Ventureless

I looked like a big pumpkin as well until I got the heated vest. Along with having to put all that stuff on to ride, I felt I lost some of my mobility to ride properly. Now with heated gear, I wear 2 layers less and feel much better. I put it off forever and now that I have used some of it, I am addicted. I also do not really park the bike. Unless there is snow or ice on the road, that bike is getting ridden. I believe the coldest I have ever left the house has been about 5 degrees.

I ride from Warrenton to Chantilly every day. So roughly 30 miles. Up until last winter,I owned no heated gear. Last year I bought heated glove liners. They work great. This year I started thinking about a jacket or vest. I ended up winning the vest (brand new) on ebay for $40. It works great. And I have already pulled my stuff out. I don't even want to start to feel cold. I am looking at 1 piece suits now as well. I figure a 1 piece suit with my heated vest under it and the heated glove liners and I am good to below 0!!

This morning started my favorite weather for riding. I have a new tire that needs to be mounted this weekend, but I couldn't resist riding to work this morning. About 36 when I left the house at 4:30 this morning. Turn up the heated glove liners and the heated vest and away I went. It is such a good feeling getting to work and not have a sweaty shirt. I have had my RSV for right at a year now. I put roughly 17K miles on it since I got it and the miles put on between last October and last March were the most pleasurable.

This was happening before I did anything. All the lights work perfectly fine until you turn on the signals or flashers. I replaced both flasher relays and that was a no go. I am thinking of just taking the signals off and calling it a day. Signals are not required for inspection but need to work if they are on the bike they must work. So yes it might not be as safe but at least I would be riding instead of spending another week plus chasing something.

Didn't know there was one. But even if there is, that is not it unless that hazard light switch activates all the lights. My headlights and brake light are also flashing.

Ok so I went to wire up my LED driving light. Light works great and I am adding a second one. The problem is that when I power up the bike, all the lights start blinking. I thought ok it is the new light. Disconnect the light (which was wired separately from all other lights so no reason it should have been causing any problems anyway). Even with new light disconnected, all lights are just blinking like turn signals. So after going nuts for 2 hours trying to figure it out, I pull the plug from the flasher relay and all the lights (including new LED driving light) work perfectly. But no turn signals. So is my relay bad or could it be a ground or some other problem. Don't really want to spend $50 on a relay if that is not the problem.

Nope doesn't make sense to me. I know it wouldn't be any number off the tire. It would be on the plaque on the bike frame itself. Most likely on the front of the steering head.

Was looking at the sticker on a Vstar 1300 and I was just curious more than anything I guess.

Gross Axle Weight Rating There should be one for the front and one for the rear. Thanks

I am sitting at my desk at work with no bike around. I have searched for the GAWR for the Venture but can’t find it. Anybody know off the top of their head or are sitting with or near their bike and can check. I need the front and rear limits please. Thanks

Perfect. Thanks. I figure while half the bike is torn apart now anyway, it would be a good time to do it.

I want to remove the finned covers and paint them. Just want to make sure they are just covers. Nothing behind them I have to worry about or reseal right. Just a simple unbolt and remove and bolt right back on? Thanks

Has anyone made their own adjustable passenger floorboards? I need to raise mine up for my son. He can reach them if he slides belly up to my backrest. If he sits all the way back against the trunk, he can't reach. So has anyone made a bracket and can give me a quick overview of how they did it or any ideas for raising them. Thanks

And now I feel dumb that that did not come to mind. Thanks everybody. I might try to drain a little oil from the bike while it is ripped apart and see what happens.

Ok so I am feeling a little better. I am past the half way mark, but not to the top of the site glass. Next oil change I will add less. The only thing is that is weird, is that the blow bu would come from the tube attached to the front of the airbox correct? Well that line is perfectly dry and I still have oil filling into the airbox and on carbs. Or I should say 1 carb. It is only on the left side back of the airbox and the carb under it. No where else in that box.

Just as title says. I pulled the tank to change plugs and noticed lots of oil all over around air box on top of carbs. It is the back left side (sitting on bike) carb. There is oil all over the box, oil all over that carb. It is so bad, it is draining oil through the drain tube in the air box to the ground. So I guess I need to know why. How is oil getting from the motor up through the carb. I am assuming that my rings might be bad. I have no intention of pulling the motor apart and will sell the bike before doing that. How bad is it to ride like that and how long could I ride like that before having troubles. Bike runs perfectly fine and I have never had to add oil so it probably looks worse than it really is.

I am really only looking to use them for my commute in to work. That is really the only time I ride at night. I worry about the back roads to the highway. I leave the house by about 4 AM so no other real traffic to worry about. If things were different, I would be more worried about the oncoming vehicles, but it is very rare I pass anyone else until I get to the highway in the mornings.

You won't be disappointed. Great food and very friendly staff. At least every time we have been there. Make sure you save room for the home made desserts!!

Ok I am trying out a different light instead of the Walmart ones. It was about twice the cost of the Walmart lights, but everything I found about them, they seem to be pretty bright and cover quite an area. They are "offroad" lights, but oh well. Now the only problem is I won't be able to get them on this weekend when I tear the bike apart. I also only ordered one for now. I plan on attaching it right in the middle of the light bar under the existing headlight. Once I see how well it will work, then I will order a second and position one on each side of the light bar. Below is a link to the ones that I ordered. I got the short 18 watt one. http://www.carid.com/universal-off-road-lights/lumen-off-road-light-bar-9901541.html

While you were there, did you happen to eat at the Tellico Plains Bakery? If not, try it on your next trip there. It is delicious. We eat lunch there every time we are down there. And right across the street from the bakery, there is a small moto shop. Mostly Adventure style type stuff, but the guy does pack a lot of gear in the small shop. http://tellico-grains-bakery.com/

So basically you are saying I need to return the ones I got, get the 55 watt halogens, and just learn to freeze my a^^ off all winter!!!! I don’t think I will be able to do both heated gear and the higher power lights. Also lets say I did go ahead and do the halogens. I would still want to just wire straight to the battery or my extra fuse box and have a toggle switch in the fairing for off/on. Not hooked up to either the existing high or low. Would I still need a relay? If so why? I guess my question is what does the relay do when it is hooked directly to the battery (with an inline fuse and toggle switch)? It wouldn’t be tied in to anything else but the battery.

What is the total I have expendable for add ons? I have 22 watts for heated glove liners. Either 45 or 71 watts for the vest (depends on the size apparently but I believe mine is the 45W). So without the lights I am up to 67-93 already. If I add the regular halogens, I will be at roughly 177 watts (assuming each lamp is 55 watts). I am sure the LEDs are much lower than 55 watts per lamp. I could probably put 4 of the LEDs on it and still come in under the halogens.

Not sure how well they will light stuff up, but I figured I would try them. I would have gone with the regular 55 watt halogens, but like I said I worry about whether the charging system could handle my heated vest, glove liners, and lights at the same time. Not sure what the pull is on the LED lights either. I couldn’t find it anywhere on the box or online.

The 15 light round ones at the top. I looked at the 21 light oval ones, but the ones that go across have a weird ridge in the middle and it looked like I would have a hard time aiming them low enough not to blind people.

Ok like I said I am not good at all with electronics. I have not decided which way I will wire it yet. As far as the VA inspection goes, I am not really that worried about it. I had planned on using quick disconnect connectors so all I would have to do is unbolt the lights and undo the connectors. So maybe 5 minutes total taking them off and putting them back on. And I highly doubt I would ever get pulled over for it. So I may just still wire it straight to the battery and use an inline fuse and switch and be done with it. With my little knowledge of electronics, if I did go with your wiring suggestion, what relays would I have to get. Or maybe I already have them and I just don’t understand at all.