luvmy40

I got the cruise control figured out. It works, there's just no "On" indicator. I get the green "speedometer" icon when it is on and set but nothing at all when it is on but not set. So, from startup, hit the on button once(no indicator at all), get to speed, hit the set button and the green speedo icon pops on. The coast and set buttons adjust the speed setting and it holds speed properly. Hit the brake or clutch or step on the throttle and the icon goes out and the cruise drops out. Hit the resume and the icon pops back and the cruise reverts to the last setting. It's working right, just no "On" indicator. I bought the E Brake spring and adjuster kit this morning, but I probably won't need it. It sounds like a good cleaning and some anti seize is all that is usually needed to restore the parking brake to operation. I'll be tearing into that and working on the rust spots later today. I'm not going to put the effort into it to make it look new but I want to halt the rust and at least make it look semi decent. A wire wheel, Loctite rust neutralizer, primer and a close match touch up paint should do the trick. I may go so far as to use a little Bondo on the fenders if it's pitted too badly after I scrub it with the wire wheel.

I forgot to mention that she only has 88,127 miles on the clock. That's extremely low for this vintage in this area.

Nope. Nothing at all when I hit the on/off buttons. I've never owned a manual trans. vehicle that had cruise control, but I see Rostra has a cruise package for manual shift trucks...

If you really feel like messing with it... Find the heavy point of the wheel without the tire mounted and mark it. Then mount the tire but do not seat the bead. Find the heavy point and mark the tire. Move the heavy point of the tire opposite the heavy point of the wheel, seat the bead and balance. I think I'd just mount it and balance it if it were mine. Unless it takes a stupid bunch weights, that is.

I had about $300.00 in petty cash set aside for some upgrades and repairs on The Beast this down season. I used it today for a down payment on a 2007 Ford F150 long box. I really needed a "new" truck. My POS '96 Ford Ranger was on it's last legs. Hell, it'd been life support for the last few years. Besides, getting the Venture in the bed was darn near impossible and it looked really funny when it was. Any Ford folks? I have a couple questions. This is the XL package with the 4.2 L V6, manual 5 speed transmission and no frills. The steering wheel has the cruise control buttons but they do not work. Does the manual version actually have CC or is this a replacement steering wheel? The E Brake does nothing. I think I have found out why in a cursory web search but if anyone here has any insight or words of wisdom, I'd love to hear from you. Not the best pic, but here she is. There's some rust over the rear fenders, but not rotted through. There are a few spots on the front corners of the hood that don't have any rust, but the paint is flaking off an the clear coat on the doors, over the windows is peeling. Not bad at all for a 12 year old truck in Ohio. The frame is solid, suspension is good, steering is tight and the engine runs quiet and strong. Looks like a brand new alternator and passenger side lower control arm.

I lost a Brother to to a deer few years ago. I also lost a rear tun signal and a license plate to one quite a few years before that. I was very lucky. Rob wasn't so lucky. Keep your eyes open and your head on a swivel. Stay safe out there.

As far as the petcock goes, I cant help. The '83 MK1 is "ON" or "OFF", no reserve position. The handle bars are not what one would would call adjustable. Rather, they are configurable. Track down an owners manual for step by step directions or email/call me. I'd be happy to walk you through it.

I'd look at the wiring connections first. Mine was flaky. Sometimes it worked other times it stayed cold. It was a corroded connector at the sending unit.

I'm considering going to the Ignitech TCI sooner rather than later. I'm not having any ignition issues but am anticipating the eventual need to go COP when my coils start to give out, again. Is there anything I need to know about the Ignitech? Any issues out of the box? Ignitech stated the unit would be pre programmed for the '83 MK1 and would be "Plug and play" with my existing "boost" sensor, or I could get their vacuum advance sensor when I order the unit. Any thoughts on which is the better set up? Also, does the unit require a proprietary USB cable for programming or is it a standard cable? The USB cable they quoted is the only price point I find a bit high. $12 US? for a USB cable? I assume the "Connector adapter" is necessary? Thanks for any help.

Ditto. Still no pic in the OP but I see Don's attached picture.

I've never had a "4 oz." puddle, but I do get a few drops of coolant leaking from the "drain/run" petcock in the coolant lines when it's cold outside.

Useless grease fitting? I'm not supposed to grease that zerk periodically? :confused::confused:

I don't see any pictures and no attachments show in the posting/thread list.

This happened on my '81 SECA. She just died on me. Would not start. Out of the blue. I swapped the ignition module and all was good, for about two weeks. Then the exact same thing happened. Just for testing purposes, I swapped back to the original ignition module and she fired right up! That's when I did real detailed cleaning job on the connectors on the TCI and the harness, never had that problem again. I've since gone a step further with the Venture and sealed the shiny connections up with dielectric grease.

Will my shiny MC cover fit?

I gotta say, I'm not sue why the Gen1 MK1 brakes have such a bad reputation. I have plenty of braking ability and the linked brakes don't seem to have any detrimental side effects. I have ridden many thousands of miles with far worse brake systems. I don't want to delink because I don't like the linked system. It's simply a matter of ease of maintenance and the fact that Skydoc_17 has line kits available only for the delinked setup. He offered to make up a set for me to keep the original configuration, but I just think it will be easier in the long run to upgrade my front MC and use the kit he has already developed. ETA: I'm not sure the hydraulic anti dive system has ever been all that great. The '81 SECA had a similar system and I could not feel any difference in dive with it active or disabled. Progressive springs are also high on my list of "need".

No, other than replacing the short hose from the rear MC to the steel line everything is stock and, as far as I can tell original. As far as replacing the bike? I'd only go that route if she had some catastrophic engine failure. Short of pulling the engine and cracking the cases, I'll make repairs and upgrades as time and money permits. She's running well and starting to look nicer everyday. Maybe, if I were to luck into a great deal on a MKII, I'd consider having 2 Ventures. I have a long list of things I want and shorter list of things I need to do to her. The hydraulic lines are the top of the need list. I'm pushing my luck every time I ride her right now and I am well aware of that fact.

Welcome to the family! Good choice on the Gen 1, they're faster and sexier than the competition.

Thank you! I'll keep my eye out for an '89+ front MC.

This may sound random RE: the thread title, but here goes. My '83 Standard seems to have every piece of added "Bling" available. The plastic is all busted in some one way or another, though it has all been repaired enough to be serviceable if not pretty. All the extra chrome is what makes this 36 year old bike look great fro 10 feet away. Random, Right? So here's the question; I am considering delininking the brakes simply for ease of maint. when I replace all of the 36 year old hydraulic hoses. The front MC will need to be upgraded in the process, unless I am mistaken. Is there a suitable upgrade MC that will fit with the chrome MC covers that are on the OEM MCs? Here is a picture of the bauble in question: I have always hated the way the bar mounted MCs look and Yamaha's are especially hideous in their natural state. One of the things I loved about the '81 XJ750RH, SECA was the front master cylinder being a remote(hidden), cable operated set up. Thanks for any input in advance.

I do recall that there is such a "kit" from one of our members. I would advise you to check with your local Yamaha dealer for shims. Mine is extraordinary in this aspect. They swap shims for free and have even fronted the shims to swap, cores to be returned later. They do this for my Venture and my XJ bikes. The tools are available from several sources. I bought one from a member here. I don't recall who.

I decided to stretch The Beast's legs a bit the other day(and impress the wife a bit too:cool:) So I wound her out in third gear to see where she'd red line. We went past a newer Gold Wing that had just pulled out onto the four lane thoroughfare at about 65 mph an climbing. When I looked at the tach and speedo a moment later we were at 7500 rpm and 95 mph. Now, I hadn't planned on taking her any faster but I saw the Wing creeping up on us in the rear view so I just had to shift into 4th and twist her tail. He gave up. No quarter asked or taken.

I thought it was illegal to shoot the state bird in Wisconsin!

Yep, been working for me for many years.

Don't all the gen 1 bikes have the cable junction box under the left side fairing? I thought this was genius when I found it the first time I pulled the carbs on The Beast. No need to fight the cable installation on the bike. The cables can be installed on the bench and then connected after reinstalling the carbs.