grubsie

Congrats are in order. I saw in my post in the tech section that "if" you were to buy another bike that it would be the new Star Venture. Man, that was a fast decision! Very happy for you. Hopefully it won't be one of the "500" that are being talked about in the recent thread in the Star Venture tech section. I haven't gone to the dealer yet but I will definitely check the serial numbers on them when I do. Congrats again!

Thanks for the positive replies guys and I am sorry to see some arguments going on here. Didn't mean to provoke anything with my post. Gonna try to see if I can test ride the 3rd gen soon and also see how much they will give me for the 3 bikes. I do love both my RSV and RS and the only reason I am considering trading them in is because of the 2013 HD Ultra Classic. The fact that now that I have it and can't sell it, is the factor that is driving my thoughts about trading all 3 bikes in towards the 3rd gen. It's not that I am dying to get the 3rd gen but I figure that the only way I am going to get rid of the HD is to trade it in. And hopefully trading in all 3 bikes will get me close enough financially to justify buying the 3rd gen. I would much rather keep riding the other 2 Yamahas for a few years, then purchase a used 3rd gen. If I could sell the HD, this topic would be off the table and I would stick to my RS and RSV. Only reason I bought the HD was because of the price I got it for from a friend of the family whose husband recently passed away and this bike was his baby and it shows it. Was thinking that the newer Ultra's would be easier to handle than the 2nd gen. In my opinion, it's not even close. It has heat issues. With this bike, it's on the right side. Cooks my thigh and my wife's right foot, so the 3rd gen left side heat can't be any worse.

Interested in hearing from the people that have put some serious miles on the the 3rd Gen. I am currently riding a 2008 2nd gen rsv,, a 2009 road star and a 2013 harley ultra classic. I am considering a 3rd gen venture and the motivation is coming from my regrettable purchase of the 2013 Ultra. I owned a few Harleys over the years and jumped on a great deal (so I thought) for this 2013. The power and handling is no better than the 80's-90's EVO's. Still 3" rear suspension and 4" up front. The stock rear shocks suck big time as they always did and the front is severely undersprung as they always have been. The power stock sucks big time also. Not even close to my 2nd gen. I also found it to be much more top and heavy and much more difficult to handle 2 up than my 2nd gen. Not to mention that it is still much more cramped 2 up or riding solo than the 2nd gen. OK, enough bashing. I have had the Harley Ultra Classic on CL and Facebook for several weeks and not even a sniffle from anyone. Since nobody seems interested in the Ultra, I am thinking about trading it in along with my 08 RSV and 09 RS towards a 3rd gen Venture. One of the local dealers has 2 transcontinentals on sale for $25,500.00. I am hoping that I can get enough for all 3 of my bikes to get close enough to their asking price that I can afford to make the deal. 2013 Ultra - 7,750 miles 2008 RSV - 15,600 miles 2009 RS - 20,100 miles I love, love my 2nd gen and 09 RSV and feel like I am going to be giving up on 2 great rides and will have to settle on 1 ride so I want to make sure it's worth it. I don't want a disappointment like my 2013 Ultra Classic. Thinking about maybe riding out the year longer and maybe (hopefully) get a better deal from the dealer. It's not like the 3rd gens are flying out the door. This dealer has had these exact same bikes in inventory several months ago. So, I am looking for honest opinions on the 3rd gen. What you like, what you don't like, etc. I am aware of the heat on the left side but have heard different views. Thanks in advance.

Installed the new master cylinder rebuild kit. The good news. I can no longer get the brake handle to touch the handlebar. The bad news, the problem of the brake rub noise was still there. Bought some used calipers off ebay and the noise is gone. Doesn't make sense to me but that's OK as the brakes are back to normal.

I am having the same fast flashing with the stock bulbs. I have a 2008 RSV. The rear bulbs have the 2 off centered pins. The original front turn signals that had the 3 pins were replaced with the older style 1157 sockets and bulbs. The flashers have been flashing rapidly ever since I got the bike. I even tried to using 1156 bulbs in the rear by grinding off one of the pins and no luck. My next trial is to get a hold of some of the 3 pin bulbs for the front in Amber by grinding out the necessary pins for them to fit. Only problem is, I don't know what number they are. My local automotive parts store does not have them and don't know what they are.

Going with what you say. Just ordered a MC rebuild kit. I did a test run today that convinced me it's the master cylinder. A little unorthodox but Did it anyways. Pulled one of the left caliper off the rotor and placed a piece of metal that same thickness as the rotor in between the pads. Taped it in place and wired secure the caliper to the front fork and took the bike down the street with only the right caliper working. And the results and noise was still there. Got back to my shop and swapped the setup so that the right caliper was off the rotor and the l3eft was on the rotor and got the same results.

My front brakes recently developed a rubbing noise. The sound is similar to when you first apply the brakes lightly and you get that noise that sounds like holes in the rotor rubbing against the pads. Like a ZZZZZ as the rotor spins through the pads. It's very slight and doesn't seem to drag on the front wheel and the bike freewheels like normal. If I apply the brakes while cruising along the noise gets louder for a while and slowly goes back to a very slight rubbing noise but never goes completely away. It's almost like the pistons in the calipers aren't backing off enough after braking. I took both calipers off the rotors and the pistons slide in and out with little effort. They weren't dirty but I cleaned them anyway and tried again with the results being the same. So now my thinking is the master cylinder isn't creating enough vacuum to pull the pistons back enough. I also noticed that when I apply the front brake with a strong grip and keep squeezing, I can slowly bring the lever all the way to the throttle handle even though it is resisting very strongly. I tried the same thing on my Road Star and no matter how hard I squeeze, I can only get the lever to go so far. Does this make sense to anyone?

Couldn't agree with you more.

How do they actually mount to the bike? Any pics of that? Thanks

Here's the deal folks, Like it or not. This is a global market now. Far different than most of us old timers grew up with so it's a little hard for us to comprehend. This crap started long ago here in New England when the shoe shops , the staple of NE manufacturing all moved to the Philippines way back in the 60's/70's looking for cheaper labor. It all happened very quietly for years and now here we are 50+ years later wondering what the hell happened in the USA. Bottom line: it all comes down to labor costs, not regulations, or taxes. Just labor! All product globally now goes out to the cheapest labor, be it China, the Philippines, Ecuador, or Chilie. Heck, even the Chinese are subcontracting labor to Cambodia and Thailand etc. Like it or not, for manufacturing jobs to remain in or come back to the US, our labor costs are going to have to decrease to the levels around the world in order to compete which most likely not happen anytime soon. Ahh! but they will at some point when we have so many people looking for work that they will accept any work for any pay and it's just a matter of time here in the US. But what the heck do I know.

Rineharts, IMHO, are hands down, the best sounding slipon mufflers ever made for v-twin motorcycles. However, they are far from ideal on the RSV V4. The bark from the pipes gets very annoying in a very short time. They actually gave my wife and I headaches. I went to the Vance & Hines monster ovals which had their own problems until I installed the Smartpartz baffles in them and life has been absolutely beautiful since. Unfortunately, Smartpartz sold out to JPCycles and the baffles are no longer available.

My local dealer still has no idea when they are going to have one of the new Ventures in their showroom so I decided to travel a couple of hours to another dealer that has 2 Ventures, 1 red and 1 gray and also 1 gray Eluder. I immediately gravitated to the red one as anything in the red category has always been my favorite. I have to say though the gray Eluder and Venture looked much nicer than the red to me. Anyway, as excited as I was to finally get the chance to check the bikes out, I honestly have to say in my opinion that I was not impressed in the least. I was actually kind of let down. All I kept thinking was 28K and what was I getting but a bunch of plastic that I didn't really care for. Not much in the way of chrome anywhere. The salesman kept talking about the TC package which quite frankly, is not something that doesn't do anything for me. In fact in a couple of years with the way technology is advancing, it's only going to be obsolete anyway. They wouldn't let me test drive it but I wasn't interested anyway. I don't know if it's just the old sole in me, but I love 2nd gens because they still look and feel like a real motorcycle, just like HD, no matter what style they produce, they still look and feel like a real motorcycle. I don't give a dam whether it's a v-twin or v4 or straight 4 or whatever, it should still look like a motorcycle. Imho, stick this motor in a 2nd gen which would allow a lower drivers seat height and you have a winner. Oh, and why doesn't "any" Japanese manufacturer get the concept of the whole quick release anything, like tour pack or saddlebags, or sissy bar? I know on my 2nd gen, I am getting sick and tired of laying on the floor while attacxhing the RSV lift so that I can jack the bike up then back on my back again so I can check the rear tire pressure before each ride, or have to remove 1 saddlebag (4 bolts) so I can access the valve stem to check the pressure. HD allows quick removal of the bag with 2 quick turn clips. Can't imagine the work involved to get to stuff on the new Venture with all the plastic it is carrying. 28K is all I keep thinking about. If I was to drop that kind of coin, HD or Indian looks like a much better buy to me even if bought used. They dealer had 2018 Indian Roadmasters for 3 grand more than the Venture so to me, the Indian looks like a better option. But then again, I am a traditionalist when it comes to motorcycles. Got back on my 08 RSV with 15K on the clock and felt even better about riding it. 28K vs a bought and paid for 08 RSV that rides as nice or better than anything else I have ever ridden. I think I will keep my current ride for the foreseable future.

Just received my 1st Guardian Bell as a gift and am wondering where anyone else with a 2nd Gen is locating them. I first drilled a small hole in my right footrest bracket but it looks like the bell is too low to the ground so I then connected it to the lower front bolt on the right lower. I like the looks of it on my first try on the footrest bracket but afraid it's too low and could possibly lose the bell?

If you left the Monster Ovals Stock without the baffles , I couldn't agree more about the drone. Put the baffles in and it's like magic. Unfortunately, it looks like Smartpartz has sold their business to JP Cycles so the baffles are no longer available.

Thank you Flyinfool. I thought I was losing my mind. It's not what it used to be but it's not that far gone yet.......I hope.

Is there any difference with different 1157 bulbs? My right front turn signal bulb burnt out so I stopped at Autozone and bought a 2 pack of the Sylvania amber 1157 bulbs. Changed out the bulb and the running light worked but the turn signal blinked really fast and the left blinked normal. Tried switching the front bulbs then the left blinked really fast and the right blinked normal so I know it has something to do with the bulb. The burnt bulb and the still normal working bulb had "1157 NA" on them. The bulbs that were blinking fast had "1157 ALL" on them. They didn't have any other amber 1157's to choose so I stopped at the local mom and pop auto store and grabbed a couple of amber bulbs from them and they had the "1157 NA" on them and they worked perfectly. I went back in and bought 6 more for spares. Oh, and all the 1157 NA bulbs say China on them. I am stumped but also happy the turn signals are working OK.

Which model Wolo or Stebel horns are used? Oh and Freebird, thank you. Just one more item for me to open my wallet for.

It's a nickname that I have had ever since I was a young boy. It's stuck with me forever. I have other nicknames too, but this a PG rated forum so you will just have to use your imagination.

Yeah, but we all already know that. And we didn't have to spend millions on advertising either. Very nice scoot. My favorite year and color. Hint: I have the same year and color. I bet yours is faster than mine though with all those wind resistant chrome addons though. Enjoy!

Don't know what brand tires you are running and too lazy to read back in the thread if you stated but I wouldn't go below 36 lbs on a front tire. Just won't on a big bike.

Now that's funny stuff right there! I guess I wrote things wrong in a manner that I didn't realize as I originally posted. Not unusual for me as I talk that way to people all the time also and usually get quizzical looks or answers that I wasn't looking for. I was trying to emphasize through my observations on how and when I notice people waving. During weekdays/work days, typically increases most later in the day as more people get off work and have time to ride. The weekends when most people have time to ride and the waving starts in the am as soon as they get riding but it definitely fades later in the day as all the weekend warriors are tired and heading home. It seems that between 3 & 6 PM weekdays, especially the closer to towns you are riding, it's hard to go 10 minutes with 2 hands on the handlebars before someone is waving at you. Earlier in the day, you can ride several hours before encountering another bike, so I don't mind waving then. Just not every 2 or 5 or 10 minutes for several hours on end. On the weekends, it seems that it's non-stop waving all morning unless you get out on some good back roads where most of the other like minded tourers are that just want to ride. You know, just ride. Seems that the closer you are to population areas, the more bikers you encounter and the more waving is happening. But funny thing is, get towards the end of the day and all these riders that would have waved earlier in the day are no longer waving. I am getting older and grumpier. That's one of the rights of getting older. Not really that grumpy though, yet. I like waving as much as anyone else. Even though it's getting old depending on the context, I still enjoy it. Lord knows I have been doing it for over 40 years. But gosh darn it. I am getting old. Is it OK if i decide to hold on to my handlebars with both hands longer than 10 minutes at a time while riding without feeling a little guilty?

I agree. It's better to have a little more air than not enough air. Double check air pressure first, then move on to the neck bearings if the air doesn't work. They may need to be tightened up a bit and /or regreased and re-torqued. You can check by doing a flop test which requires you to lift the bike with a stand. Loose neck bearings can cause all kind of handling problems.

Not to rain on your parade, but Dennis Kirk has Avon Cobras at one heck of a price right now. I like them so much that their the only tires I will put on any of my bikes any more. Just bought a set for my RSV as I will be needing new tires in a little over a month. Also, out of curiosity, what gauge are most everybody using to check their tire pressure? I use this one. I check the tires before riding whatever bike I take out and also carry it on whatever bike I am riding if I am taking a long ride like over the weekend. Seems to be very accurate. https://www.autozone.com/tire-repair-and-tire-wheel/tire-gauge/slime-0-100-psi-ultimate-digital-gauge/9581_0_0

Probably been discussed before but this is my take. First off, I am getting older and probably grumpier, so this wave thing is has/ is getting a little old to me. I don't even bother to wave unless the oncoming biker waves. My wife on the other hand, waves to everyone which is fine by me since I don't have to. Heck she even waves to people in their yards or walkways etc. I am fortunate with my line of work to be able to ride my bike(s) daily, typically the entire day, weather permitting so I get quite a bit of riding in each year on the wonderful back roads in New England. In my observations over the years what I have noticed is the following. Weekdays (typical work days for most people), during the main hours of the day, very few of the "few" riders I encounter bother to wave. Just the way I like it. Then typically from around 3 in the afternoon on, the amount of riders on the road increases and the percentage of those riders increases far more the the percentage of the earlier day riders. (Sigh) On the weekends, all the warriors are out, and everybody and their brothers and sisters are waving. This goes on for a good percentage of the day and finally drops off around late afternoon and typically more so out on the back touring roads here in New England. I think the warriors are tired by then. Yeah, I am getting older and grumpier.

There's nothing out there like a pillow top. They are hands down the nicest seat I have ever ridden on. I have a Corbin on my 09 Road Star that is like sitting on a rock. I took the pillow seat off my RSV and secured it as best I could on the Road Star for a test run. Didn't fit very well and didn't look that great but I rose 2 hours in total comfort . Now to findioa a way to make a pillow top seat fit and look good on a Road Star will make me a very happy man.