Snaggletooth

I agree. From some of the new riders I'm seeing around here I have trouble believing the got a license in the first place. (or ever had one at all) Scary to watch. At least they are trying to correct a known problem. Points for that.

At those speeds and above you're not all that far off for MPG. These bikes were designed for the old 55 MPH limits. After that it's fill and fill again. Bikes cheaper to run on the two lanes no doubt about it.

I bought my '84 after it had been stored indoors for 9 years. I had to do the usual rebuilds, masters, calipers, fork seals, some carb rebuilds and such due to age to get it ready for the road but other than that it was pretty solid. Since then I've only had a couple of failures like the stator and R/R, clutch slave just recently and some minor leaks along the way. Other than that most the work I've done to mine (and there has been a lot of that) was changing to upgraded items to replace parts that would fail over time, ahead of the failure. Clutch upgrade, SS brake lines, electrical items like the fuse block and changes to the lighting. Some suspension changes for a better ride and control and a 4 brush starter with heavier cables and an AGM battery to power up the old girl. With what the bike cost me at purchase and the money I've spent on repairs and mod upgrades I'm nowhere near what a newer bike would have cost me. The thing is, as said before the bike is about 30 years old. Most shops don't want to touch it. If you know your way around a tool box you'll be fine. These folks can get you through any problem these bike will throw at you. I'd get on mine today and ride it about anywhere.

Personal best doing an easy week of cruisng the back roads of the area was 49.8 riding solo and no trailer over several tanks. Haven't pulled that number again since then. Pretty much been running 40-42 to a tank average with a mix of a lightly loaded trailer/no trailer riding solo lately. I know pulling a heavy trailer on the Interstate in heavy winds (staying within the 10 over train of thought ) is not going to work out on a regular basis. Didn't care much for the 27 mpg on that trip.

Well, after starting on this project to get cables sets made four months ago it looks like this is DOA. After numerous exchanges with the provider I was working with and collecting information from members on locating various components it looks like the provider has given up. I know that they had several issues with finding the correct mounting lugs and then receiving the wrong ones last time I spoke with them. The last few attempts to find out where this was at in process have not been answered. No response at all. So I regret to say it's over, at least for this attempt. I know there was a fair bit of interest this time and more than likely be more in the future. The upgrade cables are a great improvement. Sorry folks. Mike

I'm over 6'2" with long arms and legs. I had a lot of discomfort at first until I got some things adjusted right for me. The arms, oh yeah. I ended up turning the bars to as low as I could then found a sweet spot in the grip angles. No more arm cramps. I thought the floor boards would fix my leg problems. I had a chance to spend a day on a locals bike with floor boards and heel / toe shifter. I felt the floor boards made the problem worse. The board kept my foot more parallel to the ground with did not help. With the pegs I had the front of my foot tipped downwards, but I was always trying to keep from hitting the shifter. I adjusted the shifter so my toes ran under it but did not hit it. Worked out much better. Got to work the foot a bit on the downshifts but easy sitting. The seat and back pain, or mostly butt pain..... That was before I heard about our Butt Butler. I found a lambskin seat cover that was 3/4 shorn, the thick curly ones. That alone removed all the pressure points I was feeling on the seat. Then adding the back rest.......That was the final touch. Can't say any of that will help you but it gets me by on the long rides much better.

Always keep a sticky rope kit and 12 volt compressor in the bags or the trailer. In the last 40K milles I've only come close to using it once. Had a flat. At home. In my garage. Someday I'll really need it. Somewhere else. :rotf:Maybe

Never owned one, but I'm still struggling with drooling issues over the 1600 model. I hear pretty much the same song from most the BMW owners I meet. They say it's like having a trophy wife. Everybody wants it. Everybody loves it. Fulfillls all the fantasies. Wanna ride it all the time. Others can't stop talking about it. Can't keep it at home as it's getting something fixed. BUT.......... if you want to keep it............ You better have money. :mo money::mo money:

Hey Mike, Congrats to your friend. Quite an accomplishment no matter what.

I have the 2.4.13 version on my android phone. Spent the entire $2.99 for it. Works great on the phone and have full control of the board through it. Like you I read some user comments with some concerns but most the problems I saw griped about seemed to happen when doing updates. As mine works fine as is I just skip the updates.

When I woke up this morning I found a stack of text messages on my cell from overnight from several different people I know asking where I was and if I was ok. A couple sent several messages. Kinda weird. Then I saw the news. COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa —One person is dead and others are injured after at least two motorcycles collided Tuesday north of Council Bluffs. Medics were called to Old Lincoln Highway near School Hill Avenue around 8:45 p.m. According to an eyewitness, three motorcycles were heading south on the two-lane highway when they collided with another motorcycle carrying two people traveling north. A man riding the motorcycle traveling north was pronounced dead at the scene. The sheriff's office said he was traveling at a high rate of speed. The witness told KETV NewsWatch 7’s Ryan Luby the people riding the three southbound motorcycles are related. A husband and wife were on separate bikes, and the third bike had two people riding on it. At least two people were taken to a hospital with injuries. The sheriff's office is still trying to determine the extent of the injuries and exactly how many people were injured. A white SUV was also involved in the accident, a witness said. This is one of my favorite evening rides in the area along the bluffs on these warm evenings. Nice curvy road, decent condition, usually not a lot of traffic at that time of day. Lot of bikes run that road. Isn't the first time for a multi-bike accident along that stretch. Now I'm waiting to see who the riders that went down are. Had a 24 year old gal lose control of her bike on I-80 the other night at over 100 MPH right at the ramp I use every day. It's been a crazy spring here for bike wrecks. Too many and too often. Been a couple every week seems like. You guys take care out there. Keep on your toes.

Best thing you can do is when you see a thread with useful info you might want to refer to at a later date is use the TAG function. Bottom right corner of the thread screen you will see "edit tags". Open that and enter your own search word (or two), refering to the item or issue and save it. Later on you can go to the "Search" drop down menu at the top and chose "tag search". Enter the word or words you used on the tag and it will list all posts with those words used in the tag. There may be a lot of posts with that tag but it will get you back to where you wanted to go. The "search" function can be a lil tricky until you find the right "buzz words" to find what you are looking for.

The pic shows to placement of the the brake line retainer. Top arrow. It goes through the triangular hole in the fender and is held in place by the rear bolt for the fender mount. Lower arrow. Inside that area where the fender bolts to the fork is tight. You would of had to of picked up something and carried up inside the fender to get that kind of damage. You mentioned three holes in the fender. Are they right at the rear bottom edge of the fender? If so, they are, or were for the fender splash guard, or mud flap mount. From some of the roads you have described..... sound likely. Sounds like time for a new tire.

Dan, I'm with Condor on this one. I've been using AGM's now for a while and setting up the guys I work on their bikes for with DEKA AGMs whenever they need a battery. They don't just run down over time without a good reason. Shelf life is crazy long without a drain on them. That said, I do get one run very low sometimes and a smart charger will not pick up enough to start the charge process. I ran across this a while back and this does work on the "dead" ones I've tried it on. http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/general/hrdp_1009_how_to_charge_a_agm_battery/viewall.html Worth a shot. Just remember to keep the charger set to 2 amps max during charging. Let us know how it works out for ya, Mike

I didn't go with the Bug but rather a digital voltmeter and even though it's a mirco draw off the battery I installed a toggle on the + feed. When I need to know I just flip the switch. I don't think the bug has an auto shut down setting. Most install it from a keyed power feed.

It was just this guy. Fugitaboutit.

I gotta go with the rotor to if you're only feeling it when applying the brakes. Bad belt in a tire, depending on how bad would be more of a low speed wobble and a serious shake at higger speed. Tie rod..... possible but with minor wear that seems to stabilize under braking due to the pressure applied. Rotors these days are pretty much disposable. There is not enough meat to turn them out if there is a problem.

Check here for some Google images of old ads http://www.google.com/search?q=Yamaha+Venture+1983+advertisements&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=0svOUYuaFbT_4AOTyIBQ&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ

First question would be where is your temp gauge reading at during this? From my experience if the coolant is expremely low you may not get a high reading on the guage as there may be more air in the thermocoupler than coolant. Check the level at the oveflow bottle. With a high reading it could be low coolant, sticky thermo, or failing waterpump. If you suspect the thermostat itself being stuck shut try this. Change the coolant drain valve from the normal run position (OFF at 2 o'clock) which makes the coolant move through the thermostat to the drain position (ON at 2 o'clock) which bypasses the thermostat but still allows full flow through the system. You may see a drop on the temp gauge if the thermo is not opening. Worst case..... your's is an '84 which if never changed the impeller in the waterpump is plastic. Some have shown signs of deterioration. If the pump has ever been replaced it will be a metal impeller. Way to check the pump for flow..... back to the drain valve. With the bike cooled off and coolant level topped off, and the drain valve in the (ON) position......remove the radiator cap. You're gonna lose some coolant during this so be ready for that. Start the bike and idle. (Don't snap the throttle with the cap off). As you look into the radiator you will see the coolant moving. As you increase the RPM's the flow will increase and even throw coolant out of the top. If your's in moving at a good rate the impeller is working fine. Move the drain valve back to the (OFF) position and you will see the flow stop, at least until the thermo opens. Replace the cap and check overflow bottle level. As far as the voltage dropping, well yeah. The radiator fan motor draws a lot of amps. As well I would guess you may be stopped and the brake lights on, another major drain with the two 1157's fired up in the back. So there's a couple of things to look into for now. Let us know what you find. This pic is the valve set to (OFF) for the noraml running position.

All 2nd gen starters are 4 brush and a direct bolt on. I don't believe the 2nd gen starter clutch engage will work on the 1st gens. I think it's because of the rotor specs. For an engage upgrade you would have to go with Danos mod. I know his will not work in 2nd gens.

Yep, sounds like your stator or R/R has failed. Probably well before you left this morning. Running down the road, at above 2,000 rpm you should be seeing between 13.5 to 14.5 volts on the dash voltmeter, even as unreliable as it is for accuracy. Below 12.6 volts you're not even keeping the battery charged to a minimum level. Without the bike charging system working properly when you stopped and dropped to idle speeds, say 900 to 1000 rpm the only power left was supplied by the battery only. Not enough left to keep you firing concidering the other drains. Head light, brake light or even the radio on. So once you get it home I'd suggest a charge on the battery over night then have it load tested for it's condition. Might be time for a new one anyway. Once the bike is running then use a multimeter to test the charging system at the battry posts for volt readings at idle and above 2,000 rpm. If readings there are low then you need to get into checking the three wires off the stator for output. Of course all cable connections as you go along. Hope you get it home without any problems.

Did the bike die while running down the road or just not starting after a stop? 10 V's isn't going to be enough to get the old girl to fire up. I find it takes about 11.5 minimum while cranking to get enough fire to the plugs. Any indication on the dash volt meter before the problem that the bike was not charging properly? You may have lost your charging system. Just guessing at this point. Is it possible to get a jump on the battery to bring the volts up?

I hate to bring it up but we have a saying around here....... "As long as you're in there............" Did you take a good look at the three washers for the oil lock assembly? Good time to check if they are in good condition. Upper and lower bushings? Dust covers? Way to much work to have to do these twice.

I was doing the OTR thing years back and ws pulling into a scale in Iowa. Seemed to be a bit of a traffic jam with a couple of Troopers and the scale boys were all outside. They had what looked like a Blue Bird Tour bus, pulling a 28 ft camper and then a 16 ft boat behind that. I don't think that was going over too well with anyone. Ya see all kinds of weird stuff out there.