BlueSky

On dry pavement, the responsive rear brake may not be a big problem. But, in slippery conditions, it could cause problems so quickly you can't save yourself.

So, I went out to the garage and tried the mirror method of viewing the sight glass and I was indeed able to see it this time. Thanks VA!

Not me! The bike would fall on me for sure!

Did you unscrew the plug cap and look at the end of the copper core spark plug wire? The copper core wire tends to corrode at the cap end and clipping off a half inch or more usually cleans it up. Happened to mine. The OE caps have about 9k ohms resistance.

Well, I've been on a few short rides on my 2007RSV. At first, it felt awkward, heavy, and difficult to adjust to and I wasn't liking it that much. But, I'm getting more used to it now and I think I will like it just fine. It doesn't seem to be that top heavy to me. I'm used to riding my 525lb Kawasaki with a folded up riding position. So, the feet forward riding position and the heel/toe shifter is a lot to adjust to. It does have the gear?/clutch? chirping whine that makes it sound like a crappy bike and there seems to be a lot of drive line lash. I like the low seat height and the comfortabe seat. Overall it's a good ride. I'm liking it more every time I ride it.

If the starter has to be replaced, do yourself a favor and get a 4 brush starter. The V4 Ventures came with weak 2 brush starters through 90 or 91. After that they have a 4 brush that is supposed to fit the older Venture V4s. The RSTD V4 and newer Venture V4s are good donors for the starter. Check ebay. I bought one for about $50.

Check for corrosion at the spark plug wire caps and the caps.

I had a bad battery in my Kawasaki. It checked 12.5 volts like it was fully charged but would not carry a load at all. Had it load tested at Autozone and confirmed it was bad.

My old Kawasaki manual specs SAE 10w20 motor oil for the forks. Probably can't find that viscosity any more. I used 5w30 in it but it was too stiff. And I don't know if the additives in modern oil will sneak by the fork seals. Recently when I replaced the seals, I used 10w Belray and it seems to be about right.

A friend who was easily stressed had a stroke that disabled his left arm. One day he was working on a ladder and almost fell but caught himself with his good arm. But it pulled his arm out of his shoulder socket. So, for a while he couldn't use either arm. I suppose he was very dependent on his wife for a while to take care of stuff like when he did #2 . Shoot me now!

I would use loctite on the bolts that hold the calipers on before I would use anti-seize. I think the manual recommends it. I wouldn't want the calipers to become loose. When I was working in FL a coworker was riding his Ducati home and the front brake felt like it was dragging. He applied a little pressure to the brake lever and the front wheel locked up and he somersaulted over the handlebars and woke up in the hospital. I don't know what happened but I guessed that a caliper became loose and locked up the front wheel when he pulled the lever.

I was riding my Yamaha Virago one day and saw a Harley rider on the side of the road working on his bike. I stopped and asked if I could help. He responded with a loud "NO" as if he couldn't accept help from a Yamaha rider. So, I rode on. Maybe I should have told him to swap that thing on a Yamaha!

I plead partially guilty for hijacking the thread because I don't want anyone else to lock up the rear wheel and break an ankle like I did. Delinking the brakes sets you up for that possibility. If I could I would link my Gen 2 brakes. ABS would be great! I suspect that if Yamaha had added fuel injection and ABS to the Gen 2 bikes it would have gone a long way in making it sell better and keep the resale higher. You can buy a Gen 2 for half what you can a Goldwing. In my case it was a 3rd.

I towed an open trailer with my Kawasaki from Wilmington NC to Homestead, FL where I was working in the month of February. I ran into many rain showers on the way. There were LOTS of cars from the frozen north going to FL on I95 and the salt scum on the side of their cars washed off onto the road. Then it got splashed all over the left side of my bike. I was negligent about washing the bike and I got corrosion because of the salt. So, there are many advantages to having a covered trailer. Keeping the bike cleaner is one of them.

I'm not worried that much about locking up the rear brake in dry conditions. But, when there is a low traction situation when the road is slippery due to rain, leaves, dirt, etc. it would be really easy to lock up the rear and go down. The only motorcyle crash I've experienced was locking up the rear of my 83 Yamaha Virago after it started raining and there was clay on the road in front of someone's driveway. I broke my ankle! Wasn't that a factor in Yammer Dan's crash going to MD a few years ago. Didn't he lock up the rear wheel?

Mine are in good shape but someone else will probably want that sticker!

I wish I wasn't too stiff to ride them! Too late for me!

You got my curiosity up so I went to the garage and looked at my 89. The only 1300 stickers I saw were on the plate that Charharly polished and the one on the other side of the engine. but they are a little bigger than you described.

The 2007 Gen 2 I just bought has a very powerful rear brake, much more so than the front. Seems to me this situation is one panic stop from going down.

There is still time to change your mind about selling!

Quite a while ago, Motorcycle Superstore sent me a "new" 5 year old tire. It was a Metzler Lasertec that fit the rear of my Kawasaki and I suppose there isn't much demand for that size. I used it and it worked okay but when you order tires there is no way that I know of to request a newly manufactured tire. They should refund your money with no drama on that tire.

Wow! That's a lot of riding. Maybe at 74, I'm not too old!

I worked as a temporary engineering contractor at nuclear power plants for the last 20 years of my employment. When the work was finished, I was terminated in all kinds of ways. Sometimes we got emails telling us our end dates. At least one job, we were escorted out by security immediately after being terminated. I didn't care. The jobs were temporary. The pay was high. I liked not having any ties to the companies other than trying to do a good job. I was always happy to leave and take a break. I almost never looked for another job until the current job ended. I'm just an independent cuss. It worked out well for me. But, if you are the type who worries a lot, that type of job may not be for you.

You may be interested in watching these old Yamaha training videos. There are 12 of them on the internet.

My favorite was a Sugar Daddy. it was hard caramel candy on a stick, like a small popsicle. When I went to the movies in the mid to late 50's, one of those would last about half way through the movie.