grubsie

I am with you on this cowpuc. Unfortunately, in all my searching on the web, there are all kinds of progressive springs for 1st Gen Ventures and 2nd Gen RSTD's, but nothing for 2nd Gen RSV's unless the springs in the RSTD's and RSV's are the same. My research shows different part numbers for OEM springs. I sold the '06 this past spring M61A1MECH , I did all the things you mentioned. The tins were the exact same size. the distance between the tins and the fender mounts were the exact same length when on the jacks. I had them on jacks side by side when I took the measurements.

Last fall I was riding a 2002 RSV midnight with 47K on the clock when a deal for a 2008 RSV Standard with only 4,700 miles on it came along on a deal from the one owner bike that I just couldn't pass up. During the winter, I stripped all the goodies from the 02 and put them on the 08. Everything but the rear lowering kit which I have that put aside in case I decide to put it on the 08 this winter. While checking out the differences between a Midnight and Standard, I noticed that the fork tube covers on the Midnight were chrome and the Standard were stainless. But then I noticed something else with the bikes sitting on their side stands. The distance between the lower fork tube covers the fender mounts of the fork lowers seemed shorter on the 08 vs the 02 so I measured the distance. The 08 was 5" and the 02 was 3 3/4". Both bikes had 0lbs air pressure in them. Sat on both and noticed the 08 front end dropped considerably more than the 02. Applied the front brake and rocked both bikes and the 08 appeared much softer than the 02. The front end on the 08 also dipped much easier on the road than the 02 when I applied the brakes I haven't checked the fork oil on the 08 yet, so maybe that is the culprit. Can't imagine that the oil could affect the sag like that when the bike is just sitting there. I just resorted to running 7lbs of air for this past riding season but it is on my todo list for this winter. Is there any other reason why they would be sagging besides the oil? This bike was untouched mechanically, so I know that no one has messed with anything previously. That being said and since I am going to be tearing into the forks anyway, I read a couple of old threads on here about guys using Sonic springs with reviews about them giving a better ride. The details are limited though as nobody did any kind of detailed write up on them. They look like a low cost and effective improvement so maybe the way to go? I went to Sonic's website and there isn't a contact number posted so I used their online "Contact Us" form so hopefully I will hear back. The older threads: http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?56603-Any-threads-about-resealing-the-front-forks-and-replacing-the-springs&highlight=sonic+springs http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?55285-Beefier-springs-fork-oil-change-and-steering-head-lubed!

I'm starting to line up my winter projects for my '08 Venture and it seems to me that I read a thread here some time ago that one of the members here does seat mods. Anyone have any info on this?

I didn't have the tool or shims last year when I wanted to check the valves on my '02 with 47K on it, nor did I really feel like doing the job, so I set up an appointment with my local dealer. The night before the appointment, I put the bike on my single bike trailer and stripped everything off the bike right down to exposing the rockers. Covered the engine with a clean rag and drove it to the dealer the next morning and dropped the bike off, trailer and all. Got a call that afternoon that the job was done. Picked up the bike and paid $100.00. The mechanic told me that he did the adjustments with the bike still on the trailer. Said he wished every valve adjustment was that easy. I put everything back on that night and had the bike running again. Best $100.00 I ever spent on that bike.

I haven't put the rear lowering kit on yet although I am thinking about putting it on over the winter. When I had it on the the 02 it didn't drag the stock mufflers. When I put my Vance&Hines Monster Oval mufflers on they dragged when I turned on to , or exited steep inclines so went back to stock. I also lowered the front end 7/8" on the 02 which really helped in getting my feet flat footed on the ground. There isn't much difference in feel from the 02 with the lowering kit and the 08 without as far as sitting on the bike goes for being flat footed. The 02 was a Midnight Venture and the seats on those are much stiffer than the pillow seats on my standard 08. Seats do make a difference. The softness of seat on my 08 made my decision not to put the rear lowering kit on for this season. Since it wasn't lowered, I have been running with the monster ovals and no dragging. I put custom modified handlebar risers on that allowed me to lower the from 1 1/4" by raising the fork tubes in the triple trees which made a huge handling difference along with lowering the bike some more. After hitting a huge pot hole, I wound up trimming 5/8" off the bottom of the lower fork tins/covers because the because the front fender mounting ears on the fork lowers hit the tins on impact. That solved the problem. The lower fork tins still cover the lowers if I put the fork tubes back in stock position by about 1/8" if I wanted to go back that way. I also put on Avon Cobra tires which have a lower profile than most other tires which helps lower the bike a little more, not to mention that these tires stick like glue. I like them so much that I now have them on all my other street bikes. If I lower the rear this winter which most likely happen, I will also cut the length of the Monster Ovals so they just reach beyond the rear of the saddlebags. I think the reason they dragged when I had them on the 02 was because they extended about 3 1/2" beyond the rear of the saddlebags.

Thanks for the video. I really didn't need to see that. My brain hurts now. Gonna go have have a couple of cold brewskies to alleviate the pain.

That wasn't annual growth. It was only one quarter. You need 4 straight quarters of 3% to call it annual. Has nothing to do with the current admin or previous admin. Business and profits control it. There were several 3% quarters during the previous admin but balanced out around 2% over 4 full quarters. Eggzactly! And all this talk about lowering taxes on businesses in this country that will bring the jobs back and create millions of good jobs is a full bag of crap. These businesses could be tax exempt and it still won't happen. It's just more profit at the top. The cost percentage difference of labor in this country versus the 3rd world countries far exceeds any possible tax reductions all the way down to zero. We can't afford to work for the wages in other countries due to the cost of living in the US, so stagnant wages are here to stay. Anyone who knows anything about running a business knows that labor is the biggest cost. My business has morphed from having 12 employees 30 years ago to all subcontract workers now. Still costly, but far less expensive than carrying them as employees. Any tax breaks would only go in my pocket. Although it would be nice for me, it does nothing for anybody else nor would it increase any business. I restore 1960's Hondas as a hobby and sometimes sell them when I need $ for a new project. I also buy and flip used motorcycles that come my way if I think it is a good deal. Most that I buy are from people that need the cash. The market has changed considerably. Years ago, the bikes would sell right away and usually for asking price. I typically sell in the $1,500 to $6,000 range and people always had cash in hand. Now, people are low balling or trying to trade things or they have to get loans. It's sad really. There's just no expendable money out there for blue collar working class people. When the day comes that I have to finance a $1,500 motorcycle, it will be the day that I give them up. It would be all too obvious that, that money belongs somewhere else in my life.

Got the wheels back this afternoon with the new Dunlop on the front. Put them back on the bike and took it for a quick spin. All is back to normal. The damaged tire was a mess. Didn't notice it on the rim but the rubber was split almost all the way through behind the rim lip on the right side of the bike and the left side was split on the inside of the tire on the left. They said they have never seen a tire like that without rim damage. Surprised it held air. Glad it was changed before I experienced a serious blowout.

And the winners is........... cowpuc! Brought both wheels to the dealer yesterday afternoon. Just got a call that the front tire is junk, rear is fine. Arrrg! Brand new Avon Cobras this spring with only 5900 miles on them now. They only have Dunlops in stock so I am having them install one so I can ride out the year on it. Something about the sidewalls and the tire not balancing properly. I will look at it when I pick up the wheels. Still better than all the hours involved in tearing the front end apart to replace the steering head bearings.

Yeah, 2nd Gen. Did the front end flop test and it holds steady. Should have mentioned that in my 1st post. Everything was fine until the impact yesterday. Loose steering head bearings come on slowly.

Something happened yesterday while my wife and I were out for a ride. We were traveling around 40 mph around a blind corner when my front tire, then rear tire, got swallowed by a large rut across the road. Damn near almost lost control. At one point, my hands came off the handlebars. We really hit hard. I have no idea how we didn't crash. My arms and shoulders are very sore today. We hit so hard that the front fender mounts on the fork lowers dented the lower fork tins. Anyway, didn't notice anything afterwards yesterday, but today when I took the bike out, I noticed that something didn't feel quite right at slow speeds. At anything under 25mph, if I take my hands off the bars, the front end wobbles but doesn't feel like it is wobbling while my hands are on the bars. It just feels not right like it's tight. Especially in corners. Above 35 and beyond, it feels fine. I took the bike out on the highway and took my hands off the handlebars at different speeds with the highest I dared at 70mph and no wobble and the bike felt normal. I took the bike up to 105mph and it felt great. As soon as I got off the highway and down to slow speeds the handlebars would start to wobble again when I took my hands off them. What I did so far. Looked the front end over closely to see if anything is bent. Took all kinds of measurements and everything looks fine. Checked the the front and rear suspension air pressure and they both checked out fine. Same with the tire pressures. Put the bike on a lift and checked to see if there was any play in the steering neck. Checked out fine. Strapped my dial indicator to the forks to check to see if the wheel ran true. Checked out OK a couple thousanths max which is more than acceptable. Did the same to the back and the rear wheel checked out OK too. Then checked out the runout of both wheels with highly technical jigs holding straws to see if the wheels were out of round. They checked out OK also. The rims look fine also. So now my thinking after this process of elimination is to take both tires to the local dealer to check the tire balances. My thinking is maybe a weight came off one or both tires on impact since we hit so hard. Think I am on the right track? Anything else I should check out?

An updated intake manifold with a single carb conversion? https://nh.craigslist.org/mcy/d/1986-yamaha-venture-1300-with/6256460518.html

Your memory might be shot, but you are correct on your observance. That hub in the picture is junk. Completely worn out and needs to be replaced. Wondering the same thing. Most likely shot also with the hub looking as bad as it does. Edit: OOPS! Never mind my post. My memory is shot although I doubt it comes from my age. It seems that the OP was fortunate to have another good hub and stated the final drive was fine. I'm sure he was just showing how bad things can get without greasing the rear regularly.

So glad to hear you are OK. Some scary crap out there. I try not to think about it when I am riding. I can't help thinking that thank God that you were riding a bike with lowers. Don't even want to think what the repercussions would have been if you didn't have them.

Good job. Glad you are back in business. I knew a cold chisel or flat head screwdriver would do the trick to spread the washer from the weld. Just be sure to squeeze the washer back when you get the new bolt in place. If Ace doesn't have the bolt, you could buy a die or stop at a local machine shop to clean up the threads. If that doesn't work for you, you can go here and order one. https://www.boltdepot.com/Catalog.aspx?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-dzY5aLG1QIVVTyBCh1Z0wWaEAAYASAAEgKFkvD_BwE

Almost looks like somehow, some weld got through the washer to the bolt head. If you have a cold chisel (preferred tool)or crappy old screw driver along with your hammer, try spreading the washer away from the bolt head a little bit. The only other option would be to use a dremmel tool to grind the weld off.

Would ride with these bikers anytime if they were in my area. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/08/04/watch-50-motorcyclists-escort-a-bullied-sixth-grader-to-his-first-day-of-school/?hpid=hp_hp-morning-mix_mm-bikes%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.75284990586e

I had a 2002 Midnight Venture that had the stock wheel with the same symptoms you are describing. Turned out that the triple tree was loose in the frame neck. I jacked the bike and I rocked the front end back and forth and it was loose. Snugged it up and no more flex.

Funny you should mention a 160. I have one that is almost restored. I have to re-spoke the wheels, although somewhat easy, I still hate re-spokeing so the project has been stalled until I get up the nerve to do it along with a few other do dads. Plus, I have an extra special project that fell into my lap by shear accident that has been getting my attention a lot lately. A 1951 BSA Bantam D1 Lucas Plunger Model, 3 speed, 125cc 2 stroke. I have almost all the original NOS parts for it now. Has taken me a few years to locate the parts. (Mostly from the UK). A whole new type of project from what I am used to but really looking forward to the challenge. Rare as hens teeth in the US, especially the Lucas model. So far after as much research as I can find, there are only 4 others known to be existing in the US today. A guy I met next door to the sandblaster that I use is a big time British bike guru and he was #@%%$@ his jeans when he saw what I had. Here's 2 pics of the Bantam when I bought it and a pic of what it should look like when fully restored.

Thanks for all the kind replies. It's nice to see that other people enjoy and appreciate the older bikes. These bikes started the Japanese revolution in this country. Almost everyone I know started out on a Honda. I have been restoring 1960's Hondas for years. I just love these bikes. There's just something about bringing these bikes back to glory from the dead that gets my juices flowing. To hear them fire to life for the first time after so many years left to die and disappear. One of the members here "zagger" stated that it is a labor of love. I couldn't agree more. I don't ever make any money on these bikes if, and when I decide to sell them. I get what I have in them financially with purchase sale and materials but can never account for the endless hours man hours bringing them back to glory. They are like my children. I know them through and through. When and if I decide to sell them, it won't be to just anybody. They have to love them as much as I do. I recently sold an early 1963 Honda CA95 150cc, Benly / Baby Dream to an ederly gentleman that had one when he was a kid and has always wanted another one. I say early 63 since from 1959 to 1963 1/2, there were several things different about the bike than from 1963 1/2 to 1966. Most notably was the tach on the right side of the head that never connected to an actual tachometer. Also notably was the ever elusive air pump located just under the seat on the left side of the bike. No air pump on the late 63 on. It took 2 years of searching to find one. Other things like the knee pads on the gas tank are also different. The early 63 had more rounded pads vs the late 63 with more rectangle pads. It was real fun sourcing the correct parts for the early 63. The gentleman I sold it to rode it in a couple of Moto Giro events. I wish I could find the pictures he sent me. He absolutely loves the bike and has contacted me a few times to let me know how she is doing. I maybe going to visit her again in a few weeks for a ride with my 68 SS125A. Should be a blast. 2 old guys chugging along, at, or below the speed limits with these speed demons.

It's a 1968 Honda SS125A Super Sport. When I bought it, it was a mess. Had been sitting for many years. Had tons of surface rust, gas tank was super rusty inside. Motor was stuck. Cause was a rusted stuck shift fork drum. All engine bearings and seals replaced. Tons of labor cleaning up surface rust off all the interior engine parts. Cylinders bored with new pistons, Valves lapped. Body and fenders etc, sandblasted and repainted. New battery. New wheel bearings and tires. Not to mention all the misc small details. Assembled everything and it started on 2 kicks. Did the final carb adjustments and it purrs like a kitten and an absolute blast to ride. On a good day, with hurricane winds at my back while going down a steep decline, I can possibly get up to 55mph. A real speed demon!

I would go in the direction that "sldunker" is talking about. I doubt that the clutch slave is causing this particular problem as it's on the other side of the motor and sits low. There's no way that it could leak to the other side like that unless you are riding in a constant right hand turn. Especially up higher like it looks on the clutch cover. If the clutch slave seems to be leaking, that's most likely a separate issue.

Be very careful performing this procedure is you choose to do so. 1st gens have a tendency to backfire out the carbs without the airbox or even just the airbox cover. You could be minus some eyebrows for a while. Don't ask me how I know. It sure sounds like electrical to me. Check all the connectors, get some dielectric grease and apply it inside every connector you can find. The TCI is a black box that controls how the bike fires. It's located in an ungodly location under the backbone of the frame under the tank. Getting at it is next to impossible, never mind removing it. Most guys wind up removing it from it's current location and tape or velcro it to the top of the airbox cover. There's just enough room.

Just noticed, is that a WLA there you had/have? there?. Do you still have it? I love those friggin bikes. There's a '42 for sale near me 'cept the asking price is $16,500.00. A little too rich for my blood. Maybe you could motor out here and buy it for me with some of that retirement money of yours.

Had the same problem. Bought an 08 RSV late fall/early winter last year with just under 5K miles on it and it still had the original tires. They looked great and had plenty of tread on them. When I finally had the chance to really pui some miles on it this spring, I had the same whine you are talking about. As tires get older, the rubber gets harder. Put new Avon Cobras on the the whine disappeared. Bet it your tires also.