Prairiehammer

Yeah. Except for the color. The babysh*t Brown has never appealed to me. Good for you, @VanRiver. Sorry to hear about your addiction. Jealous of your "AZ place". Where's 'bout?

Thank you, James. Database sent.

You can open it open and remove anything that is loose or may become loose. It won't hurt the performance. May even help. Note that there is an aftermarket "collector" that does away with the box altogether, (think Hooker header). That "header" has way less restriction than the stock system and yet rejetting seems not to be required.

I have a set of chrome fog lights on my bike that have 55 watt H3 bulbs. I want to reduce the wattage/electrical load, without sacrificing light output. Been looking for a drop-in bulb in either HID or LED. I have seen many advertised, but I am leery about the focal point matching up with the existing halogen, especially when considering the LED "H3" replacements. Let us know how these work out for you AND what brand and model number if they do work well. Where are you going to put the ballasts?

I don't think the size of the current carb is necessarily the issue, rather the manifold design is. Many 1300cc VW engines run with a 300-350 cfm Weber or Solex just fine. There is a single carb manifold kit for the Venture offered on eBay. Note the manifold design. http://www.ebay.com/itm/YAMAHA-VENTURE-XVZ1200-1300-SINGLE-VW-CARBURETOR-CONVERSION-MANIFOLD-KIT-/252185542008?hash=item3ab76dfd78:g:~A0AAOSwFnFWDTq6&vxp=mtr

I suspect that the large plenum is the cause of the flat spot. That general style manifold is notorious for poor low speed performance.

So? If you can afford to go deep-sea fishing every few days, you can afford a good headlight. Perhaps, David needs some new lights for his boat; you could do a "group buy". Heehee.

Is there an accelerator pump on the Holley? Does it work?

The 5X7 headlight is too large to fit within the MKI headlight assembly. The 4X6 is closer to the required size, but not quite correct. I measured the headlight on my '83: 4¾X7 extreme edge dimension. The part of the light that fits in the chrome trim ring/retainer is: about 6.6X 4.5". The JW Speaker 4X6 is below: Might you consider a couple of 90mm LED projectors installed as on Snaggletooth's? http://www.jwspeaker.com/products/bus-led-headlights-model-90/

Thank you Greg. But I have not received any PM from you.

Wow, Carl. Sad. And what a poor time of year to suffer this fire. Good luck. Here's a link to news about your fire. http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/2015/12/19/carls-choice-meats-vows-to-recover-from-fire

Yes, sorry for the misleading link. I forgot which way Twigg had gone. But Snaggletooth (and at least one other here) has done a dual headlight. Dingy has dual headlights, too. Here is a thread started by Mike (Snaggletooth) about his dual headlight: http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?47752-Hella-H9-Module-headlight-mod-installed-and-lit-up&highlight=headlight

Gary, You will need to replace the left fairing stay to accommodate the MKII headlight adjuster. The headlight adjuster mechanism on the MKI will not work on the MKII headlight assembly. There is an additional mount (a tube) on the fairing stay for the MKII adjuster. See pics below. You may not have to replace the right fairing stay to mount the MKII headlight, but I wonder if the MKI headlight mounting tab will interfere with the MKII headlight assembly. Perhaps just cut off the mounting tab if it interferes with the new headlight. According to Randy, the tab is not a problem? The fairing connector (under the headlight; joins the halves of the fairing) must be changed to accommodate the MKII headlight. The upper or middle fairing stay must be changed to use the MKII headlight. Your 1984 fairing halves will bolt back onto the MKII fairing stays. But of course, the fairings must be removed first to replace the stays.

Venture batteries are rated at 20-21 Amp hour. The 2 amp specification is for charging not battery capacity. An AGM battery is still a lead acid battery, so I believe you can desulfate your old AGM with your Vector.

The Venture came with fork gaiters/boots from the factory starting in 1990. Part number 3JJ-23191-00-00 BOOT. Still available from Yamaha, however the price is around $80 EACH.

The CLASS fuse is not on the main fuse block. It is in a separate rubber encased fuse holder. Here is a pic:

The fairing stays (right, left and center) are unique to the 1983 and 1984. The 1983-1985 headlight assembly is bolted to the right and left fairing stays. On the 1986 and newer the headlight assembly does not bolt to the fairing stays, but instead sits in grommets on the fairing connector and under the windshield mounting tabs. I believe you will need to replace the fairing stays to mount a 1986+ headlight assembly. You might consider installing dual projector headlight into your 1984. Couple of guys have done it ( @Snaggletooth and Twigg). Here is Twigg's write-up about the project: http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?67750-Headlight-Conversion-to-HID-Projector-%28-86-93%29

Perhaps someone broke the original and replaced it with plastic. On the two I have, both say "Temperlite" (tempered glass).

The failure of the instrument panel to illuminate is not likely caused by a bad TCI. Multitude of other items would be probable, but not a bad TCI. Corroded connector or bad fuse holder are more likely. Good fuses in poor fuse clips (corroded, loose, broken) will show the same symptoms as a blown fuse. Does it crank over? If so, does it want to fire, but doesn't quite get 'er done to start? Or is it dead, dead? No clicks? No fuel pump sounds? Battery posts clean and tight?

Cowpuke, errr, @cowpuc gave a pretty good synopsis for changing the plugs on a First Gen Venture. @GAWildKat's suggestion to find a THIN walled 18mm socket is valid as well. Many, if not most 18mm sparkplug sockets are too thick walled to fit into the spark plug well of the Venture. My preferred method (after thirty years of owning the beasts) to change the spark plugs on the Venture is to use the stock, OEM spark plug socket that came with the Venture, but instead of using the screwdriver to turn the socket ½ turn at a time, use a 22mm ratcheting box end (e.g. Gear Wrench, Craftsman) on the hex opposite of the spark plug.

Gary, as Kiwiroyale said, first check that the CLASS fuse is not blown. And as he says, the CLASS will only operate in the ACC key position. A properly working CLASS will adjust front and rear suspension. Finally, I recommend that you not run zero air pressure in the Venture rear or front (unless you have new springs in the front, in which case many folks DO run 0 psi in the front).

The only place you will find another radiator for the Venture is from a salvage yard or the various "breakers" on eBay (still salvage yards, but online). Although there are some sellers on eBay that claim to sell NEW radiators for the Venture. Generally, unless there is catastrophic damage done to a radiator, it can be repaired fairly easily and cheaply by a knowledgeable radiator shop.

Indeed the same radiator is used on all First Generation Ventures.

On my '83, the outer "lens" is glass, not plastic. But your other points are valid.

We trekked from Illinois to New England two years ago. Day 1: Home to Cleveland area (would have gone to @Freebird's instead, but he wouldn't allow it.) Day 2: Cleveland area to Niagara Falls (Goat Island and camped at Fourmile Creek SP. @stickhandle2 even joined us for supper) Day 3: Four Mile Creek to Old Forge, NY (take the Lake Ontario State Parkway) Day 4: Old Forge (you are in the Adirondacks) to Whiteface Mountain then take the ferry across Lake Champlain from Plattsburgh to Grand Isle and stay at the "Champlain Adult Campground". Day 5: Grand Isle, VT to Noyan, QC then back into the US and take VT78 and VT 105 across to Brighton SP. Day 6: Brighton SP to Errol, NH to Rangeley, ME to Bangor. Day 7: Bangor area to Machias, ME on the coast via Wesley. Visit Cutler,Me and the lobster pound there, continue to Lubec with a stop at Quoddy Head SP. Cross the bridge in Lubec to Roosevelt Campobello International Park in New Brunswick. The return via US1 to Steuben and the Mainayr CG. Day 8: Mainayr to Winter Harbor and take the Schoodic Loop Road around the Schoodic Pennisula. Continue to Ellsworth, Belfast and Camden. Have a lobster dinner on the waterfront at the Whales Tooth in Lincolnville, ME. Day 9: Camden SP to Sutton Falls Camping Area near Webster, MA. Day 10: Swing down into Rhode Island (just to say you've ridden in Rhode Island) and then travel across northern Connecticut to Kingston, NY and on to the Delaware Water Gap. Day 11: It is up to you how to get back to Kentucky (we headed west toward Illinois.)