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twigg

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  1. twigg
    Thanks for some very helpful info I'll get a sheepskin. It's the one seat product I have yet to hear anyone complain about. From beads to Airhawks - all have their adherents, but everyone loves a sheepskin. I also need a waterproof cover for the seat. The Aux. tank .... I was planning to fit the piping so that the aux. tank simply drains into, and refills the main tank once it is close to empty. That would mean a bulkhead fitting high up in the main tank. Easy enough to do and the regular tank return might suffice, so no drilling. I'll take a look. Fitting down by the petcock is interesting. If I did that the gas would still refill the main tank, and as it is before the pump ... Hmmmmm! Let me think about that. LD Comfort shorts (x2) are on the shopping list. Yes, I am entering Mickael Hickman's Autumn Equinox Rally. I helped out with the IBR Prep Rally and met a number of the entrants in this year's IBR. I missed meeting Ken Meese as work commitments stopped him from coming. You are correct, Mike Kneebone did ride a 1983 VR. He was refused entry in the 1986 IBR because the organisers didn't think he was experienced enough. I guess he made up for it Oh ... and any more useful info you might have would be gratefully received. I want to make this work and other people's mistakes are way easier to learn from than your own!! Before the September Rally I have two LD rides planned. I have the bonus listing and rally pack from the IBR Prep. Rally. I plan on picking a route as if I were entered in that Rally, and riding it under rally conditions. I am also considering a BBG, which would have me riding from North East Oklahoma to just short of the Arizona border, and back, in under 24 hours. If the VR makes it, I'll be happy with my work so far.
  2. twigg
    Well I was expecting to wait months. It took two weeks from mailing the stuff in to my Cert. pack arriving here. It was well documented and I submitted rather more than they require. I addition to all the receipts and gas log I sent an SD Card with all the photos, a GPS Track Log and a 5000 word written report. lol ... I sent so much they asked if they could print the report in the Iron Butt Magazine. I wasn't leaving anything to chance! However .... The process involves a volunteer actually sitting down with the information, and plotting your route in software. They then check that the receipts and all mileages tally. It's not a long process, but it's thorough and they can only do so many at a time. In March they probably weren't getting too many submissions, so someone got to it quickly, and it was a complete pack. The route was complicated though. Here have a read: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=669111
  3. twigg
    lol .... I mentioned silicone because that's how mine was fixed when I got it. I struggled a bit but it came apart with no damage. A sharp knife helped. I put it back with hot glue. The diffraction screens must be newly out of stock, because I got two with my amber lenses a short time ago.
  4. twigg
    Bunch of places ... Try here: http://www.headlightplugs.com/H4.ht.html Autozone probably has them too. In a pinch you can solder wires to the plug end of an old H4 bulb. Post some pics of the conversion please.
  5. twigg
    lol ... yeah ... and the fuse will blow again Disconnect the fan wiring and jump it across the battery .... If it runs, good. Find the short, fix it, no switch needed. If it doesn't run then it is probably the faulty fan that is blowing the fuse. Replace it. No switch needed. All this "switchy" business is a red herring. The cooling system on a VR is perfectly able to keep the motor cool two up, at highway speeds and faster, and when running through town. A manual switch will not make it cool better and there are risks associated. ymmv
  6. twigg
    Two things would cause the fuse to blow again. Either there is a short in the fan circuit, or the fan motor is stalled and drawing too much power as it tries to run. I'd bet on the first reason, so you need to find the short before powering that circuit at all, or you will blow something else.
  7. twigg
    Thanks. I plan on doing both. I have a Saddlesore 1000 which I did in March on my XS750 Triple. I want a BBG (1500 miles in 24 hours) and I am entering a rally in September. The bike came with a Travelcade Road Sofa. It's tatty but still very comfortable. A recent 450 mile daytrip, two up, was no problem for either of us. I want to replace those cheap driving lights with HID units, but they cost $$$$. Also, I plan to fit a 5 gallon Fuel Cell where Mrs Twigg usually sits. With the right brackets and QD fittings, it should come off easily. A one gallon Igloo cooler with a drinking tube will go next to the Fuel Cell. Also, I plan to mount a small inverter in the trunk to let me use my laptop on the road. TPMS are a lot of money, but useful and a Russel Day Long would be great, but I didn't pay much more than that for the bike, so it's hard to justify when the Travelcade is decent. A back rest is on the list.
  8. twigg
    I used hot glue, but clear silicone would also make the whole lot waterproof.
  9. twigg
    and they have a sense of humour
  10. twigg
    You do not need a "turn-around" witness. You need a start and finish witness and a receipt from the turn around. Receipt needs City, date and time plus gas or other purchase on it. Good luck, and have fun. Mine was crazy
  11. twigg
    Below are some of the electrical changes. Yes they need tidying up and you can also see the bit's of fairing I need to replace. Description below photo: http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i418/twigg2324/1986%20Yamaha%20Venture%20Royale/IMG_0644.jpg What you are looking at is the original fuse block carrier with the glass fuse block replaced with a 10 position ATC unit from Waytek. On the left is the new 40 Amp main harness fuse, and the new wires to the starter solenoid. Also on the left is the orange fuse holder carrying a 30Amp fuse feeding the new distribution panel screwed to the top of the airbox. I intend changing that set up so that the accessory distribution panel is "ignition controlled" ... A simple 50 Amp Relay will take care of that. Once it is all tidied up it should be reliable and give me a bunch of options. The tank cover fits just fine, even with the new fuseblock cover installed.
  12. twigg
    Sounds like he is making good progress. I have to say ... I had more trouble with the cooling system on my bike, than with any other system at all. When I got it it leaked from EVERYWHERE, and wasn't cooling much either. With the exception of the hoses and the waterpump impeller and seal, it has all been removed, cleaned and replaced. Including the cylinder plugs. Finally, fingers crossed, it is cooling as intended. Solving the "boiling over" problem was the most difficult bit. In the end, it was a $6 part. Go figure.
  13. twigg
    I was considering the 19" Clearview Vented screen, but at $259 (which is decent value) it's outside the budget. What I can do is fit a vent in this screen. So far, everything is working decently well, but the bike is 25 years old and I am shortly about to demand some big mileage from it. Cosmetically, it still looks "very old and tired" .... mechanically it is now in pretty good shape. I need some bits for the right hand fairing to lose the duct tape
  14. twigg
    Nope. I was worried about that too, so I made a template and I can easily see all the instrument panel from my riding position. I have done some electrical mods too .... I'll get pictures and put them up later.
  15. twigg
    Here is all you need. The prices I quoted were close, but not exact Steven, Thank you for your recent Big Bike Parts Inquiry. Yes we do have these in stock. If you would like to order them you can contact me at 888-244-2453 ext 10. Best Regards, Michelle Einum Customer Retail Representative Big Bike Parts, Inc. P: (715) 234-3336 ext. 10 F: (715) 234-6872 E: info@bigbikeparts.com W: www.bigbikeparts.com Follow us: Hi, I am trying to get hold of the following spare lenses for a Trunk Light Bar on a 1986 Yamaha Venture Royale. The parts I have listed are, I believe, some of yours and are as follows: 900100L center red $8.06 900100LL left amber $4.46 900100LR right amber $4.46 Could you let me know if you have stock, and how I might buy them. Thanks
  16. twigg
    Yamaha didn't supply it It is a period accessory from Big Bike Parts, I think. They also still carry the lenses and they have stock, and are cheap. Nope, you don't have to remove it from the trunk.
  17. twigg
    The second fuse block is ahead of the original, between the battery and the headstock. It has four fuses that control the Hazards and the Audio system .... Unsure about the other two without looking it up.
  18. twigg
    Okay .... I have ridden it now with the new, shortened and narrowed screen. I am 6 foot tall. The screen has been cut down from 25" to 18". It is now at nose height when sitting normally on the bike. The wind now catches my helmet at the top, handy for the vents up there. I can comfortably see over it, or duck behind it. There is a small increase in noise and buffeting but not until I get over about 75mph. She who must be obeyed will get a bit more, but I can still ride with my visor up, and it doesn't catch the wind. Pretty much perfect, really, for anyone who hates looking through a screen. As this screen has lost substantial height AND width I am hoping there will be a noticeable improvement in gas mileage too. I have been getting anything from 33 to 36mpg. I have leaned out the idle a little, to prevent the high idle when hot, and those two things should bump the mileage by maybe 2 to 3 mpg. I tend not to "hang around" when riding, and we are frequently two-up, so I would be very happy to be getting 36 to 39mpg. All of this helps enormously with ambient temps well over 100F right now.
  19. twigg
    Because they have a sense of humour
  20. twigg
    Pretty much what I get. The needle stays about at the 1/3rd position, the fan cuts in at just over 1/2 way up, and the fan sends the needle back down to 1/3rd before shutting off. Yours might not get hot enough .... Leave it running longer at standstill. If the needle gets to 3/4 and the fan is not on, there may be an issue with the fan. Don't let it get much higher than that, those cylinder heads don't like too much heat. When I pulled the rad, one small hose was completely blocked, there was corrosion all over the place which is all now cleaned out. I am still concerned about the boiling ..... It should not boil, not ever. Boiling suggests pressure issues of one kind or another.
  21. twigg
    What he said I replaced my bulbs with LED panels. Four red panels and two amber. They were about $10 each and fitted in with no issues. Looks great and it's bright.
  22. twigg
    Let me throw in a curve .... Depending on the budget, and the kind of riding you want to do, I would take a long, hard look at the new BMW K1300. If I were buying ONE bike, for my retirement, it would be on the list
  23. twigg
    I have been, on a tiny budget, preparing my 1986 Venture Royale for Long Distance riding. At the start of this thread I want to show you two of the mods accomplished. The pictures show an equipment shelf I added recemtly. This is made from 2" x 1/8" aluminum strip from Lowes. I will put a few miles on the bike to make sure the mounts will hold. If not, I'll add supports. This shelf cost less than $15 and will carry my phone, satellite radio, two GPS units and a radar detector. The driving lamp brackets are made from the same material. The lamps themselves are Walmart specials. These lamps are cheap ($18), but reviewed quite well. When I can afford it I will swap them for the Philips HID Driving Lamps. The headlight has a HID conversion, which takes care of the dip beam, the driving lamps supplement the high beams and are controlled by a separate switch on top of the brake fluid reservoir. The screen, discussed in another thread, has been cut down from 25" to 18", and narrowed considerably. http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i418/twigg2324/1986%20Yamaha%20Venture%20Royale/IMG_0639.jpg http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i418/twigg2324/1986%20Yamaha%20Venture%20Royale/IMG_0640.jpg http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i418/twigg2324/1986%20Yamaha%20Venture%20Royale/IMG_0641.jpg http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i418/twigg2324/1986%20Yamaha%20Venture%20Royale/IMG_0643.jpg http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i418/twigg2324/1986%20Yamaha%20Venture%20Royale/IMG_0642.jpg There are other mods done, and more to come and I'll add to this thread later. Meanwhile, I'll take suggestions too, and if anyone has a 5 gallon fuel cell lying around, I'll take that too
  24. twigg
    Every time I read your posts, Gary, I like them more You give solid advice. I am going to add something about cooling systems that boil over .... If you are experiencing coolant loss, then you need to find out where it is going. It can only go three places: It can leak out of a bad joint. It can go out of the exhaust or into the sump if the head gasket is bad, or it can exit from the overflow on the expansion chamber. Oh, and it can get past the seal in the waterpump and mix with the oil (not good). However, mine was overheating and NOT losing coolant, well not much anyway. All Joints were good, the headgasket was good and the water was not getting into the engine ... so where the f$%k was it going? When I returned from a 30 mile run, in hot weather and high speed, I noticed, and could hear, the coolant in the expansion chamber boiling. This was accompanied by steam from the motor and a puddle on the floor. For all the world it looked like the bike had boiled over in a spectacular way. The cooling fan was running just fine but the coolant was boiling, or appeared to be. I found out that two things could cause this. The first was a damaged head gasket. Common problem on over heated alloy heads. The second was a failed pressure cap. Guess which one I was praying for? The coolant lowers the boiling point of water from the regular 212F. The motor runs at about 220F, or thereabouts. The radiator cap raises the boiling point of the coolant to around 265F, preventing boiling when the engine is running normally. If the cap fails internally, then the boiling point drops and the coolant boils well below the temperature that the fan cuts in. This boiling fluid goes through the pressure cap release valve and up into the expansion chamber, where it boils the fluid there. That then spits out of the overflow onto the right side of the engine, drips on the floor and steams like a good 'un. The same thing can happen if the head gasket is gone. In this case the combustion gasses over pressurize the system with the same result. The shop can test the coolant for combustion residues, but a simpler test is to do a compression check. Also, the rad cap is a service item with a two year interval. The easiest test of all is to replace it and see if that fixes the problem. It is well worth checking that the fan is working as described, but in normal riding the gauge should get nowhere near the temp. required to switch the fan on. In heavy traffic it will cycle repeatedly. Honestly though .... In all these posts about cooling issues, and I have had ALL those issues with this bike, I cannot see a good reason for adding a switch to the fan circuit. Depending on how you added one, there is the risk of either never having to use it (good) or using it too much and the engine running too cold (much less good). just sayin'
  25. twigg
    When I bought my VR it came with the factory Tall shield. Not only is it too high, but it's way too wide as well. It stretches halfway across the mirrors. Heaven knows what it is doing to fuel consumption! Anyway, two days ago I took my jigsaw to it. This is pretty easy, and it's not the first one I have cut down. Mark the screen carefully, some painter's tape on the bottom of the saw, and cut slowly or the acrylic will melt. Then you can sand the cut edge smooth pretty easily. I cut mine down from 25 inches in height to 18 inches. This is above the instrument housing, but not by much. When I am sitting on the bike it's about nose level and, in theory, the air blast should just hit the top of my helmet. I also cut the sides down and the screen now looks very small. In about an hour I'll find out if I cut too much off
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