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Rick Butler

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  1. Rick Butler
    Hey Roy, Welcome to this group of very knowledgeable and friendly folks. In fact when saw that you were from the DFW area, I sent you a PM. I know it's nice if you can have someone close that you can rely on, if needed. Like you have already noted, this fine bike just needs a few minor changes to make it handle better. And IMHO what you experienced in your low speed exercises with your motor friends, I would be taking the Barons lowering kit off and sell it. And unless you are inseam challenged, I would suggest the Levaling Links (I'm just a bit biased since I developed them). And many of us also want more lights on the rear of this bike and the Harley License Light (68230-97B) is certainly a good looking functional option. However, from what I have recently found on the internet, this item may be getting in short supply. And J&M headsets are probably the best option which can be bought from Sierra Electronics at a discount. The Progressive suspension pump is the one you want and can easily be ordered by your dealer or found on the internet at countless sites. Just make sure you get the one that goes up over 60lbs. And I wouldn't worry about your attennas because they easily fold down. If you get a fixed one, it makes it almost impossible to put a full cover on the bike. Hope to hear from you, Rick
  2. Rick Butler
    That's a great price Dick, If hadn't already had mine replaced under warrenty, about 5 days before my warranty expired, I would certainly take it off your hands. Guys, if any of you have a 2nd gen clutch basket that is driving you crazy, and your bike is out of warranty.....don't let this one slip by you
  3. Rick Butler
    Oh, Stadium Yamaha is also getting into this on-line market and has the same price as Boatpartguys.come at $285. They told me that this was the most Yamaha would let them discount parts. Rick
  4. Rick Butler
    Yeah Don, It appears that any company that sells any Yamaha product (mowers, boats, snowmobiles, etc), can also order oem Yamaha motorcycle parts. And from what you have found, it appears that they are also taking advantage of the internet as an additional source of income. I just ordered some gaskets from Boats.net because even with shipping, it's much cheaper that I can get with my local discount. Good find, Rick
  5. Rick Butler
    Check with Hartco, They have been making m/c sheepskin seat covers since the early 80s: http://www.hartcoseats.com/LAMBSKIN-SEAT-COVERS-/154/Sheepskin-seatcovers.html Hope this helps, Rick
  6. Rick Butler
    Jonas, It's a Corbin and Corbin will want you to return it which is going to cost a pretty penny for shipping. If it were me, I'd take the cover off and take it to an upholsterer and have then duplicate the cover or repair it. Just drill the heads off the pop rivits and remove the cover. Then punch the stud part of the rivit through the seat pan and then pop rivit it back on when it's repaired. Rick
  7. Rick Butler
    No, The one I saw was designed for the right side. I just made another in reverse that had to be longer for the left side. Thanks, Rick
  8. Rick Butler
    Ok Guys, I know the plans or dimensions for this horn bracket are our here somewhere, but I'll be damned if I can find it. I've built several and even have one one the left side of my bike for Dual Stebels. And I thought I had made patterns, but I can't find them either. So can anyone point me to the post that first showed this bracket? Thanks, Rick
  9. Rick Butler
    Cheny, The CB is located under the trunk. And you will need a couple of Motorola adapters since most SWR meters use the bayonet style and our bike uses the Motorola type. Rick
  10. Rick Butler
    Hey Folks, I just came accross a Yamaha dealer that has the best online oem parts and accessory prices I have ever seen. Recently I had to buy a new front cowling for my 07 Midnight Venture and started searching online dealers to see what prices were out there. And I started with MR Cycles out of Ashville, NC who I had bought from before, where I felt they had some of the best discounts on oem parts. Well for some reason I decided to Google the part number and at the top of the search was Stadium Yamaha with a price of $711 for a $1,000 part, which was about $100 less than any of the usual discount dealerships including Ron Ayers, MR Cycles, Bike Bandit, etc. When I did the math, this came to a 30% discount. I felt this dealership was in the DFW Metroplex, but when I looked further I discovered it was really my old Irving Yamaha dealership, under a new owner and name. So I called their on-line parts manager Kirk Gross and discovered that they are purposely going after this oem on-line parts market and are discounting oem parts and accessories as low as Yamaha will allow. And like other dealers that do this, Yamaha has to deliver parts to them and they turnaround and ship it to you via UPS and do not mark the shipping up any. So, if you are ever in the market for a new Yamaha oem part, you really need to take a look at this dealership and their on-line prices. Here is the link to their site: http://www.stadiumyamaha.com/ And if you need to talk to a real person, you can contact Kirk Gross 972-445-0825 Hope this helps, Rick
  11. Rick Butler
    Walt, If you will check with many of the sidecare users groups, many of them who have no intention of removeing the car from the bike, they not only install a car tire on the rear, but they also put a matching care tire on the front. This is a perfect application and reason to switch to car tires. Rick
  12. Rick Butler
    Bump I know there is someone out there that has a set of DiamondR Leveling Links setting on the shelf....that they have taken off their bike and are not going to put back on? Rick
  13. Rick Butler
    Yeah Bob, I know it.....I was the one who wrote it. I'm just looking for a set already made up by DiamondR...that is not going to be installed. Thanks, Rick
  14. Rick Butler
    Hey Guys, Are there any of you who have a set of Leveling Links you are not going to install....that you want to sell? Send me a PM, Rick
  15. Rick Butler
    Greg, I have been running ME 880s since 2000 on 3 RSVs with around 200k, and unlike some of the others here....I have never had an issue. Just keep around 46lbs in the rear and 36lbs in the front. And they are a great handling tire as well. Hope this helped, Rick
  16. Rick Butler
    You have it Jay, Just put a 19mm (I think) socket on it and remove that nut......and the line will drop down. And that vent line hook goes on the right side of the battery and usually has a clamp holding it, but it will pull out with the shock. It's part of the boot. Hope this helps, Rick
  17. Rick Butler
    Yeah Angel, I have them all the way back to the first 2 of the VeTS. Which ones are you looking for? Rick
  18. Rick Butler
    You know guys, This has been a continious learning process for me ever since I started doing this for you all. I read everything I can on motorcycle seats and analyse every builder's seat I can get my hands on to see how they construct their seats, to improve my process. And on the topic of firmer foam, I have been successful in adding an insert of 1 1/2" firmer foam in several seats which I have reworked and I've attached a picture of an 88 Venture seat I did a while back. This has worked out good for those who feel their foam is not firm enough. And on seats that are not the Pillow Top, I have been using just a 1" memory foam to top the seat to mostly give it a better shape. But it also helps reduce pressure points. Then on the Pillow Tops I have started using 2" memory foam to give it a better pillow shape, where the jury is still out on this. But I still feel the shape of the foundation foam is the most important part of a comfortable seat. But regardless, I have an unwritten promise to you guys that if you have a problem with a seat that I've reworked, (just like the big guys) send it back and I'll rework it to the best of my ability for nothing. But even here, the cost of shipping can get to you if you are watching costs. Remember, not every seat solution will work for everyone? Hope this helped, Rick
  19. Rick Butler
    Lynn, Ever since the major manufactures came out with synthetic motorcycle oil, I have used it with no issues. However before then, in the mid 90s Motorcycle Consumer News came out with an evaluation of automotive Mobil 1 and Castrol Syntech and concluded that it was alright to use these oils in motorcycles who shared the same engine oil with the transmission. So, if MCN said it was ok, then I would give it a try and changed the oil in my 91 with Mobil 1. Well I discovered that when the engine oil was cold, the clutch would slip under little acceleration, but would not slip when the oil warmed to operating temps. So I dumped it and changed to Castrol Syntech.....and yeah I observed the same conditions. At that point I was pretty frustrated as well as being out the costs of two oil changes, so I changed back to my Golden Spectro synthetic blend and the slipage went away. This is the only time I had clutch issues with engine oil and once I went back to a motorcycle synthetic blend or pure synthetic, I have never had a clutch issue unless the wear on the fiber plates was at the point that required action to either replace the fiber plates or install the PWC or Skydoc clutch plate. Since I made this upgrade, I have gone over 70k with no clutch issues. Hope this helps, Rick
  20. Rick Butler
    Kent, I know you will think it's overkill, but I grease my driveshaft splins every time I put on a new rear tire. With the wheel off, I go ahead and pull the final drive and drain and refill the final drive fluid on the bench in the vise as well as grease the splins. I also pull the hub fingers and grease them as well. To me it just made sense to take care of these maintenence items every tire change? What would you have done if you found the drive shaft splins toast at 80k? I'd prefer not to take that chance. Rick
  21. Rick Butler
    Joel, The springs really don't have that much to do with the ride. It's the dampening rod with the compression and rebound holes that control the ride. If you don't have proper dampening then it's like taking a shock off of a wheel on your truck.......it's going to bounce, and keep bouncing. The reason you need to replace springs is because over time the springs loose their sag allowing the bike to drop lower with the weight of the bike and driver. In other words, they compress to the point to where there is not enough coils to keep the bike at the proper ride height. Most forks have a total travel of 4 - 5 inches. If you use up 2 - 3 inches with the weight of the bike and driver then there is not much travel left to deal with bumps, etc which may allow the forks to bottom out on a harsh bump. I know for a fact that the RSV springs have a spring rate of .90kg/mm. And if you run this bikes weight through a spring rate calulator, it will come back with a spring rate of 1.2kg/mm. The suspension professionals say that you should only have 30-35mm of sag for a street bike. Hope this helps, Rick Oh, you will need to buy or build a seal driver to replace your fork seals.
  22. Rick Butler
    No Derrek, My Works shock has this same issue with the top mounting bolt. Now on the lower suspension components, these mounts all have roller bearings rather than bushings. And I have found cases of the bolts getting corroded and causing some wear on the bolt itself. When I found this on my 01, I went ahead and replaced all of the lower bolts and greased everything. You might want to pull the lower bolts and check them for wear. Rick
  23. Rick Butler
    Derrek, I have noted this same slop in the top shock bolt mount....on every RSV I have checked including two of my own. If you look into the inner top mount of the shock, you won't see any evident wear. And if you take a new 12mm shock bolt and slide it into this mount, you will see there is some slack in these two parts. I feel this is just the way it is and once you place the bike on the ground with the weight of the bike on this suspension, there is no negligible slack that will effect the operation of the suspension. In other words, until you observe any wear on either part, I would just keep it lubed with grease and not worry about it. Hope this helps, Rick
  24. Rick Butler
    Vince, The quickest way for you would be to jump on I-10 and run to Kerrville and then take 16 south to Medina. At Medina stop at the Apple Store for an apple turnover or some apple ice cream. Then you can take 337 west to Vanderpool where you can take 187 north to the Lost Maples State Park. Don't forget to stop at the motorcycle museum on the left before you get to the park....alot of good old British bikes. Then go back to 337 and head west to Leaky and have lunch (or just stop) at the Frio Canyon motorcycle shop where you can get your Twisted Sister T shirt. From there you can head on west to Camp Wood and catch 335 north to 41 and then east to finish with 336 south to Leaky. Then you can run back to 187 and take it north to 39 which is a great ride back into Kerrville down the Medina River. Here is a link to the Hill Country Cruising site for more info. http://www.hillcountrycruising.com/the3s.html Hope this helps, Rick
  25. Rick Butler
    Guys, This issue has been discussed longer than I care to remember and it started back with the MK1 where the first one I heard was a friend's 85. But on a 1st gen, it was not that much of an issue because most of the motor was covered up with the fairing. But the issue comes from the fact that the straight cut drive gear on the crank mates with the driven gear on the clutch basket in a very confined space that makes it impossible to measure the gear lash. Yamaha has made 5 to 6 driven gears on the clutch that I feel are hand fitted during assembly. If one clutch basket feels too loose, they take it off and pick the next one. Each has a alpha character scribed on the back of the gear, where the lower characters have a tighter fit. The solutiuon to the whine is to remove the clutch basket and observe what character in on the back. If it has a "D" then replace it with a basket with an "E" or the next one higher. In most all cases going up one basket usually resolves the problem. Not knowing this at the time I replaced a "F" basket with a "D" and turned it into a screamer. A friend from Houston who was a Venture mechanic clued me in that I should have went up instead of down, and that did the trick. But if you have a "H" basket, you will need an "I" basket which does not have a part number and can only be gotten from a Yamaha Tech Rep, who used to carry one in a brief case along with a gasket for the cover. But you are going to need a dealer and service manager that will work with you in getting Yamaha to resolve this issue. And this service manager will have to support your case that this clutch whine is too annoying that you will have to sell the bike. And the reason there has not ever been a recall is because it is not a chronic problem. My 01 had it but my 02 didn't, however the 07 I just got last year has it. Hope this helps clear the air on this problem, Rick
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