MiCarl

So you've got the issues to consider with any older motorcycle (carbs, corrosion, old tires etc.). There are two that are Venture specific and both are VERY expensive if you get one. 1) On the '83 to early '85 motorcycles the design of 2nd gear was weak and I'm under the impression that they all eventually fail. The design was updated during the '85 model year and all the V4s since are solid. If you come across one of these with high mileage and a good second gear it's likely to have already been updated. A low mileage one might just be waiting for you to buy the update. In any case, ride 2nd gear hard on your test ride and make sure it doesn't pop back to neutral. 2) Some of them (I think 86 - ? 1300s) had a bevel gear in the middle gear set and pinion in the final drive that were improperly heat treated and break. I don't want to try and get into a lot of detail about how they break but it is important to know they will still go with broken pinions. What does happen is the bearings become loose and will wear out quickly. Listen for bearings to make a growling sound on acceleration or coasting. When the pinion in the final drive broke on mine about seven years ago a new replacement was about $900 (you have to replace the whole final drive). I believe you can get just the bevel gear for the middle gear set but there will be some labor in properly shimming it. Otherwise I don't believe there are any common defects in the 83-93 Ventures. Just wear and neglect which isn't specific to these motorcycles.

While it never hurts to do a compression check I don't think that's your problem. Low compression usually begins to show up in hard starts. Yours started right up and the starter sounded like it was working against compression. Most of the electrical doesn't care about load. The ignition module does calculate load from the rpm and TPS. That could be the problem (or bad pickup or TPS sending bad or noisy information). I believe you replaced the TPS. The only thing the ignition module does in reaction to load is retard the timing. Excessively retarded timing makes a kind of unique sound and I don't hear that in the video (although your pipes make my speakers buzz and might mask it). If it's bucking and kicking it's probably not timing - retarded timing runs silk smooth. Your virgin snow looking spark plugs SCREAM lean. The way it runs under load is consistent with being lean, but farther up the throttle than I thought the problem was. You're in the mid-range and mostly off the slow jets. You need to be thinking needle jets, jet needles and main jets. You say you replaced the jets. Did you replace the main jets too and are they genuine Mikuni jets? If they came in a Yamaha package they are. I have run into problems with aftermarket jets. You also say you replaced the diaphragms. From Yamaha you get the whole slide, so I assume you went aftermarket. What did you use?

I had an ATV in the shop last fall that would fall on its face, buck and backfire if you tried to accelerate. Only happened after it warmed up. Checking with a timing light it was obviously dropping spark. Turns out the R/R was letting the voltage come up above 17V which caused the ignition module to act up. Voltage wouldn't come up until the battery recharged from starting the machine. It took awhile to sort out because the service manual refers to the ignition module as a "CDI", and CDIs are isolated from the electrical system. There were no test procedures for the module so I started going through the electrical diagram to figure out what I could test. That's how I discovered it was connected to the electrical system and either a TCI or computerized module. That led me down the path to eventually finding the over voltage. Your 2nd gen has a computerized ignition module. I can see where it might be susceptible to over voltage or noise. Unplugging the regulator/rectifier will eliminate any of that. This presumes the battery is fully charged and in good enough condition to run the motorcycle for a few minutes. BUT - a failing ignition won't make white spark plugs. They'd either be normal color or wet with fuel. Your spark plugs are screaming fuel/air.

Seems pretty unlikely. Simply unplug it and try. Your bike will run without it long enough to perform the test.

I put a set of Pirelli MT66 on my neighbor's RSV. He really likes them.

Ok, if you don't know what they are you've got a problem. They need to be opened up to properly clean the carburetor. Part #7 .

Something that just occurred to me: Are your air cut off valves in good shape? Carburetor cleaner will ruin them. If the diaphragms are damaged they will let lots of extra air in.

Dielectric grease is an insulator at low voltages. Clean it out and see if your problem clears up. I think the CRC electrical cleaner will probably wash it off.

You're still way lean. You're covering that up at idle by opening the screws so far but when you open the throttle you aren't getting enough fuel through the pilot system. If you're certain they're as clean as they can be (and I'm never certain until I've done them myself at least twice!) then I'd replace the pilot jets. While I was at it I'd go up a size, maybe 2. I had an ATV in the shop this winter that had obvious corrosion on the brass in the carburetor and I couldn't get the pilot jet clean enough to run well. I ended up going up a size when I replaced it and it was a dream. I had a motorcycle that was terribly cold blooded and went up a jet size and it's much nicer now. I'm very close to having a policy of throwing fatter jets in every time I do a carburetor.

You're right. I should have looked at the pictures again.....

Since you're measuring from the bottom 1" would be leaner, not richer. Still, 0.125" isn't your problem.

The place to measure is the same. The measurement I've seen is 1". Ideally you check the fuel level after.

If you're really talking about the drive shaft I've found it's just a matter of trial and error and lots of patience. The u-joint will pivot so the socket doesn't line up with the shaft. You have to feel for it and steer it back to centered as you slide the shaft in. If you're talking about getting the wheel to engage the drive hub install the axle through the wheel (without the caliper and bracket), put the motorcycle in gear and rotate the tire back and forth as you try and slide it to the left. Once it slides over pull the axle back out and put the remaining parts on.

It's a small leak. It's hard to see because the oil is clean up there. By the time it comes out the cover it's picked up some dirt so it's visible.

Bad diaphragms probably aren't the problem. They allow extra air. When I replaced my holey ones on my '89 my MPG dropped to about 33. In my case I decided the jet needles were probably worn (no longer available). I put the Skydoc spacer kit in and got back to 40MPG. It was running a little hot so I shimmed the needles up 0.020" and cooled it down a little with no noticeable drop in mileage.

You already found your own answer.

That hole under the cover is a drain for the spark plug well. There is a very good chance the valve cover gasket is leaking and the oil is running down along the spark plug and out that hole. A nuisance, but something you can take your sweet time fixing.

You're going lean off idle. If I understand right it's been sitting with untreated fuel. It only takes a few weeks to gunk up the idle jets sitting with untreated fuel. It's a bit surprising it idles at all. Time to clean the carburetors again. Sync them too. I treat my fuel anytime it might sit for two weeks or more.

I've never been able to figure out for sure what they do. My best guess is they let the oil lock lift up under compression for a little less damping. Conversely, they would push it down during rebound for more damping. I personally wouldn't lose any sleep about not having them. If it were mine I'd be tempted to put one spring on each side and move on.

It's true! Earlier today photographer captured this picture of a Yeti riding a prototype of the 2018 Venture.

There is a trick I use that gets rid of a lot of unwanted crap. It involves in setting up your computer so it cannot find the ads. Requires a little bit of computer skill google "adblock hosts file" to learn how to set it up.

Unless Canada is different than the use there isn't a Venture Tour Deluxe. There is The Royal Star Venture which is the full touring model with trunk, CB, fairing, radio etc. The Royal Star Tour Deluxe has the same powertrain as the Venture but without all the features. They are both great motorcycles, probably the only common problem is leaking rear shocks. Your biggest worry on an 11 year old motorcycle with only 32,000 miles is neglect. Look for the brake and clutch fluid to be clear, or no darker than weak tea. Check the date codes on the tires. It's a carbureted motorcycle so you need to be concerned about gummed up carburetors - it should start easily cold (with choke) and after a few minutes should idle smoothly off choke. A quick throttle blip should rev the engine without hesitation.

Well, you didn't tell us which bike. Usually it's easier to remove the switch than to chase the wire out and disconnect it. Yamaha generally places a hole in the bottom of the perch (below and ahead of the switch) where you can push a punch in to release the tab and pop the switch out.

Are you talking about dust seals? Fork seals are down inside and you cannot put hand pressure on them. They should sit tighter than that anyhow. Then there is the issue of the bushings. They are damaged removing the seal and also need to be driven home. You can improvise a bushing/seal drive with a piece of PVC pipe or coupler from the plumbing section of the home store. It should be smaller than the seal diameter but large enough the lip on the seal fits comfortably inside. You can drive the bushing (with the washer on top of it) using your makeshift tool and a plastic mallet or block of wood. Then do the same for the oil seal. DO NOT USE A STEEL HAMMER AS YOU CAN DAMAGE THE FORK TUBE.

Heard of them, don't know anything about them. EXCEPT - on a hunch I checked, you won't get a stator from Yamaha.