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Patmac6075

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Posts posted by Patmac6075

    Impressions after 100 miles

    in Venture and Venture Royale Tech Talk ('83 - '93)

    Posted

    After much work and more than a few Peso’s, I have my ’84 Venture Royale ready to make its maiden voyage.

     

    One thing I’m noticing right away is the lack of high-end power…. The bike idles and pulls really well off the line, but once you get up over 5k RPM or so the powerband kind of flattens out…almost like this should be redline. Maybe I’m just used to my XJ750, which just wakes up at 5k and screams and begs you to take it to redline. Now I’m fully aware this is a different type of bike with a different engine and is designed to be driven in a completely different manner… I’m just noting that the powerband seems to level off well before redline….is this normal? Please understand I’m not looking for a debate on the inherent benefits of one bike versus the other…I’d just like to know if this is how this bike is designed? I have not pulled my plugs yet, but the carbs had been removed, disassembled, cleaned (pilots are at 2.5 turns out), and balanced. Valves have all been checked and reshimmed. Old fuel drained and refilled with fresh gas.

     

    Second thing, my cruise does not work? Light comes on…no flashes…but when I go to set it…nothing? Have not checked any switches, but judging by the brake lights…they seem to operate as normal. Any suggestions?

     

    Third, I seem to get a loud “Clunk” while braking and hitting a bump…doesn’t happen if I’m just riding along and hit a bump (of any size, big or small), but if I’m braking and even hit a tar strip…”Clunk”…What is that? I should note, I’ve had the front wheel off the ground…no play in the head bearing, nor is there any binding. Plans are to do a complete front end rebuild (springs, seals, bearings, brakes, ect.) as the summer moves on, but does anyone have any ideas what this could be?

    SeaFoam

    in Watering Hole

    Posted

    Hey Guys, I see SeaFoam being touted all the time on this forum...it's great stuff! FYI, O'reilly has all SeaFoam products on sale for $7.99, for their professional customers on their "COMMODITY SPECIAL", just have to tell them to bill you out as a professional customer...Not the best price you can find (we usually see cans for as low as $6.30), but pretty good for the aerosol, TransTune and DeepCreep.

    Now I don't work for SeaFoam, but I have worked closely with their Reps and R&D department...

    Just so you know, SeaFoam makes 5 products, the 4 I mentioned and an enzyme product called Bugs-B-Gone, which works great at dissolving plastered on bugs from the front of a motorcycle...and it won't hurt your paint, wax, or plastic windshield.

    The other 4 products are all basically the same formula in different concentrations. Now SeaFoam and SeaFoam Aerosol are the same product (except obviously the aerosol is a spray version)...the aerosol works great at cleaning the upper intake area. Now TransTune is the same basic formula at a concentration level of about 4x the normal product, plus it has additional detergents and contains a red dye. Other than that it's the same product.... it's meant to be used to clean up gunk in a transmission, but I used it to soak my carbs and gas tank over the winter (dissolved a lot of crap, but I still had to remove my carbs and give them a though cleaning). DO NOT USE TransTune IN DIESEL ON-ROAD VEHICLES as the red dye will color your fuel "OFF-ROAD DIESEL" and you could pay stiff penalties! Finally there is DeepCreep, this is the same SeaFoam at a concentration of nearly 12x the normal product...it works great an a penetrating fluid, fogging engines, and surprisingly well as a gun cleaner.

    Again, I don't work for SeaFoam, but I know a lot of us use it and maybe didn't know about their other products.

    Side Stand Question

    in Venture and Venture Royale Tech Talk ('83 - '93)

    Posted

    I'm in the habit of using the center stand whenever possible, but this bike is pretty heavy....and I'm normally only about 60% successfully on pulling the bike up onto the to the stand on the first try and my success rate goes down considerably on the third fourth and fifth try.

    My question, as the title implies, is about the side stand...when using the side stand my bike seems to stand too straight up, almost to the point of being rather tippy...I can't believe this is normal!? Now I know it's not a good thing if it's leaning over too far but this is ridiculous!

    Can I adjust the lean angle....safely? Or is this how the Yamaha engineers designed it?

    I Christen Thee....Mighty Mouse!

    in Venture and Venture Royale Tech Talk ('83 - '93)

    Posted

    Thanks to all those who have helped out, either with advise or parts, or just moral support....glad to be a member of this fine forum.

    Well, as you may have read previously I had bought a non-running, no title, very little history 84' Venture Royale from a guy on Craigslist...said his Grandfather owned it...never had it titled in his name...and it had been sitting in his garage since 2002 because of an electrical issue...and unfortunately, grandpa had passed, and he was just trying to unload it as a parts bike.

    I took a chance and bought it thinking it would be easy getting a replacement title....well it wasn't. But I did get lucky and had a title search done...found the last registered owner and sent him a letter detailing my situation and asking him if he'd file for a lost title...he did and sent it to me...would only take what it cost him at the DMV and postage....told me "Someone had done the same for him years back and he was just repaying the favor". So now I have it titled in my name!

    Got to working on it....found green gas in the float bowls....yes GREEN GAS! But the engine turned over fine and all the electricals seemed to work...only problem was, I wasn't getting any spark...thought maybe it was the TCI, so I started to strip it down and in the meantime I got to know the bike a little better...drained and refilled all fluids and started doing a mental checklist on the status of everything...after quite a bit of work and more than a few $$$ I had a whole bunch of parts laying around my garage and no idea why the bike wouldn't start...

    Turns out a mouse had taken up residency behind the headlight at some point and chewed through some wires for the kickstand cut-off...so the bike would turn over, but wouldn't spark...got those wires fixed and viola! It started right off!

    So, in honor of my little furry friend I have given my bike a name....Mighty Mouse. I've also changed my avatar. Still much work to do, but we should be road worthy within two weeks.

    Stay Tuned!

    Carb Rebuild Kit?

    in Venture and Venture Royale Tech Talk ('83 - '93)

    Posted

    Well, Ok, now I'm starting to think "what did I get into"?! I pulled the carbs and broke off the plastic nipple attaching the bowl chamber drain to the hose....somebody please tell me those are replaceable? The second thing is, how the H.-E.-double hockey sticks do I get those accelerator cables back on? Man, those things were tough coming off! Third, do I need to break the rack in order to clean the carbs?

    Like I said, I have the carbs out....now I'm going to spray down the outside with some carb-spray and get to taking thing apart.

    Thanks again for any insight you may have.

    Carb Rebuild Kit?

    in Venture and Venture Royale Tech Talk ('83 - '93)

    Posted

    So the good news is, I've begun putting Humpty Dumpty back together again and it fired right up! That's the first time I've heard this bike run since I brought it home....what a great feeling! Plus, it purrs like a kitten!

    Bad news....it's pissing fuel all over the place. Seems like most of the problems are with #3 carb....stuck float sends gas out near the driveshaft AND there seems to be a leak at the carb itself and it's washing fuel all over the rear exhaust manifold.

    Over the winter I drained all the old gas and refilled with fresh, mixed in a half can of Seafoam Trans Fix (same thing as regular Seafoam, except at about 4X the concentration, has more detergents, and has a red dye) in hopes of unsticking that float and dissolving some of the varnish....No dice! Also tried rapping on the carb bodies till my neighbors thought I would break into a drum solo.

    So, looks like I'm in for a carb rebuild...As I understand it, there are no "kits" available....Is this correct? I'm guessing I'll need new float valves and seats, plus gaskets...what else? O-rings? Anybody know what size? Is EBay the best source (lowest cost)? Are factory Yamaha parts a better choice? Finally, I do not yet know the condition of the diaphragms, but I'm hopeful that because it was running so smoothly that they'll be salvageable.

    Any help is appreciated.

    Pat

    new VENTURE OWNER what did i do!

    in Venture and Venture Royale Tech Talk ('83 - '93)

    Posted

    Welcome Aboard, you have found the right place to be, lots of priceless experience here. My first suggestion would be to become a member...it will be the best $12 you'll spend on those Ventures (heck, if you download the manual you're already ahead by $40!).

    Second thing I'd do (I'm currently resurrecting an '84) is evaluate the condition of your bike(s) and be ready to commit at least $1000 to getting it/them road worthy. Get a compression test so you'll have a base line to work from. Check the date codes on your tires and brake lines (tire codes can be found stamped on the side wall of your tire...3 digit code means tires were produced pre-2000 and they should be considered unsafe. The brake hoses should be stamped with a date, 9 out of 10 times they'll be original to the bike. Yamaha recommended replacement every 5 years...every 30 years {IMHO} is pushing that recommendation beyond the limits of safety....no matter what they look like).

    Third, replace all filters and flush and refill all fluids.

    Fourth, check and if necessary adjust valve clearances.

    Fifth, get to cleaning those carbs and getting them adjusted.

    Sixth, take breath and see how much of that $1000 you have left. The biggest thing to keep in mind is YOU'LL have to be the one doing the work! If you have this work done in a shop, you're price will likely triple and there is a less than 40% chance the work will be done completely and correctly. There are many very knowledgeably people on this site who'll selflessly walk you through every step of your resurrection project so you'll never be in over your head. Just take it slow, ask questions take pictures and heed the advise given....there will be no short-cuts to getting your bike to perform correctly, be safe, and reliable.

    I would suggest you resist the temptation to just get it runnin' & ridin'. But if you do, make sure you invest in quality riding/safety gear (a good idea anyway), get a good roadside service policy/towing.

    Angered to Curse!

    in Venture and Venture Royale Tech Talk ('83 - '93)

    Posted · Edited by Patmac6075
    misspelling

    Just thought I'd vent for a moment,

    So, have been working on my still not running '84 VR...I currently have most of the fairing opened up, and as I was rooting around in there I noticed a quite sizable mouse nest (actually saw it in the Fall, but put off cleaning it out till now). Well, as I was cleaning things out I noticed this:

    attachment.php?attachmentid=98948&stc=1

    Looks like the little bugger spent some of his vacation chewing on my wires! This is directly behind the headlight...Does any body know what this blue relay(?) is? I seem to remember the guy I bought the bike from saying his grandad (Grandad was the actual P.O., but had passed away some time ago) was having some electrical issues and that's why the bike was put into storage.

    Well, here's the tricky part. Before I began tearing the bike down (ultimately to get to the TCI, valves, and carbs) I had checked the electricals....ie., the headlight, taillight, brakes, CLASS, ect. And everything was working fine...except the bike wouldn't fire (would turn over fine, but wouldn't fire. Wasn't getting spark). Again, does anyone know what this is? What it controls? Could it cause a No Spark issue?

    FYI - there looks to be a couple of other wires (partially chewed), that will also require some attention. So they could be the culprit as well.

    Cheers

    Pat :rant:

    IMG_0245.jpg

    Progress (sic) on the '84 VR

    in Venture and Venture Royale Tech Talk ('83 - '93)

    Posted · Edited by Patmac6075

    1-1 pic.jpg

     

    That's strange? Perhaps if you check on page 1 of the Factory Service Manual under the heading "Maintenance Interval Chart". You can clearly see that Yamaha requires a check after initial break in of either 1 month or 600 miles, and then every 18 months or 7500 miles thereafter.

    I'm interested to see your literature specifying a valve check at around 30,000 miles.

    Progress (sic) on the '84 VR

    in Venture and Venture Royale Tech Talk ('83 - '93)

    Posted

    While I can't say with Ventures, with other Yamaha's (specifically, XJ's), if the P.O.'s had never checked valve clearance (especially the first time, warranty check up ), it's not at all unusual for all valves to be out of spec (even with a low mileage bike like mine...18k). I know with other Yamaha's having valves in spec is possibly the single most important and most neglected maintenance item. Because these bikes (especially XJ's) are bullet proof and run great....until they don't. Yamaha says valves should be checked after initial break in period (1 month or 600 mi. and then every 7.5K), that's nearly 4 times this bike may have missed...and as we all know that first check up is most important because that's when the most adjustment is usually necessary (after initial break in, valves usually stay in spec through three or four intervals. Never the less, close attention should be paid to this important routine maintenance item). The problem is, checking valves, although not difficult in and of it's self, is time consuming and for some cases outside of our comfort zone....

    Valves were checked (actually, in some cases 3x's) exactly as the FSM suggests. Will check one more time just before each shim is pulled and recorded, just to be positive. Really hoping I won't have to purchase more than 3 - 4 shims.

    Progress (sic) on the '84 VR

    in Venture and Venture Royale Tech Talk ('83 - '93)

    Posted

    Well, the stars finally aligned and I have some time and money...so I pushed my Venture into the garage to do a little work.

    Since my bike is mostly disassembled, I figured I'd get the valves in spec before I start putting everything back together...guess what? Not a single valve is within spec! One or two are close, but close ain't within spec!

    So, now I'll be ordering a shim tool tonight...and hopefully I'll be able to swap some shims around so I won't have to buy/trade/barter too many.

    Can somebody tell me, what diameter shims do our bikes take?

    Just to throw insult onto injury, I checked the date codes on my tires...the rear (still has the blue protective covering on the letters) shows 229 (May of '99) and the front shows 427 (October of '97), could be '89 & '87...so better safe than sorry. I'll be ordering some new tires soon as well. That's too bad, because those tires both look brand new....very few cracks and almost no wear.

    Cheers

    Need Help synchronizing my Carburetors

    in Venture and Venture Royale Tech Talk ('83 - '93)

    Posted

    You can make a simple restricter.... all you need is a vacuum hose coupling (those barbed couplings available in any auto parts store, sized to your vacuum hose of course) and a straw from an old can of WD-40 (or brake cleaner), and some epoxy. Insert the straw onto the coupling (making sure you have plenty of straw sticking out on both ends), now fill the inside of the coupling with the epoxy, let dry, then trim the straw to the same size as the coupling (the coupling should be blocked and the much thinner straw should be clear).

    Now I'm not sure about this part, but the restricter/coupling should be very close to the vacuum source which allows the vacuum pulse to even out....or it's the other way around....I can't remember, but it works!

    Any Value in Purchasing Supplementary Manuals?

    in Venture and Venture Royale Tech Talk ('83 - '93)

    Posted

    Thanks djh3 for the quick response. Unfortunately, not the answer to my question.

    Probably should have given more information, I am currently a supporting member to the forum, and have a factory manual, and I'm familiar with the downloadable PDF available on this site.

    What I'm looking for is, What is contained in the Supplementary Assembly Manual? Is there information not contained in the factory service manual? I'm considering purchasing one and would like to hear from somebody who has one and find out what precisely does it contain/address?

    Thanks in advance.

    Any Value in Purchasing Supplementary Manuals?

    in Venture and Venture Royale Tech Talk ('83 - '93)

    Posted

    The title says it all...Is there any value in purchasing the Supplementary Manuals on eBay? Is there more information contained in those manuals, than is available on the downloadable manuals available here? In particular I'm looking at the Supplementary Assembly Manual to aid in reassembling my bike after stripping it down to get to the TCI (I have pictures and notes, but was wondering what those manuals contain that may help). Also have seen manuals for radio and CB...what is contained in those, and are they worth the investment?

    Thanks in advance.

    Pat

    Simple starter question

    in Venture and Venture Royale Tech Talk ('83 - '93)

    Posted

    The 1st gen motorcycle wasn't made after 93. the 83 through 90 or 91 had a 2 brush starter that is too weak to spin the engine quickly when the engine gets warm. So a common mod is to install a later model 4 brush starter. All of the starters for the 1300 V4 engine will fit the early models. The second gen Venture was offered in 99 I believe. But, the bikes that were sold prior to 99 and after 91 with 1300cc V4s had the 4 brush starters. I bought a starter from Pinwall that came from a 96. I have not installed it yet though.

     

    So, if I'm looking for a 4 brush starter, I'll need to find a '91 - '99?

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