frankd

1/2 amp is way too much. 1/2 amp would be 12 ampere hours/day. The battery is only about 18 ampere hours so it would be dead in a day and a half. On my Olds Sillohette mini van my battery was dead after a leaving it sit for 3 days. I measured a 1 amp draw (and remember a car battery is about 4 times the size of our bike batteries). I found that the door switch wasn't quite back to straight up and down which allowed the remote door unlock circuit to stay energized. I agree with disconnecting the regulator (the plug with the red and black wires in it)--that will eliminate a leaky diodes in the regulator. I forgot to look what bike we're talking about (1st or 2nd gen) but if it has a trunk light that could be on==on my Mk II 1st Gen you can eliminate that by disconnecting one of the wires on the switch in the trunk. Also on Royales there is a 2nd fuse box just forward and right of the main fuse panel. Did you pull these? If it's not the regulator or the trunk light I'll look at the print and see what jumps out. Frank

In addition to tying the clutch lever in overnight, you may want to try bleeding the clutch. Have somebody pump the clutch lever a couple of times and then hold it in. Then open the bleeder (under the rubber plug on the left side on a 1st Gen, not exactly sure how they hide it on a 2nd gen). Keep the clutch lever in, then close the bleeder. THen you can release the clutch lever. Be careful not to have the bleeder valve open when you release the clutch lever or you will draw air into you slave cylinder (BTW, if memory is correct it takes a 5/16" or 8mm wrench--both will work). If you do this a couple of times, you'll at least get the air out. This sympton means that you have moisture in your clutch fluid and want to change it at the first opportunity you have. Frank

Barb, my son Frank, me, and the bike are all home safe. I'm really upset that the bike had to become a trailer queen to come home though. I guess I can't be too upset---it did get us safe and sound to our daughter's house, but.... The wheel bearings wasn't the only problem the bike had though, just the crippling blow. On Friday, August 27th we left home (northern Illinois) and had a great ride down U.S. 41 to Evansville before we got on the interstate and arrived at our daughter's late that afternoon. The next day I rode the bike to both of our grandson's football games. I had to stop to call my wife on the cellphone to find out what part of the park they were in. When I went to restart it, the starter drive started to disengage. I tried it a couple of times and it started. I had had it disengage a couple of times over the last year and a half that I've owned it, but this was worse. In fact I don't think I'd had any problem at all this riding season. Anyway, I knew I'd be repairing the starter drive when we got home. On Monday we left my daughter's and went down to Marietta GA. to visit my cousin. The bike ran great and the starter clutch was back on good behavior. The 2 days we were there, the bike rested in his garage. Wednesday morning we left and headed up to the Georgia Dragon and northward on backroads. We enjoyed the twisties and grades. That night when we pulled into Anderson S.C. the first motel we tried didn't have any rooms. The cooling fan was on when I'd shut it down, and when I started it up the starter drive gave me problems again. We found a room and I ran out for some ice tea----the bike was hot, but hard to crank over, especially with the drive giving me fits. When we left the next morning, the bike cranked over pretty slow before it started. Then I noticed that the bikes voltage was a bit low. When I got on the interstate, it came up some, but not to it's normal spot. I could see that it was high enough that the battery was charging a little, so we kept on going. I just turned off the radio, intercom, CB, and cruise control. When we got to the North Carolina welcome center I heard some strange noises from the back of the bike---I guess this was the bearings but it didn't sound like a bearing going bad. It sounded like an old Dunlop tire with a lot of miles on it making it's noise when you turned at low speed--except I've got an Avon on the rear. I looked at the tire--looked fine. I put it on the center stand and couldn't find any indications of problems---no play or noises. A little later it started to get the shaft unit whine when I let off the gas slightly. This was only when the shaft unit was HOT (94 degrees out and running 75-80 MPH for a couple of hours). The noises gradually got worse and when we got Mufreesboro TN., I could feel side to side play in the rear wheel. My son-in-law had a DVM, so I untaped one of the stator to regulator connections (my bike no longer has a plug there) It was grounded. I suppose it could be one of the negative diodes in the regulator shorted, but it's probably a grounded stator. I've got the connections soldered and because of the rear wheel problems I didn't need to look any further then. At least the stator and starter drive are under the same cover. I'M UPSET WITH THIS MOTORCYCLE!!! In the 26 years I rode my 83 it had some problems (2nd gear, grounded stator, broken frame, wrong info from Yamaha on greasing the shaft drive coupling causing it to wear out) but.....we travelled all over the the eastern 2/3 of this fine country and it always got us home. Heck...even the frame broke about 100 feet from my driveway. I bought a low mileage Mk II because I like these bikes and wanted a fresher version. Sorry people, but a second gen. isn't for me. We test rode a Gold Wing and although it's better than a 2nd gen., there isn't quit enough leg and arm room--although now I'm wondering if a different seat would help. Does anybody have any experience with a different seat on a GW? I've written enough...now it's time to go unload the Venture and take the trailer back but I'm thinking about a Wing. Maybe the next version will have a little more room. Frank.

I've used epoxy sucessfully for Venture plastic repair for a lot of years....If you want to use epoxy I found that a light coating of regular epoxy followed by a thicker layer of the type of epoxy that comes in a gray stick (the type where the hardener is in the center of the stick, you cut off what you plan on using and then kneed it in you hand and apply it). The stick epoxy gives a lot of strength and the layer of regular epoxy helps it stick to the plastic. I had the travel trunk repaired like this on my 83 and it held for years. Originally it was cracked on the bottom where it mounts, so I needed a strong repair. However I've been using something far superior---Plastex. Watch the videos on their web site. It's a bit expensive but it flat out works. http://plastex.net/ Frank

It only has 42,000 miles on it

Earl, I agree--I decided that seeing as we own an E-350 van and my son could get a day off work with no problem, that he could drive the van down here and we could rent a trailer and haul it back home. When I hit the axle soundly and it wouldn't budge I decided that I didn't really want to take it apart until it was home in MY garage. Then I can do whatever is needed to get it apart and see exactly what happened. Condor, thanks for the suggestion, but no torches here.....when I get home. BTW, I had the rear wheel off about 3000 miles ago and before I put it back on I checked the bearings---smooth as silk then. The Venture also developed another problem---a grounded alternator stator. I've been driving with the radio, intercom, CB, and cruise all turned off and being carelful not to drive through a lot of traffic. At interstate speed it charges barely enough to get by. We could have made it home with this, but not the crunching noises when you turn corners at slow speeds. Maybe I should switch to brand 'H'. Frank

My wife and I are on vacation, and just pulled into my daughter's in Mufreesboro TN.--500 miles more to get home. The last couple of days, I've been hearing strange noises from the rear end and brakes, mostly from the rear end when you decellerate moderately and the rear end is hot. I put in on the center stand and this time (I"ve checked it several times) I felt side to side plaly in the rear wheel. When I pulled the cotter key and tried to tighten the axle (I also loosened the axle cinch bolt) I found it was about 1/2 turn loose. I tightened it and still had the play. I decided to pull the rear wheel and see what's wrong. I can't get the axle to move. I usually just put a phillilps scredriver in the 2 holes on the right side and twist and pull the axle right out. This time I can't budge it by turning it OR hitting it soundly on the left side. I've got the cinch bolt completely out, and I've driven in a wedge to open up the axle clamp. It won't move. I've read here where one guy had the axle worn apart. I'll be mine is started down that path. How can I get it out???? Frank

I've added the zerk fittings on my 89's rear suspension linkage. I was wondering, how often does Yammie recommend greasing this on 90-93 Ventures? Frank D.

I agree with cleaning the ground connection termination (right front of motor) and checking your stator to regulator connector for burnt pins. Your heat gauge going to cold is a different thing. If you remove the right lower, on the coolant connector you will see 2 different places that wires connect. The one with 2 wires is the fan switch. The one with one wire is the heat gauge sender. Clean the connecter and use a pair of pliers and make the female connector a little tighter. Frank D.

You said the fan clutch was weak and you weren't pulling enough air over the condensor and radiator. I have a 2001 E-350 with a V-10 and when it starts up the fan is loud (moving a lot of air). You may want to try replacing the fan clutch and if it moves more air, your pressure readings will drop and the a/c will cool better. Frank D.

I've got a couple of driving pet peeves----I'd like any LEOs reading to tell me exactly how the law about burned out headlight, tailight and brake light reads. You see a lot of cars driving around with burned out brake lights. Usually it's only one, but the other day I was behind a car that had both side brake lights out and one of the lamps in the center brake light also out. Only 1 bulb in the center light was on. How come they never get pulled over?? Heck, a loooooooong time ago when I was a young driver, I got stopped for a burned out license plate light. What happened??

Several years ago on a former Venture web site, some riders were drilling holes in their air boxes to increase their gas mileage. Some were claiming a very real inrease in fuel economy. I was riding the 83 at the time, and I didn't do it because I was happy with my mileage and never had the indication that it was rich. Holes in the air box would have the most effect at high throttle openings. If you want to see if they have any effect on your bike, close them up with duct tape and try it that way. Frank d.

I've used automotive tubeless tire plugs and had good luck with them until one time about 3 days after I picked up a nail and plugged the back tire, my wife and I were heading home from our Daughter's house, about 80 miles away. I energetically went around a corner getting on the tollway and a mile or so later I felt some squirming around of the rear end. The lightbulb went off that I'd lost the plug, so I headed for the shoulder. By the time we stopped, the tire was 95% flat. I plugged it again and aired it up (I carry a small air compressor) and rode home real easy. Made it just fine, but no more regular plugs for me. Now I use Ride-On, and carry these umbrella shaped plugs. http://www.stopngo.com/motorcycle.asp The only time I used them I didn't have Ride-On in the tire and after plugging it I had a small leak. I just aired it up every couple of days until I changed the tire. A small leak is way better than loosing a tire plug. Frank D.

When I asked the question about my '89 on this site, I was told by some that it was lubed by oil, others said that it was greased like the 83-85's, but had a grease seal. I decided I'd better pull mine apart and see for myself. It only had grease on the splines. However, there is a vent hole that could allow rear end lube to get on the coupling if you tilted it. I believe this is identical to the 2nd gen setup. Frank D.

I really don't think it's a carb problem. The odds of all 4 developing a problem and then dis-appearing at the same time is pretty remote. However, any chance you picked up some water in your fuel?? Have you (or maybe the previous owner) ridden in a downpour?? My 83 had a problem with sucking water up the fuel tank vent hose. The water that goes in the tank collects at the bottom of the tank. Then the fuel filter gets about half full and the water gets pumped into the carb bowls. When the water in the bowls gets drawn into the jets, the motor can act like it's going to quit. When you open the throttle and wind it up, it sucks more of the water in the main jet and it quits gaining speed. Or maybe you have a fuel pump problem. Could you hear the fuel pump running when you turned the key on?? Frank D.

Shadow, Yes, the proceedure does refer to what you need to do, but they give the impression that you only need to remove the drive unit for 83-85 Ventures. The truth is that ALL Ventures need to have the drive shafts re-greased. 86 and later have a seal on the rear driveshaft coupling that keeps the grease in the coupling much better than the unsealed early bikes. But eventually the grease will still break down. How many miles on your bike?? When was the last time the driveshaft was greased?? There was a post her a month or so ago about a 2nd gen that the owner had put 80,000 on before he greased the shaft. I bought a low mileage 89 a year and a half ago, and this winter I did the driveshaft. You should buy a new seal before you pull it apart. You grease both the front and rear couplings with molybendum disulfide grease. Other Venture riders say that Honda dealers have some good grease of this type. I purchased my grease at an auto parts store, but stay away from CV joint grease for front wheel drive cars because it's a little too thin and doesn't hold up. You want a thick grease. Some people say that there is a hole that allows rear end lube to lubricate the rear coupling. Actually the hole is to vent the shaft unit and only lets shaft lube (80W) flow onto the coupling when the drive unit is on it's side. At 38,000 miles, mine probably had never been done and still would have been OK at least another year. The article also mentions greasing the rear suspension linkage. Over the winter I added the zerk fittings so I could grease it without taking it apart. It works great and it's not difficult. There are articles here describing how to do the project, but maybe with a trip coming up so soon you could wait until winter to drill and tap holes for the fittings. You can also change the lubricant in the shaft drive unit. Pull the plug on the bottom and let the old lube drain out. Replace the plug and pull the top plug and fill it with 80-90W or even Synthetic rear end lube. I put dinosaur oil in mine last summer, but next change I'll swith to synthetic. I used it on my 83 and the shaft drive unit ran a bit cooler. You use lithium based grease for the shaft drive unit to wheel coupling and also on the rear tire drive hub. Automotive wheel bearing grease is what you need. I've got a container of water resistant grease for boat trailer wheel bearings that I use. Frank D.

BKUHR, Thanks for the pictures--they are literaly worth a thousand words!!! Before I take it apart, I WILL get out the soapy water and see exactly where they are leaking. When I wrote the first message I was wondering if maybe there was a problem in the Class module that had caused air loss (such as a leaking solenoid). I was probably getting way too technical though.

Thanks.....I've got a fork leg that seeps a little bit sometimes, so a fork rebuild is on the agenda. I'll replace the O rings when I do that. While I've got all the lines exposed, I'll soap the lines up and check them. Between the two, hopefully they'll hold air. They lost some air last year, but this year they're a bit worse. And yes, this one sat for a while also. 2 years ago, it only had 23,000 miles on the clock. Frank

The front suspension on my 89 leaks down slowly---After about a week I notice it's low and have to pump it back up. The Class system seems to work fine--it just looses air pressure over time. Anybody else had this problem?? Frank D.

Maybe you mis-understood what I was trying to say......How clean is the outside of your engine, especially the oil pan?? When you are going down the road, the air passing over the engine disipates a lot of heat. Before I pulled my 83 to do 2nd gear, the underside was cruddy and it overheated. After it was all cleaned up, I had no problem at all. Frank

Is your engine clean?? Especially the oil pan?? Before I pulled my 83 down for the 2nd gear repair I was starting to have overheating problems when it was over 90 degrees out. After I put it back together, it ran much cooler. The only thing I did that would have affected it was to clean the engine. Before I did it, the pan was extremely dirty and packed with crud. The radiator doesn't dissipate all of the engine heat. Frank D.

If it's the type of stereo with external speakers, swap the plugs for the left and right channels. If the left channel goes quiet the problem is in the player. If the right channel stays quiet, you've got problems in the speaker or cord. Also make sure that the balance control didn't get moved all the way to the left side.

I'd like a set!!! Frank D

Mystery solved!! I cleaned up the shaft, got it under a bright light, and then a co-worker said "That looks like a repair sleeve". That made me realize that it actually was the inner 'race' of the old seal and needed to come off. Now the seal will slide on to where it belongs. Frank D.

I pulled the drive shaft out of my shaft unit. Lots of moly grease on it and everything looked great. The seal I bought is the correct part number ( 93108-43013-00), but when I slide it onto the drive shaft it slides over the area that the snap ring and washer go but it 'appears' that it's inner diameter is too small to go over the flat spot that the old seal was on. Does it stretch that much?? It seemed like the old seal was glued to the driveshaft. What glue are we supposed to use?? Frank D.