cowpuc

MOMMMM,,Neil's being naughty,, calling me names and sassing you again,,, and wont let me kiss him ..... "Neil,, stop pickin on your brother!!!!!!!!!! You should be glad he likes to embarrass you in front of your friend,,, he only does it cause he loves you ":stickpoke: THANKS MOM!!

,, BEAUTIFUL TUFFY!!!! JUST FLAT OUT 100%,, MY ME GORGEOUS!! CONGRATS!! Sooo,, now that you got my attention (I am pretty sure you knew the congratulations in landing a couple gorgeous shooters wasnt gonna end there ,,, the ol curiosity begins and all that ),,,, tell me a little more on the Walther. Is it considerably narrower on the slide then the double stack Hellcat?? I think for a pocket gun it would be wayyy cool if someone would make a slender as possible 9 mill single stack with all the edges radiused as much as possible to prevent snagging.. Something palm sized.. Am I even close to describing the Walther?? Just like you though brother,, I am a staunch double stacker lover too,, 17 rounds is a good round count IMHO to make shooting cans and chasing away bad guys interesting ... Ok,, I'll shut up,, gotta say though,, NICE CHOSEN THE SHOOTERS TUFFY!! Puc

If my dear brother Bongo was still riding with us here below (my oh my how I miss my brother Bongo) he would chime in right about now and remind us that the only really good way to make that pilot adjustment would be to use a sniffer... About that time I would chime in and remind Bongo of how much fun I had fooling with a Colortune over at @OrlinEngth one fine MD.. It was wayy cool and in all seriousness,, I still think a person that took a little time in tuning could make that pilot adjustment just as accurately with a Colortune as he could with a sniffer.. Of course Bongo would chime back in and say he still liked the sniffin idea better... Most folks dont have access to a sniffer as they are kinda pricey but the color tune is very affordable IMHO.. Here is what I am refering to in case anyone is curious: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Gunson-G4172-Colortune-single-plug-kit-for-motorcycles-with-10mm-spark-plugs/323949238442?epid=2288064643&hash=item4b6ce118aa:g:TyMAAOSw~SJcXeCa

Yeahh THAT is a STEAL!! I really really really do not need it either Don and it is on the other side of the state from me BUT,, if it was across the street from me so I could just walk over and hand em the money and push it home I would definitely drag it home:hihi:. I just cannot stand to see a poor abandoned Venture suffer like that (not being ridden),, even if it is a 2nd Gen:witch_brew:. Go get it Boss,,, you KNOW you have to cause you are tender hearted that way too .. GOOD FIND!!!

Yeahhh,, that lop eared Carl varmint is an ok Kanuckian IMHO,,,, especially for a geezer..

Yep,, and it is to bad too Corporal Newkirk cause I have a really nice, 100% complete MK1 (83/85 Venture) hitch that I would have made the OP a great deal on BUT you are correct,, the MK2 and MK1 hitches are completely different animals..

100% :sign yeah that: In my neck of the woods,, and in several other U.S. locations that I am very familiar with bike values in,, that scoot would be a $1500 bike average retail before the CCP Virus hit,, no idea now adays but would definitely say that value has followed all the rest of the industry (HD,, old saying in the buy/sell world of motorcycles that I lived by when pricing my bikes at the dealership = as HD goes,, the entire market follows) and has also dropped some.. Keep in mind that also pre virus,, the 2nd Gens were 3 grand for a decent one.. Also note the thread that Grubsie posted with the ad for the new 27000 dollar Yamaha Venture that Logan was selling for 12 grand and note the bike did not sell on our site!! That was a brand new scoot whose value was cut in more than 1/2 and it still did not sell here in the club and we have the strongest Venture backing of anywhere in the world.. On the other hand though,,, value truly is in the eye of the beholder.. If that bike is/were something special to you, like its exactly the bike your looking for to fulfill a bucklist need (I get that) or it has some deep emotional tie (I get that too - I have side covers on my current 1st Gen that I have put over 1 million miles on by transferring them over my 6 bikes and they are not for sale) than I say GO FOR IT!! After you buy it,, come on here with all kinds of pictures of you and your new bike,, brag it up,,, make videos,, seize the day not the chain saw I always say.. I really do!!

ALL TIRES I RAN/RUN ARE OEM STOCK SIZES AND EQUAL TO OR WELL ABOVE OEM LOAD RATING SPEC.. Tour Master 230's on the Shinks Bum.. Excellent mileage for a 70 dollar rear tire = 5 to 6 thousand desert crossing mileage is not uncommon for us and that is not by taking it easy on the tire.. Plenty of triple digits in plus 100 degree tempts,, fully loaded and riding two up.. Shinkos have excellent grip for hammering twisties, solid in the rain,, good tread design for off roading a street tire.. HUGE plus goes to Shinko cause of their excellent side wall construction - stiff but not so much they are difficult to spoon off/on at roadside.. Have bought many thru the years and have yet to get one that didnt want to balance out.. The E-4 did a good job.. DEFINITELY a higher mileage tire (as advertised) than the lesser costing brands/models.. Have you ever ran Dunnies? Ever notice how they got noisy in the turns as the tread wore down? I ran many many Dunnies thru the years,, even tried the 404's (TERRIBLE MILEAGE = 3500 in the desert TOPS!! Had to swap one out on the fly one time cause it went bald 1/2 way across the country,,, terrible experience cause the stealerships ONLY carried the 404 (no other choices in stock) and it ended up costing me almost twice what I paid for the 404 I had bought online and mounted before we left.. Burned that one off in finishing the trip to my daughters in Cali.. LAST 404 I ever bought! Back to the E-4.. The E-4 developed 0 noise at 1/2 wear like all other dunnies I have ran.. Good quiet runner.. I was exspecting some issues with running in rain or during cooler running with the harder center tread (they are dual compound) but never experienced and difference.. I ride different than most,, when it rains I speed up,,, I discovered years ago that riding faster in the rain = staying dry,, tuck n run I call it.. The e-4 didnt hamper that ability at all.. Also good in the twisties.. This tire ROCKS in desert tempts!! Super high mileage (+15000) but LOVING those temps.. The hotter it got the better it stuck! Actually though,, not that much better than the Shinko's as I always admired the shink's ability in the heat.. Big thing for me is cost per mile when considering opportunity costs.. Gotta remember here that when I say the E-4 WILL require a tire machine for removal,, I mean it.. I have been swapping my own tires,, both dirt bikes and street, my whole life and still hold the opinion that the E-4 aint coming off without a machine.. This is probably a non-issue in our current day and age where most people rely on tow service and dealerships for their tire repair needs,, I totally get that.. Problem is,, that is totally foreign to my way of thinking.. I still reliant on my own skills of survival,, probably totally wrong but thats the way I have always rode and I will till I die. NOTHING concerns me more concerning CTFW than knowing I have an area on my bike that if something happens,, like I pick up a nail (and this has happened many times in my case,, sometimes I think Murphy follows me), I am all of a sudden like most riders in todays touring market - at the mercy of a tow truck driver and a dealership who dont know me from Adam = the bend over plan is what I call this.. Nahhh,, I tried it,, its done,, the E-4 performed great but I will not spend the big money ($300 and up) again unless I absolutely have too.. Hey Bum,, here is a short video of mine that you might enjoy,, take a peek:

She ok now brother? I spent a year in a body cast after fracturing L5 at the Sacrium.. Blew out the facia joints that hold the spine in check and the L5 was hanging onto the Sacrium by less than 1/4 of an inch.. Parallized from the waste down. I still have drop foot (have a "captain america" brace) and pain issues (sciatica) but came out really well cause after 5 surgeries an extremely talented Neuro Surgeon had me back on my feet and now playing with my grandkids like there is no tomorrow.. Is your daughter now thinking Neurology since dealing with her situation? Dealing with all that was a HUGE eye opener for me of the "needs" in our medical fields for doctors who really care.. Tell your daughter Grandpa Puc is mighty proud of her ambitions:clap2:! Tell the other the same:clap2:,,, nothing wrong with areospace engineering except it takes a whole lot more brain umphh than I ever had!!

I know,,,, I was soooooo stinking and wanted to be riding next to you again :biker: soooo badly during the gathering of data for that review my brother!!!!! Think of alllllll the fun you and I could have had and all the questions we could have answered about comparing the two,,, truth be known @VentureFar,,, if Tweeks/Tip and I coulda pulled that off we would all probably still be out there in the desert somewhere gathering data for an all time endlessly awesome, second to none,, Mr VentureFar's ultimate of ultimate Ultimate's motorcycle compare-off's!!! Oh well,, we still had fun with it brother and I seriously that the end result, the review,, was top notch!!!

I actually discovered the extreme low end abilities of the little V-4 by serindeputy and out of profound necessity many years ago when touring on my first, no second gear 1st gen Ben (I always said Mom Yam could have just as easily built the MK1 1200cc as 4 speed and saved me a ton of short shifting past a blown 2nd gear for 100's of thousands of wonderful miles.. I was always amazed with its ability to crawl up mountain roads in tight corners (talking the bicycle trail width uphill hairpins on the west bound end of Skagg Springs road in California mountains) in 3rd gear at 1600 r's... Just crawling uphill like granny gear in low range in old clyde our 82 Ford airport plow truck... Yeah,,, you know exactly of what I speak you old saddlebum!!

While my dear friend/brother VentureFar may be the best of the best in his ability to detail, write and execute the most excellent of excellent reviews when it comes to bikes and the paraphanalia thereof his brother here in the Mid West is still king of !!! Here is my latest in my quest to honor the art of myth busting.. Something we all should be interested in and partaking of because (and this is my new mantra) = TRUTH MATTERS!! This is a copy/paste of the "body" of my article (how do like that lingo coming from the mouth of an amuteur writer Neil ) that I posted under the vid on Youtube.. Ever since the new Star Yamaha air cooled 1850cc Venture was introduced (NOTE: what I am myth busting here actually started long before the new models inception though) I have heard over and over again that keeping the old V-4 Yamaha Venture in high R's was/is necessary to maintain needed performance for everyday touring needs, in other words,, thinking you are going to enjoy touring at low rpm (less than 2500 r's) and enjoy it on a V-4 is wishful thinking... While I am no expert about the V-4's, my experience with the tiny little 1200cc V-4 that I have ridden over 1 million miles, two up and fully loaded in all conditions and environments, finds me as still a solid believer that the need for high R's to maintain needed torque for touring a V-4 Venture is a myth. This little video is something I produced in an attempt to show what I am talking about.. While indeed, as I proved in another video set on youtube, the absolute need to short shift the new model due to its extremely narrow power band (rev limited at 4750 R's) succumbs majorly to the extremely wide power band of the little V-4 (see my other videos comparing the two bikes), this we proved. The idea that the V-4's wide powerband and massive HP gains over those of the larger cubic inch engine due to this shows some kind of low end/low rpm torque deficiency of some sort on the V-4's part is craziness.. I can not tell you how any times, thru how many towns the three of us (bike/wife and self) have putted silently thru in 5th gear at 25 mph/1400 RPM only to tap the throttle at the end of the town and run back up to touring speed after passing thru without downshifting. This is one of the reasons why and proof of why it has always been my opinion that once adequate torque is met to get the weight of the load of the bike moving, that any wasted over torque costs you in possible gains of HP due to design needed for producing that torque. Of course, if I were using my bike to pull 40 ton down the highway like a semi or drag a semi truck behind it like the recent Polaris Indian to HD challenge shows I would definitely see the need for dropping some possible HP gains over more low rpm umphhh BUT I have never done that (I do have a CDL license and have driven semi tractors so I know of what I speak). Waste not!! Keep that in mind as you watch this little 1200cc perform in the torque craving environment that Tweeks (our bike), TIP (my wife) and I often ride in.. Also,, if you happen to have one of the new Ventures and would be willing to take our challenge and post a video up doing the same thing as we are doing in the vid,, fully loaded, two up, top gear at 25 mph and whack the throttle to 90 so we can compare it would be greatly appreciated.. DONT CHA LOVE THIS STUFF!!! I DO!! Get out and ride!! Puc and the vid:

Yep,, we are cut from the same mold brother,, must be an old school mindset or something,,, or maybe just a function over form malidy disfunction we both suffer from.. You will love this little story,,, years ago when my now M.D. Daughter was just a little blonde haired 10 year old spectacle riding on the rear seat of our 1st 1st Gen named Beeg (stands for BG or Big Girl,, what the kids named the bike they all took turns riding cross country on) and I were camped on the end of deer trail that led us to the North Rim of the Canyon.. Sitting on the rim, watching the sunset and feeling the warm air of the canyon pass between our toes she suddenly looked back at our ratty old, missing second gear Blonde 84 Royale and with great big nervous eyes asked me "daddy,, what if Beeg breaks down out here"? She was a sharp 10 year old IMHO.. I smiled and told her to listen carefully and then explained to her that unlike the high dollar bike sitting back at the dealership that own the owner/operator because of their value, if Beeg were to die and her and I could not fix her we would just take off her luggage and either push her over the edge or give her to some Indian kid who always wanted a motorcycle and hitch hike to the closest rail line to grab a ride home and start over = win/win cause Beeg did her job and we would be headed for more adventure.. Life lesson,, dont let the shine/bling of something new and high tech own you. Live within your means and discover true happiness.. She learned and is still practicing what she learned to this very day.. Me too Speaking of Jeeps Newkirk,, back in the early 70's I had a Jeep CJ5 that was and still is,, the FUNNEST cage I have ever owned.. Set of 6 = 1 headers flowing for a small cam and a little 4 barrel servicing a 258 inline to make it keep running when it hit the dune face (the stock single barrel had a float bowl mounted forward so when you hit a hill hard all the fuel in the bowl would flood the intake causing a major hesitation at just the wrong time = Murphy ya know) all bouncing around on 10 inch wheels with 14 inch Goodyear mudders to keep the little charmer on top of terra no firma sand and muck.. Sooooo much fun!! All's well on the no can help me with the testing,, myth busting I am working on.. Still might wanna keep a weathered eye out for my latest video coming soon to a watering hole near you.. You will get a kick out of it I am sure

After losing my Twin-Max to a thief and having dealt with Mercury Stix for many years (loved em but mercury got expensive and hard to find) and having issues with sticky slides in the Morgan,,, when I closed the shop years ago I bought cheap set of sync gauges and have really enjoyed them.. One of the things I REALLY like about the set I use is it came with all the adapters for many brands.. I still do an occasional old wing or inline for buddies and the adapters sure come in handy.. Here is a little video of the gauges I use.. Ironically,, this little carb syncing video has almost 7500 views which is kind of strange IMHO cause I would have thought old school carb funning and fixing would have long since gone the way of riding with no radio blaring and 3500 mile oil changes... Pretty neat really

,, and here I did not even know Kanuckians had birthdays :big-grin-emoticon::big-grin-emoticon::big-grin-emoticon: :Happy Birthday: ya lop eared Kanuckian varmint!! Sorry I am late but Tweeks, Tip and I got caught up in some southwest trade winds while out playing with grandkids and looking at Corvettes (saving the best of my bucketlist items for last) and missed it... Better late than never though,,, EH:group cheers: Puc

RATSSSSSSSSS.. Again,, DOUBLE RATSSSSSSSSS!!! When I first read this thread a couple days ago (was out of town,, could not respond) I had my fingers crossed that Mom Yam had discovered some left over late production (no soft thrust washers) 1985, 1st Gen MK1's still brand new and in the crate and were offing them for 12 grand a pop. For one of those I would DEFINITELY pull out my Yamaha fun money that has been sitting in the cookie jar since we got back from the unveiling of the new release Venture at Americade and beat foot it to Logan Motorcycles even though my long distance touring days are done.. Hear me Mom Yam,, I am still inlove with the mighty V-4 and would DEFINITELY,, in a heart beat,, grab a brand new left over of one of those 1st Gen Mk1's.. I would also still be interested in one of the new ones IF you would just go back into our clubs wish list archives and take another stab at the new line using our clubs thoughts in design this time,, you could rename the V-Twin Venture to "Star Transcontental" and even reporpouse the Venture name back to the V-4 line:173: . I still happen to be of the opinion that Mom Yam just happened to listen to the wrong group of designers (the V-Twin Star Group = YES,, that really did happen,, I actually met the group from the Star Riders at Americade who Yamaha chose to design the bike ) when she was thinking of the new Venture and that is one of the reasons the bike has been such a disaster sales wise - perhaps there just was not enough bikers in the Star Rider orginization interested in full blown touring to exact the sales needed to support the bike. In all truth though, I still think Mom Yam actually read thru our clubs "wish list" thread I mentioned above and decided to do exactly the opposite of what the faithful V-4 Yamaha Venture Riders here in our club had suggested all the way down to choosing tire sizes for the new bike (have any of you reread that thread lately? Remember the suggestion back then to PLEASE choose tire sizes that will allow the rider/owner as large of selection of tire sources? For a fact,, our club "wish list thread" was a Yamaha corporate design engineers gold mind IMHO -all they had to do was copy the list and start designing and,, as they old saying says,, had they of built it - we would have been there. On the same token though,, rereading that ad by Logan's and knowing now that it's not some photo chop shop job but is 100% FOR REAL = 12 grand for a $25000 msrp brand new left over 2018 Yamaha touring bike with a full 1 year factory warranty and an extended warranty of 4 years (personally never met an extended warranty I really trusted but I have always heard great things about Yamaha standing behind their bikes and totally supporting their warranties) , I can see why this latest thinning of the herd price point would draw attention. If it were my money though and I was even remotely thinking of going back to touring on an air cooled, belt driven bike (and I am not, my touring days are finished) I would still be looking at HD.. The industry is saturated beyond belief in the air cooled, V-Twin market so even HD is taking it on the chin (lot of jockeying around in all manufactures) so a person can really get some great deals on a HD too. Indeed,, this new pricing is awesome but - like it or not,, HD still has the aftermarket sewn up, their nation wide dealership circuit is second to none and WOWZY,, the factory performance parts selection is second to none (HD has a screamin eagle performance catalog that dwarfs most OEM accessory catalogs exponenially and that is just hard parts) and parts are still available (lots of chatter out there of parts from off shore OEM's getting scarce). I KNOW I am bull headed but I still think,, in the end,, if Mom Yam would have really came thru by fulfilling her marketing words of "we are building a bike that is going to turn the touring world upside down" and a full blown touring bike,, one with a 190 horse, water cooled, shaft drive 1700cc injected V-4 sucking air thru fully functional air scoops designed with the looks of non-functional ones on the new model it would have been bye bye time for Beemer, Honda, Kawasaki, Polaris and even given HD headaches over the sales the new Yam coulda/woulda brought down.. Thanks for summons @RDawson,, I always enjoy a good Speaking of the new Venture Corp Newkirk,, here is short video of your ol lop eared varmint buddy interviewing a Yamaha Dealership owner just outside of Lake George on the way out to Americade back in '17 for the unveiling.. Thought you might enjoy this: P.S,, if you do decide to go grab one of the new ones for 12 grand = :scared:CONGRATS!!!! Also,, I have a small favor to ask of you when/if you get one.. It involves doing some torque testing in high gear in comparison to Tweeks,, our old beat up sticker covered 1200cc MK1.. I have a video of us on the way home today doing some comparo' myth busting riding. I may need your help with this one if you end up with the new model. I will be posting our test video up soon in its own thread,, keep an eye out for it!! Now here is that Americade interview if you have never seen it:

VentureFar,, here is a copy paste of what I wrote in the comment section at Ultimate.. Hope it dont get ya fired brother LOL ""Mr. Wyenn,, THANK YOU so much for yet another outstanding review!! My wife and I just got in from some out of town overnighting at a relatives (taking care of grandkids) and riding thru some of Michigans warmest weather this year (94 degrees and 80 percent humidity), nothing as hot as we had experienced while touring Death Valley or other hot spots out in your region but none the less,, it was warm.. We have always been "layers" dressers and generally speaking, I exit my last layer of a tee-shirt when temps get over 100 and she wears a light blouse with plenty of sunscreen to protect hear tender skin.. When I showed her your latest review here she smiled and said "THAT IS "COOL"" and "think of all the money we could have saved on sunscreen - probably enough to have paid for that many times over LOL"! Thanks again for yet another very well written, excellently detailed review from real deal open road experience!! PLEASE KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!! "PUC" and his wife "TIP""" LOVE YOU!!

Never really cared much for ick-spress ways anyway,, now when they start plugging up the backroads thru Sturgis leading out to the west coast THEN we got a problem IMHO.. On the other hand though,,, they probably would never plug those up or riot out there in the middle of nowhere cause aint much but cactus to burn down and cowboys with shooters and lots of vacant Indian burial grounds to fill.. Speaking of backwards thinking,, any one else notice that the Governor of SD has decided that the Rally is a go this year .. Guess she figures if the rioters are safe from the CCP Virus by rioting on hot pavement that attenders of the rally will be just as safe cause she knows Main St. Sturgis during the rally can get just as hot! Good nite I admire that women!!!! If any of you do decide to toss the fear of the virus that is being promoted by the left wing to the wind and head to Sturgis to celebrate U.S. freedom the open road still offers and find yourself on the ick-spress way blocked by rioters,, here is a spot you may be able to regain your composure: or here if ya need some upgraded shooters to clear em off the ick-spress way

There there,,, now that wasn't so difficult was it?

Why cant you and that lovely bride of yours just take that purdy HD out for a nice, long, CTFW ride and wear out those white walls and then just replace them with new black walls?? Seems like that would be more fun, less embarrassing when a fellow biker in the hood notices what you did and a lot less hassle then painting your tires:stirthepot: IMHO,, painting your tires instead of riding them out would be similar to mounting your bike on a dyno and running it for a couple days straight to increase the miles on it and then bragging you just put a bunch of miles on your bike Now aren't you glad you accepted that last 12 months of dues payments from me:stirthepot: Luv ya Puc

Dont know much but I do know that if you cant post pics cause your post loads are short,, I would just post a bunch of real quick short posts to get my post count up so I could post pics LOL.. Just write "Hi Patch" 20 times consecutively in this thread in separate posts and then post the pics.. Around here my kids always called this kind of simple solution "Cowboy Logic" and would smile at me as they sang this simple little tune to me = see vid song.. Also will remind you @JB601 ,, when trying to post those pics, you have to keep them below 1000x750 pixels or the site will not take them,, I use Paint to resize when needed.. Ye be warned. Concerning the MK1 questions,, knowing what little I know about them I would definitely be looking at the stator/rectifier closely.. My experience has been that low stator output and/or weak voltage reg will indeed cause issues as you describe.. Seeing your numbers of less then stellar stator output at the battery causes me pause.. In all honesty,, I like to see at least 14.5 vdc at the battery when the tach touches 2 grand and,, in past cases on my bikes where that is not obtainable but the stator is still showing some output to the battery it normally will result in strange idle issues and stuttering until some revs are reached and the charging system catches up.. Your dashboard volt meter should also be indicating this. That volt meter should pop right up to 14.5 volts when the tach crosses 2 grandish,,, no lagging,, no momentary lapses,, it should snap right to it.. I have never ever ever been impressed with the stators in these bikes,, to say they are weak is an understatement IMHO.. Hardwiring the stator wires on these is not considered a "hack" to me (probable cause I am considered a hack to many varmints - I will take a throw away MK1 with a blown 2nd gear and 30k miles on it and just short shift it out to 300k miles - its my MO,, I am a hack LOL) but is in fact one of the only answers to Mom Yams disgrace of a wire terminal in the stator harness that actually works long term.. You stating that your stator harness has been hardwired is a solid indicator to me that someone had made an attempt to solve a known issue and that there is a good chance that your stator has had at least one update done to it.. I have a hunch though that if you pulled your stator for an eyeball examination you would probably find the top coils of the stator in some form of burnt status.. If you do this and find what I am referring to please note that burned stator outer coils dont always showup in weak OHM testing of those coils.. What happens is as the laminate on those coils has gotten so poor that as the coils warm up they leak/lose resistance and your stator output drops.. This is not always detectable with an ohm meter.. Once your in there,, you really need to double check and make sure the bolt in the end of the crank has a wire sticking out of it and that the stator cover has a splash plate.. The 83's had some (NON RECALL) updates issued consisting of those items.. You can also test the regulator (you got a book? if not take a peek at the clubs shop manual to find the testing for the reg) but I gotta to tell you,, 90% of the time that I have experienced such failure as you describe it ends up being the stator = on the 83 MK1's.. If you pull the covers to access stator make sure you keep track of the screw placement back into the covers,, it is not uncommon for an unknowing mechanic to get a screw in the wrong place and end up going thru a case with a too long screw in the wrong place.. Just lay them out when you remove them so you know what goes where.. Punching thru the case can result in oil leaks.. Thats about all I know about this stuff @Patch,, hope it helps JB in some way! Puc

So with the wire tap into the headlight wire harness completely removed so there is no chance of an amp draw on the OEM headlight harness and still having a RLU fault happening,,, I would probably start with unplugging the headlight itself from the harness and checking the condition of that terminal.. I would look for not just corrosion at the blade connectors but for any sign of resistance inducing issue,,, like wires that have gotten hot.. I would also look carefully at the bulb itself like what kind of condition are the filments in,, matter of fact,, I would probably just replace the bulb to be sure it was fully up to par as the RLU's main purpose is to warn you that its seeing something wrong.. If all that checked out,, I would pull the connector of the RLU and look for corrosion there,, clean the pins real well.. In last case,, it is probably the RLU itself,,, it is not that uncommon for them to fail.. Over the course of 6 - MK1's covering +1 million miles I have personally had 2 of them fail on me and have heard of others failing.. It does happen.. I have been running and LED headlight in my current MK1 and am extremely happy with it.. As you have probably already read,, there are a bunch of the clubs lop eared varmints who have took the time to jumper out the RLU to replace the OEM headlight bulb with LED,, this is fairly common.. I only bring this up because if,, per chance, you find that your RLU has failed, it may be a good time to just do the jumpering and forget replacing it,, up to you of course.. Here is little video of mine I did for another member concerning the RLU that you may or may not find useful.. It shows location of the RLU on a MK1 which I would not be surprised to learn also applies to your MK2..

I am probably wayyyyy out in left center field on this as usual cause I am far from any form a guru on any of this stuff but that schematic looks to me like a layout for wiring a set of driving/passing/auxillary lights up.. It looks like you are tapping into one of the headlight 12vdc inputs to use as a relay trigger for a relay switch that will send power from the battery to the extra lights when the switch is thrown.. The RLU (reserved lighting unit), in my recollect (dont trust it, it has gotten me into a lot of trouble,,, but has also saved me and others a couple times so I still use it - with warning), would be located upstream of the headlight wiring shown (where the green wire taps in) and would not be applicable to this fairly simple, generic schematic probably supplied with the add on lighting system (not all bikes use an RLU - matter of fact,, in my very limited experience with bikes,, the Yamaha Venture is one of all the bikes I have ever worked on that even uses one).. I think if I were facing the issues that you @donens ,, I would begin with disconnecting the extra lighting from the headlight wiring and see if the warning light/dash light goes out.. My experience with the RLU is that if it detects any form of voltage or load change out there in the headlight wiring it will fault.. I got a hunch,, if the RLU is still operational, you will solve the question.. Of course, it is also 100% necessary that you maintain non-LED lighting in your headlight system - it also must remain OEM as LED lights pull to small of a load for the RLU to maintain a cleared status.. If, once the extra lights have been disconnected at the headlight wiring and you are using OEM spec incandesent lighting and the RLU still shows a warning/dash light then please come back and let us know.. Also,, if this does work, you will simply have to find another 12vdc source for the trigger coil in the relay being triggered by the switch.. Wiring the lead for the lights from the battery with a fused source is still correct.. Does any of this make sense?? Probably not,,, if not just hang around for a tad,, some lop eared guru varmint will come along and straighten us both out Puc

@VentureFar , a message to my dear sweet brother out on the west coast from your brother here in the midwest: Men will be men and little boys will be little boys.. Men will ride how they ride and little boys will paint what they paint (soooo precious:big-grin-emoticon:) because they are what they are and do what they do in just being themselves.. Neil, I LOVE that pic you sent me,, that is,, beyond words,,, INCREDIBLE!!! How I wish we could go back to such simple freedom and joy... Perhaps what I am saying will somehow let you know how deeply I can 100% relate my brother. IMHO, the "boys painting what they will paint" is directly connected to the riding with the wind in my hair and using stars for navigation which you speak. Yeahhhh,, there really is a lot to be said for the peace and quiet solitude that a ride can bring if we let it.. No buddy (not a typo) loves ya like I do my brother!! Puc

Surfrider ,, your dad sounds like he was my kind of people Surf. THANK YOU for sharing that with us!! In respect of and in response to your post,, I want to dedicate this old Trucker song that has stirred my heart since the early Trucker CB days back in the late 60's/early 70's to your Dad's memorial. I know it is not a hymn persay (of which I could easily relate to as your father did cause I love those old Gospel hymn's too) but it is definitely right up there with Merle's tune as far as telling it like it is... Hope it inspires and does not offend you or the precious memories you have of your Dad in any way: