The Great White Buffalo

Read the description on Youtube. https://youtu.be/oMR78x_2eFw

I never made it. My girlfriend crashed her bike on the way. Broke her nose in 3 spots and broke her thumb.

Well I got the voltmeter installed yesterday. Nice to be able to see your charging state. Very affordable upgrade. Still contemplating removing the Polks and leaving it stock.

I installed 1 1/2" spacers for the handle bar yesterday and wow what a difference. It brings the handle bars closer and allows your arms in a more relaxed position. I didn't even feel any upper shoulder strain after a lot of riding last night. I am 6' 3" and can't imagine being shorter and having to reach that far out on long hauls. This took about 5 minutes to install.

There are rubber vibration dampeners on the handle bars near the mount. Are yours still there?

I have heard good things about Dunlops Elite 3s. I was trying to find one in my stock tire size but was unsuccessful. I have an 04 RSV. Anyone know where to get one, and is it going to be a different size or the same as stock? I guess I don't know much about tires, I want a tubeless tire for both front and back. If someone could post a link of the right one for my bike I'd appreciate it. Thanks.

Well got some riding in last night and the clutch performed flawlessly. Even tried hard to get it to slip. Very happy with it. And it still feels like the factory setup.

Thanks everyone, I didn't order a gasket so I used Mega Gray gasket sealer. Going to let it sit for 24hrs before checking oil level. I bought a 1/4" torque wrench and tightened the Barnett Clutch bolts to 70 in/lbs. The old friction plates looked pretty good with the exception of some metal rubbing on the inner most friction disc. The wire removal and installation was a breeze with two picks. Now that I remember, right after my oil change, I drove a 240 lb passenger, I weigh 210, and remeber smelling something like rubber burning, shortly after the clutch started slipping with hard accelerations. Well I hope this clutch is everything they say it is, because I like the way these Ventures pull when you twist the throttle. Thanks for all the tips and suggestions.

http://www.tomahawkfallride.com/rafflelocations.cfm

https://youtu.be/ZrR0QtQK3x8

So this "Buckeye" makes high output stators capable of 55 Amps? What about the RR? I believe they are fused at 30 amps. Is there an upgraded RR or would a person have to run two of them in parallel and fuse each at 25A? Wire size and type is also a factor. 30A X 12V = 360W vs. 55Amps X 12V = 660W

After recently changing the oil on my 04 Venture. The clutch started slipping under hard acceleration. I probably added about a 1/2 quart too much oil, and thought it wouldn't hurt so I didn't drain it. I started thinking that since you can change the clutch on these bikes without draining the oil, because the oil level moves to the other side of the bike while kickstand is down, then there is probably a fraction of the discs that are actually under oil while running. So maybe by overfilling the reservoir, I caused too much surface area of the clutch to be under oil. Does this make any sense? I ordered a barnett clutch kit and it came in the mail yesterday. I was thinking of draining that 1/2 qt and seeing if the clutch still slipped before changing the clutch, just to clear up that idea. Also since the clutch is slipping will I need to change the oil after the clutch change? The new oil only has about 500 miles on it. Yamalube 10W40 @ $30+ per gallon.

Your welcome, I could have made a better, more detailed step by step video. But I figured I could quickly outline what it takes to get to the boots, in case someone was contemplating doing it themselves. Everything was pretty self explanatory, except I wasn't sure if the carbs would move as one piece or if I'd have to start messing with linkages or cables.

Here was an interesting video I seen after doing the job. Looks like a sound, affordable fix to me. Might save you a few $$$$

Thanks, I recieved two J&M headsets with the Venture, I may have to give them try.

Right now I only have the front Polk speakers installed, and stock in the rear. I drove to work and played around with the sound. When I shut the engine off, I thought what a nice, clear, loud sounding system. I might be going at this all wrong. I may just need to take the helmet off and put the stock pipes back on. Hard to say which speaker sounds better. The Polks seem a littler crisper, but don't quite cover the lower midrange like the Clarions do. I believe this to be because of the efficiency of each speaker and the wattage driving them. Well, I really don't expect a lot of headway to be made with "upgrading" . But I'm "pot committed" now. That's the great thing of buying stuff on the internet. It usually don't pay to send them back. I must say that I have made drivers aware of me passing them with the loud pipes. I believe it to be an added safety feature, and helmets are definitely a life saver in certain situations. But there is nothing like a "helmet free" ride. With your favorite rock/blues playing! I am not one of those people that crank their music for everyone else to hear. I try to be respectful at night and in populated areas. My favorite rides are on endless back country roads in "God's Country". My post is simply to inform others of my progress, so that it may help in their decision, whether it goes good or bad. I, in the process, may also learn something, I might not be aware of. "Rock and Roll, ain't noise pollution!" AC/DC "You'll never see a motorcycle parked outside a shrink's office!" "Only a Biker understands why a dog sticks its head out a car window!" "I'm not afraid of dying, I'm afraid of not living!"

The air conditioning in garage part kind of threw me for a loop. Up here in da U.P. we don't want the cold coming in!

Thanks for the tip on the foam baffles, sounds interesting. I have done a lot of research in the past about speakers (mostly subwoofers) and enclosure designs. They say you build the box to the speakers characteristics. I won't get into all the detail though, I'm really just trying to keep it simple with this job. I found some foam baffles on Ebay for $9 a pair. The reviews are mixed, some say they actually make noise like a blown speaker, some say they help with unwanted vibration. I will probably hold off unless I actually get some noise from vibration. So far the stock system doesn't have enough power to push these speakers to that level. I do have a roll of polyester fiber fill, they say that in subwoofer enclosures it makes the box sound bigger than it actually is. Not sure it would do anything for a 4" midrange kind of speaker but it would probably dampen any vibration in the fairing along with prevent excessive movement with the wiring harness. I looked at the stock speakers and they are 12W nominal 25 max, so those were being pushed by a 14W/CH RMS system. Sounds like everything was matched fairly well for the 300W charging system. They sure didn't leave a lot of headroom for electrical upgrades. I am working on minimizing the draw of the electrical system. Maybe some switches to shut off passing lights(70W), carb heaters(60W), LED's in the running lights, maybe some HID lights etc... Then with the LED voltmeter I will be able to see what volume it can handle without negatively affecting the charging system.

[h=4]LED Battery voltage indicator meter Auto Motorcycle ATV Tractor applications[/h] Done! I'll keep you posted as to how it works out!

Maybe an aftermarket voltmeter might be in order here, to keep an eye on it.

I realized the amp alone would consume the entire charging systems capability. But I doubt it will ever be max volume. I'm curious if anyone know how many watts the stock stereo puts out?

Thanks for the heads up, I never really did the complete math, but I did read these Ventures have approx. 300W electrical system, but that can get used up real fast with 55W headlight, spark plug coils, phone charger, and all the other lights. Alternator specs: Output: 14 Volts / 300 Watts / @ 5000 rpm Stator Coil Resistance: 0.279 ~ 0.341 Ohm @ 68º F Stator AC Voltage Output: 100+ VAC* @ 4000 rpm

So I found that my stock rear shock has a lot of oil on it. I ordered a Hagon shock for it and installed it. I have put on around 500 miles on it and am for the most part pretty disappointed in my decision to go that route. Don't get me wrong, Hagon makes a great shock, and it can actually handle hard hits better than the stock air shock in my opinion. It's just that, you cannot beat the smooth ride of the stock air shock. So for what it's worth, I'm just sharing my personal experience and opinion, that if I could do it over again, I would have ordered a new air shock. Ride On!

So I spent the evening replacing the stock clarion 25W speakers with New [h=3]Polk Audio DB402 DB+ Series 4" 2-way car speakers[/h]After putting everything back together and firing up the motorcycle and giving it a listen, the sound from the speakers was exactly what I had guessed. Same distortion cutoff level, a little different sound but I wouldn't say "better". I have done lots of audio upgrades on vehicles and even have a recording studio in my home. So I have a little experience with audio. Most often when people hear distortion they think the speakers need upgrading, when in reality it is usually the radio that has reached its peak distortion free output level. After spending $250 on new speakers I don't feel it was a total waste because the speakers boast being UV resistant and waterproof and are made of a little better material strength wise. I still believe that the "paper cone" speakers give you the best sound quality, the longevity is the downside. Anyways the new speakers claim 45W RMS power handling and that is almost double what the stock ones can handle. I just ordered a new amp for it :[h=4]Clarion XC1410 300W RMS 4-Channel XC Series Micro Class D Car Amplifier[/h]I hope this will drive the speakers to the level they desire. I know your not going to get enormous sound out of 4" speakers, and the stock system is pretty good "as is". But since I put Rush Exhaust slip-on pipes, I just wanted a little more "Umphh" out of the system. Would I say go out and spend the money like I did? No way! But since I'm in this deep already, I may as well get my money's worth. I recently read a sound comparison of the Venture vs. Ultra Glide vs Valkyrie, and the Venture had the best stock system of the three. That article was pretty old though. If I had to do it all over again, I would have just spent the money on the "I" clutch basket gear, instead of trying to drowned it out with exhaust and sound. I may even get the new gear, then I will have a great sounding exhaust and tunes!

https://youtu.be/8So2Al6a4e8