Geobob

Funny thing is, I was just making up a set of motorcycle jumper cables in the garage because of this problem. I bump started it on Friday in the middle of a ride where I had my wife's daughter on the back and my wife on her bike. Talk about messing up a nice ride. It bump started very easily but I spent the rest of the day worried about it starting. I was also kicking myself for not having jumper cables on the bike. But then maybe they would not have helped.

Well I guess that answers the question as to whether on not I should dig back into it. I told myself I would not do that unless I was changing the starter but then I started thinking maybe I would. But now, no way. I am not pulling that thing unless it is to replace it. Thanks for the input. What did you replace it with. There is a number of them on Ebay but they all looked like new replacement motors. Did you find a used one or a new replacement for Ricks electronics.

So I have completed the grounding upgrade and the problem may actually be worse. The bike finnal would not start once it got hot. Maybe the wire came loose. I think at this point it is time to just buy the four brush starter

Very interesting mounts. I have never seen those. I was tninking of just putting a mount on the engin gard where I have the highway boards like you have. Your not kidding about the price. $279 for the pair and then the mounting hardware for another $79.

What model of ridgid lights did you install. I looked at their website and saw som rather large square ones on a bike. Where didmyou mount your lights

So ismit safe to say installation will include removing outer fairing. that is not a big deal, I was just thinking about other things that could be done at the same time like runing wires for the running/drivi g lights and a stereo power booster.

Thanks that is very interesting. I have owned this bike for over 23 years and still learning about it. I dont recall if the bulb is the right one or not. I do know that I learned my lesson on my CBX about installing a higher wattage bulb. It destroyed the reflective coating in there and now it does not light up much at all. So I guess it is possible that it is a lower wattage bulb. I will have to check it but really I want to chuck it and put in the LED

Ok what is the reserve lighting unit. Is this what has my warning light on saying I have a light out or headlight out but I really dont. I tried doing a search but nothing came up. And will this LED light fit in where the old one did. And did the headlight cover fit back on. For the money its worth just ordering it and trying to figure out how to install it but i am curious and a bit confused. Strange i seem to be that way most of time these days LOL

So actually what I ordered from the other post was a 4 circuit switch and we appear to need a 5 circuit switch. That part number I don't have and I don't see on the Mouser site. Any suggestions.

Thanks I see which one you installed. I am looking forward to this work. Not just a repair but an actual improvement.

The switch part number in the original post is a momentary switch I don't see as being the correct one. I ordered it and now have to exchange it for the correct Mouser Electronics part number 611-7401P3YZQE. I have not completed to project yet but I did order the two Din PLUGS from digikey.com CP-1380-ND and CP-3180-ND. I could not find the original post again but there was some question on the wiring. I am going with this wiring diagram. I put my trust in anyone that can build a Vmax Venture.

I am seeing only one optionunder that part number and it is the 35w Slim HID kit. It is only $21.95. They have others but not under that part number.

I really want to do this mod. I have a thing about poor headlight performance. J I am having trouble on the opt7 web site finding the product. Pictures would great. This sounds like a must do modification.

Well the starter motor ground mod did not do much but make realize that I should do this clutch mod and find a four brush starter. Is this modified clutch repair still available..?

This is too good of a thread to let die. So some how I missed this thread and took some ones advice and just cleaned out my starter last year when I had it out. Well that did little good. While this issue of hard starting when hot has been a bit of a pain, the bike has always started when hot so long as I have not let the fan draw the battery down while idling in stop and go traffic. That taught me to turn up the idle a few hundred rpms. I was worried about over heating and did not look at the volt meter. So after 74K trouble free miles I pulled the starter today and made the mod. I don't understand why the 4 brush model would be that much more difficult since it appeared that from where the pictures showed the wire attachments, that 12 gauge wire had to run over the top of the brushes. Correct me if I am wrong about where the wire ends up running in there but it is not a simple attachment and then close the case up. I got it closed up and everything moves freely but I have my suspicions as where that wire is smashed into. What ever the case is, we will find out how well it works tomorrow. I was thinking of running a ground wire from the bolt through case to the grounding strap on the motor. That seems simple enough. I guess if I had read completely throught this thread before attempting the repair, I would have gone and found a 4 brush starter that was reported to work fine even with out the added grounding. My biggest concern about this whole job is getting the thermostat housing/cover to seat back down without messing up the o ring. I had a leak there last year and went through a lot to get it solved. When I took it off the o ring was damages but it was not leaking. I have what might be the old o ring or an other from some other application. I hope it goes back together. I remember that a too large of o ring and you wont get the thermostat cover down. I had some coolant leaks also that I dealt with by tightening clamps. I hope all that cooling system parts go back on with out leaking. If this works I will say it will be worth it since I have been putting up with this hard starting for probably 20 years now. Could this bike be getting better with age. I will say that changing the speakers did not help any. I guess it needs and amp. But I still remember the original speaker to be very loud and clear. Maybey my hearing was just better back then,

I realize this is an old thread but I had to read it just because it sounded interesting. My opinion regarding the v4 engine either Yamaha or Honda is that if you have a problem that requires motor disassembly, you are probably better off finding a used motor and swapping. Unless you really enjoy the motor rebuild, it just time consuming and expensive. An 83 venture is almost worthless these days because they have been left outside and poorly cared for over the last 30 years. The motor is probably the one thing that may still be worth something. My experience has been the body work and electronics are typically a mess but the motor may still have lots of life left with some carb cleaning ect. I would shop for a used first or second gen venture and swap out the motor. That alone is no simple task. As nice as this bike is ( and mine is still in excellent condition) they still don't sell for much. So getting a new used motor has got to be less than the cost of the time money for a rebuild.

This was exactly what I was looking for. My cassette deck is no longer of use to me since I have no cassettes anymore and one of the tracks does not play. Using it as an input for either my sat radio or smart phone would be great. I now have the detailed info to add the input plug. I guess I should have realized it would be this simple. That plug on the bottom of the deck is not hard to get to. I would not have know to put in the on off switch.

Yes I actually want to repair my cassette deck. My left or right cannel does not work. I have both a smart phone and sirrus radio have output jacks that a cassette adapter can plug into. Both cannels used to work and the cassette adapter was a good solution since I prefer to keep the stock radio in the bike. It all seems to still work fine except for this problem. The FM transmission to the radio works good from the old sirrus radio since it transmit for a hundred yards or more (they have since tuned them down). The cell phone fm transmitter does work nearly as well. Dropping a cassette adapter into the player would be a good option since I don't mind running the wire over to the cell phone. Buying a new used deck seems like a costly and questionable option since they are all a bit worn looking. So has anyone tried to get the cassette deck from their bike (1988) repaired.

I just ordered a pair for $21 with shipping. At that price its worth taking a chance. In my small town of Williamsport Pa you won't find any 4" speakers on any ones shelf.

Well this is what I was looking for. I replaced my stock speakers 20 years ago with something that was supposed to be better but while they probably could have handled more power had I wanted to install another amplifier, I never did so I ended up with speakers that never cranked up as loud as the stock ones. They still sound ok but I really cannot hear them very well at highway speeds. I also probably paid $70 for them. I suspect these new ones for $21 will be an improvement for very little money. I'll post again once I get them installed.

I just ran into the same problem with my 88. My lower radiator hose, (Hose 3 part #26H-12578-00-00 ) looks like it is leaking and no longer available from Yamaha. These forums are so much help. I'll try the Auto Zone part number and see what I get. I kind of figured it should not be to difficult to make something else work but having the advice of someone that has already done it sure saves a lot of time. I still am confused since Mobiliet states the part number in the first post but later is discussing what sounds like a completely different hose. Did I miss something.

Can anyone confirm that this radiator cap will fit my 1988 Venture Royal. It said it would fit an XVX13 and I think my bike is an XVZ13D. the price on ebay was only $27 so I thought it was worth a try..

So what is a good used rear rotor worth. The new replacement ones go for $180. I thought that was a bit high. Should be plenty of used ones out there somewhere. I thought they only way they warped is from idiots like me leaving them on while changing the tire.

This is interesting to me since I have been considering the purchase of a new touring bike. My biggest hold up is that I find nothing at all wrong with my Venture except for the fact that I worry about the reliability after all these years. There are so many times I get on it and feel this bike is perfect, why would I want something different. I had it repainted last year so it looks 95% as good as it did new and everything still works. There is really very little weathering what so ever. I have seen a few others and they all have looked like they spend a lot of time out in the weather. So I ask myself what could I get for it if I sold it. Maybe $4,000 but from what I am reading here, I think I'd be lucky to get $3,000. Ok I only paid 7k for it with 600 miles on it in maybe 1990. Its been so long I don't remember what year it was. I really think I will probably end up keeping it even after I buy something new. When the day comes that I have a new ride that I get on more often than the venture then maybe I'll be able to part with it. Only time will tell. It would sure be nice if some day these things would start to go up in value. Something tells me that won't be for a very long time.

Thanks guys, I think it probably was water around the front to plugs maybe. I did not get a chance to pull plugs or wire or check which cylinders were miss firing but it makes sense. Funny, I was joking that morning at the hotel about all the guys with there Harleys and how they travel with there bike covers. I guess I need to start doing that LOL. One other think was the idea that heating up the water around the plug is what really caused the problem. I believe it was described that the water turned to steam once it heated up and that the steam is what caused the problem. This sounds like what happened. We left the hotel and headed country and about 1/2 hour later the problem stated to show itself and get progressively worse. Interestingly the bike would idle and run at low rpms but midrange it would miss consistently and then at higher rpms it would intermittently fire. I guess if flood the cyclinders with the hose I might be able to get the problem to repeat itself. I did not notice the tack fluctuating so I guess its not the TCI box