KIC

I looked into switching insurance to USAA . I found out that they do not insure motorcycles they refer you to thier partner which is Progressive insurance I will not do business with Progressive insurance . You need to look at how they spend their money, who and how the owner donates his money to. He is anti american and is trying to destroy our country . Just Google it.

this is a sticky situation that will erect all types of lawsuits against manufacturers. It will really screw up and sucks the legal system dry. It's not hard to see that this is a bare bottom attempt to beat some money out of a deep pocket. why do I think this thread will never end.

Not bad for a 10 year old thread.... Just kidding Dan.....

The Harbor Frieght trailers are ok but I HIGHLY recommend replacing the cheap crappy bearing s they come with immediately. You have to take them to a bearing supply place to have them matched . Their bearings left me stranded in the mountains and it was a real pain to find bearings that would fit well enough to get back.

BMW disclaimer: if your riding excitement exceeds 4 hours see your doctor and buy a Harley Davidson.

That really looks.nice . Great job. I know what I'm going to do when I get home .

If you are riding, see if you can fit in riding through Zion National Park in Southern Utah.

I found a quarter between the spark plug in the cylinder wall on my number 1 cylinder when I changed my plugs for the first time. Go figure........

I might be able to get you one. But won't be back in town until next Friday to look into it.

So can we start now..?? Can we?? Can we??? Please ...?

Picture is too small. I don't have them, but would like to see what you are talking about. Can you post the picture directly ?

Congrats ! We are hitting our 29th this year. Man time flies doing time... Uh oh...did I type that out loud ..?

The best search is to go to the bottom of the search drop down bar, to where it says Google Search. click on the http://www.Venturerider.org button then type in your search. It will then pull up all the threads just in this Forum. It was frustrating for me until I learned that. Good luck.

My 89 is not accurate using the bars. I can go from 45 - 55 miles before the 1st bar disappears. then the second bar is good to around 80ish..then the rest disappear fast. I have been getting around 140 miles until the red light comes on. I have only been getting lower to mid 30's lately. It seems to be doing better since I fixed the airbox and crank breather on Saturday. We'll have to see what this tank brings on overall mileage.

There is a guy selling a set of Screaming Eagles slip on mufflers. My son wants to put something"louder" on the '87. States that they have 100 miles on them and wants $325.00 OBO. I know there are several HD pipes that will work on a 1st Gen. Is this one of them ?

...is to upgrade to a 1st Gen.....

The question doesn't clarify: With or without meds ?

Gary, There is a thread below that has someone looking for a black 83ish back rest: http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=37114

How far down (south) in Utah are you riding ? If you are going to the southwest end, ZION National Park is a great ride.

If I can give you a recommendation, get a 3-ring binder and start copying and keeping the info from posts. I can't keep up with all the good information on here. Oh yea... and you HAVE to give 2nd Genners a hard time or you'll get kicked out of the secret 1st Gen club... Here's a document I made for my 87 when I got it. I also just included a list I was given from here when I was looking at my 89:

Heres a list that was given to me when i first joined looking at an 89: Cut and paste this into a Word document and you can print it off: Oh Yea...WELCOME ! Checking out a Venture You can check that the coolant is topped up and clean before you buy. If it is low, or gone, or brown then you have a neglected pile of iron, and bid accordingly. Be aware that coolant leaks can all be fixed, at a price. I know this because mine leaked coolant everywhere, and it cost me to fix it. O-rings at $3 apiece are a minor purchase, until you start counting just how many of them there are! If the cooling system is in good order then the fan will fully control the temperature within the green zone in any weather, at a standstill. Some early bikes had poorly calibrated temp. gauges and they climb nearly to the red, but they should never actually get there. If the gauge reaches the red zone, then a cooling system rebuild will be needed (and some of it should be done anyway). Draining, flushing, cleaning out the radiator and physically cleaning the smaller pipes is a must. Sediment gathers there and flushing won’t shift it. Once that is done, regularly changing the coolant and flushing will keep it clean. Before that the oil and filter need changing, and the air filter needs cleaning and/or replacing. K&N make one which can be had for around $50 with careful shopping. You will never need another. If your bike came with one, have a beer to celebrate. When you change the oil for the first time, what comes out will tell you much about the bike’s history. Firstly, about three quarts should come out! It should not be black nor have any metal bits in it. Any “foam” … like mayo, around the filler, filter or anywhere else tells you that water is going where no water should ever go. Waterpump shaft seals, headgaskets and the frail cylinder head connectors can all leak and cause this. About those plastic pipe connectors. There are two of them. They do not come out in one piece and are about $20 each. Each has three of the aforementioned o-rings. Do the math. So the oil should be plentiful, free of slivery streaks and wrist pin clips, and dark but not too black. It should not have gasoline in it either (rare). If it is like that then change the filter and fill it up. Do not overfill it. About halfway up the sight glass is plenty. Anymore and it will be spraying through the breather and all over your beautiful new air filter. Leaks around the valve covers are common and not a big issue. Oil pouring out is a big issue. The original gaskets were poor but better replacements can be easily sourced. If any of the sixteen bolts holding the covers down is leaking, replace the rubber. If you try to tighten them down to fix a leak you will, over time, simply make it worse. If you are going to replace these gaskets then that is a good time to check the valve clearances. If they are uneven, especially if they are “tight”, then they need adjusting. This is fiddly but not hard and you can borrow the tool from members here. Replace the plugs and, if the plug wires are original, remove the caps and snip ¼” off the wire. Check the cap resistance. It should be 10k Ohms. Trying to fix dodgy caps is fraught with difficulties. I would get new ones. Moving on to the fuel supply. There is a hard to get to filter behind the fuel pump on the lower left of the bike. Change it. Cut the old one open and inspect the contents. A little bit of brown deposit is to be expected, but brown sludge or obvious rust means that the tank is suffering. Most of the tank can be cleaned on the bike there is enough access through the various ports. You did look down the filler for heavy rusting before you brought it home? It takes about five minutes to get the tank off my Triple, and about four hours (if you know what you are doing) to get the tank off the Venture. The petcock is likely to be stiff. Move it to “reserve” and leave it there. Use the gas gauge which is accurate, and carry a small MSR Fuel Bottle in the side case. That will get you a few miles if you run out. Be aware that leaking petcocks are a nightmare. Rebuilding one with new filters and seals will cost around $40. A new one can be had from about $54 up to $75, depending on where you buy. While you are down there, the gas pipe has a very sharp bend and could be quite close to needing replacing. While you were doing all of that charge the battery. If it looks old it probably is. Have it load tested or replace it. So …. We have fresh oil, fresh gas, new plugs and no obvious signs of distress. The coolant is clean and topped off and the battery charged. Turn the key, wait a couple of seconds and hit the starter. Unless it’s cold you will need little or no choke. Leave the throttle completely alone until the engine is running. Run the engine for no more than fifteen seconds then shut it off. Now feel each of the exhaust headers, carefully. They should all be warm. If one or more remains cold then the respective cylinder(s) are not firing. If they are all warm, then start it up again. Go quickly around the bike as it warms up looking for anything amiss. What you do not want to see are oil, fuel or coolant leaks. There will be a bit of smoke as it warms, but not much. There should be none from the exhaust. While we are on the exhaust …. One in poor shape will cost. Just the gaskets in the system add up to a hefty $100 if you need to replace them all. The collector can rot out, and it can rattle. The rattle can be ignored or fixed later. If the joints around the collector leak then it will need fixing. This is one to check before you buy because it’s a good negotiating point. Check out all the electrical components while it is warming up. Lights, flashers, horn etc. With luck they all work and the motor will warm until the fan cuts in. Let it cycle a couple of times before you shut it down. Check again for leaks. Tires should be less than ten years old (they have a date code) and free of any cracking. You are pushing 800lbs down the road on them and they need to be good. It goes without saying that they should have sufficient tread. Check the brake pads for thickness and freedom from oil. If the fork seals have blown then fork oil easily makes it onto the calipers. It’s obvious and needs fixing before you ride. Check rotors for thickness and that they are not binding. There should be no signs of brake fluid leaking anywhere, and the fluid should be changed. Check that the steering bearings are not obviously worn. While we are on the subject of hydraulic fluid, change the clutch fluid too J Now you can go for a ride. Just a few careful miles is enough. Check that the handling is not too strange … it should track true and not meander. The suspension should be compliant and not induce nausea causing your lunch to end up all over the instruments. The brakes should stop you in a straight line and the gears shift fairly smoothly

Moral of the story: Don't stop for traffic lights.

knock knock... who's there..? NOBODY..... back to TV...

Ahhh...thank you.

PM me an email addy and I will send you a word document from one of the threads here. Also, start a thread asking if anybody near you has a CarbTune. I just ordered one from the manufacturer.