Snaggletooth

I got to keep following this as the broken idler is driving me nuts. Can't see any reason to beat or pry on one. They usually fall out when you remove the cover. Keep us posted. From my Droid wherever I may happen to be at any given moment.

First choice: jump. Second Chance: FLAP!!!! From my Droid wherever I may happen to be at any given moment.

Worn down in about a year to nothing shorted out the armature. Fried it. The armature had been dressed and recut when the $10.00 set of ebay brushes were installed. The 26 year old OEM brushes were only worn 1/2 way down. My opinion. But not much of a life span for brushes. From my Droid wherever I may happen to be at any given moment.

If it was me i would not go that route. Again. Done that. Two reasons. There may be excessive wear on the inside of the clutch body you can not see. Or even cracks. You should also replace the three bolts that attach the clutch body to the rotor. So there is another $15.00 or so. And OK three reasons. There is a special tool that is used to align the clutch body to the rotor while tightening and staking the new bolts. It can be done without it but it takes a bit of a touch.. Just things to consider. There are other things to look at to. Like the boss on the 72 tooth ring gear that seats into the engage clutch. If it is badly worn or damaged that effects how the engage clutch will hold. Just my thoughts. From my Droid wherever I may happen to be at any given moment.

Gotta say this. Rebuilding Is fine. But..... do not use the cheap brushes like you find as aftermarket items. Most are very low quality carbon and do not last. They wear down very quickly. Don't ask how i know. It cost me a starter. The OEM brushes are pricey. About $25.00 each.. If you watch the parts listings you can usually find a used 2nd Gen starter for what a set of OEM brushes would cost ya. I've got a used four brush in my '84. I think i paid $35.00 for it.. From my Droid wherever I may happen to be at any given moment.

I think that was for 2nd Gen forks. Bob did make one as a combo bushing and seal driver for them i believe. From my Droid wherever I may happen to be at any given moment.

His profile shows a 2007 RSV. Trisa. The petcock in my '84 was frozen when i bought the bike in the on position. Got it to move a bit but it started to seep. Kept messing with it until it moved and it finally quit leaking if i got it in exactly the right spot. I ended up leaving it in the Res position all the time. As far as I've found there are no rebuild kits for the OEM petcocks. When the Lower pickup screen failed i found a decent used one at Pinwalls for $9.00.. much cheaper than an OEM replacement. If it is in the ON position and not leaking your probably gonna be fine for a long time. Would be nice to have the extra range with the RES. How many folks shut off the fuel on these bikes all time anyway? From my Droid wherever I may happen to be at any given moment.

I've already said my .02 cents about the Dano mod but I'll throw in some words on reliability. I ride that bike daily. I used it on a service route for work. Lots of starts and stops during the day. 5 days a week it got started maybe 20 or more times a day. On the weekends about 10 to 15. Not normal usage for most people. I had the the original engage fail then rebuilt it with new dogs and springs. That lasted a season or two. The big issue with rebuilding is getting the alignment of the engage assembly in the rotor spot on with the crank shaft. If it ain't perfect its going to fail again. Dano does that for you when he installs the engage system. All you have to do is tighten the nut on the crank. I think its been 3 years or more now of service without a single skipped or missed beat off his mod. What more can ya ask for? From my Droid wherever I may happen to be at any given moment.

Good advice there. Yep. Pinched line my butt. LOL. From my Droid wherever I may happen to be at any given moment.

That's want i use. I think it was 1.5" pipe then found a female coupler that had a hex end on it. Ground off the hex to the same diameter as the seal. The inside of the coupler had a tapered countersink so it cleared the upper lip of the seal nicely. The guys at the hardware store worry about me. IM always wandering the isles and when they ask me what IM looking for they get "motorcycle stuff" . Get some strange looks. Oddly enough i usually find what i need. From my Droid wherever I may happen to be at any given moment.

Ouch From my Droid wherever I may happen to be at any given moment.

Being a fan of crazy stuff I've tried a lot of things. Being a big Guy, 6'2" and close to 300 lbs most my life its been challenging. Hot air ballooning...... kept staring at the floor of the wicker basket and making sure i didn't set my hair on fire. Wind Surfing...... you have any idea of how far that "normal" sized board stays under water with a big Guy on it? Sky diving...... i had concerns. The instructors assurred me i would be fine. If needed they could rig me a chute they use for dropping Jeeps. Funny guys. Rock Climbing....you know they don't use steel cable...at all. Then i saw the Wingsuits. Too cool. I really like that. Saw a video of a Guy "threading the needle" through a crack in a mountain. Too hot! So i started studying up on glide ratios. I think I'll set this one out. I got a bucket list but it don't involve a spatula used with the bucket. So I'll be wimping out on that one. Ya know ... . Live to fight another day and all that rot. LOL. From my Droid wherever I may happen to be at any given moment.

If you get to the point of needing to get into the engage clutch PM or email our Guy "Dano". He takes you rotor and reworks it to install a new engage system that is years beyond the OEM system. Even gets a new 72 tooth ring gear with it that is different from the original Costs a lil bit more but not out of line on cost. Never have to worry about it again. I was one of the first to have this done in the states and not a miss since. Do a search on engage clutch mod or check out my profile album for a pic of the new setup. You won't regret the change. Outstanding stuff. Mike From my Droid wherever I may happen to be at any given moment.

Weren't some of the guys cutting notches in hockey pucks to give clearence and protect the contact points on the bike? From my Droid wherever I may happen to be at any given moment.

IM curious about that broken idler. Very odd. I'd be pulling that rotor off and inspecting the engage clutch also. One of the three small idlers or the large 72 tooth ring gear that seats in the engage clutch? If it's one of three small ones carefully inspect both case and case cover for damage. From my Droid wherever I may happen to be at any given moment.

Geesh. You kids get your own table at the M&E's? From my Droid wherever I may happen to be at any given moment.

Can't even dig ya for a rookie mistake. Few experienced guys have done the same thing. You ain't alone. Regrets on the damage to the bike and glad you weren't involved at the impact point. Life experience ya know. From my Droid wherever I may happen to be at any given moment.

Love a happy ending. Got to wonder if the buyer has tried that in the past on others. From my Droid wherever I may happen to be at any given moment.

Boy. I hope they don't catch me in the soybean field behind the place I'm staying at. Life sentence. Hang on. 3 squares a day and a roof? Better than working for the guberment right now. LOL. From my Droid wherever I may happen to be at any given moment.

Yeah. You got me watching that yesterday. Kinda crazy there over the evening and into the night. I had an opportunity to take a flight in one several years ago. Only about 50 miles. Hardly get the sensation of speed in one. They don't post the altitude on the web to keep the info private during the flights but I'll have to follow up on that. Don't think I'd ever consider spending 60 hours in one and over water at night .... don't think so. But an interesting event for sure. From my Droid wherever I may happen to be at any given moment.

Tranny and motor all the same. They share the same case. From my Droid wherever I may happen to be at any given moment.

You got it Dan. Up and away. From my Droid wherever I may happen to be at any given moment.

Visited and bookmarked. This is going to be a keeper. :thumbup: From my Droid wherever I may happen to be at any given moment.

I've been following this with confused interest. Over the last few years I've had 4 sets of venture forks covering years from '84 to '87 apart and never found anything other than flat spacer washers. The smaller ID washer goes on the bottom , under the seal, and I would assume that is intended to hold the upper bushing in place in the lower leg. The larger ID spacer washer intended for the top of the seal, again, assuming its purpose is clear the lip of the seal which makes sense would not hold the upper bushing in place with the larger ID hole if used below the seal. The bushing could slip upwards and damage the seal. Now I'm just guessing these conical washers may have been the product of having someone trying to improperly remove the inner legs with great force without removing the retainer clip above the top spacer washer. It would take a lot of pressure to do that as the washers I have found are quite thick. But anything is possible. Just a thought. From my Droid wherever I may happen to be at any given moment.

Had that problem on a set of forks i bought off eBay. PiTA! Ended up using a heated parts washer / high heat/ for about a 15 minute cycle on the lowers to heat the whole assembly. Then dropped small chunks of dry ice into the bottom end onto the wedged spindle lock / oil lock. Then using a small pick i was able to work through the ports for the anti dives and start prying the spindle upwards and out. Took a bit of work but was able to save the lowers. From my Droid wherever I may happen to be at any given moment.