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Tires, fluids, plugs and some Seafoam in gas. Regular gas is fine. Fuel filter(it's in a bad place... Move to right behind tank, under seat.) Fuel pump points. Or another pump. The points go bad with time and mileage. If yours look good then 👌. Pack for roadside repairs... Your know the stuff. Buy a hand air pump unless you already have one for your HD. Set air in shocks to about 5lbs up front and 25 in rear. Then ride it. Find the compromise between a nice ride with no shock bottoming out in rear. Yes, she's a heavy scoot.... But low end handling is good, high speed stability is solid.... You will just need to sort her out. On the road, I run 36lbs in front, 40 in rear. That seemed the best for my load.... BUT, remember you aren't on the Dyna...no short shifting...let her rev. As you become used to the bike, let her rev more and enjoy. Under 65, stay in 4th gear.... Won't hurt a thing. Mpgs should be around 36 to 38. Much less indicates running to low rpm(bogging down), carbs out of sync or vacuum leak, Dirty carbs. Run more Seafoam! Regarding cross country.... I've made a couple of serious cross country rides and have to say, the RSV was by far the most comfortable. Getting off on the 2 lanes and cruising at 65 was a pleasure. Wishing you a great ride!

We stayed at the Meadowlark motel. Nice place, spitting distance to the Wheels of Time museum.

Thank you sir!

Do we have a date set? I want to go ahead and make reservations.

You're doing the old gal justice, nice job with all of it 👍

Video #4 is available..... https://youtu.be/O37q6Xn5lws

I wish we had known could have arranged a meet. We were staying at the Hillbilly camp site.

It's always been a tent site and I can still put my trailer up there as always. it will be T24 though

To bad we didn't know. You could have ridden and hung out. We had a blast. Ron, So your saying you cant park your trailer up there and if you park down in D nobody can pitch a tent? If so, it sounds like a change in venue is in order.

This is completely off topic, but I was in Maggie Valley last week, also.

Hope it's not to early to start this topic, but while riding in Maggie Valley last week Trina and I rode out to KOA East and looked around. They have changed our "G" section to "T" but the numbers have not changed when I asked at the office why, the girl says she didn't know but they must have liked "T" better 🙄. I think it is because it's mainly a tent section. I checked on "D" section down by the lake but it is 18 dollars higher and they don't allow tents.

I don't remember the exact location, but the parts diagram shows it to be under the faux tank plastic, mounted on the left side frame rail between the gas fill and the battery box if it is still in it's original position..

Well I do admit there are times when I like to let my pony have its head but most times I keep her on a short rein or ride it as as you say like I borrowed it. I usually prefer taking the back roads instead of the highways and enjoying the scenery ( maybe I'm starting to get a tad long in the tooth ) . Its also my daily commute vehicle, to and from work, from the time the roads are clear of ice and snow, until the snow returns, which these days is about ten months out of the year. Commuting to work involves riding in a lot of stop and go traffic which is were I really appreciate the clutches ability to slip clutch when needed or want it, since I hate constantly coming to a full stop and putting my feet down all the time, ( and I am not a bike walker ) yet it will take a firm hold as well when needed. Like I said I do not have your expertise which I have the utmost respect for, I can only give MHO based on what I have experienced with my own bike. BTW what do you mean unusually kind? I thought I was always kind

My 1995 XV1100 had the flasher in behind the battery box , near the engine control module ...I miss the XV1100 Virago it is a great bike

So update on this install. I tweaked grinding out the throttle side housing a little more and had to cut a notch in the clutch side housing for the wiring. After hours of bench testing before I buttoned it up I thought I had it figured out because the grips Just weren’t heating. Turns out I was wrong in thinking the mfg had bad directions. After even more troubleshooting I confirmed there must be a fault in the resistor module as it was the only thing getting hot and only getting .2VDC to the grip side elements. Contacted Avon and so far they’ve been a pleasure to work with. I get the feeling they are a smaller family business. Paid $35 for a replacement module which will be refunded when I turn in the defective one. I think after talking to the engineer he wants to confirm it’s faulty and why and to trend analysis on faults. Should be here Thursday in time for this weekends ride.

Hey Ben, You were unusually "kind" in your comment just now, and I wanted to thank you for that. Would it be fair to say that the term "Rode it like I stole it" would describe your riding style to a degree, my friend. Be honest now, I've seen you ride your Venture more than once. I was just pointing out that for the riders that ride a little less aggressively, your clutch system MIGHT not be as smooth as the stock system if their riding style is more like "I ride it like I borrowed it, from Mike Tyson" LOL!! The most wonderful thing about these bikes is the fact that you can set them up any way you like! I have admired your riding skill for a number of years Ben, because as you know, I too like to ride HARD and FAST, and keep my bike in tip top shape, (and heavily modified) so that I can do just that! BUT in addition to my 87'VR I also have a pretty much bone stock 89'VR that I run to the store or work on all the time. Same bike, totally set up differently. Life, as well as our motorcycles, are full of options, I was just bringing a few more to the table, nothing more. Thank you again for your kindness Sir, Earl

HI I am restoring a 1983 Chopped XVZ12T 1200 Yamaha Venture that looks like a virago. I cannot find the signal flasher. Can anyone help?

Hello Brad16, Welcome to Venture Rider. Please feel free to browse around and get to know the others. Please introduce yourself so that our members can get to know you. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. This thread is primarily for introductions. If you have specific questions about your bike, you will get more responses if you post them in the correct forum. Brad16 joined on the 09/14/2021. View Member

So, before my spring trip, I did a “practice” replacement to see what was needed. Going from memory: 5mm Allen to remove the side covers Phillips to remove the center cover 12mm socket to remove the pump Plier/needle nose to loosen the hose clamps. I will take a look @ the exploded view deg later, to make sure I’m not forgetting anything, but it is not complicated at all. The worst part was dealing with the various wiring clamps/ties under the side cover. That and that darn screw for the center cover which is always hard for me to get back into place.

I carry a spare pump as well, but haven't had any issues yet. Without looking at it, are there any special tools needed for a roadside replacement?

Glad you had a great trip and made it home safely. I was going over Rabbit Ear Pass on Sept 8th, having just come across hiway 14 from Fort Collins! Absolutely beautiful area. I carried a spare fuel pump with me on my trip (5,500 miles over a month), along with the couple of tools necessary to change it out, if need be. A lot of things could go wrong, but I figured if the fuel pump went out, its one problem I could easily fix anywhere, myself and it doesn't take up much storage space. If the points go out, I'll swap in the spare, replace the points when I get home and then still have a spare to carry with me. My spare is a very clean, used pump purchased off of ebay for $30. The same pump was used on other Yamaha Star models, so not hard to find used on ebay. Hope you are back up and running soon!

This is my favourite pic of the two of them; demonstrating how they "rough it" out ctfw'ing!

Anybody know where I can get a luggage rack that attaches to my backrest? Also considering adding a trunk. Amazon has one for $90. Recommendations? 2008 tour deluxe thanks, Mike

Hello Sweaty-Yeti, Welcome to Venture Rider. Please feel free to browse around and get to know the others. Please introduce yourself so that our members can get to know you. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. This thread is primarily for introductions. If you have specific questions about your bike, you will get more responses if you post them in the correct forum. Sweaty-Yeti joined on the 09/14/2021. View Member

Its extremely rare that I disagree with you Earl and I still don't claim to know better. I just know that I have run the Barnett carbon fiber clutch for about 70,000 KM now give or take and I have not noticed any of the issues you pointed out. Always smooth yet solid engagement. No slippage or increased engine heat and slip clutching to be able to move at an almost dead stopped crawl is a dream with no bad side effects. For myself I cannot say anything bad about this clutch and would have no issue installing another one should this one ever wear out which so far it is showing no inclination of doing anytime soon.