mark68502

Perfect. I am now throwing money at your feet.

The boys slept outside in a tent last night. Why you ask? And what does this have to do with Ventures? Everything. I completely filled my house with pungent fumes of boiling PineSol last night! Got 1/2 the carb block mostly cleaned but there is a big difference between getting the sliders to MOVE and having the jets all working effectively. Next step is going through with fine wire and compressed air. By the way, the first time I used PineSol to clean carbs I forgot that bathing your hands in the stuff undiluted is NOT the same as using a capful in a bucket of mop water. Chemically peeled both hands completely. Not a fun couple of days afterwards. This time I use gloves and made the kids sleep outside.

Yes, I think that is what I have decided to do as well. Seems simple and clean. And, of course, cap off the port on the underside of the airbox.

Oh, and I messed up the gasket holding the jet block in. Anybody have a recommendation for a carb kit that would include this gasket? Are there "good" and "bad" carb kits out there?

I knew that eventually I was going to have to clean the carbs to get the BL (big lover) running as it should but had hoped that I would be able to take the boys around the block once or twice first. The performance (no idle without choke regardless of temperature, no response to throttle advance except a quick death) told me the boys would have to wait. Pulled the carbs and as I thought, they REALLY needed cleaning. 3 of the 4 sliders were completely unresponsive and the 4th was sluggish at best. Isn't varnish wonderful?! lol I am really NOT looking forward to the string of curses that it is going to take to get those throttle cables back in but what really surprised me was that the choke connecting bar (Im sure it has a "proper" name somewhere) was missing BOTH its c-clips! Clearly the PO was in here messing around prior to selling it to me and put it back together in a bit of a hurry. I won't be separating the individual carbs but pulled all the parts on Carb1 for a soaking tonight. Wish I had a sonic bath or mechanical parts washer to get some movement in that magical fluid...

I decided to pull the carbs today and give the a cleaning but while following a (really nice) set of instructions from The Venturers I noticed that my crank case ventilation hose is...GONE! This feels like a dumb question but is this important? Seems like a pretty BIG opening to be just left uncapped. Where is the hose that was supposed to be there? Where is the other end of that missing hose supposed to go? Ok, Im done panicking and have just read the related threads on crankcase ventilation. Seems that some people remove it and like the results. Then again, if my hose is simply GONE, don't I have a relatively large "leak" in my airbox that could be throwing off my (admittedly already poor due to uncleaned carbs...) performance?

Got the seafoam in, tank filled up and let her mix a bit. Then, while the boys slept this morning I re-assembled the exhaust and the radiator and waited for those sleepyheads to finally crawl out of bed. When they did, we repeated last nights performance with much coughing & sputtering but no sustained purring. Then I remembered that I hadn't changed the plugs and a quick trip to the parts store (a magical place for ones such as these...) resulted in ACTUAL running of the bike. Amazing what 4 new plugs will do... It needs full choke and won't put up with any revving of the engine yet, but the boys (and myself) are ecstatic. Let it run for 5-10 minutes outside in the shade and when I came back out, temp was getting up near the red, radiator fan was on (good) but steam was coming out of the radiator cap (doesn't seem so good). Pic link below of the boy's complete JOY. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5iSYaqrZitTcjVhU2REblZXTjg/view?usp=sharing

My boys like to name my motorcycles. A couple of years ago I bought a beat up CB750 which my boys named "Big Lover." After that motorcycle went away, we picked up the 84Venture and the name got transferred. We were really looking forward to some road trips but the brakes were REALLY spongy. So I pulled the plastic and revamped the brakes. In the process it seemed like I had tweaked something with the electrical as the bike did nothing but click. I was fooled for a (long) time because the bike gave me no hint that the starter was failing, but that was indeed the problem. Last week (as noted in another thread) I traced the problem to the starter and after some hemming and hawing ordered a new one from Amazon. It was probably a rooky mistake as I probably should have picked up a revamped one from the stellar mechanics on this forum but I had a gift card to Amazon and it was too difficult to wait so I pulled the trigger. Well, the starter came in today, along with a new solenoid that, for $10, I couldn't resist. When my boys saw that it was here, they threatened a mutiny unless I marched right out and put it in. They stood guard with sharpened sticks ready to poke me back to work if I should try to take a coffee break or put down the wrench in exchange for a Mountain Dew and we got it re-assembled in record time. My boys were holding the keys hostage to ensure that I wouldn't try to start it without them but I was more worried about preparing them for the disappointment of the inevitable failure to start and told them that while we had PROBABLY solved one problem, there were sure to be whole host of other problems that would keep it from starting. Despite my complete lack of confidence, we put in the key and VOILA coughs and sputters and a room full of exhaust! We may not have KEPT it running for more than a few seconds, but after 18 months of complete abandonment, it was enough to bring about spontaneous cheers from the boys in plus the demand for celebratory ice cream! Over the next few days, we should put a can or two of sea-foam through it and see if we can get it rolling and see if we can get some pics up. Woohoo for the enthusiasm of 8 year olds!

This is an awesome thread. I am humbled and inspired and somewhat intimidated by all you people and your mad skills!

Wait, jfman is in Montreal which means thats $250 CANADIAN. And, as a Canadian myself (out of country since '94) I count that to be something like 17 bucks! lmao

You picked up a RUNNING (and by the looks of it, complete) bike for $250 and you are worried about spending "too much" on it?! lol If you regularly get deals like that I want to be your new best friend!

Thanks. I saw that one earlier but was a little hesitant about picking up one with that many miles. Then I found this new starter (Mitsuba) that says it will fit a vmax from 1985 - 2007 http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-STARTER-YAMAHA-MOTORCYCLE-V-MAX-VMAX-VMX1200-1200-1985-1986-1987-1988-/371153924060?fits=Make%3AYamaha&vxp=mtr&hash=item566a7f6fdc# The company says it is incompatible so maybe aftermarket starters are not as cross-compatible as the OEMs... or maybe they are wrong? Here are the specs Starter • 12 Volt, CW, 9-Spline Shaft SPECS FOR:Mitsuba PMDD MFR:MITSUBA DESIGN:PMDD VOLTAGE:12 ROTATION:CW FEATURE 1:100% New FEATURE 2:9-Spline Shaft • Replaces - MITSUBA SM-229C, YAMAHA 1FK-81800-10-00 OEM(s): Mitsuba Family: Mitsuba SM13 Voltage: 12 Condition: New Rotation: CW Starter Type: PMDD Number of Teeth: 9 Gear OD: 0.551in / 14mm Mtg Ear 1 Hole: 6mm Unthreaded Mtg Ear 2 Hole: 7mm Unthreaded Warranty: 1 Year References: Lester 18750 Mitsuba SM13279, SM2-29C PIC Picture ID 191-246 Yamaha 1FK81800-10-00 Wilson 71-26-18750

Confidence is an amazing tool. Got the starter out and hooked it up directly to the battery just to double check - nothing. Not a hum, not a purr, not a squeak, not a wiggle. Dead. Nice to know I was on the right track. Now, if any of you have one of those nice, new 4 brush starters around, shoot me a note! I am in the market to buy! Mark

Pry-drivers I can do. Now that I know it "should" come out I will be a little more bold in "helping" it to do so. Thank you!

I am (I believe...) replacing the starter on my 83 and have a dumb question. I have read the starter thread and have followed the instructions enough to 1. get the radiator out of the way 2. get the right hand header off (THAT was a fun challenge) 3. get the thermostat housing out of the way 4. remove the 2 bolts holding the starter on 5. remove the solenoid to starter wire Now the starter is loose but it doesn't seem to want to come out. My question may be a DUH! moment for me but I have not removed the left hand side cover where the starter goes into the engine. I don't want to force the starter if I need to do something to that left side and I don't want to pussy out and just be afraid to work it till it pops either. So do I need that side cover off to complete the job?! Thanks!