BratmanXj

Wouldn't the ignition bypass relay shut down the entire bike electrical system? Or does it see the load when you hit the starter button? The last month was all about the safety interlocks like the clutch switch, stand switch, neutral switch...but yes I plan to go through them again. I wondered if it's something on the low side of the starter solenoid that I don't even get the click. I'll dive into it later this week

After a month of methodically picking away at the clutch-neutral-kill switch interlock system I THOUGHT I had the problem resolved. Multiple short trips around town and no issues with restarting. Went to take a nice ride yesterday and after 30 min I stopped for gas and the bike wouldn't crank. Pushed the bike into a parking spot and walked next door for lunch. After an hour the bike restarted and I headed home. 30 min ride home and in the driveway the bike wouldn't crank. Wait an hour and it turns over just fine. As noted above, its a purely starter/electrical issue... bike turns on, fuel pump primes, but hit the starter and no-crank, not even a solenoid click. I haven't started back into the system yet and figured I'd post on here for moral support. I assume its a heat-soak issue either at the safety interlock relay that's right in front of the battery box, the starter solenoid, or the starter.

I have always used Scorpion EXO 900 / EXO 930 convertible modulars so I could ride with the same Open 3/4 face helmet as an option. I did get to use my buddies "Revolver" helmet, I think it was Shark brand that use to make them, and the wind would still catch that chin bar and force your head around awkwardly. I wasn't aware that LS2 made a similar style so obviously haven't tried it. Have you ridden on an standard non-fairing MC and how did it perform in the wind? As for the intercom, I'm a fan of the Sena 20 line with the optional mounting bracket that still has an input for our Yamaha / Honda style intercom on the Ventures. I can use the helmet on my other bikes with Bluetooth, or plug into the Venture and still use the factory Radio / Intercom / CB. Amazon - Sena Universal Honda CB

Back story - Last year I had a no-start issue that I THOUGHT was tied to a bad clutch safety switch. Bike ran fine the 2nd half of last year with a paper-clip jumper in the clutch switch plug. Over the winter during maintenance I changed out the clutch switch, bike starts fine until I take it off the lift and I have the No-Start condition happening again! Bike turns on with the key, fuel pump primes when I turn on the kill switch, but I hit the start button and get Oil/Engine light and no starter. No change for side-stand, clutch pull, or neutral. Looking over the wiring diagram and if the bike is in Neutral the starter interlock relay should bypass the side-stand & clutch switch. We pull the interlock relay and start checking with a probe-light and have what look like decent grounds. Put the relay back in and the bike now starts. We clean the relay plug real good and everything seems fine now. The worry in the back of my mind is we didn't ACTUALLY solve the problem and it's gonna crop up while we're out riding somewhere. I know there is a frame ground in the lower left fairing by the horn... I believe there is one on the right side of the steering head. Is there any other location I need to check for the starter safety interlock system?

I joke to my non-mechanic friends when I'm teaching them how to fix their cars of "German Torque Specs" for drain plugs and non-critical fasteners.... Guten-tight

Now that you provided the link it jogged my memory... Our neighbors put those lights under their raised patio 3 years ago. This is northern Indiana with harsher winters and they lights have done very well. All the lights still worked as of the end of last summer. Only problem was re-doing the controller setup. The out-of-state daughter installed them an programed to her phone, then trying to reprogram them to a different phone without the instructions! https://a.co/d/botncOx

"Darkside" is running a car tire on the rear, if you search "Double Darkside" you'll find a lot of guys running a rear tire in reverse rotation on the front of the bike. I put an 18" Yamaha Stratoliner front wheel on my '99 Venture. The available options for tires didn't have a load rating that I liked so I ran a Michelin tire that was designed for the rear of a CB750 on the front for the past few years. I was having issues with the tire cupping at 10-12k miles, well before tread life was gone but probably average miles for an OEM front tire.

There was a guy on the Delphi forum who did this with a Venture, but I can't seem to find a link anymore. But why go through all the fabrication to remove the air box just to put the restriction BACK into the system with PVC caps? Pod filters are great at high rpm full flow, but can be a bear to tune for normal street riding where you utilize the entire rpm range. The air box on most modern motorcycles is tuned for lower rpm torque, having a large enough volume to "gulp" air when you crank open the throttle from 2,000 rpm. Put some Uni foam or K&N gauze filters in the stock locations, put some higher flowing Harley mufflers on, and maybe get the Ivan's rejet kit if you're really feeling like tweaking the bike. These aren't drag bikes, you want to keep the mid-range power....

The Harley touring model mufflers only fit the 4 into 2 headers like the Venture & Tour Deluxe. There is a simple "L" bracket that can be fabricated to mate the Harley mufflers to the factory saddle bag brackets on the Venture/TD. Looking at pictures, it seems the Boulevard has a completely different mounting system for the double-stacked pipes.

Have you ever tried a sidecar? Other than the concept of "not needing to hold the bike up at a light" I wouldn't necessarily describe it as an easier riding experience than a 2-wheeler. I have an '07 Ural Tourist that is a factory designed sidecar rig with a leading link front suspension that both lightens the steering effort AND has better lateral load handling than a conventional fork. I've piloted converted Ultra Classic & Goldwings with both the standard triple clamp and the "Ez Steer" clamps. A sidecar is a-symmetrical and will pitch and yaw at every throttle or brake input, there is no subtle body lean you can put in to counter a side-wind; everything takes upper body strength to hold your line.

The bro-in-law purchased a Stratoliner in the fall, he's big shouldered like me and the stock mirrors are a little low. The Ventures come with a stock riser to the mirrors, but those suckers are $16 a piece plus shipping! I can find black ones on Amazon for under $15 a pair, but no luck matching the LH / RH thread in chrome. Has anyone found an aftermarket left & right thread replacement chrome mirror riser?

Right click and download the file vs trying to open the PDF on-line.

I've had my '99 for about 10yrs now, bought it with a touch over 50k miles and no plans to give it up any time soon. I've had both sport tourers and big twin cruisers, this bike splits the difference.... As noted the engine likes to rev so don't be shy. It looks like that bike has aftermarket mufflers already on it, Harley touring mufflers are a nearly direct swap and I'm sure you can source some OEMs on here if need be to change the sound if you don't like it. Leaking rear shock was problem #1 when I purchased mine. There's people on this forum who repair them, I bought a Hagon replacement and I think RaceTech still makes an option too. Yamaha's (an a lot of metric bikes) are known to loose clutch spring pressure with age. Don't worry if you feel a little clutch slip at the top end of the rev range. EBC makes an updated clutch spring that is simple and inexpensive to replace. There is a good tech article forum here, you should be able to find the service manual for download and most of the maintenance has been straight forward.

I have an Ivan's jet kit sitting on my desk right now... the left bank and right bank are jetted differently from the factory. I'll post a bit of the instructions later tonight.

Same lever between 1700 Road Stars & the '99-'13 Ventures.

I'm not sure if you're "gaining anything" on an RSV with a LI battery. The cyclist I've know to use them were for custom builds where they needed small (& light) packaging without a spill aspect to hide the battery. They were more expensive and required a specialty charger to use. There's nothing light weight or needing a small space in an RSV that would need that specialty.

1/2" Copper plumbing caps were a snug fit with the factory stainless webbing "gaskets" for the AIS ports on the heads. 10 yrs later and they're still there.

I think i linked mine front to rear on each side of the engine. There was an article on one of the tech forms about "balancing" the engine pulses to the carbs, but I've read on other forums debunking any improvements and never really worried about it since on the Venture. I'm digging into my carbs this winter so maybe I'll eliminate the cross-over hoses.

The brother-in-law just bought a used Stratoliner that has some aged rubber on it, I'm also looking to maybe change tires on the Venture (not a fan of how these Dunlop E4s handle). I was looking at Shinko 777s for the Strat and maybe try the 999 for the Venture, but we're not sold on anything specific at this time. If anyone happens to see a flyer come out for a Black Friday sale please post up. Thanks

I purchased Wix 51356... they fit last year and I'm hoping they didn't change them recently

The part number in '14 when I ordered mine - M62097

There were Inner & Outer seals on mine, but its been a few years since I've been in there. I bought a complete rebuild kit from All Balls when I did mine https://www.allballsracing.com/18-3194.html

I know a lot of us here have put a Harley touring muffler on our bikes with no change in carburation... I agree that you can probably go back to stock mufflers without an issues.

2nd this... my '99 left me stranded earlier this year with a bad clutch switch after stopping for gas. Bike would power on just fine, but absolutely nothing when you hit the starter. Ended up a with a shorted clutch safety switch shutting down the whole starting system.

Touring Model Harley mufflers fit relatedly easily, but you'll need to make a mounting bracket & order a reducer clamp. If you search Road King Muffler on the forum you'll find plenty of articles https://www.venturerider.org/forum/forums/topic/63033-hd-rk-mufflers-on-rsv/