RedRider

Mr. Rooster, I believe I have one. I am de-farkling my bike to sell it this spring and just removed it tonight. Let me know how you would like it sent to you. No charge. RR

I have two large pump bottles of orange hand cleaner - one in the garage/shop, one in the house. They last about 2 years each. It has gotten better since I started wearing nitrile gloves when working on really dirty stuff. RR

So a search on here for an ignition switch bypass circuit. It is fairly easy to implement (and remove back to stock). This would be much simpler and cheaper than changing out your ignition switch just to see if that's the problem. RR

Thank you. That may work since my daughter is on a dental fellowship at the tech school in Eau Claire. Will let you know when the time gets closer. RR

My son purchased an '07 Venture and I'm about to retire my 2000. Before I sell it, I want to move all the goodies to my son's bike. One of the items is a Hagan shock which will require getting both bikes up on a lift. I have one lift adapter but will need another. I know I could use wood blocks or hockey pucks. However, I really like the stability of the lift adapter. Anybody have one in east-central WI I could borrow for a weekend? It will likely be in April or May as he can't ride up here until the weather clears up. He lives in Baton Rouge. RR

Just one. Keep the other one in my tank bag in case it falls off. Hasn't fallen off in 3 or 4 years of being installed. However, I think I'm needing to up the magnification for this year. Gettin' old isn't for sissies.

Primary GPS on the throttle side. Secondary GPS on the clutch side. If I'm not in rally mode, only use the primary which is wired into the bike for directions and XM. BTW, if you need cheaters to see up close, use a stick-on bifocal lens on the bottom of your helmet faceshield. Works great. Search for 'stick-on bifocal' in Amazon and choose your strength. I place mine a little off-center so it isn't in my normal field of view. Tilt my head a bit to check the GPS and it is clear. RR

I'll have to look. At one time I had a set that I removed. Don't know if I kept them or tossed 'em. More than likely kept them if you look at the mess of stuff in my shop. Will check later today and advise. RR

I use a SENA 20S headset in my FF helmet which only allows BT. It hooks up to my GPS and phone so I can get directions and music at the same time. When I was hard wired, I used the J&M headset. Works fine although not loud enough with earplugs in. RR

You can search on this site for a write up on the fuel pump contact points. Cost about $30 and easy to change out. I too carry a spare fuel pump but have never needed it. Common problem with an easy fix. RR

PM sent.

Unfortunately, no. I still have OEM pipes on mine. Way back before the earth cooled, I sent my Bub pipes to @Squidley in exchange for OEMs as the Bubs were a bit loud for my taste. (Or did we trade them in person? It's been a while). RR

Looking for a windshield in decent shape to replace the old scratched and stickered shield on my 2000 RSV. I believe it is about time to pass Ol' Red on to someone else as it just doesn't get ridden much any more. Going to cull the herd from 4 bikes to no more than 2 and the Venture no longer makes the cut. However, I want to keep the windshield with all the rally stickers and need one to replace it. With @GoldenRider getting a really nice 2008, I can move the 2000 nice additions to him (Hagan shock, chrome radiator grill, volt meter, Russell Day Long saddle, engine guard supports, Carbon One lift, etc., etc.) and put the OEM items on Ol' Red for the sale. However, I need a windscreen. Sometime later this summer will be a really well maintained 2000 RSV with 160k miles for sale - along with a 2009 BMW GSA and a 1986 BMW K75. That will leave me with a 2008 KLR and money to buy something to do my long distance rallying (Triumph Trophy, BMW R1200RT, Kawasaki Concours 14, FJR, ???). What do you have laying around your shop that may fill my windshield need? RR

I have one of the narrow ones (bought off Amazon for $40-ish) and use it extensively. When the bike is on the HF platform lift, front tire in a wheel chock, I can tie down the front and lift the rear to get additional clearance to remove the tire. It also works this way for my BMWs and KLR. Have not tried it all by itself. It would be really scary having your 900 lb Venture precariously balanced on that small jack. No way. Although, you mentioned using both at the same time. Maybe. RR

Goldenrider and I got the rear head reinstalled and timed up yesterday. Hoping to have it roadworthy later today. Hopefully, no one will need to deal with this. But if you do, here are some things we found (in no particular order): - The rear head can be removed without pulling the engine. You get about an inch of clearance and it comes out easily. Don't know about the front head, but it looks like it should make it. - The Yamaha replacement head gasket has a coating already on it. - The inside edges of the head casting are very sharp, This makes it very difficult to slide in the long chain guide (front side). We used a jeweler's file (Harbor Freight set is nice) to put a small chamfer on the inside edge. This allowed the chain guide to slide in much easier and without damage. It is a really tight fit getting this guide in place around the frame neck. - The small rolled positioning pins for the cam shaft caps are easily damaged - AND VERY SHARP. We found using the smooth end of a drill bit to roll the edges back out works. A 1/4" bit should just fit inside. Be wary of these pins while spinning the wrenches. They can, and do, leave a nasty cut on your knuckles. - Put a little oil on the pins before installing the caps (you are also to oil the journals and inside of cam caps). This helps the caps slide on much easier. - Setting the correct timing positions is a PITA. It took a couple of tries as the positions of the cam shafts move when the chain guides are put in place. - Use a paint pen to mark the cam shaft sprocket and chain position. This helped to judge moving the sprocket teeth one tooth in the chain. - Having never done this before, we preinstalled the head with the old gasket just to see how it would go. This was a good thing as we weren't experimenting with the good head gasket. - Have a good service manual. We had both a Yamaha Service Manual and Clymers. They were in general agreement but one or the other will have the illustrations/pictures you want to see. - Don't set the labelled muffin tray of bolts on the floor next to the bike. As we were really concentrating on what we were doing (radio-and-TV-off level of concentration), pictures were not taken. Sorry. I will add additional points to this list as I think of them. RR

Flash, It could be a few things causing it to run rich. First (and easiest), check the mixture screws on the carbs. If you haven't dealt with them previously, they may be covered by a small brass cap. Just knock those off and throw them away. Make sure they are all set the same. Mine are 2-1/4 turns out (IIRC - haven't messed with them for a while). You will need a long flat blade screw driver - same as you need to sync the carbs. After adjustment, sync the carbs. Second, make sure the carbs are seated properly in the intake boots. I had one carb that was always difficult to sync and was getting gas smell when riding. After removing the carbs to do a valve shim check, I noticed the boot has folded in the last time the carbs had been installed. Reinstalled the carbs correctly and it sync'd right up and the gas smell went away. Third, the float height adjustment might be off. This is not uncommon. Of course there can be other problems with the float/needle too. There is a thread here that discusses setting the float height properly. Good luck and let us know what you found. RR

Bratman, I've never had to change the seal, but here is what it looks like. Appears the Tenere' Youtube procedure would work.

There is a center tab on the bottom of the trim. It can get worn or broken and no longer holds. Take and old keyboard key (or some other ABS plastic) and melt it onto where the tab should be. Shape it until it fits into the mating clip. RR

My son had an '83 blonde Venture I 'won' in a St. Judes fundraiser on this site. Don't recall who ran the fundraiser. Story time: My wife and I were vacationing in San Antonio (2013) while this fundraising auction was going on. It got down to 2 people bidding with just a few seconds left. I looked to my bride and she nodded yes - I bid again and won. After we headed home, I then asked the question that should have been asked initially. "Where is this bike, anyway" Houston. At the time, my son was living in Austin and didn't have a bike. He rode mine before he moved out and had an endorsement and a helmet. He took a bus to Houston to pick it up and rode it back to Austin. Starter gear started acting up and I bought one from Bongodave (IIRC) and had it shipped to my son. He rode back to Houston and I rode down from Wisconsin and we met at @Squidley's place to do the change out. Went great. Son rode that '83 (with an '86 engine due to previous owner's 2nd gear problem) until early 2020. He had moved to Phoenix and turned into a pretty good Venture wrench since it was his principal mode of transportation. At some point I convinced him to join VR and he chose @GoldenRider as his screen name. The bike I won has only been in my garage once when GR rode home to visit. It was really nickel and diming him and he found it a new home. Purchased a distressed Honda Valkyrie and got it running well. However, it didn't really fit him comfortably. Recently found a really nice 2008 for a better than fair price (had a reported stator issue). He picked it up in southern Illinois and brought it to our house. The stator problem was a poor soldering job in place of the stator connector and the plug for the R/R was forced in backwards. Resoldered the lines, turned the plug around, and we were getting 14 volts charging. That's when it was decided to do a complete maintenance job including the valve shims. It has gone seriously pear-shaped from there. Besides, I'm not ready to retire yet. Another 5 or so years. Just have to keep the 2000 going until then so I can finally put some real miles on it (only 160,000 or so on it now).

OK, some minorly good news. You don't have to pull the engine to get the rear head off - despite what both the Clymers and the Yamaha shop manual says. Unfortunately, Goldenrider had completely stripped the engine getting it ready for a pull. I have both clutch and stator cover gaskets, so we can button up the rest of the engine waiting for the head and chain tensioner gasket. We will make and install a set of raising links while we wait. Head is going to a machine shop tomorrow to get the valve replaced (definitely bent) and the bucket tunnel re-honed. As soon as the gaskets arrive, we will have it back together. Who wants to bet when this bike is done that the weather gods will dump a bunch of snow on us - it's been about 55-65F here most of the week.

@saddlebumThank you for a very complete and detailed option. I do not have a welder (or any welding skills) so this will be a next to last resort (last resort pulling the head). Update: Good news - we were able to purchase a bearing puller / slide hammer from HF (P/N 62601) and it pulled the shim bucket right out. Yeah!! Bad news: We bent a valve while dicking with it. So the engine needs to come out anyway. Boo! Dang. Goldenrider is really disappointed and frustrated - as am I. Between the two of us, we took an easy valve job and turned it into an expensive, time consuming project. Updates will be coming as progress is established. RR

Goldenrider and I got one of the shim buckets stuck in the head. (Don't rotate the cams without shims in the bucket!!). Now we can't get it out. Cam has been removed. Tried heating the area and putting an ice cube on the bucket. Nothing. We can rotate it by hammering it around, but it will not come up. Can't drill through it to put a screw in and pull it (not really comfortable with the thought of shavings in the cylinder anyway). We have a few neodynium magnets working on it now but don't have high hopes. Any thoughts without pulling the engine and removing the head?

Thanks RD. We bought some steel stock and are going to make our own. RR

+1 on the Barnett kit. Once I installed that (and bumped up to the heavy duty springs), I have had no issues. Previously, I was messing with my clutch every 30-40k miles. BTW, you can change out the clutch without dropping the oil. Just put the bike on the side stand. However, if the clutch has been slipping for a while your oil will be nasty and need changed anyway. RR

Looking for raising links for a 2nd Gen Venture. DiamondR no longer has them on their site, although I sent them a message to check. Anybody else have a set they are interested in selling or know where we can get them? RR