Snaggletooth

LITTLE SIOUX, Iowa -- Four people died in a crash Monday evening on Interstate 29 near Little Sioux, Iowa. KETV NewsWatch 7's Adrian Whitsett reported seeing three bodies covered with sheets amid the wreckage of several motorcycles and a pick-up truck. A fourth victim died after being transported to Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha. According to the Iowa State Patrol, the driver of a red pick-up truck headed north crossed the center line and hit the motorcycles, which were headed south. The accident took place in a construction zone where northbound and southbound traffic run next to each other. Iowa Department of Public Safety spokesperson Courtney Greene told KETV NewsWatch 7 three of the victims were from Iowa, the fourth was from Nebraska. No identities were released Monday evening. The driver of the pick-up was taken by ambulance to a hospital for treatment. As of 8:10 p.m, Interstate 29 remained closed. Northbound I-29 traffic was being diverted at Little Sioux, Iowa. Southbound traffic was sent off the interstate at Blencoe. Ya just never know what's going to happen anymore. Damn shame. I've seen cagers trying to pass traffic in these types of work areas. Mike

Sshhhh! Don't call it a "SuperBrace".........It's a CondorBrace. The folks over at the "other" place get all ruffled up over saying "S________e". Touchy folks. But it's a good change for the bike for sure. Between the Progressives and "Da Brace" it really tightened up the front of mine. Mike

Gary, I had the same problem when I got mine and I didn't really solve it until I had pulled my fuel tank to treat it. Where the metal flange comes up under the rear of the false cover that the bolt goes into.......there are 4 bolts I think, that attach that flange bracket to the frame. If you loosen them a bit you can rotate that entire bracket front to rear a little bit. I was able to rotate mine to the rear far enough to pull the cover tab tight into the forward tab slot. Snug as a bug now and no wiggle. Just a thought. Mike

Glad ya got it figured out. Make sure to check your charging system to be sure it's keeping the battery topped off. Half the issues with these old girls is the battery is weak. If you find you need a new battery at any time I strongly recommend the DEKA AGMs. Great battery. Skydoc_17 can set you up and www.bohannonbattery.com can do it to. Can't beat them for performance and CCAs. Or the price. That's the best part. Don't lose your "key". Mike

Hiya Chop. The only real "sensor" in the fuel system is when the pump clicks and stops. That shows the carbs are full. At that point the floats have seated the needles and bowls are filled. Ok.....here is where you get to make your first tool to use on a Venture. On the carbs, actually at the brackets that tie the bodies together you have the four black rubber lines sticking out. Two from each side. These are the fuel bowl drain lines from the bottom of the bowls. Get some clear air line from a pet store about the same size as the drain lines. Then stop by the auto parts store and find a male/male connecting nipple that fits. The new line only needs to be about 6 inches long. Connect the new clear line to the black drain line where it comes through the bracket. If you look at the side of the carb body along the slide housing you should see a raised scribe mark at along the center line of the slider housing. This is your working point. Turn the key on and set the kill switch to on so you hear the pump clicking. Leave it turned on. (this works best if the bike is running but in your case, we do what we can) Open the drain line screw up several turns and hold the clear line straight up against the out side of the diaphragm cover. The fuel level in the clear line should be about......15 mm below that scribe line. (correct me if I'm off on that guys) Check each carb that way and make note of each level reading as you go. If the fuel level is higher than the line, it will be over flowing into the overflow lines off the top of the carbs and draining through those hoses to under the bike. Not your problem it don't sound like. If the fuel level is way below the scribe line you are not getting enough fuel into the carbs for them to work properly. That sounds like your problem. All four carbs should be as a close as possible. This fuel system is very low pressure. There is no way to attach a gauge to check fuel pressure like we used to do on the cars. This gauge is about the only way to make sure you have the proper fuel level. If the levels are way out of whack, then you will need to pull the carbs and tweak the tangs on the floats to correct them. That is your last resort at this point. Way down the road after we check everything else. Check the level as described to see where you stand now and use that for reference later if adjustments are needed. Ok....Sea Foam. May be the only product on the market today that actually does what it claims to do. Great product. It breaks down the varnish from old fuel all through the system. Check your local auto parts stores for it and be prepared to pay up to $10 or $11 bucks a can there. If you have a WalMart available they usually sell it for about $9.00. Folks have been finding out how well this product works over the last few years and prices have been climbing accordingly. Same company makes "Deep Creep". Get a can of each if you can. Basic tools for restoring an old bike. Ask Yammer Dan....I think he has a Sea Foam Billboard in his yard. Google it and read up on the product. Great stuff. But I'm still thinking the filter may be part of your issue, It may be letting enough seep by to get the bike started but not enough to keep the carbs fed. Sea Foam would be the best start for now. My bike had been stored for 9 years when I bought it. Dosed the tank with SF and drained the carbs and refilled them and let them sit over night. Drain again the next day and refilled them again and set over night. Repeated that for like 4 days. Then the bike started to fire on a run on its own. After it it kept running then the "ride it like you stole it" process began. The SF works best sitting in the system. Gives it time to work. Heavy doses of SF will foul your plugs over time. All that gunk you are dissolving fuses to the plugs so be prepared to change them out after you get it running. Speaking of plugs.......you have fresh plugs in there now? These bike really like: (1) fully charged batteries. (2) Fresh fuel. (3) clean plugs. Oh yeah...you have an '83. The fuel valve on you bike is on the right side of the bike and if I remember right under the plastic side cover by the rear foot peg. If I recall correctly you need to remove the cover to get to the valve on the '83. Later models had a cut out so you could see and reach it without doing that. It is probably set for "reserve" now. Most owners leave it at that because of the fuel pump. It's not going to flood like a gravity feed system. As long as it's allowing a good flow though the petcock and fuel select valve you should be good. If you pull the fuel line off the back side of the fuel pump (input side) you should have a good flow there. If not, the petcock is clogged, the fuel valve is off, or the filter is plugged, or a line is bad. So there ya go. Things to do. Mike

Good point Gary. Should have mentioned that.

Congrats on the finished project. The folks here talked me into and through the Progressive install a few years ago and several other projects since then. I have taken on projects that I would have never concidered before without the advice and information available from these guys. Gotta love 'em....they know their stuff. Enjoy the Progressives. They are a huge improvement. Mike

Morning Chop and welcome to the site. Ok, lots of things to look at here. I guess we should start at the carbs. When you set the bike up to start (key on and kill switch to run) you should hear a series of clicks from the fuel pump, priming the carb bowls. Do that cycle a few times until it don't click anymore. Then you know the fuel bowls are filled. Open the fuel bowl drains and make sure the bowls have fuel in them, and catch the gas in a glass bottle to see what else comes out. Should only be clear fuel. If that is not happening check the fuel line from the pump to the feed T at the top of the carbs. That line is probably still red if it's the original line. So 20 years old. These lines have been know to break down internally and collaspe or send tiny chunks of rubber into the carbs clogging the net filter in the carb body. More on that later. Ok, the fuel pump. These usualy fail completely, all at once. There is no kit for them so your ordering a used one is a good step forward if you need one. If it's clicking three or four seconds when you hit the key, you should be fine on that. Now you said it pumps fuel for a bit and quits. Follow the line from the input side of the pump, another possible problem hose and that runs to the fuel filter behide the pump. A bit a bear to remove if needed but possible. I replace mine every time I take the rear wheel off. Yep, that's the easy way. LOL! The fuel filter would be my first suspect. A lot of them have never been changed. Check it for rust debris, anything clogging it. Replace it no matter how it looks. Ok, if it looks like it might have rust particles in it, you may have a problem in the fuel tank. If the filter is filled with rust flakes the next filter will fill up fast also. If it is ...... remove the seat. On the top of the fuel tank there is a panel the mounts the fuel level sending unit. Four bolts and an electrical plug. Remove it and carefully look into the tank at the right side where the petcock is. Look at the pick up screens on the petcock. One on a stand pipe, the "run" pickup, and one right at the bottom of the tank, the "reserve" pickup. Both screen should be intact and undamaged and clear. Then what do you see on the bottom of the tank? Water, rust? If you have a rust problem change ALL the lines and filter and consider coating the tank interior. Ok those are about all the thing to check. If you do not find any problems with the lines, pump, filter or petcock add about half a can of Sea Foam to the fuel and cycle it into the carbs and let it sit over night and then drain the fuel bowls again and repeat the process. That will clean the gunk out of the system. There are a set of small net filters (1 built into each carb body) that can clog up also but that don't sound like your problem. Won't worry about them yet. So that's a starting point. Glad you got up early right? Like I said, I'd suspect the filter first. Good luck and let us know what you find. Mike

You got a fan here Jack. I did that to my old CB750 long ago. Had the fins smoothed off and sprayed the entire engine case, heads and jugs in a flat wrinkle black. Toasted all the parts in the oven to cure the wrinkle and had the fins polished to a mirror finish. Sweet! The paint and polish were cheap. The R/C Engineering parts were what caused me pain. I miss that bike. Mike

Sounds about right to me. I rarely use 5th gear until I'm hitting 70 mph. I've had a few interesting conversations with other riders about running down the Interstate in the 60 mph zome and then coming into the 75 mph zone. I can hear the other riders revving up and I kick it into 5th and roll away. Now I've been told by a few V-twin guys that I'm "Gonna blow that sucker up!" a few times. Nah....things like that don't cross my mind until I hit about 7,000 rpm. Love the sound of those Macs! These bikes really don't hit the power band until what?...........4,500 rpm? Mike

I went through something like that a while back. Just for chuckles try this. First jump the posts on the starter solenoid to see if the starter kicks in. If not.....then Run jumper cables from the negative battery post to the body of the starter. Run the positive cable from the positive battery post and tap the hot end of the positive jumper cable on the cable mounting stud on the starter itself. That should fire it right over. Of course make sure the battery is well charged. The point where the positive battery cable attaches to the mounting stud has shown to be a weak spot for me. I have to ask..... the car wasn't running when you jumped from it was it? Fine out what happens and then go from there. Mike

Another sucessful opration!

The VJMC is having a 3 day MetricFest here in Omaha this weekend for vintage bikes over 20 years old. Been tossing around the idea of putting the '84 into the Show & Shine just to see how it rates with the judges. It's not perfect but it's pretty good for its age. Be fun to hang out and see how it goes anyway. Going out Friday night to see if there are going to be any other Ventures around. Just of of curiosity Yama Mama, that kind of $$$ were they talking on that '02 Indian? Mike

Ok, I'm no expert on tires but I've been running Avons for the last two seasons with excellent wear. I've got about 15,000 on my both the front and rear on mine now with no issues. I noticed you stated pressure on the rear at 38 lbs. I run mine at 48 PSI cold all the time. I belive the tire states 50 lbs PSI cold. If the tire is seperating or wearing at the outter edges that would indicate low tire pressure and causing too much flex. And you are right. The wear bars was pretty much worthless from what other riders report. Once they hit the bars there may only be a few hunderd miles left on them. How many miles on yours? Mike

Scarylarry had a good point. Worked pretty well for me. I kept my mouth shut and took notes on everything that went on during the last 6 months of the marriage. The more she fought for and found out she couldn't get the more she fought to get something else. It got crazy. Her demands got so be so unreasonable that her lawyer finally asked the judge to allow her to withdraw as counsel right before our last hearing. The judge allowed it and gave my ex 2 weeks to find new counsel. She notified the court she would represent herself. Well...like they say ya know. It did not go well for her. I kept the home, the car, my possesions that I'd had all my life and got full custody of our 9 month old daughter. She pays support to me and she got stuck with over $23,000 worth of credit card debt that she ran up over the last few months. She had 19 credit cards I didn't even know about. Didn't see her again for over two years after the court ruled against her so it worked out pretty well for me and "da kid". She has only showed up a few times in the last 18 years so the daughter didn't have the issues to deal with between parents. That was a huge plus. Like I said, mouth shut, take goods notes and keep good records. Keep your cool as hard as it may be. I pays off in the long run. Hang in there my friend. Mike

Hey Bob. I don't know how far you tore down the first rotor you pulled but if you did not remove the engage clutch from it I would simply swap the rotors out intact. Should be fine. The tricky part of these things is the alignment of the engage clutch to the crankshaft when you tighten the three bolts. If it's off even a bit, it will cause the engage clutch body to work its way loose. I believe this was part of the reason for the failure on my second engage clutch. Just my thoughts on it. I know that Dano has a special plug that he uses when he installs the upgrade engage to set the alignment. You can eyeball it and get it close, and like you said you want get by for a while, but it needs to be spot on. I'd recommend new bolts also and make sure they get a solid stake when you set them. Don't want those puppies coming out. Check the springs for damaged ends and make sure they are straight. Sounds like you have some spares to choose form anyway. Sounds like the stator is on it's way out to. Damn the luck. Old engage look something like this did it? Mike

Only 91 degrees here in Nebraska today but the humidity is so bad you make gurgling noises when ya breath.

Hey Yammer... Same kit I bought. O-rings are ok, bushings would work, probably won't need the plate. Just throw out the brushes and buy better ones. Mike

Yepp. Good quality harmonic puller... Lots of padding under the rotor....or about a foot away actually. Lots of tension on the puller... A little propane torch heat to the hub of the rotor may help.... DO NOT BEAT ON THE ROTOR OR THE PULLER WITH THE BIG HAMMER!!! Or try my method. Tighten puller repeatedly. Heat the hub a little bit. Put big box with padding inside and set it about a foot away from the bike. Have a beer. Do NOT remove the puller! Go to bed. If you wake to the sound of a shotgun going off...the rotor is now in the box. Yep.....it worked for me. Unplanned but successful. These rotors do not slide off gently. They leave the crankshaft very suddenly. You aren't going to catch it in your hand (about 12 lbs) unless you are a catcher for a shot put team. Padding below and off to the side of the bike is important. Have fun.

I was thinking the same thing. Spanking and wine......

Hey Nate. See you made a little progress. I didn't have the washers left over. Still had the springs and spacers but tossed everything else. If you are going with the Progressives you really won't miss the anti dives at all. I just removed the short jump line from the calipers and used the short union bolt from the anti dives to attach the brake line to the caliper and cut down a flange head bolt to close off the port on the anti dive. Works just fine. If you don't like the PVC spacer in the kit for the springs you can adjust the preload with SS washers. That way you can sort of fine tune the springs by adding or subtracting washers as needed. I've changed mine around a bit over the last couple of years. The Progressives might feel a little harsh, or stiff in the beginning but they do relax a bit in time. Smooth out real nice after a couple thousand miles. Mike

Yep....do the upgrade!! No regrets here on mine at all. Works like a P'd off gorilla! Push the button and it's gonna turn over....no questions asked.

Yep.....had my fun with them. I got to tell ya what I think. Forget the kit! It has parts that would be useful if the starter was pretty much shot but more than likely will not be needed. If the kit would include the brushes....throw them out!! Take the starter out and clean it well. Clean up the armature and recut the grooves with a jewelers saw or file if needed. Inspect the bushings and lube them. THEN.....spend the money on a set of OEM brushes or a high quality replacement set! I rebuilt my starter when I first got the bike and used a set of brushes I found on eBay and much to my regret even advised others to the low cost brushes. Did all the things I mentioned above and the starter worked great. For a while..about a season and a half. I was having engage clutch issues myself and the starter got a workout for sure. I did the battery cable upgrade, added a DEKA AGM battery, R/R, fuse panel, upgrade stator and even did the upgrade engage clutch that Squeeze came up with. Then added the clutch upgrade to boot as the bike was doing so well. Then BANG!! No power to the starter. Nuttin. Chased everything through the system and found I had power to the starter end of the cable but the starter was not firing over. Pulled the starter and found the brushes to be burnt to a crisp. The OEM brushes that came out of the bike were only half worn down after 25 years. The 1 1/2 year old "cheap" brushes were gone. Period. The armature was burned beyond use. I had to buy another starter. I was lucky and Skydoc_17 saved my bacon and set me up with a 4 brush unit. The discount brushes were most certainly the cause of the failure. Just low quality. The OEM brushes are a bit pricey on this side at about $28.00 each. Well......it would have saved me some grief to spend money on the good stuff the first time. These starters are built tough enough for sure. A good cleaning and a little money on a good set of brushes should see you through. Now if you find the engage clutch to be slipping or chattering....talk to Squeeze. He can help set you up with the upgrade. That lil monster alone is one of the best changes I have made to my bike. And Dingys got a good thread here somewhere about doing the additional ground on the brush plate. Highly recommended. I have no worries anymore as to being stranded away from home because the bike won't start. But that is just my opinion. Mike

This is causing quite a stir locally. People here are not happy with the situation. It just gets sadder as it goes along. "BELLEVUE, Neb. -- http://www.ketv.com/images/structures/buttons/button_enlarge.gif http://www.ketv.com/2010/0728/24420851_240X180.jpg Shirley Phelps-Roper outside a Sarpy County courtroom. The widow of a Nebraska soldier killed in action is furious by a Bellevue's decision to pay thousands to the woman who protested at the funeral. Dee Bailey is also protesting the decision by federal judge to block the state's flag mutilation law, which let the protester, Shirley Phelps-Roper, largely off the hook. "It just infuriates me that she's allowed to stomp on a flag, the flag that my husband gave his life for," Bailey said. Bellevue's city attorney said settling the lawsuit with Phelps-Roper was in the best interest of the city. Bellevue paid $17,000 to the woman on Tuesday. The decision came a week after the federal judge permanently blocked the flag mutilation law, calling it unconstitutional. "You don't get to violate people's constitutional rights -- it might cost you something," Phelps-Roper told KETV NewsWatch 7 over the phone. The funeral for Bailey's husband, William Bailey, took place in June of 2007. Bailey and her family were physically protected from Phelps-Roper and her group, the Westboro Baptist Church, during the funeral. But three years later, the emotional protection is gone, Bailey said. "I was just enraged, like why should we have to pay her money?" she said. She said she doesn't want to take away the church's freedom of speech rights; she just wants them unable to protest at funerals. Phelps-Roper, however, said she'll use the payment to fund her protests. "We're going to use it to get this message before the face of this nation," she said. Bailey said she disagrees with the settlement, but that she understands the city had to do what was necessary. She said she believes the flag desecration law should stand. "That federal judge, to give her the right to stomp on that flag, it's … I know he's appointed. I wish there was a way to get him voted out or something. I just don't know where we can go from here," Bailey said. Bellevue's administrator declined to comment on the matter. The city attorney who made the settlement, Patrick Sullivan, didn't return calls requesting comment. Phelps-Roper still faces charges of negligent child abuse and disturbing the peace. Her attorney said he has filed a motion to recoup attorney fees and costs." I'll be adding another flag to go with my American Flag soon. And I'll be collecting flags from anyone not treating them with the proper respect. Enough is enough. Mike

I'll take a look in my old, "Keep it for Reference" stash and see if I still have the old washers from when I did mine. If nothing else they could be matched up with new stuff from the local hardware store. The waves are pretty easy to find but I can't rememebr how thick the center washer was. Not very thick. Mike