grubsie

I used 3/4" wooden dowels locked in place in the hose with hose clamps on my recent RSV. Cut them at 1" long and rounded off the edges so they would slip into the hoses without too much trouble. A little lube like Vaseline helps. Then I put duct tape over the holes of the tubes that the hoses slip over. On my last RSV, I used rubber plugs but couldn't find any for my recent RSV. The rear is very easy to do. The front takes a little more patience. It's far easier to plug the front one with the oil filter removed. I forgot about that with my current bike. I had changed the oil and filter about a week before I plugged the AIS. Oh well, just a little more patience and had to remove the AIS to get it done. Only took about an hour. The newer HD mufflers have 2 plugs in each. Mine came off a 2014 Electra Glide. You can drill them out with a 1 1/4" bi-metal hole saw with an extension if you want more sound. 1 is approx 12" in from the back and the other is approx 12" in from the inlet. After putting them on stock, they weren't much different sounding than the stock RSV mufflers. I decided to drill out the rear plugs. The sound is much better now. A little more rumble at idle and when getting on the throttle but not intrusive and barely noticeable when just cruising. I may drill out the front plugs to see how that sounds. If I don't like it, I can just go to friend of mine that is an independent (Indy) HD repair guy. He always has take-offs that he is just going to throw away so it's there's no cost for me except a few beers if I show up at the end of his day. He's where I got my current ones.

Just got refunded for the bar so they didn't have one. Oh well, back to the drawing board.

So far so good. I got an automated invoice from them this morning and haven't heard anything else so keeping my fingers crossed. Just out of curiosity, which passing lights did you get? I haven't ordered those yet and any lead/link would be appreciated. Did you also order the hollow bolts to connect the passing lights to the turn signals?

Try here. I just ordered one10 minutes ago. Scroll down the page for the RSV ones. https://www.shopworldofpowersports.com/yamaha-star-passing-lamp-mounts-detail.htm?productid=21119959

Great post baylensman. It's almost perfect, however you forgot about brake pads! Me personally, I like the ones that slow or stop the bike. I have been searching for "WearForever" tires and "LubeForLife" oil but nobody seems to carry them anymore.

I never heard anything good about the Avon Venoms. The new E4 is just that. New. Not enough feedback yet on how good they are. At least for me. But I have to say, I have been using the Avon Cobras ever since they came out and I will never use anything else but them unless something far, far better comes out. They are amazing to say the least. It's like riding on rails in the corners and rock solid cruising the highways. I had them on my last RSV and have them on all my current bikes. 2009 Road Star, 2013 HD Ultra, 1997 HD Road King. Also, on my recent RSV purchase, I immediately put a Cobra on the rear as the tire that was on the bike had a plug in it. I am going to replace the Shinko on the front over the winter with an Avon Cobra. I swapped the front wheel from my Road Star with the 130/90 Cobra tire onto the RSV to test the ride it. Glad I did. I am for sure going to replace the Shinko tire with a 130/90 Avon Cobra. They are that good. Best ride I have ever had on all the bikes I own. To me, the 2 most important items on a motorcycle are the tires and brakes. They are the best defense you have out on the road. Cost or mileage that you get out of either one is secondary.

It sounds like in the early part of your half century you didn't own any 2 stroke dirt bikes. To be able to trail ride for the day and be sure you got back home, you had to carry at least a half dozen new spark plugs, a wire brush along with some fine sandpaper and a bag of tools. Those early 2 strokes ate spark plugs like it was their job.

Maybe someone can clear my thinking on this kit. I already have Sonic fork spring springs, but thinking about lowering the front 1" by shortening the travel to make the bike easier to handle in all situations like I had when I did this to my last RSV.. I would have my machinist friend cut the spacers down to 1” that I have a link to or just have him make them like the last ones he did. These are the spacers I am talking about. https://www.baronscustom.com/catalog...559/index.html I understand how these work and the principle behind them and know that I will have to cut the top spacers 1" and all that, but I am probably over thinking things. I know that these spacers in the lowering kit go on the underside of the dampener piston along with the top out spring. There are 2 holes drilled in the lower end of the dampener tube near where the bolt that secure them to the lower fork, but if I remember correctly, there are 2 smaller holes the upper part of the dampener tube a little over 1" from the underside of the dampener piston. 2 concerns here: 1) As the forks compress, the top out spring and spacer have no pressure and can slide freely slide up and down the dampener tube as their sole purpose is to limit the fork length when fully extended. Can the spacer block/interfere with the 2 smaller holes in the tube depending on how compressed the forks are and can limit the dampening? If i remember correctly the larger holes on the bottom are for compression and the 2 smaller holes at the top for rebound. The spacer can't interfere the lower holes because top out spacer prevents that. I think a solution would be to have spacers made up so they fit tight on the tube and install a set screw in the spacer to lock it in place so it acts like it is part of the piston therefore never interfere with the upper holes. 2) With the 1" spacers in, the 2 top holes are now 1" higher in the lower fork. Or I guess 1" closer to the bottom of the upper fork tube. Would this change the timing of the job the upper holes in the dampener are doing? If that's the case, I am thinking I would rather have my machinist remove a 1" section from the dampener tubes, weld them back together, clean up the welds and slip a fitted tubes over the welds and weld those to the dampener tubes as backup strength. This would eliminate the need for any spacers. Ideally, the best, easiest route would be to be able to buy 1" shorter dampener tubes but I doubt they exist. I added the 1” lowering spacers to my last RSV that I had my machinist friend make and everything seemed fine. The bike handled way better for me, especially in slow maneuvers. It felt much less top heavy so much that I hardly noticed the top weight any more, plus the bike was much easier to manhandle around the garage and walking it in parking spaces. I am not interested in raising the tubes in the triple trees. Been there, done that. Didn’t like that option at all.

I highly advise getting Dion's (djh3) bypass relay even if you get a new ignition switch. It's good preventative maintenance to protect the existing switch if still good or a new ignition switch contacts from burning out. It only takes minutes to install. It's that easy and thanks to Dion, it's inexpensive. Last thing you want is to be several hundred miles from home, stuck in the middle of nowhere with a burned out ignition. I have installed them on my last 2 RSV's. It's one of the first things I did as soon as I got the bikes. I like the piece of mind.

Bought a set of 1 1/2" risers before before anyone replied. After digging into some old threads, i discovered what you guys posted about longer cables and hydraulic clutch and brake lines, so I decided to avoid that with the risers. All the existing cables etc. work just fine with the risers with a little re-routing and it was very comfortable for me on the last RSV. I am just kind of surprised that the extra 1/2" that the Flanders or Tour Deluxe bars give you requires the cables and hoses to be too short.

Absolutely awesome looking ride. Actually breathtaking! I have been twisting wrenches for 45 years so I know just how much work that was. And to get it all done in such a short time so you could ride for breast cancer. I commend you sir. Now if we could only clone several thousand of you, the world be such a better place. Truly amazing.

I checked the Mobil Site and yes , the Jaso rating isn't stated on the page or on the bottles but here's what the page says right in the beginning. [h=3]Full synthetic offering outstanding protection[/h] Mobil 1™ V-Twin 20W-50 synthetic motorcycle oil is formulated to help offer outstanding protection in four-cycle, V-Twin type engines – particularly those that are air-cooled and tend to run hotter than other types of engines. Mobil 1 V-Twin 20W-50 engine oil is designed to help provide the proper frictional characteristics necessary for wet-clutch common engine/transmission systems. The unique, synthetic structure of the Mobil 1™ motorcycle oil formulations offers advantages beyond conventional motorcycle oils of similar viscosities. Please reference our Mobil 1™ Product Guide for a quick look at specifications including zinc and phosphorus, as well as manufacturer approvals for Mobil 1 motor oils. I posted about missing Jaso rating on the m1 vtwin on another forum and the "Oil Guru" of the group had this to say: It just fine,remember its specifically designed for air cooled v-twins. As far as jaso rating goes,it used to be jaso rated AND now its not,why?, who knows. 1i Asked Mobil if its the same formulation when it was JASO rated vs non and they said there was no change. I used m1 v-twin in 2 diff R*'s i have owned with no clutch slip issues. Friend has an R* he has used m1 v-twin in since he got the bike, it now has over 70k miles and didn't have any oil related clutch slip issues. My friends R* went approx 50-55k miles before his clutch just started to slip which is a bit above the avg max the oem clutch spring normally go's using non jaso rated m1 v-twin which is an example showing that oil didnt cause premature clutch slippage along with again the same oil not leading to any premature clutch slip the 2 r*'s i have owned too. As soon as the clutch started to slip in my friends R* at 50-55k miles he installed a yami star perf clutch spring that has approx 20% additional clamping force while then stock weak oem clutch spring had while retaining the original oem fiber clutch plates and steel spacer plates his R* came with & the clutch is still working great with no slippage at 70k+ miles. So you should be good to go with M! v-twin 20w-50 full syn oil. BTW,a few yrs back there was lrg oil test done on motorcycle oils and Amsoil (jaso rated) came in 1st place and M1 v-twin (non Jaso rated) came in a close 2nd place out of a total of 17 motorcycle specific oils tested that were on the market @ the time. Happy motoring.

I am the guy that sold that bike to BruceB. I feel badly as I take great care of my babies. I put 10,000 miles on her and never experienced any shifting problems. I am glad that it is working fine now Bruce. I would take Du-Rron's advice and look at the external things he mentioned. Curious, I mentioned to you that it was very close to needing an oil change and gave you a new filter. Had you not taken the bike the day you looked at it, I would have changed it for you. I have only used Mobil 1 V-Twin oil with K&N Filters in it since I bought it as I do with any bike I own. Did you change brands? That could probably be the problem Du-Rron posted a link about. The clutch wasn't slipping, I put the Barnett spring conversion clutch plate in for future preventative maintenance as I do with any bike I own. I put one in my 2009 Road Star with only 16,000 miles on it also. Like I stated earlier, my bikes are my babies and I do everything to them I can to improve them and make them as trouble free as possible. Replace tires with my preferred brand Avon Cobras regardless of the condition of the tires that were on it when I bought the bike, Change the oil and flush all the fluids as soon as they are in my possession so I have a starting point to work with. Replace parts that are known to fail at some point in the bikes life with improved ones etc long before the problems arise etc. I wish I never sold that bike because of drinking the Kool Aid and buying a 2013 Ultra Classic. I have since bought another 2008 RSV with double the miles on it and am selling the Ultra. I am now in the process of doing all the changes and improvements to this one that I did to the one I sold BruceB. I just love throwing away money because of my stupidity.

I may be taking up on this offer over this winter. Wish I had known this when I had my last RSV. I picked up "new to me" 2008 RSV with 23,000 miles on it a couple of weeks ago. I doubt very much that the valves were adjusted. The person I bought it from ran it for 14,000 miles and only did basic maintenance like oil, tires etc. Going to ride it for now though as there aren't many riding days left here before it gets too cold.

I removed the tank, carbs, valve covers, dog bones etc. so that the Yamaha dealership had a clean shot at the valves. All they had to do was measure the clearances and replace the necessary shims. I believe they said 5 shims needed to be changed. I covered the open engine with clean rags and wire for transportation to and from the dealer which is only 15 minutes from my house. That was my plan right from the beginning since I didn't have access to the shims or shim bucket tool. Had I had access, I would have done the shimming myself.

2 RSV's ago and at 60K miles when I decided that the valve clearances needed to be checked. Not wanting to go through the hassle of doing the actual clearance checking and shimming, I put the bike on my trailer, remove everything that needed to come off to get to the valves. Drove the bike to my local Yamaha dealer and had them do that part of the work. I left the bike on the trailer and they brought it into the the shop that way. Once they were done, I brought the bike on the trailer back home and buttoned everything up. Cost me under $150.00. In my opinion, it was money well spent. I have been twisting wrenches on my bikes for almost 45 years and I guess at my age now, sometimes it's just easier to have someone else do some of the wrenching. I commend those of you that take on a job like this.

Better watch out. That 1600 is very addicting. They are an absolute blast to ride. I have the Yamabug like you. It all started with an 06 Midnight Venture that I loved. Due to the economy crashing, I had to sell her. Once things started to get a little better, I bought a 2000 Road Star 1600 for cheap. Loved that bike also but my wife didn't like riding on it so I sold it and picked up a 2002 RSV which I sold after a year because I found a 2008 RSV with super low miles a a great price. Wound up selling the 2008 RSV recently and picked another 2008 RSV. Don't ask. The previous 08 was Maroon and the newest one is Gray. I am hoping that the Gray one is faster. Then I picked up a 2009 Road Star 1700 fuel injected. I love the 1700 so much that I ride it way more than the RSV. Set it up as a solo rider and upgraded the suspension, custom exhaust, custom handlebars etc. It's a super fun bike and easy to handle in town and most back roads but I don't like it nearly as much as the RSV on the highway. I ride it almost exclusively when riding solo. The only workout the RSV gets is when we are 2 up riding. Now that you are enjoying your yamacruiser, don't neglect your RSV. She is too nice to be treated like that.

Looking to put new bars on my "new to me" 2008 RSV and trying to find some info on these bars. I basically like the stock setup except I would like them to extend approx 1 1/2 to 2 inches back towards me. On my previous 2008 SV, I used 1 1/2" risers with the stock bars that made the ride very comfortable, but they came into contact with the ignition cover when fully turned right or left. I had to do some serious mods to fix that problem and I don't want to mod again if I don't have to. I would like bars that fit close to riser setup if possible and don' know if the Flanders bars would be what I am looking for.

Well here she is sitting in my driveway. I'm happy, my wife is thrilled and all is right in the world again.

OK OK, so I bought into the Kool Aid about 2 months ago and bought a 2013 HD Ultra Classic with only 6700 miles on the clock from a widow referred to me by a friend. It only had 6700 miles on it and is chromed out to the max and in mint condition. Got it for a good price and thought that I was going to love the bike. After I bought it, I put my 2008 RSV up for sale on CL and it sold in 2 days. I have to say, after I had setup my RSV with a 1" lowered front end and a 1/2" lowered seat modified by myself along with V&H Monster Oval slip on exhaust with baffles from Smartpartz, I had the ultimate setup. My wife loved the bike and I have to say that I loved it also. After all it was my 3rd RSV and this one was setup with everything I ever wanted in a touring bike. That and the Avon Cobra tires, made the bike ride like a dream. Fast forward with the 2013 HD Ultra Classic and the disappointment started. The suspension front and rear sucks the tranny is very clunky, the seat gets very uncomfortable after a few hours for both of us, riding 2 up is way more cramped and power is no where near as responsive as the RSV. It also seems more top heavy than the RSV and the heat on the right side is damn near impossible to live with. My wife hates the ride and I am not thrilled with it either. I now have it up for sale and discovered that the HD market is flooded with used bikes. Not even getting a sniffle on it so I will likely wind up selling it for a loss just to get out from under it. Went on the HD forums to complain/ ask advice to resolve the problems and was stunned by responses that seemed like matter of fact and no big deal with things like just change the front and rear suspension along with the seat and handlebars etc at a cost of thousands of dollars like it's just expected on a HD. No big deal, right? Then to solve the heat problem and power. Oh, just upgrade to better headers , along with upgraded mufflers that are going to be louder than I ever would want and add a fuel controller which would all cost well over $1,000.00. No big deal, it's just the way it is with HD's. And, after all that, it still won't ride or be as comfortable, or ride as nice as the RSV. All the money spent in upgrades will cost more than it costs to buy a good running used RSV. Fast forward again, I have quickly gone back into the market looking for another RSV. After, making a huge mistake swallowing the Kool Aid and getting damn near castrated by my wife for selling my RSV, I have the chance to get another 2008 RSV and hopefully going to be able to grab it tomorrow. I have to admit, The 2nd gen RSV, after being setup the way I want, is hands down, the nicest riding motorcycle I have ever ridden. I can't wait to get back in the saddle of one again. Hopefully tomorrow will be that day.

The best tire depends on what you are looking for. Period! End of story! I say this for one reason and one reason only. If you want the best tires you can possibly put on your RSV as far as handling and control goes, then there is only one tire to consider and that is Avon Cobras. They stick like glue in all applications and they're like riding on rails in the twisties. Front tire gives you approx 12K miles and read 10-12k miles. After puting them on my 08 RSv, I have since put them on my 09 Yamaha Road Star and my 2013 Harley Ultra Classic. Won't ever use another brand tire again unless something else comes out that is better. If you are looking for more mileage out of your tires, the Metzler conti II's are worth looking into although they are no where close to the Avons for traction. Conti's are known to be slippery on wet roads. Don't now about anyone else riding these big touring bikes, but to me great traction is far more important than longevity and we are only talking about 1k or less in miles traveled. As usual, when it comes to tires or oil, take my opinion as a grain of salt. My other opinion? Mobil 1 20-50w v-twin oil. Gotta be the best right? Cause it's the most expensive oil option...right?

Always liked this forum since the day I joined. I have been a member here with and without a RSV and always felt welcome have always enjoyed reading post and replies of the other members. My only complaint and I am not going to name any names, but there is a guy here that contacts me every year saying he wants me to give him more money. He seems to really like the stuff.

I would like to know where he got that springer front end. It's just what I am looking for to use on my RSV for a custom mod this winter. I bet it vastly improves slow speed maneuvering.

Just came across this site on AC Helmets. Looks very interesting. https://feherhelmets.com/

So glad to hear you and your wife are going to be OK. This year my wife and I have seen more close deer than any other year and I have become especially concerned. Fortunately, only one gave us a real scare as it looked like it was going to jump in front of us, then ran parallel to us for several yards before turning back into the woods. While it was running parallel, I did the only thing I could think of at the time was to grab hard on the brakes to scrub off as much speed as possible. Had it jumped in front of us, probably the only thing I could have done was hold on for dear life. (pardon the pun) All the deer we have seen have been during daytime hours. But then again, we don't ride at night anymore. I am hearing more reports than usual year about deer accidents and close calls on several bike forums. Didn't mean to wander off topic ...Glad you 2 are OK.