100 mounted! Rolled up rubber all OVER the front tire hehe...

I mounted the two FZ750 gold calipers yesterday, and the braking is Excellent.... way better than the stock calipers, and being de-linked the front brakes are quite superior to the old linked setup... I am very pleased, and the calipers math the paint!

I have just delinked the system on my '83, and I used a double banjo bolt with two 46" stainless lines, works great, from master cyl to both calipers. I also picked up two gold calipers from an 86 FZ750 that will go on next, just because they match my gold and beige paint hehe...I would have used the rear also, but the banjo bolt mounts under the FZ caliper, which would hit the bracket...

Boss makes a media player stereo that uses sdcard or usb flash drives, and has aux input, also AM/FM stereo... about $50. You can replace the stock stereo, or if you have a standard venture, mount it in the left fairing pocket!

Hi Earl, Glad to hear you are allright, my condolences on the loss of your loved one... I know how it is when you love your bike. I lent a good friend my 83 vr on fathers day to ride to church with us, and 1/4 mike from church, he took a left turn too wide and fast, and pretty much totalled the bike. Thank God he wasn't seriously hurt as he flew over an Armco guardrail and landed near a culvert. He did have an inch deep gash in his leg, which is still giving him problems as he is diabetic, but hopefully will heal. I did find out he didn't have an endorsement from the county sherriff, so when he is able, I am going to rake the msf course with him to get him legal, hehe. Again, praise the Lord that you are safe. Bikes are replaceable, you are not. God bless, Charlie

Hi Guys, thanks for the info, I found the PTT on the left handlebar, but the head i have extra that filled the hole in the rt.fAIRING pocket of the 83, HAS ONE TOO, AND ALSO THE DISPLAY IS STEEPER, SO BETTER VISIBILITY. i WAS JUST WONDERING IF IT MAY BAY COMPATIBLE. iT IS A STOCK CB HEAD THAT LOOKS VERY SIMILAR TO THE ONE ON THE 89... OOOPS, SORRY about the caps....hehe but I guess I can deal with the PTT and shallow display. Thanks again, and God Bless, Charlie

Hi All, I recently acquired a 1989 Venture Royale to add to my stable, and it has the stock CB that works fine. The controller head in the right fairing side does not have a PTT switch like the head that came in my 1983 VR, (and I am not using that one as it didn't have the cb base under the top of the fairing, just the controller in my 83 VR), and was wondering if they are compatible. I don't have the stock headsets, so I don't have the PTT that probably came on them, the rear passenger control has a PTT, but I want one too. Can I just swap out the controllers and thereby have the PTT on my right? I would not have the local /DX button on the 89 controller, but who needs it. I would rather have the PTT. Any ideas? Thanks in advance!!

Hi All, Has anyone put the blue star calipers on a 1st gen 1983 Venture yet? I picked some up cheap, and look, the bolt span on the forks are 3.25 inches while the calipers (blue star) are 4 inches. Evidently MKII Ventures from 86-93 have a 4 Inch span. If I make an adaptor bracket for the lower hole, will i be able to use the newer FJR1300 calipers on my 1983 Venture Royale? I really want to delink the two sides and upgrade the braking system, I got the FJR master cly. too, and also two stainless brake lines. I am going to use the dual hose setup off an 82 XV920 though for the swap, as the stainless lines are too short, and going on my RD350 cafe racer, hehe. Also, I am going to plug the hose to the front caliper on the rear master cyl, and am going to use a 1\8 in. brass plug. It seems to thread into it after the tube fitting is unscrewed. Thanks in advance! Charlie h.