Frame, Fork and Wheel Tips

Frame Front Suspension Fork springs:

At the 1985 V-Daze I attended a seminar given by Yamaha Motor Corp. and during that seminar, I asked this question "why do my front forks bottom when I stop on ruff pavement?". The answer "If you have more then 24,000 miles on the bike you should replace the fork springs" I left the seminar and rushed to the Progressive Suspension both and got the last set of after market replacement springs. I have over 176,000 miles on those springs and have been pleased with their continued performance. You can find a link to Progressive Suspension's web site on the links page of this web site.

Fork seals:

The fork seals on your Venture are tender and if you get even a small neck in the fork tubes they will start leaking! So before you replace the seals be sure to check the tubes for nicks. If you do find nicks, feel them and if you can feel it so can the seal, with a small fine file VERY CAREFULLY smooth only the high spot of the nick.

Zerk fittings This article appeared In September l988 Issue of Venture road on page 15 and In 1991 Yamaha installed grease fittings as standard equipment

There has been a lot of talk about installing zero fittings on the mono shock assembly and I have heard that at least one Priority Network dealer is doing just that. I decided to start with a set of arms off the wrecked '83 I have in the garage. Although this bike only had 14,000 miles on it, I could see some wear or pitting on all the metal surfaces and after some thought, I set off for the local auto parts store to purchase a 1/4-24 tap, a 7/32" drill, 2 long zerk fittings (11/16" overall) and 3 short ones (9/16" overall). The bill was $5.35 for the lot and as I drove home I could have kicked myself for waiting so long.

Procedure...

With the bike on the center stand, remove both mufflers and place a board under the rear tire to take the load off the assembly. Then remove the four bolts and the two bearings at the bottom of the mono shock. (Note: There are dust caps on each side of these bearings and they are not all the same, so make a note on where they came from). After you remove and clean both arms, you are ready to get started. I took my time with the first hole between the bushings marked "A", starting with a 1/16" drill, then a 7/32" drill and keeping the tap straight, I tapped the hole and installed one of the short zerks. The bushings marked "B" were not as simple because the '83 Venture has a metal bushing about .030" thick and I felt that the zerk was too long to go straight into the arm, so I used part of the weld to gain a little thickness but a thin washer would also have done the trick. Remember to drill the holes as close to the center as possible so the drill goes through the groove in the center of the bushings. (Note: 1984-87 Ventures have the thicker fiber bushing in the "B" position, so you only need to drill and tap through the one side of the bushing so that the zerk extends a little into the fiber to hold the bushing in place). The last two bushings marked "C" are drilled and tapped through the raised portion and then counter sink the holes with a clearance drill deep enough so the zerk extends into the fiber bashing. After you thoroughly clean the bearing surfaces, re-install the arms back in the bike

and use enough grease to insure an even coating. Wipe off the excess grease. Now each time you change oil, give each of

the fittings a little shot of grease for a smooth ride.

Fred Vogt, #01037

On later models the procedure is the same and on the "C" bushings you will notice a flat spot where it looks like a grease fitting could go.

Venture Rear Wheel Service You may ask, "Doesn't my dealer do that?" NOT UNLESS YOU TELL, HIM THAT YOU WANT IT DONE. This service should be completed every tire change or 10,000 miles (16,000k) or at least every two years; but in most cases it isn't done because we don't always have a dealer replace our tires and/or we don't tell him to do the work. So if you just bought the bike or you are not sure it has been done, it would be a good time to think about servicing the rear wheel of your Venture. The procedure is fairly simple to do on bikes without a trailer hitch and only a little harder if your bike has one. Remove the rear bags, right muffler, rear brake caliper and deflate the tire; then remove the rear wheel. If your Venture is a 1983, 84, or 85 you will need to remove the rear drive or differential and remove the drive shaft. Clean the drive shaft and coupling, then grease both ends before putting it back in (note: make sure that the shaft goes back into the u-joint. If you are not sure, remove the spring on the boot covering the u-joint and check it. Next clean the spline or gear on the rear drive and grease it with a good quality grease, personally I use a medium Moly based grease. Now find a couple of 2" x 4" and place the rear wheel spline side up on the boards. When you clean the hub and splines off you will see the spring clip or circlip that holds the hub in place; remove this clip and before you remove the hub mark the possession of the hub so you can replace it in the same holes it came from. Now clean the hub and inspect it for wear then apply grease to the inside of the hub and to the six posts that fit into the wheel. Check the o-ring on the wheel to be sure it is in place before you replace the hub and circlip. Check the bearings inside of the wheel and check the bearing movement; if they are rough or worn replace them. Now for the mono shock pivots place a jack under the rear drive to take the strain off of the mono shock then dissemble. Clean and grease all of the pivot points and reassemble (if you have a 90 - 93 or you have had grease fittings installed, just give them a squirt). Before you install the rear wheel take the axle and put it back through the swing arm into the final drive to check the alignment. If you find that it is in a bind you will have to change the wedge shim between the final drive and the swing arm. Check the oil level in the rear drive or replace the oil if it has been 10,000 miles since it was serviced and check the brake pads for wear. You can now reassemble your bike and have another year or two of trouble free riding.

Fred J. Vogt, #01037