GeorgeS

Run it down to almost reserve. Then completely drain the tank, you might have water or crude in bottom of tank, Drain it at the petcock, Flush it. Put in all new fuel, and some Sea-Foam, or some brand of fuel injector cleaner. I would also drain each of the carb bowls seperatly, each one has a drain valve, and a drain hose. Also you might need to replace the fuel filter,

After you do " All of the Above " ---!!!!!!!! Down , hidden, under the battery, ( remove both side covers ) you will find a " Large White Electrical Plug " . It has 3 , large #10 wires going thru it, This 3 wire cable runs " From " the Stator to the Rectifyer/Regulator unit. ( located under the batter, Hard to see ) Find the White Plug !!!!! OPEN the Plug !!! Inspect the Male and Female Pins for being BURNT, or DAMAGED !!!! This is a VERY COMMON Problem on all the 1st Generation, and 2nd Generation Ventures !!!! IF the plug is damaged, the Standard, FIX, or ( as we call it, A , Modification ) is to Cut out the Plug, and SPLICE, the wires together, Use a Western Union Type Splice, and then SOLDER, the Splice with "" ROSIN CORE SOLDER " . Apply a Double layer of Shrink Tubeing, to insulate the new splice's. ( avialable most auto parts stores ) IF--- you find that the plug is OK, the re install, and take AC Voltage Readings. on each one of the Three Wires going thru the white plug. Read, each wire to Ground. Engine running about 2000 RPM, All three wires should have about the SAME AC voltage reading at 2000 RPM. IF------- One wire is Considerable lower then the other two, the the STATOR, is most likley failing. The Stator puts out Three Phase AC. The voltage on each wire should be within a volt or two of each other. --- Check, your Battery Connections !!! Are they tight ????? --- Check the Neg Battery Cable where it connects to the crank case , forward right corner of the engine !! --- Check your Main Fuse's, Left side cover, --- Open up the RED , Run- Stop Switch on right handle bar, Clean the contacts. ---- A common problem on these bikes, is the ON / OFF Switch contacts, in the Ignition switch !!! Lots of folks have had to REPLACE the Switch. See the Maintenance Section of this web site, for detailed information on repairing or replaceing the Ignition switch. !!!

Order a new cylinder !!! Difference in cost of OEM cylinder and a rebuild kit is not that much, Not worth the trouble of trying to Hone out the old cylinder, Replace It !!! Also, consider, ordering an OEM Rebuild kit for the master on the handle bar. You will have to re-build it sooner or later. The amount of money you save with a rebuild kit, is not worth the trouble, get a new one

It was around September, of last year. So, if your parts guy will go to the trouble of looking for it, there might still be one or two avialable sitting on a dealer self somplace. Don't remember the exact price, but it was competitive with other similiar racks for other bikes.

The Fuel Petcock, is located on Lower Right side !! Fuel will not run " Up Hill " !! Pump has to work, or NO gas in the Carbs !!

Rode to Olympia, Wa, and then to Shelton Wa. and then headed out into the wilderness of the Olympic mountains area. Hmmmmm there were so many Harley's on the road, it was almost a traffic Jam !!! But it was a great 4 hour ride, about 78 deg F. and all sunshine !!! ( No Rain !!!! ) The HF, Ham Radio installation, is working great, made radio contact with the Special Event Ham station, at the Indionapolis Int'l Race Way, on the 17 Meter Ham band. Nice touch, for an enjoyable ride. The new 08 RSTD, ( new last Aug, 2012 ) just turned 16,000 miles today ! I guess its not " new anymore " ???

If everything work, just get a J + M headset unit with the 5 pin plug, and use whats there . You can also get one of those Cassett things. with a cord on it to plug into an MP-3. Not sure if radio shack still has them The AM FM radios on these bikes work pretty good, if there is no problem with them The Cassett deck, can be removed, and opened up and cleaned out, and maby a bit of lubrication, if you have Cassette Tapes, I used mine for years, and it was still working when I sold the bike last year ( an 89 )

Watch out for " June Bugs " !!! And those other ones, even bigger !! I got hit in the chest by one, back in 1969, knocked the wind out of me, and I almost crashed !! ( on the San Diego Freeway ) Also know of a guy took a Bee, thru the eyeball on I-80 in Nebraska back around 1973. Imbedded in his brain, dead beside the road. I wear a face shield , and have a full windshield. On 4 hour ride today, I took a large bug hit on my face shield, just to the right of my right eye. Had to stop and wash off the mess !! Just a few things to think about :whistling:

IF , you end up pulling the exhaust system, to sort this out, best to order a complete new set of Gaskets ( ie: seals ) for the entire exhaust system. Most likley some of them will have to be replaced, might as well do them all !! Not cheap, but money well spent !!

You Cannot !! operate the pump, with key in the " ON " engine run position. This is a safty feature so you cannot Change the pressure while driveing !!! Pump only runs in the ACC position as stated above . A common problem with these bikes, is a Bad Conneciton in the Plug, about 6 inches below the Class System control head. !!! Remove the panel, bolts, ( allen head ) and pull out the control unit. follow the cable about 6 inches, to the plug. Its very common for the wires to come loose, at the male and female Pins inside this plug. Tug Tug on the wires, and most likely, one or more wires will pull right out. You then are faced with a Re-Soldering job !! I had to repair at least 3 wires in this plug if I remember correctly over the years on the 89 that I had on the road for 18 years. To get too the pump unit located Under the Travel Trunk, you actually have to remove the trunk !! To get to some more electrical connections, and also check the air lines back there at the pump. Good idea to do this on an older bike, make sure no loose connections on the air lines !! There are several joints in the lines, that can come loose. Each joint has O-Rings, to make a good seal !!! Pull up the Service manuel, on this site, in the " maintenance " section look up the CLASS Section, it has a diagram of all the Air Lines, ( Lots of them )

Seems like I have heard of more then one plugged fuel filter around the 30 to 40 K mark. Good place to start. Also might be a fuel pump starting to go bad.

There was a stock yamaha rear fender rack, to fit the RSTD. They were discontinued in the part system several years ago. I checked with my local yamaha parts counter, the guy found 3 in the parts system by looking on his computer. You might give that a try. He ordered me one from dealer in Reno, Nv. He said that there was still 2 more in the system, Somplace. I have an 08 RSTD

We hava all gotten older, and can't hear anymore !!! So it, " don't matter anymore " :backinmyday:

Wife and I drove to Seaside, Oregon, yesterday and overnighted. ( not on the motorcycle ) Anyway, in the motel 6 parking lot, was about 7 bikes parked, 2 of them from Alberta Canada. Both Harley's, and of note was the personalized Plates on one of them. ---- G E Z R ---- Just thought I would ask if anybody here goes by that Licence Plate Number ??? :whistling:

Did you find the large " White " Plug, between Stator, and R/R unit ? Did you open that plug and check for burnt or damaged Pins ??? Have you checked the Ends of Both, battery cables, for Corrision ??? Remove th black one from engine case, Clean it !! Thats your main Ground return to the battery for everything !! Did you open the ---Main fuse holder,---- and check for loose Screws ? ( Yes, it does have two small screws, and the element gets corroded ) Dito: the R/R output plug !! check that. After you clean the White Plug, Re-Install it. Run Engine, and re-take the AC readings, by sticking the meter lead into ends of the white plug. Read, the AC to Ground. Do you have a Ground Lead, from Neg Bat Stud, to ground. Its a good idea to fabricate a cable useing #10 wire, and run to frame near the battery.

Over 18 years of working on electrical problems on my 89, ( now sold to guy down the street ) a few things I found concerning " Ground Connections " In addition to the better fuse blocks discussed in this thread, and well known improvements to the heavy battery cables, I found a few other items that are easy to do and improve the entire electrical system. Grounds---- I found that " all " ground connections for all the lights on rear of the bike are spliced together inside wire harness's , and end up at just ONE, # 20, Black wire, which runs thru the large plug located under the passenger section of the seat, on left side. ( the large plug with about 15 wires running thru it ) If this connection goes bad, it effects all the Rear faceing light fixtures !! So: I spliced into the black wire, AFT, of the plug and ran that to a NEW ground stud, on the rear of the bike. ( most any bolt, will do ) Also, Up behind the head light, in the Instrument panel. Many black wires are spliced together, inside the wireing harness, and end up going to " ONE " # 18 wire, running to the Main Ground stud located under ( and hidden ) the Left side upper fairing compartment. SO, in the main cable below the instrument panel, good idea to splice into black wires in a couple places, and run to a " New ' Ground Stud , somplace near the Instrument panel. Also, On the " OutPut " Plug, from the Rectifier/Regulator Unit, TWO , large black wires Run into a cable, and then are combined inside the main wireing harness, and run up to the " Single " Main Ground stud ( as above ) under the Upper, Left Fairing. So about 6 inches from the R/R Output Plug, ( on the battery side ) I spliced in a NEW #10, Black, Stranded Wire, and Ran it about 8 Inches to a convienient Bolt on the Frame. ( Why?? Just to make sure I have a Darn Good ground, for the Output of the charging System ) !! Also: If you have not done so, on any 1st Gen Bike, make sure you have an Extra ground lead from ----- battery Negative Stud , ----- to the Frame just to the right side of your battery. Easy to Fabricate one, useing #10 Stranded wire and a couple Studs. I know, this is overkill, but its a good thing to do !! More Overkill !! Just in case there is " High Resistance " between the Engine Case, and the Frame of your bike. ( Why?? because the Heavy Black Battery cable runs to the Engine Case ) It might be a good idea, to Fabricate, and install an EXTRA, #10 Ground Strap from Somplace on the Engine case, to the Frame of the Bike . Why" all of the above ---- Well, because, High Resistance, Ground connections in 12V DC System's cause lots of " Wierd " problems, and are usually very hard to Diagonose, and track down !! Just a few items to think about, next time you are working on your electrical system

No, your not takeing the AC readings thru the R/R unit. Find the white plug, directly out of the stator. With plug connected, and engine running, stick Red meter lead into each of the 3 wires at the big white plug, and read the AC voltage to ground . What you are looking for, is that the AC is about the same on each of the Three Phase's output from the Stator. The voltage will vary with engine RPM changes. If the lower section of stator is Fried, then one of the three will be much lower then the other two !! However, if you do the Resistance check, per the manuel, its almost imposible to spot the bad stator, ( unless the section is completly OPEN ) I did the resistance check on my bad Stator , on my 89, after removeing it from engine. The Resistance check, per manuel, said the thing was good !! but half the wires on the lower Coils , were melted, and Burnt up !! Read the voltage, with everything connected,

Sign up at our local " Gym " and go 3 times a week, untill they haul you off to wherever it is they haul us off too !!!

Possibly the 1st gen fairing, has something to do with being " faster " However haveing owned both bikes, Hmmm can't really say if the old one was faster then the new 08 ?? But then, I'm not in much of a hurry anymore, at the age of ( Ummm 70 ish ) The RSTD is plenty fast, as they say.

Last week, I rode Seattle to Spokane, Wa, and return, same day. Pouring rain the entire trip both ways. About 550 miles round trip. Don't ask why I did this :confused24:

http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/general/hrdp_1009_how_to_charge_a_agm_battery/viewall.html Also, google search " charging an AGM battery" , and read several items, more info then you would ever want to know !!

Few more things to do, if not done recently :stirthepot::whistling: Drain each carb bowl seperatly, let fuel pump run fuel thru each bowl. Completly drain the Fuel tank, at the Petcock !! ( just in case some water in tank ) Replace the Fuel filter. Screw out the Plug 7MM wires, each end , nip of 1/4 inch and re-install. Replace spark plugs ! ( Iridium, type, or course ) Check for loose parts, on all 4 Carb Intake's, and the Clamps , above and below all 4 carbs. Good time, to " Resolder " the large Studs, on " BOTH " ends, of " Both " Battery cables !!! Clean--- the 10MM Nut. on the Starter !!! where large Red Cable connected, just in case its corroded from Road wash, from front wheel --- Don't forget to check the Plug on the " Barometric Pressure Sensor " !!!!!! As long as your working on the bike :whistling: , you might as well replace the starter solinoid also, this is also a good thing to do, on older bikes :stirthepot: And of course after all this is done, you will need a new set of "" Dunlops "" :stirthepot::whistling:

Thanks, for this, did not know about removeing the AIS pumps, to get to the bolts for the coils, on 2nd gen. Was planning on doing that eventually anyway. I'm still trying to find out if a 1st gen coil, can be used on the 2nd gen bikes ??? Anybody have any comment on that ??? :confused24:

OK, well that makes sence, Hmmm?? Will have to put this on my " maby " to do list next winter months.

OK, after installing the V-Max Rear, how does the gear ratio's differ, from just useing, the stock 4th gear ?? ( on the second gens ) ??? Or, put this way. If I just drive in the " stock " 4th gear on an 08 Venture, is anything much different then installing the V-max rear ??? Any comments :confused24: