k7mdl

One think to look for if it feels like fuel starvation at higher RPMs. The braided fuel hose on my bike passed through a very strong wire clip on the top back center of the carbs. It was pinching the fuel line shut enough that it would run the carbs empty at high RPM for some way down the road. When you stop to scratch your head about the situation, and have the key on, the fuel pump is busy refilling the float bowls enough to let the engine run for a while more while you think all is OK again. Until it dies again down the road a few hundred yards. If you are taking the fuel hoses apart at various places to check for clogged lines, proper flow, etc, taking the hose off the carb itself requires you remove it from the clip, which also bypasses the problem, and looks like all is normal. I happened to not put it back in the clip and noticed all was good again, and recalled that was my last and only change. I have seen delaminated hoses that act the same so this was was a very vague possibility that took a while to realize it could happen to me here. Usually an event reserved for coolant hoses. I think the original problem reported in this thread was that the engine speeds up over time, and this is the opposite, but thought I would mention it. Nasty problem to locate.

You did not mention DSL filters on devices in the house. Not sure which technology DSL Verizon put in for you, but here I have a daisy chain of several jacks, two 4-pair lines actually with Verizon DSL. A DSL filter is required for anything other than the DSL modem plugged into the same phone pair. Make sure you unplug all phones for a bit and try the DSL modem connection again. It may also take a bit to sync up, and the Central office end may need someone at Vierizon to kick it on. I had to call data repair desk at Verizon and they ran diagnostics and brought my circuit back up when a failure was detected for a period of time (should be auto recover, but can sometimes lock out).

The previous owner of my KLR was very tall and thin and light. Maybe 6' 2 to 6'3 and 160lbs. I am 6' 1" but a few more lbs. Hard to tell in my photo but he put on IMS pegs and also new black peg brackets that move them back 2", but are the same as stock height. So the pegs are right at the swing arm round cover now. A bit longer reach to the brake pedal and shifter. I find myself placing my heels on the pegs for the "right" spot, so may go back to the original brackets and see what it feels like. Small size Grip Puppies are on order, the stock 7/8" bars hand grips cause me hand cramps inside of 30 minutes. On the Venture I have grip puppies on the 1" stock grips and cramping is less an issue with my large hands. If the Grip Puppies do not work, I also have Grand Tourismo grips coming as a backup plan. They are thick in the middle with air chambers. Lets see. Givi E21 side cases, maybe a trunk, maybe a Laminar Lip, will that be it? Oh yeah, lets not forget the Galaxy Blue paint job it needs. Install radio gear, make adapter for helmet 5pin headset cord for radios. Tank bag (Wolfman Enduro). The rear shock preload adjustment bolt promptly broke (no surprise), so a new warranty shock should be coming. - Mike

Joined the club last weekend. Found a 2008 used KLR 650 with many accessories (farkles as they call them in KLR land). 9 months old, 2200 miles. This one had a black lower fairing instead of the standard silver one on green bikes. The red and blue KLRs come with black lower fairings. Decals were also removed to give a cleaner blacked out look. I am thinking it would lok very cool to paint most of it the same Galaxy Blue as its garage mate the '07 RSV!

Might try a length of clear vinyl tubing slit on one side placed on the top edge. Never thought of solving the problem until you mentioned it. I just applied the new Raincoat plastic wax to it, so will wait and see what happens, one change at a time. The increased rolloff rate could make the water spilling over teh top edge and down the back side better or worse. I waxed the inside also so when the water does roll over and down, it might just keep rolling down due to gravity and back winds. Of course since I applied the wax, the rain ran away, possibly for several days so will have to now wait and see. - Mike

I like the vent. Removes some dead air in hot weather as others have noted. I also noticed it helps in the rain to crack it open a bit. The water dripping from my helmet and also the runoff gathering at the top edge of the windshield flies forward to the back side of the windshield add more water spots to see though. Venting it a bit removes that effect and keeps the backside of the windshield drier. Next step is to try out the new Raincoat product and let its already decent wind clearing action (above 40mph) perform better. I should also mention I have the tinted Clearview shield on my '07 blue/black RSV. Work fine at night and I think it looks nicer by day than plain clear. It is a very light tint. - Mike

There is a unused screw post on teh inside fo the louvered vent frame. A sheet metal screw with a washer (I used a stainless steel snap body) of the right diameter will put a gentle squeeze on the frame to put jsut the right tension on teh louovers to keep them from flopping open or shut. Easy to open or close them. I do remember seeing the smoked windows and believe it to be on this board since I have not looked around much on any others :-). Just did a search and found this thread http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=13004&highlight=side+vents - Mike

You are supposed to drill it out slightly. Be sure to protect the fender. I think my Utopia matches the '07 pillow top seats very nicely in overall shape, proportion, not too overstuffed, not too wrinkled/gathered on the edges, looks like a stock feature, and very adjustable with no tools required for forward/back adjustment. Makes it easy to shift between jackets where one has a back protector and another one does not. - Mike

Sign me up also please. I am sure I will have a chance to see it work. - Mike

My '87 stayed in sync for over 7 months of daily rides since I last adjusted them. My '07 with just under 6K total now, also driven periodically over the same time period falls off sync every 1-2 months so far. I have a Carbtune so I can take care of it. Just keep wondering when things will settle in. The adjusting screws are reasonably tensioned. In fact it is running rough again this week. Time to adjust them again. - Mike

You only need to loosen the top or bottom pair of bolts some. Loosen them enough so as to not grind the splines inside. Does not take much at all before the bars will rotate. Be sure to pad the tank in case they drop faster than you think. The caps come out reasonably easy with a small thin screw driver or xacto knfe blade.

Hi Blackjack, Sold the '87 today to make way for the KLR 650 soon. I am still covered though! Still have a '07 RSV that will now see more ride time. Was either keep 2 Ventures or diversify and get a KLR. Wife won't give up the '07 luxo-barge. She actually directed the purchase of the '07, I had bought the '87 2 weeks earlier for me, then she decided I was not going to have fun and leave her behind. (Disclaimer - we used to ride 2-up for years in Hawaii and New England year back - kids have a way of changing things though - they are almost gone now). Turns out while I was shopping for the KLR, my soon to be 16 year old daughter has taken to liking to ride with me and also tried out all the 250cc bikes in the store and decided that a 2007 Ninja 250 and a MSF course was in her very near future, at least she hopes. I am thinking that with me acquiring a KLR 650 she might do better to start with a 125cc dirt bike for a while :-). I have a full size truck so no problem on that. Sounds like fun, back to my roots in dirt riding. Actually my life got easier - no longer have to sweat choosing which ride I will take to day, the '87 to go fast, or the '07 to look cool :-) - (stepping back now as the usual suspects take the bait). Like Redneck, it will soon become "get dirty" or "comfort". - Mike

Great choice. I am waiting to do the same. Selling my 1st Gen for a 08 KLR 650, to compliment my RSV. Forest roads, wait for us!

Do not need to move south! Here in the Seattle area I ride year round, with the exception of a few weeks total when there is ice (or the possibility) on the roads. Each incidence of snow/ice is usually only a few days to a week each. Just need good waterproof/insulated riding gear. I commute daily 40 minutes each way so heated gear not required. On the nice days take the '07, the rest the '87, it show the dirt less, easier to clean, less chrome. No need for trickle chargers or winter layups. - Mike

The amp rate by itself only affects the time to recharge a low battery. At 1.2A it just takes longer than a 6A capacity charger. What is more important than capacity (if speed is not a requirement) is how it gets the battery charged to 100% without overheating it. Some never reach it. Some chargers use pulse techniques, others like at one of the links above use more standard 3 state techniques: 1. Bulk charge at constant rate current up to some point (80% often) 2. Constant Voltage charge to finish off the charge. The current tapers off as it gets to 100% 3. Maintenance charge rate, enough to overcome small self discharge and other small loads like always on electronics (backup for memory on radios for example, Speedo trip settings, clocks, cell phone chargers). 4. Temperature compensation - at the battery itself (rare) or at the charger (ambient air temp). My Ni-MH/NiCAD/Li battery charger has a temp sensor that magnetically attaches to the battery case as rapid charge rates make them quite hot. When you get into large flooded cell batteries you periodically run equalizing charges and monitor the outgassing and electroyte levels and specific gravity of each cell and record them. This help optimize each cell in a battery. Way too much work for us :-). The modern chargers attempt to do that every charge for us. Submarines and telephone systems depend on the battery condition very much and failure is not an option. Manufacturers of chargers have tweaks to their current and voltage crossover points, and some have externally (or claimed automatic) adjustable thresholds for AGM/Gel/Flooded cell voltages/patterns. Within each category of those batterys, there are variations for deep cycle, starting, or backup service. The lead used may be thicker, pores may be larger, insulator thinner or more porous, and the lead may be mixed with antimony, calcium, zinc, and/or other materials. These all affect the optimal voltage/current/time specs and discharge rates and capacities and charging voltages and crossover points. All these variables is what makes things interesting. Unless you buy a specialized charger for each different type/manufacturer battery, the generic charger (for flooded cell, AGM, gel) on the market is going to get you just close enough. Long term some will do better than others. The bike will have yet a different charging pattern. So you must consider the combined effects which means you have less control over the long term effects and as a result this tends to decrease the justification to spend too much on specialized chargers. So in the ideal world you have a specialized charger design for the exact cell technology and manufacture specs. The bikes charging system is not specialized so now you get to figure out how much specialization is worth the money and effort. It would be nice to be able to specify the bikes charging system patterns to match your choice of battery. Most of us are going to purchase from the general purpose battery charger market. It won't charge to 100% perfectly (some over, some under, some slower, some faster) but close enough for the better chargers with the right patterns for the battery technology you have selected. Then make some allowance that the bike is not optimized and may undercharge some battery technologies and overcharge other over a long period of time. So I would simplify the decision process to this: 1. If you spend a lot on a specialist battery and want the maximum lifetime from it, go with a charger claimed to work for that particular battery. Verify with feedback when available. Most $$, battery and charger relatively expensive. 2. If you get a normal flooded cell or generic battery of some other type, get a charger that others have reported good results for, attempting to keep things apples to apples as battery technology/manufacturer/bike varies. This is hard since the feedback is non scientific and random. Minimum dollars but the battery is cheaper too. Plan on changing out the battery sooner but overall could be cheaper and less effort/worry. 3. Avoid no-name brands as the construction methods are dubious or untested. Surprises like sudden failures due to vibration or cell/plate shorting/shifting are more likely to occur for these. 4. It is hard to tell whether some technologies like pulse versus constant voltage/current is the magic answer when applied to so many random combinations of batteries and bikes. Fall back on 1-3 above for guidance. 5. Last option - Do not worry about it!. Ride it every week, and change it when you think things are degrading. If you live up in snow country, move south for the winter! Long, but hopefully sheds light on why there is not an obvious answer to battery and charging system choices in the market. I believe you pretty much get what you pay for in this area. - Mike

You know, the cruise control deactivates above 80 or 85mph, you just need to slow down!

Some online writeups of interest. http://www.myatvtiresarticles.com/Motorcycle-Tire-Tips/articles/536 Another article on page 2: http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/Article_Page.aspx?ArticleID=5624&Page=2 ..."The development of the radial tire led to frame modifications, new steering geometries and suspensions. That's why it is recommended that a motorcycle be used with the type of tire construction that it came with originally. Do not mix bias ply and radial tires on the same motorcycle unless it has the approval of the motorcycle or tire manufacturer."... This last article should be read in full. It is 3 pages and gives a decent comprehensive tire discussion, including size/load/speed rating info at the end. - Mike

Thought about that, it was tight. I put some of the fluid on the valve stem rubber also. Hit it from all directions.

I grew up in Maple Valley in the 70's. We could have more than one a year too. Not much beer around here, too many stripped screw threads with that stuff around ... There is a DQ 7 miles away in Woodinville though! I am not equipped to handle tire replacement, so any cross continent journeys will need to take that into consideration! We are surrounded by many motorcycle shops however so you can be accomodated. We are planning to do a car trip to SF/Tahoe July 4 week with the family. Then late July Hells Canyon/Baker City for a week on motorcycle. If anyone coming into the area is into saltwater fishing, and I still have my boat by then, we can double the fun and hit the San Juan Islands or Puget Sound too.

In BC along Hwy 1 and 3, some of the scenic overlooks are gravel roads that take you to several thousand feet. Some are in nice shape, but conditions change year to year. I do not consider any generation of Venture a great gravel road bike, but if you are solo, it might be worth a try. They can turn muddy on occasion. The west side is rather rainy unitl late July/August. Mt. Kobau on the east side of the Cascades is one of those gravel roads, used annually for Star parties (as in the astronomical type) it is an easy drive up with wide flat reasonably maintained gravel road, go slow and you can easily avoid most potholes and cows. Not sure I woudl try it two-up though. On my web site ( http://mysite.verizon.net/michael_d_lewis/Contest_Archive/2006_June_VHF_Contest.htm )I have some pictures of some of the stops I made in southern BC. I was in a VHF ham radio contest in 2006 traveling to all the good high spots along the way and was in my truck. There are a few pictures from E.C. Manning Provincial Park Scenic Lookout. That is at 5500ft and is paved up to the parking lot. It was quite cloudy and rainy that day in the pictures. On the main roads bears are often seen grazing along side the roads, and crossing the roads. Watch out for deer i the morning and evening especially. They like to graze on the grass in the road ditches and jump out at times when startled. - Mike

Have not read about one in the Seattle area before, but I am guessing there are more than a few of us around that know how to use a wrench and how to work on our Venture/RSTD/other bike. I have the basic tool collection, jack+lift adapter for the 2nd gen Venture, a CarbTune sync tool, and '87 and '07 Ventures with work coming up (brake pads, lower throttle cables, grease the '07 rear hub pins...) and lots of room in the garage for many bikes. Could be my place to start with, somewhere else, or rotate around some. Also some folks around here are ham radio operators and like to fish, so yet more reasons to put off the landscape work and hang out (I am into VHF/microwave contesting/roving - hopefully now by motorcycle this summer). - Mike, K7MDL

For the last year the rear air pressure in my '87 would leak from 40lb down to 20lb in about 1 day then on to near 0 in another day or two. Sometimes faster, sometimes slower. Each morning I would pump it up with my 0-60lb gauge hand pump from Progressive. Reading aroud here mostly about 2nd Gen shock leaks someone mentioned putting in some tranny fluid into the air fill line to swell the seals some. I did not have any tranny fluid laying around, but I did have some power steering fluid with leak stop additive. No idea if it hurts or hinders long term but I did not have much to lose so I put in about 1 ounce with a veterinarian syringe and surgical tubing section I had. Now 3 days have gone by including a hour of two-up riding with the nice weather we had today. It has held steady at 40lbs. Crossing my fingers it holds for a long while. I did not have a valve stem removal tool handy either. Rebent a small cotter pin from the junk pile so the ends were the same lenght. Fits perfectly either side of the valve stem. A pair of pliers and it was out quickly.

I was waiting for a replacement unit. While in the hardware store looking for something else I came across 3/16" tube rivets in various lengths. At $0.12 a piece I grabbed several sizes. I removed the leaking sender and replaced the brass bolt with the tube rivet and also cut and drilled pieces of a large rubber washer to fit top and bottom tightly. Soldered the wire to the brass washer I had drilled out before and reassembled the stack again. Took a metal rod and hammer to flare out the rivet and pounded it tight. Since I had already dione this once and the parts are all clean this round, it only took about an hour. Refilled and 2 days later still no leak. Usig teh bolt it was hard to seal up the threads, the rivet is nice and smooth. The old original reused rubber washer was somewhat hardened, but not a tight fit around the bolt. - Mike

That is only 1am on the west coast. Barely bed time yet.

Mine was closer to 3/4", basically just enough to ensure the nut would clear the existing interference on the back. Also when drilling through, place a sheet of metal behind to catch the drill bit bursting through. I thought I could catch it, and did for 1 of 2. Nicked the paint on one. Also the rails will flex down a bit if you jump on them a bit, which helps square it away, hence one reason why 3/4" worked for me.