RedRider

Jeff, I am an engineer also, so I understand. They were clamped solid with a washer between the link and the pivot. Let me look at these more closely in the morning. It should be fairly easy to determine wear versus displacement if examined more closely. BTW, I have the OEM links and this set of damaged links (and a set of new DiamondR links - currently uninstalled). I would be very interested in a hardness test. Anybody have a test gauge we can use? RR

If no one else will say it, I will. That fix for replacing the plug wires rocks. Thanks for that. I will keep this in mind (also with my 1982 Suzy GS750T). RR

Let me see what I have. Not sure I have a luggage rack on either one. Will advise. RR

Let me know if you need some parts. I have two of these that I will be combining into 1 running bike. Will have many leftover parts that will be in good shape. These are very nice bikes. Look at VN750.com for a Vulcan forum. RR

Just purchased a set of replacement leveling links from DiamondR. I had damaged mine - see thread here. Allen from DiamondR put a note in the box asking I pass the word that they only have a few sets of leveling links left. Once these are gone, they will not likely make anymore due to slow sales of these items. If you want a set of leveling links - get 'em now. Last Call. RR​

Jeff, I didn't notice the problem until I had it all apart. Therefore, no idea on the orientation. It is entirely possible this was caused by bottoming out. When my shock was bad, I believe I was heading back from Texas. Bottomed out hard enough for the rear brake caliper to put a small dent in the edge of the rear fender. New dogbones from DiamondR showed up today (included the bolts but I am ordering new ones from Yamaha anyway as I'm not sure of the hardness of the DiamondR bolts). Allen from DiamondR put a note in the box to pass along the word that they only have a few sets of leveling link dogbones left. Due to slow sales of this item lately, they likely won't remake any more. Will start a separate thread about this to let everybody know. RR

Am doing my first service on the swing arms bearings. There are only 140,000 miles on them (and they have never been looked at - whoops). One of the bearings was rough, so I replaced them both along with the seals. Easy peasy. However, while cleaning and lubing the shock/support pivots, I noticed something troubling. The leveling links / dog bones holes have been pounded oblong. One of the links was also slightly bent. This isn't good. I pounded the link back flat and went to reinstall. It turns out the bolt is bent. Pounded it back straight also. OK, this is odd. Went to clean up and regrease the collar/bearings where the shock linkage attaches to the swing arm and found ---- That bolt is bent also. Took the collar (inner race sleeve) out of the swingarm and it was cracked. It appears the needle bearings are still in good shape. Not sure what caused all this damage, but I am guessing the leveling links were not of sufficient hardness and they were pounded out of round. Things went south from there. The OEM shock went out at about 110,000 miles and I have been running a Baron replacement. Didn't notice the problems when I changed the shock out, but I didn't really look closely. Am purchasing new bolts and collars along with new leveling links. Guess it will be next weekend before I can button up winter maintenance on the Venture. RR P.S. Looks like some of the bearings need replaced also.

I did the same with my kids when they were 18, 16, 12, and 12. Was hearding cats with the older two boys when trying to leave. An outstanding trip. Devils Tower +1!! Don't pass that by. Also, there is a loop through the Badlands with a gas station at the Eastern end. They have buffalo roller dogs

Beau-Kat - In a pinch, the decorative bolt in the battery side cover is the same. The decorative one is forward. The rear one actually holds the cover on. RR

+1 on Fool's idea. Also, keep a 'fake' wallet on you. A little bit of cash, old drivers license, expired credit cards, etc. Look forward to hearing of your travels. RR

Leroy, Tour tank works great with the Venture. 5 gal. will put the total at about 11 gal which keeps you under the 11.5 limit. You can mount on the passenger grab handles (with a board) and have it be very secure. Gravity feed to a 'T' in the fuel line and you are good to go. Have you done any IB rallying? There are usually a couple of good local rallies in Texas/Oklahoma each year. Although, with the mileage you show, local is relative. C'mon up to the MN1000 in June. RR

And while there, climb Pike's Peak.

Yes, the aux tank will just gravity feed into the fuel line. I close the aux feed once the aux fuel is empty. But, I suppose it doesn't need to be closed. RR

I have a ColorTune I would be willing to sell. Used it once and found I could tune it close enough by ear. Drop me a PM if you are interested. RR

Don't know how the Hannigan tank is mounted, but on my standard Venture with an aux tank mounted on the pillion seat location, I don't need a pump. Put a T in the fuel line just after the petcock. Reach around and turn on the valve to the aux tank and then turn off the main tank at the petcock. Run until the aux tank is dry. When the engine begins to sputter, turn on the petcock and then reach around and turn off the aux tank valve. This only works if the aux tank is above the OEM located fuel pump (I think). RR

A few at the Tilted Kilt and Hooters. The girls (daughter's team) had to go to bed early. Dads get to play. Look forward to coming back and riding more of the beautiful area. Only had time for some quick hits. RR

End of year? Well, I might still take a few local runs. But not likely anything out of the midwest. RR

My daughter was playing volleyball last Friday and Saturday in a tournament at Colorado College in CO Springs. Took off Thursday morning (40 degrees F) and stopped at my nephew's place that night - in Denver. 1005 miles in 16 hours 10 minutes (odometer miles - was probably about 980 GPS miles). Great weather the whole way (once it warmed up). And yes, Nebraska is really boring on I-80. Friday morning a short run down to Springs and watched a couple of matches (Elmhurst College won both - yeah). Dinner with volleyball parents at a local brew house that had Stone Brewery Arrogant Bastard ON TAP!!! Yummm. Was overcast all day. Woke up Saturday morning to overcast skies and periodic light rain. There was just one vb match Saturday so she was done by noon (lost Saturday). After saying goodbye to the VB parents, the team took off for Estes Park for some team building time. We parents were free to do whatever we wanted. The sun came out........ So, I thought I would ride around a bit. First - Pikes Peak Then - Garden of the Gods Quick dinner and an early bedtime. Woke up early Sunday morning to head home. Left at 5:49 am MT and pulled into my garage at 11:12 pm CT. 1111 miles (GPS miles) in 16 hours, 23 minutes. Weather in CO and western Nebraska was cold and raining. Glad I had my electrics along. About 3:00, the sun came out and I had to strip off several layers. Very nice riding for the balance of the way. The Venture ran great the whole trip. Just wish the cruise control would set higher than 80. Nice way to end the year. Time to break out the guns. RR

Just swapped out my E3 at 18,600 miles. Still had some miles left, but I am taking off this morning for Colorado (abt 2500 round trip) and didn't want to risk it. However, I just put on an old E3 take off with ONLY 14000 miles on it. That will get me there and back. Me likey the E3s. RR

I believe it is skydoc_17. However, his ads are in the Member Vendor section of the Classifieds. http://www.venturerider.org/forum/photopost/showcat.php?cat=17 RR

KLR250 or KLR650. Cheap and reliable. Not the best for inseam challenged folks though. RR

Same concept of this fancy throttle lock. But a whole lot less expensive. I like it. RR

It is. Go to your local Yammie dealer and it is likely what they have in their shop. The table only needs to be long enough to get the rear wheel on it, not as long as the bike OAL. RR

I wanted to know this too. So, I strapped a 1 gallon gas can on the luggage rack, filled the tank, and went for a ride. Without the extra gallon, I would have been walking at 211 miles. YMMV RR

My rear bearing (opposite from the pumpkin) went out at about 80k miles. It wasn't pretty. I will be changing all my wheel bearings out this winter and intend to maintain a replacement interval of about 50k miles (I have about 131k now). That being said, at 25k, I wouldn't worry about them if they roll smoothly during inspection with the wheel off. Ride on. RR