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I'm still riding the Venture but going to look at a Can Am Spyder Sunday for making trips with the wife. I'm planning a trip to the Northeast states soon with the Venture. I need 7 states to get all of the lower 48 on a motorcycle and I don't want to count any of them on a Trike. I don't want to stop riding just cause I've gotten old...☹️

Funny you mention that. This past weekend the wife and I were at the VJMC gathering in Blairsville, GA. Long story short, I did drop the bike on its left side in a parking lot incident - barely moving - and the wife fell splat to the ground helmet slapped the asphalt. She just got a little scratch out of the deal thank the Lord - he was watching over her - no headache at all. Not a scratch on the bike that I could find...not even a reflector out of place - the guards did their job!

Paul they’re leaving out a big part of the info:FOOD. Lots of good eating and a nightly run to the ice cream stand. After all many refer to us as an eating club with a motorcycle disorder.

Paul, this usually a small group of folks, and is a very laid back get together we talk about where we are going to ride and go. We welcome everyone no matter what you ride. Trina and I will be camped out at Vogel State park.

Paul, It's always a good time, good riding and good food. This has been going on for nearly 20 years.

Some camp at Vogel state park, some rent cabins at the park. Most of the others stay at seasons inn in Blairsville. The events are riding curvy roads during the day and hanging out in the evenings. There is no sign up or fee. What it cost depends on where you stay. It's just a bunch of laid back folks who like to ride and enjoy some comradery. Hope to see you there!

It occurred to me that you might check the rear brake caliper also. Its hidden and your leak might be there.

You've got a leak. That white crusty stuff in your picture is dried brake fluid. The up side is you have a master cylinder that looks to be in good condition. The rebuild kits are on e-bay for a reasonable price. Pull it, clean it, soak the circlip in oil for a day and free it up. The rebuild is a breeze. XXX steel will used gently will smooth the corrosion, if any, on the inside. A small wire brush will get the big stuff on the outside. Check the tube to the reservoir for leaks, check the o-ring on that black plastic spigot the hose connects to. Clean carefully, degrease, blow it out with compressed air and paint with rustolium or some such to protect the aluminum. You'll be good to go. You can reuse the copper seals by heating them bright orange and quenching them quickly in cold water. Let us know how it goes !

Gear position Indicator upgradefor standard Ventures (Non-Royales) I have installed a gear position indicating system on my 1983 Venture. This is the stock model without the dash readout from the factory. This is the second Venture I have owned. The first one was a 1984 Royale. Two of the things I really miss from that bike were the gear indicator and the cruise control. The cruise control is coming later. I have all of the stock parts now needed to install it. I obtained a Neutral Switch Assembly from a 1984 Venture Royal through an Ebay auction for under $10.00. This assembly will exchange with the stock neutral switch assembly from a standard Venture. The neutral switch assembly is located between the back end of the stator cover and the front of the middle drive. It sets back in about four inches and is difficult to see, but is accessible. Removal of the middle drive cover is needed to access. To indicate what gear the bike is in I mounted three LED lights in the gauge cluster above the volt gauge. The left light is lit it indicates 1st gear. The left light and the center lights lit indicate 2nd gear. The center light lit indicates 3rd gear. The center light and right lights lit indicate 4th gear. The right light lit indicates 5th gear. The neutral light works as normal. In neutral none of the LED’s are lit. I could also use five LED’s, using one for each gear, but I like the 3 light system as it is easy to see and once familiar with the pattern, it is very easy to determine what gear I am in with a quick glance down at the gauges. I initially used a red, green and amber LED’s but the green and amber had poor visibility in the daytime. I replaced with all red ones. I also painted the part of the LED’s that are inside of the cluster with black paint to keep the light from the instrument cluster from bleeding through the LED’s translucent housing. I used four diodes and three LED’s from radio shack for the light logic circuit. Four IN4004 rectifier diodes. Price $.99 for two Three Red LED assemblies. Price $1.99 each The new Neutral Switch Assembly has a six pin plug on the end that sets in the same area that the stator and rectifier plugs are near the fuel pump. I had two spare diode assemblies that I have obtained in the past and used the plug from one of these to mate up with the plug on the Neutral Switch cable. I had to take one extra wire connector from the second diode assy. As the diode assembly plug only used five wires. You do not need to use this connector if you do not want to though. I retained this plug as I will be replacing the wiring harness when I install the cruise control. I put the diodes in the circuit near the plug connections on the end of the neutral switch assy. I then ran three 18 gauge wires up to the instrument cluster. I used a trailer four conductor plug I had to make a connection at the instrument panel. I have attached a PDF file with pictures and a wiring schematic to install this.

I hate to see this kind of talk, but I know one day it will happen but not today

We are at that point as well, sold the trailer and the 86, now it's just the Spyder to sell. 2014 asking 15k.

I rode about 150 miles a couple weekends ago. That was my longest trip in a couple of years. Just don’t enjoy it like I used to. I’ve got Eileen’s trike and my Road Glide up for sale. Prices are down though so we’ll see.