zagger

Looks to me that you have already taken care of most things that might give trouble. Not sure I'd worry much about the fuel gauge since the other fuel gauge, the odometer, works ok. I've never had a bike with an actual fuel gauge over the past 50 years of riding, and I haven't yet been stuck someplace after running out of fuel. I hope that you enjoy your 83 venture. My 83 is a great bike to ride and is very fast. Last summer on a back road, I came up on the tail end of a long line of harleys cruising along at the speed limit. After following them for awhile, I decided that I was tired of the pace and started passing. By the time I got to the front of the line I was going 120mph and left the nose to tail riders quickly. No idea what they thought when an old chopped venture passed them at more than twice their speed. zag

If you look at a normal gasket, it will completely circle every bolt hole. So - I would imagine that a crack in the outer edge of the aluminum surrounding a bolt should not have any effect. zag

Riding in the mountains of N. Carolina with my friend. zag

Well, there are certainly a lot of wires. Here is a picture of my 83 with the wiring exposed. I removed all the stock wiring and put in new wires which fit my modified bike better. I would try to carefully inspect the routing of every wire in the areas where they worked on the bike. Of course, if you can figure out which wires connect to the fuse which is blowing, that would be the place to begin. Since you may have difficulty spotting the partial short without knowing which wires to look at, you might want to try identifying the wires which go to the fuse by connecting one lead of your ohmmeter to the fuse in question and touch the other ohmmeter lead to a standard pin (like for sewing) which you poke through each wire's insulation (to contact the copper conductor inside). Ain't gonna be easy, but eventually you should figure it out. I really doubt that any mechanic would take the time to do this. If you don't own an electrical meter that can measure ohms, this would be a good time to get one! Might want to see if you can get a meter that will beep when it makes electrical contact with the probe wires so you can keep your eyes on the wires that you are probing. This meter appears to have an audible beeper for locating electrical continuity: https://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-MSR-R500-Multimeters-Electronic-Multimeter/dp/B01N9QW620/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1516463438&sr=8-6&keywords=vom zag

Sounds like you need different mechanics - or dig into it yourself. Or maybe they assigned the new guy to work on your bike and you really need the experienced guy to fix your problems. A stock venture has lots of wires and it won't be easy to find the short that is blowing fuses. Disassembly while very carefully observing the wire routing is probably the only way to find the partial short. Not nice - and very easy to wiggle some wires and make the short disappear for awhile. Of course, having it reappear when you are riding on some remote road would be a real pain. If the shop actually has an experienced guy, then talking nice to the shop owner might be the best approach to get the experienced guy to dig into it. zag

I've been using Metzeler ME880 tires for a long time and they are still available. Years ago I tried using a variety of tire brands just to see if the cheaper ones worked ok. At the time, I found that tire life was significantly different between brands. Basically cheap tires didn't last as long and the cost of shipping and installation, never mind the hassle, of changing tires pretty much consumed the difference in initial cost. Have things changed recently? No idea, but I'm still using the Metzelers. zag

Minus 10 this morning with a high temperature today predicted to be +4F (it is still -4F at noon). Our dogs head out the door with enthusiasm but within 2 minutes they were stuck out in the yard holding their paws up in the air. It takes lots of calling to get them to limp back to the house on three feet. Too freak'n cold to do anything outside or in the garage. It might only be Jan. 1, but I'm ready for spring! zag

Took my chopped Venture on a gravel road / off-road ride with a few other guys who all rode dirt bikes. Got stuck on a big rock in a river - rock slid ahead and the front wheel dropped into the hole it left. Finally had to get help pushing the bike ahead so that I could finish riding through the water. zag

So what do you have in the shop for the winter months? zag

Welcome! So how modified are you planning? They can be quite fast. I added manual Vboost (Vmax valves) but, in reality, I just leave them cracked open about 20% all of the time since the engine seems to like it. This is my '83. zag

Wind noise is my problem. Some engine noise, but the constant eardrum buffeting from the wind isn't very pleasant. zag

Well, I've never had much luck keeping standard ear plugs in my ear while I'm putting on a helmet. I just avoid the whole problem by using ear buds connected to my Garmin GPS with music recorded. It does take some looking to find ear buds which don't fall out when you put on a helmet. They must have a small body size and NOT have an extended plastic thing where the wire goes in. Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR-EX33LP-BLU-Style-Headphones/dp/B001RB24KK/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1509141311&sr=8-10&keywords=sweet+little+buds Unfortunately, this particular design was discontinued and the prices on Amazon are completely crazy. Probably something else is out there if you look hard enough. I'm currently using a pair made by Skull Candy but I don't see them on their website anymore. zag

All of the foam type earplugs are too long and just get swept out of your ears when you slide the helmet on. I've found that the common yellow foam type earplugs (like these: https://www.esafetysupplies.com/collections/ear-protection/products/e-a-r-classic-earplugs-200-pr-bx) work quite good if you cut them in half. That makes them short enough to stay in your ear as the helmet slides on. zag

$26K? I haven't spent that much on all of my bikes added together over 46 years of riding. Ok - I might be cheap, but I've owned quite a few nice bikes. That is nearly twice what my newest car cost - and it has a roof and windshield wipers! And four wheels. zag

If you cannot sit on the seat and have your feet flat on the ground (not just your toes), then the bike is too tall for you, IMHO. It weighs nearly 800 lbs. and won't be easy to push around or avoid dropping if it starts leaning over a little. Might be a good deal but it does seem like you might enjoy a lighter, lower bike for your first motorcycle. zag

I built an adapter which can sit on a floor jack and reaches upward to the bike frame. It has been quite a few years and I cannot remember if I figured out the dimensions or got them from someone on this website. Either way, I guess it shouldn't be too difficult to take the main idea and come up with dimensions that work for you. Mine was built in a shop which had the ability to cut and weld steel. I figure that the welds were done in a shop because they look much nicer than mine! zag PS Sorry that the picture is upside down! I flipped it over, but when I inserted it, it became upside down again. I guess it is easiest for you to just stand on your head.

Well, ya got me thinking. I don't often carry a gun although I do have a CCW permit. Most of the time, an assortment of guns are sitting around in the house, loaded but not at my side. Breaking into our house at night would be a seriously bad mistake. Probably not likely in our neighborhood. But one of our dogs jumped up last night and started barking like crazy. Bad dream, I guess, but you never know for sure. Knowing him, I didn't grab for anything to defend myself! zag

What a bunch of delicate blossoms! When I realized that my beast didn't have any Harley parts, I mounted my front headlights into a frame made with a welded Harley primary chain. But the joke was on me when I discovered that maybe 75% of Harley owners didn't even know that they had a primary chain. Overall, not a group with lots of in-depth knowledge about their bikes. The new Harley looks like it was aimed at the young rider market - the one group that they cannot reach because of their prices (nearly $18K with shipping). If they really want to gain some turf in the younger rider bike market, they need to get their pricing inline with the imports. zag

We have two iMac's and one of them pooped out very soon after buying it. Had a bad hard drive which was replaced at the Apple store. No problems since then. If you cannot start it up, there is a limit to what can be diagnosed. Might want to make sure it is plugged in and has power! zag

Wow! I can't see a quarter sized target at 50 yards. Sure couldn't hit it with a rifle shot. Probably good that anything I need to shoot inside my house will be much bigger than a quarter and much closer! zag

Interesting - but looking through their website under the "Legalese" section I only see a few states, and not my state. Any idea what that means? I also have to wonder why they keep putting the word "use" in quotations? Seems like some kind of legalistic mumbojumbo. zag

I would be interested to hear whatever you learn. Don't have their Carry Guard insurance, but I do trust the NRA to provide a solid service - just haven't convinced myself that $20 -$30 per month is necessary with the number of times I carry a gun. zag

Really! Was it previously owned by a senior home or what? zag

Geesh! I've never been behind a truck when a retread came off but I certainly see them laying along main roads. Here is another one to think about. On Sunday I was in my car driving at 70mph or so on a divided highway. A pickup truck pulling a camper merged onto the road a short distance ahead of me. On the back of the camper there was a rack holding several bicycles. As the camper moved into the road from the entrance ramp, it started bouncing a little. As it bounced, it became obvious that the bicycles were not tied down in any way and they started to fall off the rack right ahead of me! The first bike hit the road, bent the front wheel, and flew upward 10 or 15 feet into the air, with various bits and pieces going everywhere. I was turning as fast as I could into the left hand lane in an attempt to dodge the carnage. The next bicycle tipped downward and hit the roadway, bending the wheel but it didn't come completely off the rack. Fortunately, we didn't hit any of the bikes or bike parts that were flying all around us. I was concentrating on getting out of harms way and accelerating up beside the pickup truck. As I got even with the truck, I started honking the horn and pointing back towards the trailer. The driver was completely unaware of the disaster happening right behind him! Fortunately, he pulled off to the side of the road to see what was going on. I have no idea what happened to cars following us who found an entire smashed bicycle laying in the road. Not good. This incident made me even more wary of following other vehicles on my bike. I always try to avoid following large vehicles which prevent me from seeing the roadway ahead. Running into a tumbling bicycle with my car would have been messy but probably survivable. On my motorcycle, it would have been a catastrophe. zag

A couple of years ago I needed a new wheelbarrow and so I picked one out at the local hardware store. When I asked to buy it, they directed me to the unassembled boxes of parts. I told them that they did such a nice job on the floor model, I would rather have the fully assembled one and let them put another one together from all the parts. They seemed a bit irritated, but I did get the assembled one and drove home with it. Doesn't it seem that "manufacturing" something should include putting the parts together, not just tossing everything in a box for the customer to sort out? zag