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i made a short video when i was setting and checking the float levels on a set of 28mm carbs and wrote of how i did it for some of the guys on delphi forum and thought i would post it here too.there's a way i do it and it has worked out good on the last several sets im have fixed for others and redid mine while i had them off, all you have to do is when you have the carbs torn down, put all the float and needle assembly together, turn them upside-down so the float is up, jiggle the carbs so the floatsts bounce around a little so they are seated in place and not binding. while you still holding them upside-down, hold them right in front of you and look to see if both floats are level with each other, several i have done has been uneven, if they are uneven, take two small pairs of needle-nose pliers, hold the arm near the middle where the needle valve is and use the other pair to bend easlily the arm on the far float to equal level, make sure to hold needle valve off the seat so it not down and possillely mess it up or take it out and bend it and put back in. after you are sure they are pretty level across the 2 floats then make sure the needle valve is set down on seat and measure from the edge of bow to the top of the floats and it should be between 8 to 9 mm,(i try to get mine nearer to 9mm). i usually check it on both sides of the set of floats just to be sure i've got them level as i can. checking them out the way the book says to do it is way too hard fro me to do. one of the guys near me wants to take his down and check them out on his 98 so i may try to do a video of it as there will be 2 of us.i'll let y'all know when we do it. try this link, let me know if it works.

Greeting to all here, I'm a newbie to the Venture scene but I have ridden for about 40 years and I'm a life-long Yamaha fan (FJ1200, 550 Vision, FJR1300, FJ09, among others) and I do most of my own work. I have been working on this new project bike I just picked up, a pretty clean 83 Venture with a VMax (!) motor of unknown vintage, transplanted by the father of the previous owner, that doesn't seem to want to make power at large throttle openings. I'm suspecting the carbs but I haven't gotten into them yet. The bike came to me without an airbox cover so I got off of Ebay and it anything, adding the cover made it worse. It runs OK at part throttle but when you open it up over 4000 RPM and expect that VMAX thing to start happening it just doesn't, and it starts to misfire like it's lean. It wont pull hard or really at all at large throttle openings. I think the carbs are from the Venture but I cannot be sure. I don't know if the bike was rejetted after the transplant, and I'm not sure if the engine has Vmax or Venture cams in it. I did get a big box of valve shims and lifter tools with the bike. Also I just refilled the tank for the first time and I got 100 miles out of 4 gallons of gas. Not great but I'm unsure if this points to something or not. So if I gather from all the searching I have done in the forum, spanning a couple decades, that the CV diaphragms tend to go bad and that fits the lean misfire thing if they are leaking and aren't letting the needle rise out of the jet making it lean. My forum search is not yet complete but if anyone has the link to where the latest/best source for the best carb kits and diaphragms I would be grateful. I will be pulling the airbox tomorrow to try to assess the state of the slides and diaphragms before tearing the carbs off. I'm also open to this being an ignition problem but it sure does feel like carburation. If there is something I've missed that happens to these bikes that causes this problem I could sure use that news too. After I get this resolved it will be time to do something about those linked brakes. Wow what a bad idea, at least as it is now on this bike. I already have all the parts (forks, R1 brakes, etc) for that except the lines. But I have to make this thing GO better before I worry about making it STOP.

Brakes: Hey guys, I’m brand new to Ventures and of limited mechanical ability, but I need to rebuild my calipers. I just bought a 1987 Venture in good condition except that the last time they parked it (3 years ago), they lost their back brakes on the ride home. Sure enough, when I went to look at the bike, there had been evidence of a leaky front caliper. Thanks to another thread, I learned about the linked braking. So I was planning on rebuilding the rear and left front calipers. But the right front caliper actually looked like it was more likely to be the culprit. The leak puddled on the right side of the bottom of the rim but I don’t remember if the wheel had been angled such that the leak might have crossed through the spokes from the left caliper. Either way, the hand brake works and the pedal does not. Do the front and rear caliper rebuild kits have the same part number? Is there a known good source for the kits? What is considered a good price on these? I think I found kits to rebuild all three(no pistons) for around $100. A bit pricey for some rubber seals and a couple of pins, so that seems about right. Carbs: I siphoned out the 3-year-old gas and have been running Seafoam (about 4 tanks so far) through it. The bike starts, warm or cold, with the choke on. Once warm, I can bring the choke back 1/2 way, but that’s it. I can get it to idle between 800-1200 rpm, but can’t keep it running with the choke off. Even idling (with 1/2 choke), I have to give the throttle a little feather before taking off or maneuvering at parking lot speeds. I know very little about carburetors. Should I start by trying to adjust the idle? Is balancing the carbs something I can do myself? Thanks for the help.

Hello all, Working through my "87 project, coming along well. I got a set of rebuilt carbs for a deal and put them on, been reading all of the threads on adjusting, very interesting indeed. So, I have it running fairly well, but to do it I have the idle mixture screws out about 4 or five turns, I know that is not right, but for now that is where they are. I worked through adjusting the butterflys according to one of the threads, and now it will start pretty well, and doesn't crack and pop so badly on throttling down. Here is what I am noticing now though -- It was smoking when I was running it tonight (All of this is just running on the center stand) so I took the flashlight to see what and why. Well there is gas dripping out of at least one of the hoses that come out of the top of the carbs, some kind of overflow for the bowl I'm guessing. So I shut her down right now. Don't need to burn my bike down, right. So any insight, what does this mean and what should I do about it? Of course I am working toward getting them syncronized, but for now this is where I am Thanks for all of your help David

I ordered a Carbtune Kit last week and it came in on Friday. I used it today on my 06 Midnight Venture after doing the 8,000 mile service. The Carbs were way off! It took me about 30 minutes but they are now synched. What should I expect now that the carbs are running in synch? I was getting abiut 35 miles MPG before the 8,000 mile service. I changed Spark Plugs as well. How often do I need to do a synch? The kit was rather expensive. If there is anyone in or near Southern AZ thats needs a synch done, please feel free to contact me. I am in Bisbee, AZ which is in the far Southeast corner of AZ on the Mexican Border. PM me or send me an email at dareman1@cableone.net.

WARNING - this is LONG, so unless you are actually going to adjust your valves, or just like to read mechanical cookbooks, you probably should just stop here! There is a LOT involved in this job. It needs to be done, but it is probably worth whatever you local shop is charging. I'd certainly pay $200 for it if I trusted the shop, and I'm very comfortable doing the job myself. If you don't trust your shop, or don't have the money, then read on! We periodically have questions and discussions here on valve adjustments, like how often? (26,600 miles), is it really needed? (yes), how to? (read on), etc. And the tech manual, along with several other members, indicate it is a BIG job. So Ponch and I decided to organize a training session to see first-hand what was involved and find out about any surprises before we attempted to help any other members on this. And I want to really emphasize how thankful we are to BuddyRich for his wonderful loan of a shim kit and special tool, along with his selfless help of an entire day of hot sweaty work! Without him, what follows would probably never have happened: Background info: My 2005 RSV had the first valve check/adjustment done on schedule around 27,000 miles through the initial maintenance contract I purchased with the bike. Since the shop did it, I have no idea if any shim changes were actually needed, but since I saw evidence the valve cover gaskets were changed, I will assume that at the end of that service, all 16 valves were within spec. My bike now has 70,000 miles on it, putting it about 15,000 miles overdue for the second valve check. I found about half the valves either right at minimum tolerance or too tight (and three of them were significantly too tight). You get to decide how often you want to do your own bike, but I'll be doing this one by 30,000 miles each time now. Planning: 1. Order your gaskets and find tools and shims first. I wouldn't want to do this job without a valve shim kit unless I was willing to leave the bike torn down for several days to go find the right shims after measuring all the clearances. In addition, there are different ways to hold down the valve buckets to change the shims, but the only "right" way (and certainly the easiest) is to have the special tool; therefore, find or buy one before you start. The valve cover gasket is 4NK-11193-00-00, and the best price I found was at http://www.carolinacycle.com for about $18 ea. We have several members who have the tool and a shim kit (just a selection of various sizes) who may be willing to loan them. BuddyRich and Mother are two you might ask (if anyone else wants their name listed or removed here, please contact me so I can edit this post!). If you find someone to loan a shim kit, PLEASE ask them ahead of time to look at the current collection of shims, particularly the 265 and 270 sizes, to see if any common sizes are in short supply. The shims don't cost much, and in return for the loan, you really should buy at least two new shims in needed sizes before you start the job. Not only will this make it more likely you have the ones you need for your own bike, but it will make the kit better for the next use. It is hard to say ahead of time what sizes might be most needed, since every bike will change the mix. When we did four bikes on the same day, it was very interesting to see that. After the first two bikes, we had a ton of 270 shims, but not many 265 or 275. But after the next bike, there were only a couple 270s left but a big stack of 275. 2. This is a perfect time to change your coolant, so if you need it, have that on hand too. Even if you don't need to change it, you WILL need to drain about a quart, so have an appropriate clean tray and funnel that will allow you to do this and then add it back later. 3. This is also the perfect time to change your plugs, so have them on hand too. 4. Get a can of spray carb and choke cleaner. You are gonna want to pull those carbs (perfect time to set the floats too), and the #1 and #2 carbs are gonna be NASTY with oil residue and dirt. Legend has it that you can do this job without pulling the carbs, but no way I would want to try it. And besides, once you have all the other stuff off, pulling the carbs just isn't that hard. 5. You will really want to have your bike straight up for this job, so a center stand or maintenance jack is good to have on hand. This isn't required, but will be a lot easier and cleaner! On the side stand, you get some oil dumping off the left corner of the heads when you crack the valve cover loose, and more that comes out the covers in the left crank case. The oil mess is much worse if you have Leveling Links and you try this on the side stand! 6. Misc. tools: A good set of feeler gauges are obvious, but you will also need a torque wrench that goes down to 7.2 ft lbs (10 Nm or 86 in lbs), and a magnetic retrieving tool, tweezers or hemostats, and a good quality very small screwdriver (like a mid-size jeweler's driver, but stronger) will be necessary to remove the shims. I also recommend a tube of high temperature RTV 'gasket goo' to use on certain points of the new gaskets. On those feeler gauges, most sets have both inch and mm numbers, but the primary (or even increments) that it uses will be either inch or metric. You will have a much easier time of measuring and selecting shims if you have a metric set. And make certain you have a very bright flashlight - I prefer one of the new small LED ones because of the birghtness and color of the light. 7. Instructions - the shop manual is generally pretty good here, so I suggest you print out pages 3-9 through 3-13. The Job: Start by removing the basic stuff: seat, tank, lower cowlings, air filters. Since you WILL need to drain some coolant, just go ahead and pull those lower cowlings now and make taking off the air filters easier. Remove the "dog bones" connecting the front cylinder heads to the frame. Remove the air intake tract, including the rubber tubes where the air filters attach, the top air plenums, and the rubber T between the air filters (it is held on by one 10mm bolt on the right side of the frame). To get the air plenums off, you will need to first remove the metal straps on top (four screws each), and the two screws holding the crank case vent hose in the middle, then pull the hoses and wire bundles off to the side. After the clamps on top of each carb and the front clamp are loose, each plenum will just pull straight up. When taking off the metal straps, note that the inside front screw on each is longer than the other three, and be CAREFUL when putting all of those screws back at the end of this job - they will strip very easily! When you pull the crankcase breather connection loose from between the two air plenums, be careful of the little foam rings, most of them are stretched and falling apart - unfortunately they don't seem to be available in the parts breakdown. When you lift off each air plenum, there is a vent hose connected on the rear that will just pop off (watch out for the little wire spring clip - they aren't really necessary, but you don't want to have one pop off and get stuck in a carb or something). Pull all four plugs (necessary to turn the engine over while checking the valves). Drain the coolant - if not changing it, you will still need to drain a quart or so to allow the removal of the water hose from the rear head. CAUTION! The 12mm drain plug on the bottom left of the radiator is just plastic (as is the radiator), so when putting the plug back in, DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN!!!! The correct tightness is about what you can put on a clean, dry 3/8" socket extension with your bare hand. Pull the carb assembly. Start by disconnecting the fuel line behind the right rear carb and open the two clips on top of the carbs to release the fuel line that goes to the tank. Then disconnect the two overflow hoses that connect on top between the carbs and run forward to the front of the air filters. Go ahead and remove those overflow hoses completely, just pay attention to how they are routed and watch for the little plastic clip that holds them together between the carbs. At this point, all you need to do is loosen the hose clamp beneath each carb (but see the caution below) and disconnect the two electric plugs for the wires connected near the left front carb. You will find both of these plugs right up next to the frame under the large main wire bundle. The white two-wire plug is for the carb heaters, and the black triangular three-wire plug is the throttle position sensor. With the hose clamps below all four carbs loose, you can pull straight up on the assembly on each side to "pop" them loose from the intake manifolds (and this usually takes a lot of force!). With the carb assembly loose it slides straight out the left side. I generally wait until this point when the carbs are part way out to disconnect the throttle cables - access is much easier. Just loosen the long nut on each cable to allow it to slip off the bracket - as long as you don't move the small nut, the cables adjustment will not change. CAUTION! The screws on the hose clamps on the bottom of each carb are VERY soft metal. In addition, those clamps each have a metal collar to prevent you from over tightening them on the rubber boot. On most of the bikes I have worked on, at least one of those screws has been frozen so hard that the head stripped out, requiring me to drill it off to remove the clamp. If you have this same problem, stuff a rag under the clamp before you drill it off so you don't loose that little collar. The screw can then be replaced with any standard 4mm screw from the hardware store. With the carbs out, you probably should stuff a paper towel in each intake manifold to prevent anything from accidentally disappearing down there while you are working on the bike. Remove the chrome covers on the cylinder heads. Remove the plastic wire tray under the frame in front of the battery cover. This is held on by one 10mm bolt on the left side of the frame and a screw under all those hoses in front of the battery. Once that tray is off, pull the disconnected vent hoses out the back to get some needed working room above the rear valve cover. Finally, the last thing to take off before you can actually remove the valve covers is the rubber hose for the water line to the rear cylinder head (no need to take the front one off). You will need to remove the two plugs/covers in the center of the left crankcase cover to turn the engine, so now is a good time to do that. The two #3 philips-head screws are generally REAL tight, so make sure you use the correct size screwdriver to not bugger them. With the screws out, just use a very small screwdriver to work the cover back and forth on the O-ring to get it to pop off. There is a thin metal plate that will fall out as soon as the cover comes loose - it just goes back in with the ridge facing the crank, and you usually will not need to replace the O-rings on the covers. And now for the valve covers! Four flat allen-head bolts on each and they will pop off without too much effort. The gaskets are thick rubber, and they overlap a hollow cavity at the corner of each head. Just use your finger to pull of that rubber corner and then you can put a small screwdriver under there and catch the edge of the valve cover to pry it up. The rear cover will be difficult to get off, even after everything you have already removed! But just raise it as high as you can against the fuel line or other wire bundles still hanging below the frame and kinda rotate it forward to clear the cam chain. The front cover has lots of top clearance, but you need to take it out the right side to clear the water hose you left in place. FINALLY - ready to actually start checking valve clearance! MEASURING THE VALVE CLEARANCE: You can approach the measurement of the valve clearance two ways - some folks prefer to just turn the engine until they see the cam lobe pointing up for whatever valve they are checking, but I prefer to follow the more common practice of setting a piston at TDC on the compression stroke, then checking all valves for that cylinder (this is also the method from the service manual). But here is a little clue - don't get too hung up on believing everything in the service manual! There is a note in several places that tells you "TDC on the compression stroke can be found when the camshaft lobes are turned away from each other." NOT SO!!! While true for the front two cylinders, the cam lobes on the rear two cylinders will NEVER point away from each other! Seems weird to me, as I really expected the valve timing to show the identical relationship between the cams on all the cylinders for the same engine, but the facts show different. And before anyone asks, I did check my valve timing according to the manual and the index marks on the cams, and all four cams were correct. Anyway, back to the measurement. Start by turning the engine counterclockwise until you see the valves on #1 cylinder (left rear) all closed, then watch for the timing mark on the generator rotor through the observation hole to align with the mark on the crankcase cover. It is not necessary for it to be exactly perfect to measure the valves. Now you can check the clearance on both intake and both exhaust valves for #1. Since you are dealing with four valves at a time, it is helpful to write down the clearance you measure so you don't have to re-check them over and over again! If any valves need to be adjusted, I explain this in the next section. After completing the measurement and/or adjustment for #1, if you turn the crank 180 degrees, cylinder #3 (right rear) will be at TDC and ready to check (just put the socket on the crankshaft with the handle pointing to the rear and turn it counterclockwise until the handle points forward - can't get much easier than that!). When you are done with #3, turn the crank 180 degrees again, then start watching for a second timing mark to line up on the generator rotor 70 degrees later (a little less than 1/4 of a turn), now #2 is at TDC and ready to check. Finally, after checking/adjusting #2, just turn the crank 180 degrees one more time and #4 will be at TDC and ready to check. When you are done with #4, turning the crank just 110 degrees (slightly more than 1/4 turn) puts #1 back at TDC to start over. After you have made adjustments to any valve, I strongly recommend you turn the engine through several turns to ensure the valve shims are fully seated and measure them again to see if the final clearance is what you want. I found I needed to change the shims several times on some valves to get it right. By going through the 1, 3, 2, 4 sequence several times you get the chance to double-check all your measurements, as well as re-check the ones you changed. CHANGING THE VALVE CLEARANCE: Note: You will find a second person to help turn the engine VERY helpful here, especially when working on #3 and #4! To adjust the clearance you need to remove the existing shim and replace it with one of a more appropriate thickness. The majority of changes will be to a thinner shim, but you won't have any idea what the needed size will be until you get the existing shim out. Getting the tappet adjusting tool inserted the first time can be a little tricky. It can be inserted from either side of the cam, depending on which side you want to pull the shim from. The first thing you do is turn the crank in either direction so that the cam lobe is pointing AWAY from the side where you plan to insert the tool. Next, before you insert the tool, use your fingertip to turn both shim buckets until one of the open notches is where you can reach it with your small screwdriver - this is where you will need to pry up the old shim to break the suction of the oil film (and that can be tough to do). To insert the tool, try to rotate the short end under the cam to depress the buckets. You won't get it very far just with your fingers, so slowly turn the crank in the proper direction to let the cam finish turning the tool into place (while keeping some pressure on the long arm of the tool to make it move). You will want to make sure the tool is turned all the way until the long arm touches the side of the head or you won't have enough clearance to pull out the old shim. Now that the tool is in place, reach in with that little screwdriver and pry up on the bottom edge of the shim - the suction of the oil film will be STRONG, so don't be surprised if you have a tough time getting each shim to pop up. Once it does pop up, you can either grab it with tweezers or a magnet to pull it out. Turn it over and note the number on the bottom (they should always be installed with the number down). Replacement shims are only available in .05mm increments (such as 260, 265, and 270), but the ones you pull out might be be anything (such as 269 or 272). That is why you will find some odd numbers in the shim kit - they came out of someone else's bike. To decide what shim to put back in, you need to know what the clearance was before you removed it (remember, I said to write it down)! The shop manual has a really neat chart that lets you just look along one axis to find the number on your current shim, then just look down the side to find the clearance you measured - where the two lines intersect, that is the new shim number you need. It works pretty good, but make sure you look at the right chart (they are different for intake and exhaust)! If you try and do this job without having a shim kit, those charts are really the best way to decide which shims you need to buy. A less formal but more natural way is to just look at the number of the current shim, think about how much you need to change it (was that valve just a little tight, or a lot tight?), and then choose a slightly thinner or thicker shim that you think might be in the ballpark. For example, if you pull out a 273 shim and the valve was just a tad too tight, you might want to try a 270, but if it seemed quite a bit lower than the minimum spec, better go straight to the 265. No matter how you selected the new shim size, it is very important to turn the engine over several times and then re-check the clearance to see if your guess was correct - even using the charts leaves room for error. Putting it all back Together: Just a few notes here on reassembling the bike - most everything will just be a reverse of the disassembly process, but there are a few pointers to help you. Valve Cover Gaskets: These are very thick rubber with big half-circle "lumps" at the ends of each camshaft. They only go on ONE way. They are flat on the bottom, and the top has a ridge that fits into the groove on the valve cover. But it does not fit tight enough in the groove to hold it in place while you put the cover back. No matter, though, since there is not enough clearance to get the cover back on the rear cylinders with it attached - your only choice is to place the gasket on the head and then maneuver the cover in place. The original gasket seems to have been held to the cover by several spots of rubber cement in the groove, but there was no sign that a gasket sealant was used all the way around. Other than those glue spots on the cover, there was no sign that the original factory gasket had any RTV type gasket sealant used at all during assembly. However, when the shop did my valves the first time, they DID use a bit of RTV, but only on the lumps, and neither gasket ever leaked in 40,000 miles. For comparison, one person who had replaced the gasket without using any sealant did develop a slight leak at one of those lumps over time. For these reasons, I personally recommend applying just a thin coat of high temperature RTV to the depression in the head where those lumps fit before putting the gasket in place. Now look closely at the parts of the gasket where it is next to the spark plugs - on the exhaust side only you will see a slight squiggle or wave in the gasket, and on the cylinder head you will see a matching wave. Make sure you position the gasket with those points matching. Then look at the cover - notice the same wave? Guess where it goes . . . When you lower the cover down on the gasket, the challenge is to get the ridge on the gasket to smoothly fit up into the groove on the cover all the way around. If you even have a hint that the cover is not completely smooth and flush on the head, then the gasket is NOT completely seated in that groove. Take your time and trace the entire edge with a bright flashlight to get it right. Remember how much work it was to get that cover off; you don't want to have to do it again! When putting the front gasket and cover in place, remember they must go in from the right side to fit around that water pipe. The torque on the cover bolts is only 7.2 ft lbs., and that is not much. Make sure you have a wrench that has a setting that low, and use it. These are not the kind of gaskets where you can go back later and tighten them a little more if you get a leak. In fact, over tightening the cover on that thick rubber will just distort it and make the leak worse. Although the manual does not say to tighten the bolts from the inside out in a cross pattern like you would the head bolts, that is still the method I recommend. Air Intake Parts: Make sure you get that front T in place before you put the carbs in, same with the rubber Y that connects the air plenums to the T. The only thing to remember about the T is that it has a locating lug sticking out the front that MUST fit in the rubber grommet in the frame. The hose clamp on that rubber Y is located on the left side of the bike, with the head facing up. Initially it seems impossible to access, but just use a long screwdriver behind the wire bundles next to the frame. Putting the carbs back in: After making sure the hose clamps are still properly positioned on the top of the intake manifolds, slide the carbs in from the left side, but leave them just far enough out to make it easy to attach the throttle cables. Then after making sure all the carbs are centered on the manifolds, you need to push down on them pretty hard to pop them back in place. Try to put the base of your hand on top of the carb throats, not on the plastic diaphragm covers. Re-route all the fuel lines and vent hoses appropriately, and don't forget to re-connect the two plugs. Putting on the air plenums: Some people have had real trouble getting the air plenums to fit properly back on top of the carbs (and stay there when they tighten the clamps). In every single case I have seen, this has been caused by the rubber neck on the plenum being caught on the edge of the carb and buckled under the clamp - usually behind the carb where it is impossible to see. Make sure the clamps are plenty loose and rock the plenum a bit when putting it on. If the rubber is not buckled in there, the plenum will fit fully down on the carbs and not spring back up at all. Unlike the lower hose clamps, those on top of the carbs do not have a metal collar to prevent them from being over tightened, so just make sure they are properly set in the grooves on the plenum and snug them up pretty good instead of trying to play Magilla. I think that is about it. Let me know if you think I have missed something or you have any questions! Goose

Does anyone know what would cause an '87 VR to red line in 2nd gear at 65 mph but not get above 4500rpm and 75 mph in 5th gear. It does sputter a little around 6000 rpm but will recover up to the red line. I normally don't do this to the engine but was trying to blow out the jets in the carbs after 2 cans of Sea Foam run through her this past year. It runs great but just a little slugesh in high gear. Any insight would be great and I just got carbs sync. this weekend. Is this normal? THANKS!!!

Well, just got my 83 First gen back from a local shop and the whole ride home I've been sick to my stomach. I took it in for oil change, spedo replacement, and to synch the carbs. He said that the carbs are mechanically synced and that wouldn't be necessary. He did say he adjusted the screws to smooth it out. Boy now I'm messed up. This thing went from running 80% good to 45% good. Feels like it is missing or even possibly fouled out. I can't take it back till Monday but I feel like I messed up by allowing them to work on this carb. I described the synch tool with the four liquid levels but apparently that didn't work. I hindsight I should of ordered the new tci that Dingy sells. Wondering if anyone has any suggestions on how I can communicate to this shop on Monday and if there is anyone in the southwest Missouri area that I can hire to get the carbs back right. Trying to be patient. I'll look in the morning to see if something came unplugged or what but I pulled it out of the shop like this. On top of that they had it for a week and a half. Thanks. P.s. It has ran great for several years now but always felt like it was only on 3 cylinders after doing the cold start test with the occasional back fire through the carb. But even the. It ran better than this. I was getting about 26mpg. So in hindsight it might just be the tci.

My 87VR always had carburation problems ever since I acquired her used at 40k miles. The last mechanic that worked on it before I gave up on other techs, and took over the full responsibility of being the only one to work on it told me that the intakes that were on the bike when i got it were the wrong intake manifolds. He said the ones on the bike were vmax manifolds that had a crossover port that the 87 xvz1300 did not have. He explained that the extra ports were sucking air that affected the air intake with the gas mixture to intake port causing the gas/air mixture feed to the spark plugs to be wrong. The end result was that the fuel burn was rich and the bike didn't idle properly and the fuel burn in the cylinder was not efficient causing poor ignition at the spark plug. It sounded reasonable to me so i gave him the OK to order the right intake manifolds. It ran a little better for a while but the same poor performance quickly returned. Then the bike died altogether. Note: The next few paragraphs are background describing my mental reference at the time If you not interested in my thought process and want to skip to the point scroll down to the paragraph heading "The Point". It was at that point that I started believing that i was the proud owner of a dinosaur too old for reliable professional service and abandoned by Yamaha since a lot of the parts i needed were no longer available. And the parts that were available were so cost prohibitive that I couldn't justify the expenditure needed to keep her alive. I was almost ready to part her out. In fact the Yamaha dealers wouldn't even talk to me about working on it since it was more than ten years old. Evidently Yamaha in their marketing strategy has decided to only stand behind their product for no longer than ten years. As much as that pisses me off I guess I can understand that they have to cater to the new money and twenty year old + bikes are past history, from their corporate point of view. But as a builder and contractor that has made my living built on my reputation of providing quality work and a man of character that stands behind his product, engineering, service and workmanship no matter how longs it been, I felt deserted and violated. So anyway I had a decision to make. Do I give up on her, Part her out and and commit her usable organs to Ebay. Or do I stand by the old girl and fight for her life even though she was on Life support and could possible already be dead. I started looking at new Goldwings, BMW 1200's, Victory Visions. The ride on the Goldwings somehow felt like a park bench, the BMW's had a nice ride but the saddle didn't fit my crouch, the vision took my breath the first time I saw it. As I was considering it as a option the reoccurring thought that popped into my mind was about if George Jetson rode a motorcycle it would be the Victory Vision. I was weighing out my options when I investigated ebay for the first time as marketing research to test the market for used 87 Venture Royal parts. My plan at that time was to generate the down payment on a new bike by parting out my 87VR. To my amazement I found out that ebay offered what Yamaha no longer did and what I needed could be won realitively cheaply on the internet ebay auction. The first Auction I won on ebay was a set of Carbs from Sean Hess (Hessforless ebay seller & member of VentureRiders.org) which I was sure was the root of my bike problems. During that transaction I talked to Sean on the phone and he told me about Venturerider.org God Bless you Sean. Well I BELIEVE THAT LIFE IS ABOUT TRIAL AND ERROR. Thomas Eidison was once asked about his failures in testing 300 and something different materials to use as the filament for the light bulb before he discovered that carbon tungsten worked. His response was, "None of those test were failures, in fact I succeed in all of those test by discovering what did not work". Dragonslayer philosopy: Failures are learning experiences you can profit by. Am I rambling? The carbs didn't fix the problem so I timidly entered a tech thread that seemed to be related to the problems that I was experiencing and asked for help as a newby to VR.org. GeorgeS (my VR.org hero) responded offering his assistance. Typical of what I have since discovered is the nature of this club and it's members he selflessly committed his considerable time addressing and walking me through troubleshooting and fixing my bike. God Bless you GeorgeS, God Bless you VR.org each of you one and all. With his help and others we breathed new life into her. With all of that said I'll get to the point. She ran better than she ever did. Well enough for me to feel good enough about her to break her down for a new paint job and going over which I completed just in time to make the Clay18 Bike presentation. Which was the first time I had met any of ya'll in person. Muffinman stepped up at that event to offer to sync my carbs in the parking lot. An offer I deeply appreciated and humbly accepted. Even though I felt that I had managed to get the sync fairly close judging by her improved performance. I was floored to discover from muffinmans carb sync that the intakes were still sucking outside air and as Muffinman explained it, meant that the current efficiency was equivalent of operating on 2 1/2 carbs instead of four. Evidently I still had some work to do. I limped thru last summer diagnosing low compression problems on one cylinder, chasing Ohm demons through the electrical and electronic systems then finally starter clutch failure on top of the never resolved carb problems. So I committed to another ground up going over including a new to me, used 9000mile 1990 model engine. During that process i won a ebay auction for a November 1986 issue of Cycle Magazine which evaluated the 1987xvz1300 Venture Royal with technical changes from 1986 to 1987. The Point One of the technical points the article mentioned was larger carb bores from the 34 mm mikunis to 35 mm mikunis in 1987. And I quote, "These measurements come from the carb's mouths- at the venturis, the jump is even bigger: 30.3mm in 85, 31.6mm in 86. To even out the mixture, both pilot and main jets grow larger this year yet fuel consumption remains remarkably close to the numbers from our last test unit." When I first read that information it didn't mean anything to me. During the history of my ownership and the foregoing background dialog I have ended up with three different sets of intake manifolds. All of which look exactly the same visually. But on the work bench they got mixed up. Then as I was preping carbs to mount on new motor I noticed that some seemed to fit tighter on carb mouths than others.:lightbulb:I Got out the ruler and guess what? There is a measurable difference in the opening (Where carb throat inserts in intake boot.) size between the three different sets of Intake manifolds/boots. is it possible that my problem all along was that the intake manifolds were not the same year as the carbs therefore the clamps did not fully constrict the boots around the carb throats and therefore not completely sealing or preventing air being sucked through that incomplete seal. I have no clue what year carbs I bought off ebay nor do I know what year each set of intake boots are. I figure that I will us the tightest fitting set to mount to this new (to me)1990 motor. Then the next question occurred to me that I would welcome some input on... I wonder how many internal carb changes might have occurred between whatever year carbs I have and the 1990 motor I'm getting ready to mount them to and to what degree will those changes adversely effect the performance of the 1990 motor potential performance. These carbs just got brand new diaphragms and fuel enrichment/air cut off diaphragms if I'm gonna need to change jets to match 1990 engine I rather do it now while they're on the bench instead of putting it all back together and having to do it later.

Just checking to see if there is enough interst in getting together to tune carbs. etc this fall in Borger. If there is enough interest, I will set something up.

On my previous bike I played with jetting a lot. In the end, I had more power (not verified with factual evidence) but I lost about five mpg. I have read comments here about carb mods and I am very hesitant to try anything for fear I might not be pleased with the results. Does anyone have dyno runs or other data regarding changes to carbs or air intake?

Just wanted to let everyone know about Ivans jet kits available online installed in my venture-actually uses smaller main jets and finally got my carbs synced right and it has more power and is smoother

Having recently gotten a bike to rehab that has set awhile I got around to really digging in to it today. Removed the tank and gave it a quart of kerosene to rinse it out. The hoses are a bit checked so they where replaced. Makes sense to at least take off the float bowls and assess whether or not to take it down further. The clamps on the intake boots are loose and the carbs are still a bit snug. The manual makes it sound as if you can remove the carbs right off the boots but I'm a big guy with a large set of easy outs to prove my ability to snap stuff off. Can these be pried up or should I take the boots off right at the head? The only reason I ask is a previous hack covered the boots in some kind of epoxy, I'm guessing they where either split or checked. The bolts are covered and if need be I'll chip away to get them off, just not sure if I need to do it.

I recently started a restoration on an 85 Vmax for my son. The bike has only 11K miles on it but has been sitting since 1999. So far most everything has been in pretty good shape, considering the lengthy down time. The carbs, however are history. I am having a difficult time finding a set of carbs for it that are not way out of his price range, but I can find first gen Venture carbs fairly reasonable. Would these fit on the vmax? I'm sure if they do, there would be some loss in performance, but would they suffice until he can find OE carbs.

Does anyone have a carb sync tool I could borrow or possibly buy? I took the carbs off the bike to do the valve adjustment and I cleaned up the carbs some too. When i got them back on and the bike running it pops out of the right pipe. When i take the little rubber boot off of the sync nipple it'll rev up momentarily but there really is no change. Took a little Brake parts cleaner and sprayeed it in the hole and she smoked a little but never idled up or down. I dont trust any of the shops in my town and I know i need the carbs synced. I'm just hoping it'll take care of the problem

Puc, Here are a few pics of my '77 MGB i've owned for around 3 yrs. Since these pics i've lowered the car some and done some exhaust work. Did a complete engine rebuild, SU carbs and all suspension pieces approx. 10K miles ago. This is what is replacing our totaled '07 RSTD.

I have questions as to why my 88 venture will not start, it cranks, backfires and pops but not running. This is the same bike that the carbs were just rebuilt, it ran well Saturday but not today, any known fixes.

Seeking a new-looking exhaust pipes for my '06 RSTD. Hopefully inexpensive. If you've replaced yours and and just want to get rid of the stock mufflers, I'll be glad to pay for the shipping to WA. The RSTD I bought came with aftermarket pipes and I prefer the quieter stock ones. Question: I'm assuming that when the previous owner put on aftermarket pipes he had to have the carbs re-jetted, yes? I also assume that this means if I put stock pipes back on that I have to have the carbs re-jetted back to the stock settings, yes? Thanks for any help you might provide.

I'm still in the process of getting my '83 roadready. I did actually ride it for the first time the other day. She really runs nice considering I haven't had the carbs adjusted yet. The problem I'm having now is that the red warning light is always flashing. Where do I begin in the process of chasing down the problem?

I guy's. I have just recently added Khromwerks mufflers, k&n filters and iridium plugs to my 06 Venture. My question is, do I have to rejet the carbs? All information will be gratefully recieved. Regards Keith.

Hello All, Quick question and background. Son rides a valkyrie. We just went thru all 6 carbs and reinstalled... REAL pita to reinstall airbox runners onto top of carbs. We reinstalled and cranked up and have a low idle issues that we believe to be an air leak, further investigation tomorrow. Now for the question, one of his forum buddies we visited had a fuel "bag/cell" hanging from the ceiling with a hose and pinch clamp to run bike without the tank on... Great idea huh. Have any of you made one and if so, out of what with what??? Wanting to make one tomorrow that I will use also on RSV when finished. (torn apart now) Give me ideas... hose, check, clamp, check, bottle.... woops. I need a fuel resistant IV bag! Ideas anyone?:think: thanks for the help, James:biker:

So I got this Venture about a week ago as a project bike. It wasn't in too bad a condition for sitting for four years, so after two days of cleaning it up it looked pretty good. Spent the better part of another two days making repairs and cleaning the carbs. Put it back together synched the carbs and it now runs like a champ. Thanks to all for suggestions and comments!

I fixed the starter clutch and started the bike with some difficult at half throttle so I put 6 ounce of redline in the tank. Now it will not start (hit) at all. Checked gas flow and it is working good and cleaned and checked firing of the plugs, Good. When I spray starter fluid in the carbs direct, it runs with the starter fluid and quits. I see no gas spray out of the carbs at all.

I just picked up an 85 with carbs removed. I am not sure if i have all the hoses correctly routed and the book is no help. I also need some help on how to best press the carb bodies back onto the boots by myself in 40 degree weather. I see only 3 hoses on the upper section coming from under the seat that i believe should connect to the 4 carb air vents on the carb bowls that are on a 45 degree angle. I do have the 4 little drain hoses on the bottom. I also have the canister on the left side that is not completely connected. Any help with all these hoses would be appreciated I have worked many bikes but do not see how i can easily press these carbs back into place. Any suggestions besides brute force?

Hello Im completly new at this here street bike experience, I bought a 1996 Royal star. Not Realising that two of the carbs had striped fuel mixture screws holes, now Im searching and looking around on Ebay and so on for a used set of carbs. New each carb at Yamaha is almost $600 I cant not aford that at all. Im hoping that you guys might be able to tell me what years and models may be swaped onto my bike. I tried the local Yaamaha Dealers and the are not helpfull at all, they dont want to share part #s so I may compare and try to figure out what might swap. Thanks for your attention...