Chaharly

Well we put on about 412 miles today, her and I and a cooler that weighed just under 30lbs with ice and drinks in it. The bike handled great! It has a net style set of straps on it that kind of allowed the cooler to bounce some but I pretty much forgot it was there. It was a little bit bouncier in the rear with it on but nothing to be concerned with at all. I don’t think we even got close to bottoming out on these rough Nebraska roads!

Hey guys. Ever since I got me a nice woman who wants to go on the big camping trips with me I’ve been thinking about storing everything. It’s never been an issue when it’s just me, but now she takes up a whole seat! We pretty much do minimalist camping, but I always bring an assortment of tools with me. We took a short, three day trip to the black hills and mounted the tent on the trunk rack but I HATE having that much weight up there. I’ve never been interested in pulling a trailer, as I want to focus on enjoying the curves and not being concerned with extra wheels, titling, and not really being able to enjoy the bike for what it is… a bike. So I’ve been kicking around the idea of having a rack fabbed for me that was about the width of the bike and maybe 18” deep. I knew I’d have to do some wiring as it’ll easily cover the turn signals. In my research, I found the Rivco quick-attach to be the most appealing but they’re so damn small. Step by step I started putting things together on the bike, starting with the Markland trailer hitch. I’ve had one for awhile but I hate how it mounts behind the exhaust bolts on the MK-II’s but I decided to bite the bullet and install it. It’s really not too bad if you take the passenger floorboard off, but still a PITA. My right muffler is also super close to the saddlebag, almost like the bike has been dropped on the mount or something. Anyway, I got that installed and found a discontinued 30”x18” Rivco rack on eBay with integrated lights and license plate holder for $170 bucks and bit the bullet. i still needed to order the billet aluminum bracket so i ordered that and decided to buy a wiring isolator from an 1800 Goldwing that came pre wired to just plug into the bike for about half price NOS. Well i got everything mounted and wired up today and id say im pretty happy with the result! I took the ball hitch off the Markland hitch and drilled another hole closer to the bike to reduce leverage. Need to either paint everything black or flake the old crappy paint job that the guy I got this from off and get chrome bolts and washers. We’re gonna put a cooler and go for a 360 mile ride with about 35-40lbs in it and see how it rides! Any way I just wanted to show off and upload some pics! IMG_6055.mov

They gave up on cruisers all together. Last I looked you can only get the bolt and the V-Star 250

I think a virago if tastefully done would make a bad ass bobber, I don’t know much about performance though. Let us know how the center stand job goes, that would be handy as hell on an RSV!

Hey that’s the big thing! Good on you for getting down and doing it! I had a part time guy as a painter when I was Director of Maintenance and he would like to get down and replace faucets etc. I told him to leave that to us, he doesn’t have to get down like that. Those old guys never listen! He still climbs trees and stuff to help out his neighbors and make a little side cash, tough ol boy!

I second Bluesky on that!

I do think that dash is pretty cocky on the Eluder though!

Price was right! Good buy!

I think that everybody knows that Yamaha has exited the big cruiser/touring market. So where does that leave you? I know that many aren't riding as much as you used to. I also know that there are a lot of die hard Venture riders here. So the question isimple. What are you. now riding? With no new Ventures being made, will you. just retire from riding after your correct bike is doesn't and out. Will you. look for a nice used Venture or go to another brand,. What brand will you go to? Basically, what are your plans moving forward?" I'm still riding my 88 Royale! I always keep a second, newer bike to tool around town with but the Venture will always be my first love. My plan is to start collecting MKIIs and MKII parts and essentially keep riding these bikes until it's no longer possible. So far there hasn't been a bike that fits me AND performs as well as the first gens do. i wouldn't mind finding a mint 1985 1200 though. If you guys recall (you may not) I used to have a 99 that I totaled with a death wobble that I couldn't get ahold of and decided to go back to first gen. I like the full fairing and the upright seating position. All else fails I may get a second gen, or a later model Goldwing. My mom has a triked 2005 that used to be my dad's and that bike just doesn't fit me like the Venture. I would definitely need an aftermarket seat made for taller riders and probably some risers for the bars. I also hate how cramped I feel in the toes with the motor right there and I basically have to go "spreadeagle" to use the highway pegs. I've ridden the newest style Goldwings and that would probably be my ultimate stopping point after the Venture, but I'm sure they're an ABSOLUTE mess to work on!

Congrats! Got 91,300 ish on my 88. I'll be crossing the 100k mark this year, god willing! Enjoy the next 100k

Hey guys! The watering hole is looking a little dry. I thought I'd start a topic about how all the good people are on here? What's been new with everyone? Any new bikes or big rides planned? Anybody end up in jail lately? lol Nothing real exciting on my end, got the Venture back the other day with the rebuilt front forks and steering neck bearings. Bought myself my first Harley a couple months back. It's a 2012 Dyna Switchback with 26k miles on it. In typical Harley fashion I put 400 miles on it and it broke down, damn stator anyway.... It did give me the chance to tear into a Harley for the first time and replace it, quite the job on there, but mostly straightforward. Other than that I've been taking classes for Civil Engineering Technology, enjoying that and trying to get an internship now. Anyway, I hope everyone is doing well! Have a great night

Thanks for the heads up! I've got one put back together today. I dropped the spring in it, threaded it by hand and then use the impact to tighten it the rest of the way. Filled it with oil and no leak, so I know it snugged up all the way! Unfortunately I'm missing the three washers, the two spring washers and the spacer on the roadside fork. I bought these forks used because the first time I attempted this job, I damaged my inner fork tube. I've put 70k miles on these tubes since purchase, and I see no damage from those washers being missing. It's just strange that they were in the curbside fork which I completed, but not the roadside fork. I'm not really sure what the purpose of the washers are, but now I'm in the hunt for a set of those.

I think I will then, especially since I’ll be doing steering head bearings in the near future

Hey guys! I've been working away and the Venture, just rebuilt the twinkie and about 3/4 of the way finished with the carb rebuild (get yourself a sonic cleaner, works wonders!). I'm about to start on replacing the fork seals. When I initially installed the progressive springs, I decided against using the PVC spacer that was included in the box. Now that I'm riding 2-up more frequently, i'd like to put them back in during the seal replacement. It's a 1" PVC spacer correct? What was the length that came with the progressive springs? Also, I'm going to replace the gaiters on this job as well. I know the diameter is 40mm, is 7.5 inch of travel going to be enough? I'm going to look around a little more for some how-tos on the seal installation tool, as I plan to do the seals with the forks on the bike. If I can't find them I'm going to edit the post and ask some questions about that as well. Always looking forward to the knowledge from you guys on here! Thanks!

Thanks! Skydoc_17 helped me find the replacement bearings and races! Thanks Rick! I appreciate it! I've already installed progressives about 70K miles ago, now I just have sad, weeping fork seals. I may add a little more to the spacer to make up for the mileage slack. I'm a little nervous about the steering head bearings, but I've got all winter and decently heated garage to take my time to do it!

So it looks like ive found the steering head bearings. Do i need to replace the the races as well? I never really notice any looseness in my steering but at 90k miles I feel its due. I'm also due for a fork seal change and as I see it on Partzilla, it looks like there are 2 part numbers for each piece of the front fork assembly. I obviously need new oil seals which are part 6 and 36. Should I replace the dust seals as well? Looking at Freebird's tech write up, I see a copper bushing and another bushing towards the bottom of the fork assembly. Here's a picture with the bushings 21.jpg (640×480) (venturerider.org) I dont think i see them on the partzilla page shown here Yamaha Motorcycle 1988 OEM Parts Diagram for FRONT FORK | Partzilla.com Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks guys

Thats a real pretty bike Don. My buddy just picked up a 2015 Road Glide with 11,000 miles. One owner bike. Came with a trailer and travel pack etc. Its a really nice bike! He let me ride it home and all and all I enjoyed it. It has the 103 and it's got plenty of power, still no Venture though I'm still riding my first gen, just crossed over 90k miles after doing a 1400 mile 3 day ride to the Black Hills and back. I bet that 114 makes for a super fun machine! Don, have you had the chance to ride one of the new GoldWings yet?

I've had it happen where the clutch fluid has leaked out of my master cylnder, but the rubber cap sucked in so I couldn't actually see in the glass that its empty. If i was gonna bet 100 bucks, I'd say he's gonna need to add brake fluid to the clutch lines and bleed! Best of luck.

I saved them just for the hell of it. Thanks!

Just an update, got everything put back together. Did very minor adjustments on the float height but had two of those rubber plugs on the jet blocks almost totally pushed out. Thanks to cimmer for mentioning that, need to synch the carbs and take it for a run to see if I find any improvement!

I think you have to pull the motor to change out the u-joint. If i remember correctly, and its verrrrry possible I'm wrong. There's no grease fitting on the u-joint. The 83-85 have bad second gears. You'll find information on exactly what it is. You have to split the case to change it, but the part itself is a couple bucks lol. Another thing you'll find is the front forks will start to bottom out. Most guys upgrade with progressive springs. Get those things out of the way (and you can drive without 2d gear) and she'll run for 200,000 miles. Generally speaking they're pretty easy to work on. I really like fiddling with mine. These motors are pretty bulletproof. Most guys dont even do valve adjustments! Enjoy your beautiful bike!

Have you checked spark plugs to see if you've got a lean condition? Depending on speed and wind, that kind of mileage seems a little too good to be true (not saying you're fibbing, just genuinely curious if the A/F mixture seems right). I might be interested in trying it if it can consistently pull good results like that.

Hey guys, over the winter I had a set of rebuilt carbs sent to me from a member on a facebook group and ever since then I have been dealing with a bad rich fuel condition. When i first got the set, it came with aftermarket needle jet slides and the bike would barely carry its own butt down the road. I replaced them with the OEM ones from my set and it ran better. My brother in law told me he could smell fuel when riding behind me and the bike starts to cut out and fall flat at wide open throttle. I installed a set of thinner needle shims that I purchased @skydoc_17, (great dude by the way. Would do business with him any time) and adjusted the pilot jets to what I think isn't terribly too rich. My pilot jets are only turn about 1/4 turn out, and unless they're totally closed the bike will idle perfectly and really never needs to be choked (rich condition). On a good day, with a tail wind, doing 55mph, I'm lucky to get 36-37mpg. Before switching to these carbs I would have easily pulled over 40. So that leads me to my question. I want to take the carbs off the bike and adjust the float height. Looking at my old set of carbs, it looks like i need to dissasemble them from the rack to get the bowl covers off. Do I have to re-assemble them, then level them upside down as an assembly, or do I do one at a time? Also in this thread, the OP says that you don't let the float compress the needle all the way? How do you prevent that while the carbs are upside down? Here's the link to the thread I was reading. Also what size of clear hose are you guys using for the wet test? Thanks so much in advance guys! Good riding!

Those would have to be some really, REALLY nice recliners!

The lady and I have a short trip planned to the Ozarks around Eminence Missouri in May. I'd love to tack on a bigger trip this year, but with starting a new job and her wanting to go to Mexico to see her dad is probably going to shorten this season for me!