circa1968

Awesome, glad it ended up being something relatively simple to fix. Hope you figured that out before digging into the fairing.

Don, we’ve never met and I’m a relatively newcomer here, by it’s obvious to me that you have created a legacy of friends, family, knowledge & camaraderie here. I do not do social media at all & what we have here is unique. Without what you’ve done, I would not have gotten the encouragement & knowledge to dive into my bike (now bikes!) and learn more about wrenching than I ever thought I wanted to. I’m now enjoying doing & learning more every day. Whatever I can do to keep that going forward - I am in. I look forward to the day that I can meet all of you in person. Thank you Don! We will keep you & your family in thoughts & prayers as you face this new challenge. Stay positive & strong.

https://www.venturerider.org/wiring/99-09 Yamaha Royal Star Venture Wiring Diagram Rev B.pdf I’m sitting in Vegas airport on a 3-hr layover & was able to pull up the schematic on my phone, and miraculously could actually read it! You are looking for a brown/white wire. It goes from the fuse to both the head unit in the fairing & the CB unit located under the trunk. There are two connectors shown on the schematic. I’m 99.9% certain the connector going to the CB is under the seat. Start there! Not sure about the 2nd connector location though. I know there is a big connector under the tank & another one in the fairing, so 50/50.

Just a suggestion for troubleshooting the short. Review the wiring diagram in the tech section here & have a good idea of where you will need to look. My guess is the wiring & possibly an inline connector is accessible under the tank. If there is a connector there, you can possibly identify the wire, and isolate the location of the short to one side, or the other of that connector. If you’re lucky, the short will be between that possible connector & the fuse so that you do not have to open the fairing. Pulling the tank is pretty quick & easy. If the short is on the fairing side, at least you know, but did spend some extra time/ energy with pulling the tank & now need to split the fairing. keep us posted.

Any sound at all or anything happen with turning the volume knob or pressing any buttons, or is it 100% dead? Step 1 check Power, start with the fuse. The Audio system fuse is located behind the right side cover, below the seat. Ever since I installed risers on my handlebar, I've had my controller stop working a couple of times and each time had to remove the fairing and re-seat the connector from the controller to the head unit. I finally got smart enough the 2nd time around to reroute the cable so there was no tension on it. I should have thought to do that when installing the risers as I was basically pulling on the connector when turning the bars to the left and would eventually force it to disconnect. You could have a similar issue, if not a power issue. Or a bad controller or bad head unit. After the fuse/power check, remove the fairing and disconnect each connector one at a time and inspect for any corrosion, broken wires, etc and go from there. After 22 years, it would not be surprising to find some corrosion on a connector.

@videoarizona Hi David, It will come back and be a healthy tree again! Once you get it pruned and the water/feeding worked out, watch how quickly new growth starts. You will be surprised. As far as how often/long to water, you may have to consult with your local arborist or nursery as it will depend on your soil type and local evapotranspiration rate, but generally speaking, deeper and less frequent watering is better than frequent wetting of the top soil. I hope to hear from you in a year that you are enjoying some sweet and juicy oranges! Dean

@videoarizona If the above suggestions don't improve the situation with the oranges (not saying they won't, just not holding my breath on it...), I've got a couple thoughts on it, but got a few questions first, if you're up for humoring me: 1) potted or planted in the ground? I'm assuming planted in the ground, if not, it could be root bound in the pot. 2) how big is the tree(width & height)? 3) Do you prune the tree at all? 4) Fertilizer? How often? 5) Is the tree lush, deep green with dense leaves or is it sparse with lots of branches visible & lot's of yellow showing in leaves? 6)how much area under the tree is getting watered? You mentioned two drip lines, so my first thought was while it might be getting enough gallons of water, it might not be getting dispersed enough to properly water the tree. If you can visualize the root system, it should essentially look like almost like a mirror image of the above ground tree, in terms of width/depth. If its only getting water in two spots, there will be a high density of roots forming in those two spots, with the rest of the roots essentially withering away. That's not good for the tree's health as it will struggle to consume enough water/nutrients from just those two dense root areas. Could also make it prone to toppling in a high wind if the root system is not balanced and robust. The whole area within the dripline of the tree needs to be watered regularly and given a citrus specific fertilizer several times/year. The soil in my area is lacking in iron, so I have to feed it lots of iron supplements or I start seeing yellow veining in the leaves. I regularly prune my tree to maintain its size of around 12-15' tall and ~ same in width. I also keep the interior of the tree pruned and open so that it has good air/light flow through the tree and regularly prune away any dead wood. I'm not in any way trained in horticulture, but have always enjoyed gardening and growing stuff. My orange tree is my pride & joy in that hobby, with my 3-variety cherry tree taking a very close 2nd place, but don't get me started on the horrors of growing a cherry crop. 😉

cycle 2,000 miles with a minimum 100k ft of elevation gain make a million dollars

Nothing new to all of us, but nice to see others still recognizing it for the great bike it is. https://advrider.com/2001-yamaha-royal-star/

That's what I hear. Been meaning to find out if its true.

In my early 40's, my Dr told me my HDL was low, too low, below 40. Due to genetics, I've always had a lean/slim build and my Dr told me I was at just as much risk of heart disease as someone who was overweight. Blew my mind. That's when I became more serious and dedicated to exercise because that's what my dr told me was the best way to increase it. My last cholesterol test was Nov of 2019 and I came it at 49 for my HDL and 71 LDL. I've known a couple of guys in their early 40's, like me that were slim/lean and dropped dead of heart attacks unexpectedly. Perhaps I was on that same course had I not gotten my cholesterol checked. Glad I did. Glad I found out and thankful for the advice my Dr. gave me to exercise more. I also started doing intermittent fasting a couple of years ago. Fad or Fantastic? All I can say is try it and decide for yourself. I think its fantastic and its not a weight loss thing for me, just the overall body/mind health benefits that I experience from it.

Wow, that's a huge lot for the west coast! Yeah, I would imagine the water bill on that size lot can get pretty high.

My mother in law had a blood orange that previous owner had planted. Same thing, bitter. A neighbor used to pick them and make marmalade.

Yeah, I would imagine they have high calorie content with the sugars, but isn't it just a math equation that makes any food fattening? Calories in - Calories burnt = fat stored/(fat burned) At least I get a little extra vitamin C and fiber in my diet from them.

Its on my bucket list to find out what a tree-ripened banana tastes like! They are picked green.

Oh, sorry, the other CA...

What an awesome idea & tip! Thank you. I ride with my faceshield all the way up 90+% of the time, so could just tip it down when occasionally needed. Did you install both lenses or just one?

Ok, its a slow week and time for a distraction from the "other" issue of the day... I've been growing, harvesting and enjoying my own oranges for the last 25 years, one of my simple joys in life, so here's what I've learned that I never knew I wanted to know... Orange trees produce one crop/year and its almost exactly a 1-year process from bloom to peak ripeness/sweetness. Different varieties bloom/ripen at different times and the most commercially grown varieties are Navel (large, thick rinds, easier to peel and commonly found in the store) and Valencia (smaller, thin rinds, hard to peel but very dense juice content, commonly used for making juice). There are multiple varieties of Navel oranges, Washington & Robertson being the most common. I have Washington Navels. My oranges start turning orange in November and by Christmas, they are all pretty much solid orange. This is the time commercial growers will harvest, pack and store them for delivery to your local grocer. Unfortunately, this is also when the acid content of the orange is highest and they have not yet fully developed their sugars. But, this is when they will have the longest post-harvest shelf life due to the acids fighting the bacterias which would cause them to rot. They are very juicy right now, but very acidic. Later, they become much sweeter but less juicy as the sugars develop, starting around late January. Now, here's where it get's crazy! No other fruit or vegetable that I know of has this characteristic - each annual crop of oranges can amazingly hang on the tree for a solid 6 months after they turn orange and continue to sweeten! The longer they stay, there will be a small % that does rot & drop, but those that survive are absolutely amazing. I also have a lemon tree, it produces year round and once ripe, the fruit will start dropping in about two weeks if not picked. If you've enjoyed homegrown tomatoes vs. store bought, you know the difference in flavor/sweetness, its basically the same thing with most fruits/veggies. Most of us have experienced that, but I suspect most of the world's population has never enjoyed a home-grown, fully tree-ripened orange before. I enjoy sharing them with others who experience them for the first time, they can't believe what they are tasting. For about 6 mos of the year, I get to enjoy a fresh-picked, fresh-squeezed cup of OJ in the morning - one of my simple joys in life. If you are ever in Northern CA from January to June, hit me up!! 😉 Now, a few more interesting tidbits: Oranges can survive freezing temps, down to 28 degrees for a couple of hours due to the sugars acting as a natural antifreeze. I've only had significant crop damage once in 25 years from freezing and I now I put halogen lights in the tree to add some heat if its going to get close. Some will say a hot summer makes for sweeter orange, but now there's a growing camp that says a cold winter makes for a sweeter orange. I subscribe to the latter theory, based on my observations and the premise that like a maple tree, the colder weather causes the tree to push more sugary sap out to act as an antifreeze and protect itself. There's a relatively new & growing threat from some imported fly which spreads a fatal citrus disease. I don't understand how/why its this one and only bug capable of spreading the disease, but I pray it stays away. I will be deeply depressed if I lose my orange tree. And now back to your regular programming.

I started growing sweet kale in my garden a couple years ago on a whim. Had never eaten it before then and was surprised how good it tastes. I now regularly have kale salads with hemp seeds (superfood source of omega3/6 fatty acids) and a raspberry vinagrette to top it off. If I could just overcome the temptations of Oreos and ice cream, I'd probably be superman. LOL.

I use my computer primarily for the same things as you, plus I dabble in digital photography but even that does not require the latest & greatest hardware/software for what I do. I used to work in the tech industry, but I'm at a point where I just like tried/true and simple and don't get as excited about fancy new tech as I once did. Eventually every computer will either have a hard failure of a component, or planned/forced obsolescence. In order to roll out new features (many of which are really not needed by most of us) or to address new computer virus/hacking threats, the operating systems are constantly updated. The updates require more system memory and more processing power, just to functionally turn the computer on and operate. This leaves less memory and power for doing our basic functions of email, banking, internet and photoshopping, and forces the computer to run at max capacity, drawing more power & generating more heat - which will ultimately lead to its own demise. Two years ago, I rebuilt an older Mac for my son to do video editing on, upgrading everything to the max. Adobe just rolled out a new version of SW, which requires the latest version of MacOS. Unfortunately, those bastards at Apple decided to put some lockout code in their newest OS which prevents it from loading on older computers, such as my son's. Of course, he can continue using the older version of Adobe and the older OS, but he is a film student and this will eventually be his career, so he will need to pull the plug on that system sooner than later as he really does need the latest & greatest tools available. I built my current computer from scratch over 10 years ago and spec'd the components at about 10x what I really needed at the time, specifically so that, absent a hard failure, it would not be rendered obsolete by OS upgrades. I saved a little $ by building it myself, but then put the savings into upgraded parts. Its still going strong but I haven't upgraded to windows 11 yet. Keeping my fingers crossed that my trusty old computer will handle it when that time comes.

I mounted my phone holder (I use the phone maps for nav) on the right side, along with a bluetooth module inside the fairing (connected to aux) so that I get directions spoken to me through the speakers. I wear distance glasses and can see the screen, but its a wee bit blurry, so rely primarily on the speakers. I'm already streaming music via Pandora, via bluetooth, so the spoken directions merely override the music momentarily. Not sure if that helps or answers any of your questions though.

hate when that happens!

Wow! That looks awesome. I want one!

My son goes to college in St. Charles, Mo and very thankful he flew home thursday night before all this started. A tornado touched down in a residential area a few miles from his school and several people were killed. The Illinois amazon facility is not far from his school. Prayers for all who lost loved ones.

These items were sold locally a couple months ago.