Rick Butler

Steve, If that's the original paint, you have an 84 standard and not a 83. If so, the bike probabaly has all of the recall issues of the 83 already made. Good luck, Rick

If the break is clean with no burrs that will rub...... and the bucket will still accept a shim without any issues, your bucket will be ok. Oh, to remove a bucket, you have to remove the cams....so if you have to do this, you'd better have access to a shop manual.

Just a quick note, Loosen the top cap while you have the forks still clamped in the lower triple tree....it will make this process less frustrating. Rick

Carl, FYI, 2nd gen Ventures do not have these 12 point cuts in the top of the dampening rod....they are smooth. However, the bottom of the dampening rod has a taper that sits in a tapered depression in the lower tube. So all you really need to do is hit it hard with a quick burst from a pneumatic impact and it will break loose without spinning. Hope this helps, Rick

Ruffy, Are you sure it's not Greenville, TX, as there is not a Greenfield? If so, he lives pretty close to me in Wylie and you can refer him to me if he needs help with his bike. Rick

The reason I ask is that there are only 7 standard fiber plates with the 8th being a half plate behind the wire. If all 8 are the same size, then the 8th is meant to replace the half plate and you can throw the wire, and both the fiber and metal half plates away. Hope this helps, Rick

Quick question Doug, Where did you buy the 8 fiber plates and are they all the same bacic size externally? Rick

Yeah FYI, The sizes of any Yamaha bolt is always the middle set of numbers in the part number: 06016 = 6mm in diameter and 16mm long.....and I'm not sure about the pitch. Rick

Yes Dion, The ignition wiring on top of the neck is identical and it can be bypassed by using the same instructions for the RSV. I wired a relay into mine and then put a switch on the relay ground wire which gave me an emergency kill switch. So if the switch was off, the bike would not start regardless if the key was on. Hope this helped, Rick

Kirby, They work great....to the point you can ride with a pair of summer gloves underneath. And even better is to have a set of heated grips inside of them. The ones I got a few years ago were called "Polar Hands" and sold by Tucker Rocky, but I don't see therm now. They had velcro slits top and bottom which allowed you to slip them around mirrors and controls and hold them on with a velcro strap. But I found them on ebay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-Polar-Hands-Handlebar-Mittens-Hand-Sheilds-New-/310826326456?pt=US_CSA_MWA_Gloves_Mittens&hash=item485eb159b8#ht_4578wt_867 But it appears someone else is now manufacturing the old "Hippo Hands" created by Craig Vetter in a more current style, which looks good and will also slip arount mirror stalks: http://www.hippohands.com/HHDUALPURPOSE.htm The only downside I have found is that the controls on the bars are now hidden, so you need to know where everything is by feel. And sometimes the slight pressure against the clutch and brake lever will cut your cruise control off. Check them out, they are definitely worth it if you need to ride in the extreme cold. Hope this helps, Rick

Sorry Perry, This link doesn't work. The part I'm talking about is an adapter that screwed into the top front cylinder so you could screw in the temp probe for the temperature gauge. Rick

Hey Guys, Some time back I saw a post that had the part number for the adapter Ponch provided with his gauge set for the water temperature probe into the head. I'll be danged if I can find it. Does anyone know the adapter I'm talking about? I need one. Any help would be greatly appreciated, Rick

Well Mark, You are kind of right on this. But even though I had also modified my Road Sofa a couple of times, I finally realized the advantages of the Pillow Top seats after I made my modifications to them and decided to check out my own work Of all the seats I have reworked, the Pillow Top has always been my favorite, so I guess I just now decided to practice what I preached. And I never stop trying to improve on my work, so yes you will most likely see improved differences in the same seat over time....especially from the first one I did.

Well Jonas, All of my basic work is involved in improving the shape of the foundation foam to better fit the butt. And after I get the shape to my satisfaction, I cover every seat with a layer of memory foam. I've attached a couple of older before and after pictures of the passenger seat. But remember the more seats I rework, I find myself improving more on the shape. You know...the older...smarter thing Hope this helps, Rick

Folks, For those that don't know me, my wife Linda and I have been riding on Travelcade Road Sofa seats since the late 80s. Therefore, we have never spent any length of time on any of the RSV seats that I have been reworking for the past 5 years. And even though I'm on my 3rd RSV, I have never had a oem seat on any of them. They always went on the shelf to be replaced by my Road Sofa. But the 07 I bought a little over a couple of years ago came with pillow top seats and after several long trips with Linda, I realized that our Road Sofa was starting to really bother my her hip, which had been replaced in 2004 from an accident. I realized then that the pillow top seats that came on this Midnight were up in my attic, so I decided to rework them and try them out. So this year after 3 - 9 day trips of around 10,000 miles total, they have more than exceeded our expectations, expecially for Linda. We can ride from tank to tank without any butt burns or other issues. And harsh bumps do not bother her like they did with our Road Sofa. Since I started reworking Pillow Top seats, I used a 1 1/2" layer of memory foam to replace the 1" oem pillow foam. But, a year ago my supplier of 1 1/2" foam quit carrying this thickness.....so I started using 2" memory foam. I first thought this thicker foam would be too much, but after what Linda and I have experienced, it works out better than I expected. This thickness really lets you settle into the seat down to the denser re-shaped foundation foam and really reduces most pressure points. Now a little input on the Pillow Top passenger seat. This seat is shaped like a big biscuit which really spreads the thighs of the passenger. The first thing I do to reshape this foundation foam is to give it a saddle shape with a much narrower nose, but with a nice shaped bucket to sit into at the back. With Linda's bad hip I even narrowed it more which really worked out better. I don't know how many folks have told me that their wife was ok with her seat and they only sent me the driver's seat......only to later send me her seat 2 weeks later after she saw what I did for his seat. So any more, I tell folks to go ahead and save themselves some grief and go ahead and send me her pillow top seat. So, for those pillow top owners who have not had me rework thier seats yet, now is the time to send them to me....you will not be disappointed Rick FYI: http://www.venturerider.org/classifieds/showproduct.php?product=3738&title=butt-butler-seat-mod&cat=25

I was looking at another post from ebay and saw one for the starter relay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Yamaha-Royal-Star-Venture-XVZ1300-STARTER-RELAY/200521814165?rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222002%26algo%3DSIC.FIT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D18239%26meid%3D2847569853388599392%26pid%3D100005%26prg%3D8344%26rk%3D5%26rkt%3D5%26sd%3D321251128800%26#ht_4440wt_899 Might help you understand what you are looking at? Rick

The starter relay is located on the left side of the battery box. The cable from the battery runs directly to one lug on this relay, where you will find one 30 amp fuse along with a spare. The only problem I have seen from this relay is corrosion that damaged the inner connection to the relay. Good luck, Rick

The magazines may get a sneak look, but based upon past experience with Yamaha, NO ONE will know anything until the dealer show...hopefully next Aug. And my money is on a new updated fuel injected V-4, with maybe a Road Glide fairing?

I'll look for Skydoc_17 and get one of his kits.

Juan, Take Matt's advice and let me fix it for you....for the money....you won't be sorry. Rick

Bert, Outside of a bike lift, my favorite solution to your issue is a front wheel wheel chock. Cycle Gear has a good one on sale for $70 and you can also use it for a front wheel mount in a trailer: http://www.cyclegear.com/CycleGear/Accessories/Transport-%26-Storage/Tie-downs/brand/TRACKSIDE/Roll-On-Wheel-Chock/p/36178_00000 Hope this helps, Rick

CJ, If I understand you right, it sounds like you did not remove the forks and removed the damping bolt in the bottom of the forks to drain the oil? Is this true? Rick

Buddy, Do you just have a busted head light or is the chrome housing smashed up? If it's just the 7" light, Kuryakyn offers a diamond cut replacement that will work well: http://www.kuryakyn.com/Products/1539/Diamond-Cut-Ice-Smooth-Custom-Headlamps But if you need the entire headlight housing, then I'd keep my eye on E-Bay or check with Pinwall Salvage. Hope this helps, Rick

No Jack, Cupping tires is always a sign of a poor suspension with little or no compression or rebound dampening in the forks and/or rear shock. When fork oil get forced through a small orfice long enough, your suspension basically says "this aint oil" and quits working like it should. Kinda like your truck when the shocks get worn out and goes bouncing down the road. Rick

My profressional assessment is that you probably torqued one side and overlooked the other? At 29ft/lbs and forget the locktite, they will not back out.