Snaggletooth

Most seals are sold as single items, so order two. And a word of caution.......buy OEM seals. I have run into issues with aftermarket seals on several makes of bikes where the seals were not quite matched to OEM specs. Some are too thick and do not let the seal seat properly along with the retainers. I seen some posts here concerning that same problem. Mike

I ended up...by a stroke of pure luck getting a 4 brush unit when my original one burned out. It is much stronger and no hot start issues at all installed with the upgrade cables. Finding a used one seems to be tricky part.

Steve, I wouldn't order a single part until you see the inside of the starter itself. You can only guess at what you might find. You can bet it's going to be dirty, dry, cruddy looking armatur, and worn brushes. With any luck it can be cleaned up, lubed up, the simple ground mod done and get it back to working properly. But like I told ya, I rebuilt mine that way and installed the cheap brushes off eBay. It worked great.......for about a season and a half. Then it went booommm!!! The brushes were gone in that time. The original ones, 25 years old were only about 1/2 gone. The new ones were well....gone! I'll recommend, if needed, .....buy the OEM brushes. They would probably run about $50 to $60 for the set. Check with Skydoc_17 to see what he can do for ya. But you may luck out and be able to get things working without spending a lot of $$$. And keep in mind that many times you can get a decent used started for less than a set of OEM brushes. NOTE: Just saw the update on Skydoc.....might not be able to help for a while. Mike

If you jump from the car......do it with the car off. OK. Too much of good thing is a bad thing for the system on these bikes.

Trader, try this to isolate the problem. Using a set of jumper cables, run the neg cable from the neg battery post to the body of the starter. Hook up the pos cable to the pos battery post than tap the other end of the pos cable to the mounting stud on the starter. If that cranks it over you know the problem is between the battery and the starter. (cables, starter solenoid, connections) If the starter still drags then you know you have a problem there. If you don't have bike sized jumper cables use caution. Gets kinda tight with car cables. But is a quick way to see if the starter is the problem. Make sure the battery is charged up. Mike

Another vote for superbrightleds. Great folks to work with and stand behind their stuff. I changed out all my marker and running lights with LED's from them and I only had one fail. Contacted them and they shipped a replacement the next day. Can't argue with that. They have bulbs and supplies for about any application you would you could think of. Mike

Ya got to admit......that is one heck of a bumper! But it does leave room to open the saddlebags.....maybe.

Well, I just got home from the memorial service that was held for the riders that were killed in that crash. I have to say I was impressed by what I saw tonight. Three of the riders killed were vets, American Legion Riders and Patriot Guard Riders also. Needless to say, the turnout was impressive. The Legion Riders, PGR's, Star Touring, Goldwings, and about every local club in the area from every level of the cycling community. I talked to riders from S.D, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Texas, and I don't know how many other states. There were corporate types standing along side the average Joe and the 1%ers, many with tears in their eyes. All types of riders showing respect for the fallen. I couldn't count the bikes tonight. Too many spread over a lot of ground. The shots I took were only maybe a third of what was there. What I saw tonight kind of brought home the fact that we are all riders. No matter the brand, club status, or way of life when things get ugly.....we all need to stand together to support each other. It can happen. It did tonight. With Respect, Mike

I changed over to FireFox about a month ago. No problems here.

I'm 6'2" at 285 lbs. I've got Progressives in the front with no pressure unless I'm going to be pushing the twisties, then I stiffen it up a bit. Now I guess I'm the odd one as I run my rear shock at 60-65 most the time solo. Feels good there for me. But...the shock pressure is more about the bike load.....not the ride. The point is to have the bike avoid bottoming out. The "Knob" on the the left side...that is the damper control. Shock response. That pretty much tunes in the ride. You need to find a good air pressure on both ends, I'd drop the front to as low as possible, and then ride the bike in each of the settings on the damper without changing the shock pressures. You will feel the difference in each one. I keep mine on "2" most the time . Just kind of floats there for me. I'm not familar with the Dunlops performance. I run Avion Venoms. But...I'll say this...if I lose a few pounds of tire pressure, even 4 or five lbs., the whole ride changes. The bike feels loose and wanders. It follows the cracks and tar lines. I bring it back to the correct pressure and it tracks great again. I'd set the tire pressure for the makers recommended pressure and go for a ride. See if you can feel a difference. Adjust from there. I usually run my rear about 2 or 3 lbs lower than tire spec. The front maybe 6 or 7 lbs lower than tire spec. And yes it may take a while to get comfortable with the weight of the Venture. They can be a pig in a parking lot. But I think once the bike is rolling it handles like a sport bike. I have to remind myself once in while that I'm pushing almost 1,200 lbs through a curve dragging a peg. I'm kind of surprised at the buffeting problem. I'm running a stock height screen and I have no buffeting at all. Has your screen been cut down? Try those things and see if you can find your sweet spot. Enjoy the bike. Mike

Wait! What if some of these guys want to get a set of Mac's? Don't hurt me!

:big-grin-emoticon:Won't be backing up to the curb anymore will ya. Look great!!!

Yep....all the way over is the lock and lit position. Come back one click and you lock just the forks, no lights. Mike

In my eyes......replace the dust seals. When ever I rebuild a set of forks for the first time I always replace them. If I go into them again later, I can reuse them if they are undamaged. You said you had to dress out the tubes a bit so the dust seals / wipers may have been chewed on a bit. They do play a big part in the life of the oil seals. Mike

These are the stock springs and spacers. The Progressives are much heavier and tighter coils and the Progressives are as long as the stock spring and spacer combined. Yep. You got the stock springs. Do you have the long steel spacers shown? If not, you got a problem to deal with. Mike

Something like this?

Google up some biker leather suppliers or leather goods supplies. I thinks what you saw were probably modified conchos. Seen a few around. Mike

Well the have identified all the riders. All local boys to Omaha and Glenwood, IA area. The fella from Omaha was the general manger of M's Pub in the Market. Nice place and a nice guy. The driver that hit them is suspected to have been under the influence. Be weeks or more before charges will be filed as they want to find out why he crossed into the other lane. There was concert in Sioux City yesterday and there were a lot of folks headed that way. Everybody in a hurry ya know and tuning up for the show. Sad situatation. Mike

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