gibvel

Ooooooo, I'd love to do that!! Think my wife would have a fit having to move to Texas though (maybe I should say "BACK" to Texas).

Somehow, I get the feeling that it might be channel 29 but I'm not sure so don't quote me on it because I could be wrong. Wouldn't be the first time.

You may by the time MD rolls around. Just wait, someone will start a "Get Don a webcam" fund!! I tease, I tease!! (but I wouldn't be surprised. The people around here are great like that. Shirt off their back kind of people, that's for sure!!!)

I'm not really in the area but, honestly, it really couldn't be simpler to use. You will have to get a really long phillips head screw driver (about the longest one you can buy. I bought what I thought was long enough but had to take it back and get the longest one Home Depot had) to reach the screw to balance 1 to 2 but other than that it's really, really straight forward. Have you seen this how to: http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=258 Just remember to set a fan in front blowing on the radiator and warm the bike up. Another tip, try to be as gentle with the screw driver as possible when making the adjustments. This is, after all, a mechanical set up and if you push too hard on the screw driver it could affect the adjustment. Really, after you've done it once, you'll wonder why you were ever intimidated by it. You'll be the pro from Dover after the first time and you'll be looking for carbs to sync!! EDIT: Another thing you might want to do is check the caps and hoses and make sure they're not cracked before you put them back on, just to make sure they're aren't any leaks.

I believe I heard that you can only have one picture posted in your signature at a time. So, with your map posted, I don't think you can post anything else. Not 100% sure on that but, I believe, that's what I read on here once.

Yup, mine has it bad at 35, 45, 55, 65 and 75. I always wear a full face and putting my hand up to the chin bar, covering the opening, cuts the sound way back. I've been thinking about getting a chin curtain and seeing if that helps any. Don't know how that will affect venting in the summer though.

Click user CP just to the top left of your post. Click "Edit Signature". Once there scoll to the bottom to the "Upload signature picture. Go to the link you posted and click on "Add PWS stickers to your website". Pick the sticker you want and copy the URL (most of those suckers are really large but I couldn't find a way to get stickers that are more like the others here use.) NOTE: Found a way to get stickers more like most use here. Try this page: http://www.wunderground.com/geo/BannerPromo/US/WA/Camano_Island.html find the sticker you want click it, copy the lines of HTML code they tell you to and come back and put it in the URL line in the Venture Rider site. Click the "save signature" button and that should do it

This should be just what you need: http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=489

Does that front tire look unusually wide for a 1st gen. or is it just an optical illusion?

Half way up the site glass and you shouldn't have this problem.

Oh, didn't know you had an 07. Definitely hit them up for a shock replacement under warranty then.

Rear shock isn't necessarily shot. Mine does it but only when it's cold. If it hasn't leaked oil yet, and doesn't groan all the time, I'd say you're still okay. Mine's been doing it for about 3 years now. A fix that works, sometimes, is taking out the Schrader valve and take about 2 oz of fork oil and 2 oz of tranny fluid, make a coctail and squirt it down in the valve opening with a syringe. You have to do this slowly and, at times, use a pump to pump it down into the shock. This helped mine for the most part, however, it still does it when it's really cold out.

Hey!! You guys better let me know when you're in Colorado. I've got the 3rd through the 10th of July off and could meet up with you guys sometime. I'd love that!! Let me know... Unless you guys want to be AAAAAALLLLLLLLOOOOOOOONNNNNEEE. Seriously, Estes is just a hop, skip and a jump away from Loveland.

The longer ones will be just fine. No, flow/pressure problems. Actually more filtering element. I get the Purolator PureOne 14610 (believe that's the number) which is about the longest filter that will screw on in the space provided, without taking the regulator off. Bet the PureOne is probably cheaper than the OEM and a better quality filter as well. Mobil 1 filter is good too but I'm not sure which number that is.

Understood. It took me a bit of searching to find that info!!

Actually, I got all the information on this site: http://viragotechforum.com/phpBB/portal.php I came across it when I was looking at Viragos. Good place with some nice folks too. May be worth joining for you guys joining.

Mike, The 920 was made from 81 to 83. In 84 it was bumped to 1000cc. This stuff may also help. The subject of Virago model numbers may draw a yawn from many riders, but a few of us aging diehards actually have an interest in this kind of thing. So for those of you who do--pop a fresh battery into your pacemaker, and buckle up your helmet! You're about to get into some really exciting stuff. Presented here is the result of a little research on how Yamaha assigned model numbers to its Viragos, followed by a rundown of all the US models. This information is as complete and as accurate as we could make it, and carries no warranty for being totally error free. Comments and particularly corrections will be most welcome. Now let's take one of the most complex and mysterious model numbers, break it down, and try to figure out what each letter and number means: Our model is XV 700 CSC "X" Back in the seventies Yamaha used XS to designate their bigger street machines by this model designation. Some of these bikes were were: XS650, XS750 triple, XS1100, etc. "RD" was used for two-strokes. "SR" was used for singles. Apparently when the V twins cam along, Yamaha decided to retain the "X" which I think we can assume means "street". "V" Almost surely stands for "V-twin" So, RULE #1 would be that XV stand for Street V-Twin. 700 The "700" is easy. That's the displacement of the engine; although, as we know, this number does not always reflect the exact displacement. In this case the engine was actually 699 cc., bringing it under 700 cc., to avoid import tariffs. So, Rule #2 would be that the number stands for the 'nominal" engine size-the size used in ads. But now the plot thickens! As a general rule, the letter right after the displacement number reflects the model year of the bike - the year the bike was made. Yamaha uses these letters for most of their bikes-not just Viragos Here are the letters for the years the bigger Viragos were offered. 1981-H 1982-J 1983-K 1984-L 1985-N 1986-S 1987-T 1988-U 1989-W 1990-A 1991-B 1992-D 1993-E 1994-F 1995-G 1996-H 1997-J 1998-K 1999-L You will note that the letters don't run sequentially. Also, if there was something special about the bike, a letter designating this would be inserted before the letter for the year. So we have a number of models with these special letters inserted: 1981 RH (not technically a Virago, it was a chain drive. The "R' may have stood for "Euro". 1982 RJ Same 1983 XV 920 MK (where "M" stood for Midnight Special-an all-black bike with gold trim.) Also applied to the 81 750. And years 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997 where we saw the XV 535 SF,SG, SH and SJ models where "S" stands for "Special" And years 1996,1997, and 1998 where we saw 1100 SH, SJ, and SK models where "S" also stood for special. So, rule #3 is that the letter after the displacement tells us the year, except where there is something special about the model. Finally, we come to the easy one. Rule #4 is that whenever you see a "C" as the letter after the year letter, it means "California Model." As in XV 1100 JC (1997 California model) (A primary difference - maybe the only one - between California models and other models is the addition of an evaporative emissions control system consisting of a charcoal canister which collects gas evaporating from the fuel tank and carburetor. This gas is then sucked into one of the carbs when the engine is running.) So now you should be able to look at the model number: XV 700 CSC and rattle off exactly what it stands for. It's a Virago Series, 700 cc, Cast Wheels, 1986, California Model, Yamaha motorcycle. Finally, a few comments on some of the models. From '81 - '83 all Viragos were shaft drive, mono-shock, with the exception of the "Euro" models which were also mono shock but had chain drive. In '84 Yamaha went to the more cruiser-like look. As part of this, the mono-shock was dropped in favor of dual shocks for all models from then on. From '83 on, all large models were shaft drive. The 535 was first seen in 1987. It dropped out of the line-up in 1991/2, but came back in 1993 and lasted through the 2000 model year. The 250 came into the lineup in 1988, dropped out from 1991 to 1994, and may still be a current model at this time. A WHOLE DIFFERENT SET OF IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS/LETTERS WERE USED FOR SOME MODELS IN CONJUNCTION WITH SERIAL NUMBERS. FOR SOME OF THESE GO TO THE FRONT OF THE CLYMER MANUAL. US Virago models by year: 1981 XV750H XV920RH (Chain Drive) 1982 XV750J XV920JXV920RJ (Chain Drive) 1983 XV500K (Only one year) XV750K, XV750MK (M=Midnight) XV920K, XV920MK 1984 XV700L, XV700LC XV1000L, XV1000LC Just found this on another site. It's a VIN decoder. Try putting the VIN in this site and see if it can let you know what year it is. http://www.motoverse.com/tools/vin/yamaha.asp

Hmmmm I like that color combo!!

Are these the type that are made for bicycling that have the extra padding in the seat area?

Lately, I've been thinking the same type of thing. I'm a briefs man (I know too much information) and I notice that, on hot days, it seems that right where the leg seam is that is where it starts getting hot and hurting. I was thinking of going to the longer boxer briefs and see what happens with those. On another note, you may try some bead rider beads (or get some beads at Wally World and make your own). These allow cooling air under your tail and keep you somewhat cooler as well as alleviating some of the butt fatigue. Another idea is sheepskin seat covers. Just some thoughts.

Very good point there RandyA. On the other hand, how about using a magent, on the outside of the tank, with a cloth between it and the tank, and try to pull the screw up from the bottom to the opening. Just another thought since you burst my bubble!!

Not if I beat you to it!!

Yeah, I believe it was Eck that brought something like this up awhile back. I, immediately, went out and took the screws off of mine and used a little blue loc-tite on them. I'm wondering if you couldn't use a magnet on a telescoping rod and run it around your tank to see if you can pick up the lost screw. Who knows what else you might find in there too.

Are the times when it gets hotter times when the engine is forced to work harder, like, stronger winds, up hill, dragging your feet... ? I know I've seen the temp gauge in my car go up and down (digital gauge) when going uphill, on long stretches, or with a strong wind.

My question is... Did you do this all with the bike on the side stand or straight up and down? I just changed my oil Saturday and put 3 quarts in and it was almost halfway up the sight glass with a new filter (The longer PureOne). Should only take about 3.25 quarts to get it half way up the sight glass.