Gained

Any way to remove grips without cutting them off? I'd like to install a set of handgrip heaters under the grips, but would like to reuse the stock grips. Thanks.

Simpler is usually better. nt

Cool little gadget for keeping the pant leggings down... http://www.hawgtiebikerstirrups.com/pictures.htm

Those of us who can't visualize even the simplest written directions get a lot of help from these.

Must be some type of award you could get for stretching things out that far. We'll have to think on that one. Maybe the Golden Halo? On the other hand, perhaps you could do us a favor... we'll send you our St. Christopher medals for special blessings since your travels seem to have a certain something watching over them.

From: http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/Filters.html#buy Ventures use a Group 5, from Don's earlier submission. Bottom line, these were the recommended filters; the longer one fits easily on my '02 Venture; I could find the Bosch 3323: Recommended filters. All these have superior filtering. These Oil Filters have 20 x 1.5mm threads, 14 psi by-pass valve, anti-drain back valve, 2.3" O.D. gasket 2.5" to 3.5" long. If you have the room, I recommend the longer filters. About 2.5 inches long. Purolator Pure One PL14612, about $6. Mobil M1-108, about $12. (Made by Champion) Bosch 3300, about $6. (Made by Champion)About 3.25 inches long. Purolator Pure One PL14610, about $6. Mobil 1 M1-110, about $10. Made by Champion) Bosch 3323, about $6. (Made By Champion) WalMart SuperTech ST7317, about $2. (Made by Champion)Buy these filters These Oil Filters have 20 x 1.5mm threads, 14 psi by-pass valve, anti-drain back valve, 2.3" O.D. gasket 2.5" to 3.5" long. If you have the room, I recommend the longer filters. Motorcycle Filters. None of these are recommended: AC Delco PF2135 AMSOil SMF103 Carquest 85358 FRAM PH6017A Honda 15410-MCJ-000 K&N KN-204, about $13. Metric nut on end for easy removal. NAPA Gold 1358 Purolator ML16817. Imported, not made by Purolator. STP SMO 17 WIX 51358

From a former article & thread; someone needs to properly claim the work, as I didn't save any names. Sorry. EDB I thought I'd share the Carb Synch Tool that I made for about $15.00. It uses 3/16 inch ID Vinyl tubing mounted to a board with coaxial antenna lead fasteners and is held upright by a tamping tool. It is charged with Transmission Fluid so that both lines are level with each other. Works just fine and is CHEAP to build. Those are two separate pieces of 3/16 inch ID vinyl tubing that I bought at a hardware store. I made the loops at the bottom as gentle as I could to prevent pinching. The ends of one hose connects to Carbs 1 & 2 and the other hose connects to carbs 3 & 4. I synch carb 1 to 2 while reading that hose, then 4 to 3 while reading the other hose, then carb 2 to 3 while reading those hoses. There is minimal pulsation (bounce). it is about 4 feet tall. The first time I tried it I used it on my Virago and the Synch was so far off that I had to keep killing the engine before the fluid was sucked into the carbs. I was finally able to get the Synch screw adjusted enough so that I could let the bike keep running while I finished the Synching. if a pair of carbs are so out of balance to each other, that one of them could initially try to suck the fluid out, so you would have to quickly kill the engine and make an adjustment, and then restart the engine to see if the adjustment helped or worsened the condition. The start-kill-adjust sequence may have to be repeated several times before you can let the engine stay running while you fine-tune the balance. Boilerman said that the hose he used for one loop was about 20'. After using 8' (4' x 2) for the board, that leaves 12' (6' on each end) to connect to the bike. About 2 1/2' gets it from the top of the board down to the carb level, then another 1 1/2' to the carb on the other side of the bike. I was happy to see your design for the carb synch tool! I work for a hospital. On my area of the hospital, they throw away oxygen hose all the time. A lot of it is 25 feet long. I took a walking stick I have, taped up the oxygen hose, which to my delight is 3/16 ID and filled about two feet of the hose with motor oil. It took a while to get all the bubbles out, but I had a slow pulling fluid that was easy to work with. I synched 1 and 2, then had a shock to see that 3 and 4 were so out compared to 2. I am slow, so it took me over an hour to get it all synched. Now the bike starts quickly and doesn't sound like a Cushman Scooter! THANK YOU for the picture example so I could copy the method. I will be reverting my walking stick back to it's original use! The money I saved helps me to afford the reason I bought the bike. I figure I have saved myself over 500 dollars with everything I have gleaned from this site in only 2 weeks. Okay I know I where glasses but these are for seeing distance and I do not wear bifocals. But where is the last screw for syncing cylinders 2 to 3. I found the others two but not this one. Do you have to lift the tank to get at it. ? I tried taking the rubber hoses off the other night to start this job but they are stuck on big time, so I would assume this has not been done in a while or at all. (looking forward to seeing the readings). Watched Don sync a 2nd Gen last year at Vogel and you don't have to remove anything. Screw is a little hard to locate. The left rear carb is # 1 Left front is #2 Right rear is #3 Right front is#4 as you are sitting on bike. Between 1 and 2 there is only one screw. You adjust these two first and then adjust 3 and 4 to them. So there are only three screws. I think it is kind of up under the edge of the tank. You have to bend over quite a bit to see it. I assume you found the one on the left side near the choke knob. The other two ore accessed from the right side. One is easy to get at between the two right side carbs (approximately the same location as the one on the left side). The last one is between the left two carbs, but points to the right. You need a LONG Phillips screwdriver to reach it from the right side. You will probably need to poke the screwdriver through the carb linkages just under the tank edge to get the right angle. The screw for 1 & 2 you need a long phillips screwdriver and acess from right side. 3 & 4 is also a phillips and is right between the carbs on right side of bike. The screw to sync left carbs to right carbs is just above the choke on left side and is a Slotted screw. Not an ice pick, but a flat blade screwdriver with a very thin head. Get the screwdriver between the end of the hose and the carb, and PUSH the hose. Which screw can't you find? Did you find the one that you get to from the left side, up above the choke knob? It has a hex head, with a slot for a flat blade screwdriver. The head is pointed down slightly, so you have to get your head below the level of the choke knob and look up. It's the only slotted hex head screw in that area. It syncs the left side to the right side. Or if you like, it syncs #1 and #2, to #3 and #4.

From a saved tech install article... unknown contributor who will probably announce him/herself... With all this talk about adding better horns to our ride I found these and mounted them to my ride in the stock location. Right side just forward and below the passenger foot. These are the one's I used from here: http://www.adventurersworkshop.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=STEBEL_COMPA CT_CHROME&Category_Code=Stebel_Air_Horns Included are a couple of pic's on how they look on the bike. For mounting the horn I used an "L" bracket Bolted to where the Grounding strap mounts onto the engine. and mounted the relay under the cover just beside the right foot of the passanger. I also have an easy wiring instructions. A. Pink horn wire goes to RELAY POST 85. B. Brown horn wire goes to Relay Post 86. C. Connect one end of a wire to Relay Post 30 and the other end to the Hot side,+, of the compressor D. Connect end of your 20 amp Fused line to Relay Post 87 and the other end to the Hot Post,+, of your Battery. E. Connect the negative,-, on compressor to ground or neg,-, post on battery By using your wiring instructions, does this disconnect the OEM horns? I like your set up and God only knows that the RSV horns leave a lot to be desired. If it is as easy as you say -- then even I can install this thing. http://www.adventurersworkshop.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=STEBEL_COMPACT_CHROME&Category_Code=Stebel_Air_Horns At 139dB these horns are extremely loud and provide that "rock concert" ringing in your ear if you are too close when it goes off. I've been told that it can be heard almost 3 city blocks away! YEEEOOOWWW! Dimensions The Compact Nautilus chrome horns are 4 3/4" tall, 2 3/4" wide, and 4 1/4" deep. Yes I only had to remove the OEM horn from it's place and then add the new horn where the old one was. The other horn under the faring is still there and still connected and working. As for wiring just follow those instructions and everything will work like it should. The plug on the OEM horn I just cut into 2, their was a small V shaped plastic piece holding the 2 wires together. Once the V piece is cut you can then plug them into the relay directly. I mounted the relay under the battery cover on the side.

I use Honda spray cleaner & polish. Its an aerosol. Best stuff I've ever used. Cleans road grime, chain muck from rims, & polishes everything on your bike. Works on clear plastic too. I've used it on full face helmets to help water bead, and on the screens of all my previous bikes. Power House from Dollar Tree works as well as anything for the windshield and is great for touching up the bike. Plexus works very well for the rain. I use Turtle Wax Express Shine on my entire bike, as well as my clear front windshield. I know its not Rain-X, but it does extremely well on making it very easy to remove bugs even when they have been on for quite some time...just wipes off with a soft towel or kleenex, etc. without leaving any smudges. It also beads the water off the front windshield as well. You can get it at any Wal-Mart, Meijers, Autozone, Auto Barn or any place simular. It comes in a 16oz bottle and runs anywhere from $4.00 to $6.00 a bottle. It's like a water/wax mix solution and is easily applied without having to wait for it to dry before you buff it out. As I said, I've been using this religiously on my bike and windshield and i like it alot. One bottle last a long time. a lot of folks use Lemon Pledge. It is a lot cheaper and does a decent job. LIQUID-GLASS

Material saved for my info from earlier discussions: EDB RSV -Windshield an Rain Posted by: landpig On: 08-01-2006 12:33 PM Hi everyone, just got back from the Mountain Fest Motorcycle rally in WV. Had a Great time an met some fellow Royalstar Riders down there. I'll try an post some pix's when I get them uploaded. Well reason for the question is me an the navigator got caught in a cloud burst twice. No problem on rain beadin but it became unviewable driving plus the inside windshield an mirrors fogged up. I literally had to pullover on the line ( cause those coal roads ain't got no shoulders). WV cage drivers are very patient an good drivers they ain't in a hurry an gave us respectable distance. Any advice on product applications that won't degrade the windshield or options is appreciated. p.s. it was a little nerve racking an scary not being able to see at all ! Thx in Advance:Bunny: ************ Posted by: Tom On: 08-01-2006 01:49 PM I would try just a little on the shield...I used it and did as the instructions said and I nearly messed up my windshield.It would not come off till I got a high speed buffer and worked on it for 3 hours. I am not saying That some may not have had that happen but it even says not to use it on plastic type windshields on the instructions. Again NOT saying some have had luck with it,just what happened to me and others on this site. Tom ************ Posted by: rdttex On: 08-01-2006 01:59 PM I also carry rain x with me. when I see a possible rain cloud ahead I pull over an wipe a small amount on both sides. I've been doing that for years without any problems. the only other option is to buy a shorter shield. unfortunately in Texas I haven't had to use rain x in several months. maybe some day it will rain. ************ Posted by: Carbon_One On: 08-01-2006 03:20 PM Maybe the guys using the Rain-X have the watercraft formula. I know I won't use it on my bike thou. I use the Honda Plexis Glass cleaner and it does make the water nead up & flow off. Larry ************ Posted by: kckx270 On: 08-01-2006 03:29 PM Here in Florida we get alot of thunderstorms in the afternoons. A couple of things that help that I've found. Plexus plastic polish does ok. Plain lemon scented Pledge belive it or not helps too. Neither item will totally elimenate that particular concern, but does help. I also use Mothers chrome polish on the glass portion of my mirrors. Haven't had a problem with them fogging. ************ Posted by: kwtrains On: 08-01-2006 03:30 PM hello i have a clear veiw windshield just got it a couple of weeks ago thay recomend using rain x i have not tryed it yet but i will kevin wisor 1999 rsv jax fl ************ Posted by: Ace On: 08-01-2006 04:55 PM Whenever I clean my windshield, I put a coat of Meguires carnuba wax on the windshield, both sides. Have been doing this on my last 2 bikes and have never had a problem seeing through the windshield in the rain. It makes cleaning the windshield a whole lot easier as well. ************ NO NO Not for Me Posted by: Pilot On: 08-01-2006 05:17 PM No rainX for me. I have heard to many horror stories about using that. I use plain ol turtle wax, but have found that pledge all surface spray wax works just as well and it makes your ride smell good. You can pour some into a small plastic spray bottle and take it with you, it works great for me. ************ Posted by: Brad T On: 08-01-2006 07:37 PM I too had this problem and was wiping it with the back of hand just so that I could see. Problem was that I noticed I scratched the inside of the windshield Must have been my ring. It is not bad but if the light hits it right there is many little scratches, SO BE CAREFUL. Brad ************ Posted by: Denden On: 08-02-2006 08:07 AM I've got a Clearview windshield, and because of the way it's formed or slanted, it sheds water a lot better than the stock one. I use Plexus, and the water just beads up and blows away. I have no problem looking thru the windshield in the rain. ************ Posted by: Black Ice On: 08-02-2006 08:36 AM I was going to say the same thing. Ya beat me to it. I use plexus too. The rake of the Clear View seems to allow the water to run off much better than the stock shield. Cheers, Gary B ************ RSV-Windshield an Rain Posted by: ediddy On: 08-02-2006 08:55 AM I have the clearview windshield and I got caught in a downpour last sunday. Going 50mph I didn't have any trouble seeing through the shield. I clean my shield with Honda proline spray polish. I have the xtra large shield with the vent. I am completely behind the windshield. ************ Posted by: kjcole On: 08-02-2006 09:04 AM The Yamaha windshield is a coated Lexan, and the coating is not compatible with the standard formula Rain-X made for glass. You will damage the shield. The Clearview is not coated and so Rain-X will work. I'm not familiar with the marine variety. I use spray Pledge on mine to clean it, but it doesn't make a huge difference in the rain. Kelly ************ Posted by: ryder On: 08-02-2006 05:52 PM the replacement windshield on my bike is a slipstream, I don't think it's coated with any thing. ************ Posted by: Denden On: 08-02-2006 09:16 PM I've got the Clearview that is 16 inches high, and 2 1/2 inches wider on each side, without the vent. But mine is last year's style, before they re-designed it with more slant. Mine is good, but the new ones are even better, and look better. J&P Cycles also carries the same windshield as the JC Whitney windshield. If you want the shorter one, check with them. part no.ZZ76250 clear or ZZ76251 tinted "http://www.jpcycles.com"

Also saved for my info are these comments by Goose & other unknowns (I didn't save all the thread names... sorry). Hope it's okay I'm inserting these, but the info is still valuable & may save some rewriting for future searchers. EDB It is possible to get confused with all the tire options that some companies have. You need to make sure you get a front tire for the front, and a rear tire for the rear. In addition, you need to pay attention to size, weight and speed ratings. Beyond those potentially life altering items, you also have options for black wall, narrow white wall, and wide white wall. To make matters worse, there are at least three different types of specifications commonly used for tire sizes today, so you may need a conversion table if you cannot find the tire you want sold with the same type of size specification you are used to using! That is why my front tire is an MT90 instead of a 130/90. Here are the exact tires on my bike today: Front Avon Venom-X AM41 MT90B16 74H Rear Avon Venom-X AM42 150/90B15 80H (All AM41s are front tires, and AM42s are rear tires.) I ordered my tires from Southwest Moto Tires in Tucson AZ, and I highly recommend them. Wherever you buy them, you are gonna want to deal with someone who turns tires over fairly fast so you don't get old stock stuff where the rubber has started to change with age. If you buy form a local place where you can see the tires, always verify the manufacture date code on each tire - you really want something within the last six months, but certainly not older than a year. I have seen some comments in the past several months that Avon has dropped the "X" from the Venom designation, and from their web site, this appears to be true. Your best source for verifying available tire sizes and designations is the manufacturer's web site. The Avon tire site is: http://www.avonmotorcycle.com/us/en/...CruiserTouring Hope that helps! Next, TFD69 . . . I don't think the type of riding has too much bearing on the choice of tire size and styles (for handling questions ONLY - it certainly would for speed and load ratings). Frankly, I want my bike to handle the best it can no matter where I am riding, and these Avon's on my bike are an order of magnitude improvement over the crap Yamaha shoveled at us when we bought the bike new!! I personally believe they stuck that fat front tire on there for nothing but style, with absolutely no concern for the riding experience. Of course, I went straight from the fat ugly Brickstone to the MT90 Avon, so I cannot say for certain how much of the change I experienced is due to the better Avon tire or the narrower size, but I do attribute much of it to the size. I ride my bike every day - that's how I got 19,000 miles in a bit over 1 year. City, highway, solo, two up, long distance touring, commute to work, shopping, etc. I do NOT think the wider front tire is better at touring long distances at highway speeds. It is true that the narrower front tire makes a more dramatic improvement at low speeds, but it also greatly improves the handling in curves. The feel of the bike at highway speeds is now much more of being "one with the bike" that just sitting on a bike and trying to control it. The bike is much more responsive to shifting body weight and leaning than it was with stock size. And besides, no matter how long and far you ride on the super-slab, you are still gonna have to slow down and turn off the road some time! In short, I do not feel the narrower front tire is a compromise in any way. Best of luck to all of you. I hope you are as pleased with whatever skins you mount as I have been Guys, Goose has hit every argument right on the head in changing from a 150/80 to a 130/90 front tire on the RS Venture. So if you don't mind, I'd like to provide my history on this change. And I don't know if I was the first to make this change because I didn't get a RSV until August of 2000. In fact I was basically forced into a new Venture because I totaled my 93 on a great road south of Mountain Home, Arkansas called Push Mountain Road. At that point in my riding career, Linda and I were ready for a new Venture because I was getting tired of working on an aging bike. (flame off, my 1st gen friends) But soon after getting a new Venture we took it to Arkansas for a long weekend ride and I was never so disappointed in all my life of how it handled, compared to the handling of my 5-1st gen Ventures. That big fat Brigstone 150 front tire just wallowed terrible in the corners and was a beast making a tight U turn. And long before they were worn out, I started looking at my options for a tire change and a set of Dunlop Elite IIs were on my list. Of course everyone was telling me that Dunlop didn't make a set of Elite IIs for the RSV, which I said "Bunk". So I made up my own sizing and ordered a set of Elite IIs, a MV85-15 (150/85) rear and a MT90-16 (130/90) front. There was nothing anyone could say to convince me that this bike needed a 150 wide front tire. I was in the shop when my mechanic mounted the front one and he took one look at me and said he didn't think it would mount up, where I said lets try anyway. Well it popped on like it was made for that rim and just looked right when I put it on the bike. And when I took it out for a spin and hit a few curves, I knew I had found the right tire combination. And when I went back to the Arkansas Ozarks it was a pleasure to ride this bike. Of course I talked all of my RSV friends into changing theirs out and even a few that were riding Kawasaki Nomads who were also running 150/90s on the front. I think our manufactures think just because their bikes are cruisers, they need a fat front tire.....but a 150 when our 1st gen Ventures ran a 120? Go figure? Anyway since the Fall of 2000 I have put over 100k on this combination of tires on 2 bikes, first Dunlop Elite IIs, Metzler 880s, and just recently the Avon Venoms.

I copied & saved this from an earlier post by Goose, so I'd have the info readily available when it came time for new tires. Inserting here so he doesn't have to rewrite his critique & rationale. If Goose needs to modify after all this time, I'm certain he will! EDB 2005 RSV I have only had my new Avon Venoms on for about 20 miles, so it is way too soon for me to comment reliably on the handling in general, but I really wanted to tell y'all about the fantastic improvement in low speed handling - far beyond my wildest imagination! I don't need to tell any RSV owners about the ponderous handling at parking lot speeds. Once you get it into second gear it is great, but creeping along in first and making any sharp turn is like trying to hold up a falling telephone pole! As soon as the steering head gets very far to either side, you have to forcibly push back on the bars to keep it from just slamming all the way to full lock. I just mounted an MT90HB-16 on the front (kept the stock tire size in the rear). This tire is 1" narrower than stock, but the same diameter. Well with this new front tire, this thing is a different animal all together! The heavy steering is totally gone. Even at the slowest possible speeds, I could pull figure-8s in the small residential street in front of my house with complete ease. The steering is completely neutral now, no matter how slow I am going or how far I have turned the bars. I was expecting some improvement based on other reports, but nothing this dramatic! Both of these Avon tires are the same diameter as the Bridgestones I just took off, which means the bike sits exactly the same height front and rear. I have made no other changes to the suspension, so the only thing that could have changed the handling of this bike so dramatically today is the new Avon tires, and at slow speed, I don't think it has anything to do with the rubber compound or tread design. That only leaves the slightly narrower tire as the cause. I recommend you think about the MT90-16 or 130/90-16 front tire next time you change them. I'm sure glad I did. And if anyone wants to buy a stock Bridgstone 150/80-16 with about 8,000 miles left in it, I'll sell it cheap!! I'm having a hard time imagining ever putting that stock size on this bike again. I'll let y'all know how I like the Avon Venoms in general after I get back from two weeks in the Ozarks! Good luck, Goose