CaseyJ955

Thats good to know, I thought I was going to be stripping off ALL that plastic. I feel better about doing it now. Still waiting on my order from boats.com, then I have everything I need. I guess I better get the tires ordered now. Thank you!

That sounds very straight forward. Of course I will have to replace the seals and bushings so it all has to come apart. Oh yea, and the steering neck bearings, so dern. I'm not going to get off that easy. I think I'm in for pulling a bunch of plastic just to get to it all.

I was afraid they would be. The venture is considerably heavier, has antidives and is for a whole different style of riding. I'm pretty good with tools but I wont lie, that video made it a heck of a lot easier to do the Vmax forks in a reasonable amount of time.

6" is a pretty huge variance. I just opened the box and riffled through the papers and the only note in there specific to the Royale was "needed spacers are provided". So if it's that much longer is the idea not to use the OEM metal one, just the PVC spacers included with the springs? With the Vmax I had to cut those PVC spacers, before pulling the forks apart the idea was to measure how far the springs were over the top of the tree with the top of the forks opened up and no weight on them. I cut the PVC spacers to match that and it worked very well. This is only my 2nd set of Progressives so I'm a little green at this fudging with preload thing. I would like to soften it up, its very harsh now but I want ride height to remain stock, I'm so unbelievably statuesque I can totally flatfoot a stock Venture . This is the video I followed when I did my Vmax, Morley did it here, same guy that suggested synth import atf as the juice. Is the Venture really so different other than the anti-dive solenoids?

This is interesting as I'm getting ready to do mine. Last time I installed Progressives on similar forks I measured the factory preload and matched it by cutting the plastic spacers and the results are great. Not sure if thats a solid plan for a Venture but I guess we'll find out.

It sure can be. When you try the ATF make sure it's for imports. Not sure why that was important but it was strongly stressed by the guy that builds custom bikes and races Vmaxes as well as selling OEM and aftermarket parts. He has a tutorial on Youtube of rebuilding the Vmax forks, his 11 yo daughter was doing a lot of the work. Good watch. I like a little softer over firmer only because I live in a place where the scenic rides just go on for hours and I end up in the saddle for extended periods, comfort is my first concern and road manners just under that. I know that different forks behave differently with different weights and so far the lighter fluid wt does not even hint at being mushy but I feel like the progressives have a lot to do with that too. OEM springs in these older bikes are just plain bad on top of being old. I say that as having cut my teeth in the early 80s on bikes dating back to 59. They suck on many current models too, and the cost of updating vs the results IMHO make it the single most cost effective mod available for an aging bike.

That looks like the place. I'll have to get psyched up to spend that kind of scratch on a seat again. Usually a good long road trip makes that decision easier. I guess it wouldnt hurt to call him and find out what he can do without me having to go back into WA (WA, CA are near the top of my never again list) Thanks for posting the link.

That is an amazing gift indeed! When you say Riches do you mean Riches cust upholstery? I had a Triumph Sprint seat done there back when I lived in Seattle if it's the same place, excellent results and yea, not cheap and was an all day affair. I cant recall what suburb he was in but it was a little ways out of Seattle proper. I have not returned to the Pacific Northwest since I moved out in 05 and as I recall he requires the backside to be present for the seat to be made right.

That is one comfy looking seat! When I get strange electrical symptoms on any vehicle I go straight to grounds, I hope the updates sort it out.

Its true. I can see how my Vmax experience and things I have taken from the other board will lend nicely to getting this Venture dialed in. Thinking that the tuning experience should be valuable but I'm still going to have to read about float levels and jetting/needles. I know I mentioned it before but the Synth imp ps/at fluid with the progressives in the Vmax seems perfect, it feels like a modern road bike instead of an outdated pig, when I got that bike it was also nervous, harsh and jittery. I'm confident and anxious to get the same treatment on the Venture. What we should do is fish for someone thats not doing the springs, but only the oil and see what results the oil alone yield. I considered just doing that in the name of science but I really have to get this sorted so I can take a trip before the weather turns, the tourists are going home and I always loved to go to MT through Tetons/Yellowstone outside peak season and continue my hunt for a cheap rural fixer upper house to retire in. I'll post my results in a new or existing fork thread so that someone searching for the information can find it. I cant thank you guys enough for all the information in finding the starting point for tires and fork parts.

He said that it does vary from brand to brand and that the MSDS info would be more specific on a brand. I downloaded the MSDS sheet for the Valvoline and I dont see any wt specification but it has plenty of other information. I'll search around later and see if I can find the info, I would like to know. I'm not sure I would feel the difference but anything less than 10wt would seem a little light to me but I have yet to experiment with to many different wts on different steeds.

I asked Morley about the synthetic import PS or ATF fluid wt, he confirmed that it ranges between 7-10wt and that MSDS info can shed more light on it. Just thought I would throw that in in case anyone else is thinking about using it. It's right where I want to be so I'm using it when I install the progressives.

Thats exactly what I needed to know to get the parts ordered, didnt realize it was a piston for the lower. Just placed the order, seals, covers, slides and pistons all shipped for under $160, not to shabby for OEM stuff. I plan to leave the anti-dive solenoids alone for now, they seem to function as they should. On the ATF as fork oil, I got the idea on the Vmax board from Sean Morley (Highly respected tech and vendor). He said any FULLY synthetic ATF or PS fluid specifically for import cars. He was very clear about specifying the import part. I ended up using this. http://www.valvoline.com/our-products/automatic-transmission-products/import-multi-vehicle-automatic-transmission-fluid I couldnt find any wt info on this but from searching around synth ATF seems to be around 7.5 -10w. I did that at the same time I did Progressives and the difference was night and day on the Vmax. As it was explained to me the beneffit of using this instead of traditional fork oil is that it's much easier on the seals and the fluid lasts considerably longer. I'll see if I cant find out specifically what wt this oil is, I would prefer to err on the side of soft than too firm. I'll update if I can find the specific wt info for this oil, I will make some effort to use the lightest suitable oil to keep it less jarring on bad roads.

I really need to soften it up, my driveway has parts that are badly washboarded, aside from some of the off the beaten path places I end up when I tour, I better set her up for poor road conditions to minimize vibration and trauma to the bike over crappy surfaces. Maybe better to use a 10w, I really dont know how the Synth PS fluid compares wt wise. I'll ask Morley and put the info here in case any readers are interested. The advantage I have heard is that the fork seals and fluid both last quite a long time.

The guy at the bike shop said it was wall height difference. I figure unless I can save a decent chunk I'll go for the E3, or E4 if thats all they have and take it in the size listed as OEM. I might as well use something tried and true rather than something designed specifically for a Harley.

I bookmarked yamahapartshouse, looks like a valuable site on many levels. I'll try boats.net now, I went to a stealership today and got some part numbers and prices for my gen 1.2 dust covers, seals and All Balls head bearing kit but only upper bushings, they say they dont see any lowers on these forks. Prices are only marginally cheaper for this stuff on Ebay. I try and support local business if their prices arent out of line but I cant ignore a big savings. Have any of you guys used synthetic foreign car power steering/transmission fluid in the forks? It's a thing a lot of Vmax guys are doing and it's working quite well on mine. EDIT: Boats.net shows only list one metal slide per side. Is this her? It's about half price of the dealer for this item and cheaper enough on the rest I'll just order it from them once I know if this is the bushing in question or not. http://www.boats.net/parts/detail/yamaha/Y-3JJ-23125-00-00.html Thanks. [h=2]METAL, SLIDE 1[/h]3JJ-23125-00-00

Has anyone tried the American Elite tires? I can buy them locally and I guess they are a dual compound tire, they look and feel similar to the Dunlop E3. We have a local bike shop that charges $25 a wheel to mount and balance if the wheel is off, regardless of where I purchase them.

Super fun bikes, I have learned a ton about tuning them and have done just about everything to this one including paint/clear coat. You can find gen1 vmaxes for even less than that but watch out for 2nd gear on the earlier models, same issue some of the Ventures For $3400 it should be pretty nice, I have seen them in the ~$2500 range in fairly decent shape. I gave $3000 for mine with 16k on the clock but already had the Kerker 4-2-1, which I might add is blissfully musical. I had to undo some Dyna Jet crap that was in stalled and retune the whole thing to get that arm socket stressing acceleration. Check in on vmaxforum.net, tons of good info, if you have any vmax questions feel free to pm me also, I have learned quite a bit and always willing to help. A pic of just after I brought her home.

I'm looking through your post here. More work! aawww haha. I just ordered the Progressives and sent a message to an ebay vendor about the bearings and there is some confusion on part number. Does anyone have off the top of their head the part number for the Balls head bearing kit? Also if there are any trusted sources for OEM seals, covers and bushings I'm all ears, it sure would be nice if there were a kit with all this in it. > $50 for seals and dust covers seems lofty to me, or would that be in line with whats expected. I'm cheap but I'm not about to use a non OEM fork seal. I got through my Vmax forks just fine with no special tools, will I need anything special to replace the bushings or anything in these forks? The bushings just slide in/out, yes? This is what I found on Ebay, they look OEM and the price seems reasonable, are these the same for the 89 1300? http://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-Yamaha-Slide-Metal-Fork-Bushing-XVZ12-V-MAX-1200-Venture-Royale-1983-1984-/351646490833?hash=item51dfc3a0d1:g:xHMAAOSwFqJWs9aC&vxp=mtr

No worries, Hijack away, I got some amazing information in this thread, which is what I was after. It also got me thinking of my old RD400 in the fugliest green with white stripe. I'm a bit of a 2 cycle nut, if I ever find an H2 in any condition I'll probably cave and snag. Puc, dont worry about being a nut, I'm nuttier than a Chinese chicken salad! rock on brother, it's all good! I now have information on tires, I went to some of these vendors and researched some of the mentioned tire choices and have it narrowed down considerably, really liking the E3 and a couple others. I called a local bike shop and was blown away by cost to mount and balance if I just walk in off the street, and at one of the shops it came with some attitude, presumably about not going there to pay $100 more for the tires. In the spirit of self sufficiency I'll be picking up a basic cheap balancer and some better spoons and doing it myself since my Vmax needs them to (Also 880s with feathering) I guess I'm done with Metzler and starting with doing my own mount/balancing. The best money I have spent so far was the $12 to be a member here. This is worth much more than the price of admission.

Thanks gents, I almost expected to get flamed for making a tire thread! I will check into that, I also noticed the Metzler failure threads and didnt plan to buy them again. On the Vmax there is no radial produced for the rear, to run them one would have to buy a modified rear rim (big $$$). I'm glad thats not the case for the Venture. I really dont stop riding until there is ice on the road and my driveway is 3 miles of dirt and washboard gravel but I'm conservative when road conditions suck or I'm off the pavement. I might have mistakenly assumed that virtually any current tire would have at least some competence in adverse conditions or spirited riding, maybe I should rethink that. I do know that some last a whole lot longer than others. I have a jumping off point now, going to start getting things ordered to make her whole so I can get at least one meaningful trip this year yet.

I know Oil and Tire threads are risky, so I'll stop short of asking "whats the best tire" and go more in the direction of which tires may be most appropriate according to my priorities. This is by far the heaviest bike I have ever owned and the issue is the current tires have feathered significantly enough to cause a howl at any lean angle at all. Metzler 888 Marathon on the rear and 880 on the front. I just purchased the bike so I'm not sure how these tires were run for PSI or riding habits, just that theres a lot of meat left on them and I'll have to replace them just because of how they are worn. I'm interested in what gen1 folks are generally happy with when even wear, mileage and cost are factors. I have never ordered tires online but I think it's time to start so any suggestions on a good vendor is welcome to. I apologize if this has been beat to death but my search didnt quite get me to high mileage long wear tires or where to order them from on the cheap. Tires are sort of expensive so I want to make sure that I can use them for their full life. I found info about a car tire, dont really want to go that route. A link, suggestions or anything appreciated. The bike will be used for lots of open roads and some scenic windy roads so a little grip is nice, just not if it means replacing them every 5k miles. Thanks !

I couldnt agree more, I also value function over form but if a manufacturer can blend both the results are desirable, old or new. I really tend to like vintage stuff as well as a respect for new tech, like Victory and Indian. Polaris is doing something thats been done but they are doing it SOOO much better, IMHO Polaris is going to completely bury Harley Davidson or relegate them to selling only jackets, boots and skull-embossed dewrags made in China. I almost bought a Cheftain I was so impressed with how well built they are but I'm saving for a fixer-upper house outside the city. That XCT is sexy as hell, I tip my hat to Polaris for doing what needed to be done to keep the narrow angle twin relevant and desirable. A pic of my other bike

I meant tired of hearing me say "thanks" haha. Oh yea, I checked out the tires today as you said, lots of meat left on them but they are quite badly feathered, that could be my howl, I'm glad you threw that wisdom in. The backrest is AWESOME! never had a bike with one before. I took it grocery shopping today and pretty sure it holds as much as my old Squareback. I'm excited to get the forks and neck bearings ironed out and get some decent long life tires on her. Thanks for all the compliments and education. I'm sure her and I will be friends for quite a long time.

I figured I would just slip them in here before the pic patrol cites me for noncompliance. Unwashed, it's how she came off the road so not purdied up yet. I know your are sick of hearing it from me, but thanks again for all the answers along the way.