BlueSky

Valve springs can get weaker with miles but they seem to hold up rather well. If they get weak enough they can't close the valves quick enough at high rpm, the valves will "float" with the engine missing and not being able to rev any faster. Our old Venture engines don't have rev limiters as far as I know, so you can over rev them and probably float the valves.

Have you sprayed it with Liquid Wrench penetrating oil and let it sit overnight? WD 40 is not penetrating oil. If you have something that will grip it such as a strap wrench, try twisting it. I haven't removed one, so I'm just guessing!

VR, did you think about trying that clutch basket with the new part number to see if it will get rid of clutch whine? Or is your bike one of those rare Gen 2s that doesn't have a whining clutch basket?

I wouldn't want to push my luck with the valve adjustments like cowpuc. If you burn a valve, that would ruin your day much more than an occasional valve adjustment.

I have to disagree with you there. My 2nd Gen doesn't seem to me to be tippy at all especially compared to that dang Concours.

Is the bike easier to tip over at low speeds with the narrower tire? The reason I ask is that the 2004 Kawasaki Concours I used to have came with a worn out dual compound tire that had a 1" wide strip down the middle that was the harder compound and the sides of the tread were worn away because of the softer compound. that bike was really tippy and the worn out front tire made it much much worse. I replaced it with a new tire and the difference was huge. But, it's still one of the most top heavy bikes on the road with its 7 1/2 gallon tank sitting up high.

I would do the same. Filter it with one of those paper shop towels to get the rust particles out and use it in the lawn equipment. When my Kawasaki sat for a long time, I removed the tank, sloshed the gas around to get the rust particles in suspension and drained the tank. Then I filtered it with the said shop towel and burned it in the bike mixed with fresher gas and some Gumout with PEA. The bike ran great. My boat has a 65 gallon gas tank and there is always some old gas in that thing. I keep adding Gumout and Stabil to the gas and it runs fine mixed with some fresher gas. The boat has a 99 Yamaha fuel injected 150hp 2 stroke. Yamaha's rock!

The used car dealer sold it quickly. Comparable Miatas a couple years newer around Raleigh were listed for up to $13k. I don't know who is paying so much for those. They are great sports cars but.........

It's the softtop and it's the plastic version that will need replacement soon. All of the mechanism that supported the top is in the attic too. I haven't tried to sell it but I will soon or put it in the trash just to get rid of it. I contacted the used car dealer who had the car and he wouldn't travel 100 miles to get it.

Sounds like you are definitely down on hp. These bikes will give you a thrill when you go full throttle. I still think you need to pour a bottle of cleaner in the gas.

If you'd like to tackle the carbs your self, there is a CD available that is very detailed and the maker of the CD might rebuild the carbs for you. I bought the CD and it's very long and detailed. it's actually a video of Vmax carbs but they are very similar. I think quite of few of the members have the CD. If you are interested I'll look up his contact info. He has an engine on a test stand that he uses for a test engine to check the carbs operation.

My wife had an irregular heartbeat when she was in her forties. She went to a specialist and he was talking about medical procedures. when on the treadmill in his office her heart beat was regular after exercising. She declined the medical procedures and took some homeopathic remedies and started walking for exercise and her heartbeat became normal and still is at 57. I was 69 when my 3 yr 7 month job in FL ended. Towards the end of that job I worked 6 12s for 14 months. I ate too much getting up to my heaviest at 260lbs and wasn't exercising. My heartbeat was irregular at the end of the day when I was tired. I came home, lost 30 lbs,got back on my exercise program which wasn't so heavy, 50 minute rapid walks around the subdivision, one set of pullovers and curls on my total gym, pushups from the knee, situps, and squats 3 times a week and my heartbeat was normal. Now, I'm almost 75 and the irregular heartbeat has returned at the end of the day and I think I have some heart congestion because I feel some pressure in my chest when I walk very fast. So, it's time to drop another 30 lbs. I'm trying to psych myself up for that. It's tough to do. I forgot to say that I ate a lot less and lost 30lbs when I came home from the job in Homestead, FL. I'm sure that helped a bunch.

Really sorry to hear you are having health issues. It's good that we have all these modern medical procedures to help us get through another decade. My BD is 3-22 also. 75 this time

I got a notice from ebay that the 7 1/2 yr old Pirelli sold for $90! Maybe the purchaser knows how old it is? Today my new Bridgestone Battlax BT45 was delivered. It has a build date of 3818, a fairly new tire. I should make a video of me installing it! Probably get lots of laughs!

A guy who attends the monthly retirement luncheon I occasionally go to got over 180,000 miles out of his HD. But, he said he never rode over 65mph even when touring out west. Right after he told me that, he traded for a new HD. Me, I don't want anything I have to baby to get the miles out of it.

26 years newer! Enjoy!

Old, tired, and worn out! I resemble that remark!

I know you said the carbs are clean, but I would still put a good dose of seafoam or my favorite Gumout for high mileage engines with PEA in the gas tank and run it through. Like Puc said the copper spark plug wires tend to corrode and by clipping the ends off you can usually get to some clean, not green copper wire. Makes a huge difference if they are corroded on the ends.

well, I ended up ordering a Bridgestone Battlax BT45V 130/90V-16 tire from DennisKirk since they were the cheapest on that tire. Now, I have to find my tire tools and see if I can install it. I've never installed a tire before....... I hope nobody is watching when I give it a try.

Or the stock carbs need synchronizing because the plug up so easily that each one is in a different stage of plugging up and syncing them makes up for some of it. In the higher rpm range, the vacuum diaphragms may not be working the same and there is no way to sync that.

We have a lady member yamagrl who repaired 2nd gear on her bike. She rocks! Haven't seen much of her since she wrecked her 83 though.

No sync would be required with the one carb setup. the 4 intake runners are the same length and volume and there is only one throttle plate. And with one larger carb with larger fuel passages, it wouldn't be prone to plug up after sitting for a couple of weeks. Seems to me an exhaust analyzer would be necessary to make sure the carb is properly metering the fuel in all the rpm ranges and load conditions. Dyno tune would be the way to do that I presume. I'm sure there is a good reason that all factory 4 cyl bikes that I know of have 4 carbs.

Motorcycle Superstore was bought by or merged with JPCycles maybe partly due to their service or maybe just the downturn in interest in motorcycles. Evidently, re-cycles the ebay seller thinks that old Pirelli is okay to sell.

My 85 Kawa ZN700 needs a new tire before inspection next month. I saw this Pirelli Sport Demon 130/90-16 Rear Tire on ebay for $99.95 which is about 2/3 of new price. Looking closely at the photos revealed a 4311 build date. So, I thought I could get it cheap and bid $60. They came back with 94.95 and I bid $30 and they came back with $89.95 which I rejected. Probably way too old,7 1/2 yrs, to be buying anyway. The existing rear tire on my bike was 5 years old when it was delivered from Motorcycle Superstores and it was installed in 2010. So, it is now 14 yrs old. It's a Metzler Lazertec which is a sport bike tire and it has amazing grip but only lasted 4k miles over 9 yrs. The bike is 500lbs with 74hp and I do love to turn up the wick. Grip is the most important aspect of motorcycle tires to me. So, I suppose I'll be looking for a newish tire, maybe a Bridgestone BT45.