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Venturous Randy

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Everything posted by Venturous Randy

  1. Venturous Randy
    Just remember, don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions. RandyA
  2. Venturous Randy
    We have been running about 10 to 20 degrees below normal here in east Tennessee for about a month now. Maybe we are going to get winter out of the way early this time. RandyA
  3. Venturous Randy
    The only good way to fix this is take the speedo out and put grease on the bushing on the inside of the speedometer at the very bottom where the cable comes thru. WD40 is not a high speed type lubricant and may do more damage in the long run. If you keep riding the bike it will not be a problem after a while because it will destroy the speedometer and the noise will go away. This is a real common problem on these old bikes, especially when the weather turns cooler. RandyA
  4. Venturous Randy
    RomTom, first of all I want to welcome you to this great bunch of folks. They will do just about anything they can do to help with your problems. Second, thanks for sharing your health concerns and you will end up on many prayer lists. We all wish you the best on your continued improvements. Third, welcome to the world of Ventures, especially the early 1st gens(83/85), they are great bikes. Now, as already noted there are three real good problem areas mentioned and they are all somewhat common on the Venture. Even if you are not mechanically or electrically inclined, we can help you resolve your problems. It is like eating an elephant, it is just one bite at a time. Even if the start switch is the problem, you will still need to put upgrading the fuse box at the top of the list. It is not hard and if you do not know how to solder, it is now time to learn. You can pick up a five or six slot holder with the blade fuses and to replace what you got, just start on one end and replace each set of wires one at a time. Before you know it, you will have it rewired. It just takes a few basic tools and I feel you will be able to do it. As you have already figured out, finding someone else to work on these bikes may be dificult and expensive. But, again let me assure that there are many folks on here that will do just about anything to help you out. And, the more you can do yourself, even with help, the more you will become one with the bike. Just don't worry about asking all kinds of questions and you got off to a good start. RandyA
  5. Venturous Randy
    As stated by several, the Odyssey 680 is a good choice. I had replaced the cables and cleaned and lubed the starter, but I still got the slow start when hot. Sometimes it was at the inopportune time if it had not started. When I got the Odyssey, it made a tremendous difference and now I do not worry about starting when it is hot or I have stalled it for some reason in traffic. The only thing I have heard negative about the Odyssey is they will not take severe jolting. To try to help this a little, I put a couple pieces of medium soft rubber under the battery. RandyA
  6. Venturous Randy
    That's an easy thing to do on an early 1st gen. RandyA
  7. Venturous Randy
    If you flip the switch and it works as it is supposed to, all the blinkers will blink at the same time. It is your emergency blinkers switch. RandyA
  8. Venturous Randy
    Good point on the plug change Carl. Ventures seem to be real particular about having good clean plugs in them. I have used Autolites for years and you can get them at Advance Auto for less than $2 each. I have never had what I think was a plug related failure with them. I have fouled a plug, but it was not the plugs fault. RandyA
  9. Venturous Randy
    I do not think there is a problem with a dust cover getting damaged on an 84. The time it would take to pull the driveshaft and grease it should not take more than 15 minutes. It is only four nuts to take off and pull out. If it takes more than 10 seconds to put the driveshaft back in the universal joint coupling on an 84, the mechanic does not know what he is doing. RandyA
  10. Venturous Randy
    Good suggestion Dick. I find it easier to just flip the emergency off button several times after turning the ignition on and you may hear the fuel pump click better. Also, make sure the emergency off button is in the correct position and is not gummed up. RandyA
  11. Venturous Randy
    If you did not do it, turn the ignition switch on and then flip the off button several times off and on. Each time you do it you will hear the fuel pump click several times. After doing this several times, the fuel pump will click only a time or two and your carbs are full of gas. This usually helps mine start and run better after it has been setting for a while. RandyA
  12. Venturous Randy
    I use my centerstand about everytime I ride my bike. This is because I pull the bike into my garage and pop it up on the centerstand and spin it around. But, my bike is a 1st gen and they were standard. I have shortened the stand 1/2 inch and installed a steel wheel to the outside of the right leg. RandyA
  13. Venturous Randy
    It is called Black Friday because it is the day that is supposed to most stores "in the black", moneywise. RandyA
  14. Venturous Randy
    A couple of weeks ago Laura decided that we were going to have our big traditional feast on Sunday, which was yesterday. This way, the family members that are scheduled to go eat at other peoples house can do so and not worry about scheduling with us. When our great grand daughter was born a couple of months ago, she had about 16 grand parents including grand, great grand and great great grand parents. So this was much easier and we had a wonderful meal. RandyA
  15. Venturous Randy
    Trying to figure this makes my head hurt. RandyA
  16. Venturous Randy
  17. Venturous Randy
    Yep, when you look inside the speedometer where the cable come through, you will see where to put the grease, it is in the very bottom. Once you see where the grease goes, you will see what I mean about it might be possible to get grease in thru the cable hole if you had some way of getting it to spread out to where the bearing is. Maybe with a piece of bent wire. I have never been a fan of squirting oil up through the cable hole. There is a "main spring" just like a watch and it might affect the consistancy of the reading if oil got all over that spring. RandyA
  18. Venturous Randy
    Jeremy, it is not a big deal to take the speedometer out of the dash assembly. In my opinion, with the speedometer out, you can see the bearing in question by looking down inside it. I use a moly type grease and it will work for years, unless the bearing has been run so long dry that it is damaged. RandyA
  19. Venturous Randy
    I can not believe how high motorcycle insurance is in Canada. I just have liability and uninsured on my 83 and that is with higher coverage and it is about $120 a year with Allstate. RandyA
  20. Venturous Randy
    Several years ago, Allstate decided to only sell year round motorcycle insurance. The way it was explained to me was they were having people pull their bikes out on those warm winter days and riding without insurance and getting into trouble. It ended up being only a few dollars more for the full year coverage, especially for those of us that only have liability and uninsured motorist. RandyA
  21. Venturous Randy
    I do believe that 20psi in the front forks is a bit too much. RandyA
  22. Venturous Randy
    Guy here at work that rides a H-D was asking about the 08 Venture, as he was considering looking at one. I was giving him some of the details and he asked about the sound system. I mentioned it had a tape player and he said "what?", like he misunderstood me. I repeated it and he said "forget it, I would be embarassed to buy a new bike and it have a tape player in this day and time". RandyA
  23. Venturous Randy
    The early 1st gen reminds me more of the new Kaw Concours. RandyA
  24. Venturous Randy
    You would also have to figure in volumetric effiency to determine any kind of flow rates as that is actually how much air is going into the cylinders. RandyA
  25. Venturous Randy
    As I was listening to the radio on the way to work this morning, the news was talking about the priorities of the incoming admimistration. One at the top of the list was climate change. That made me feel better as it is 18 degrees outside and it is still over a month until winter gets here. I have to say that I can not see how you folks from up north deal with winter, especially our friends north of the border. This would be even more difficult for me due to my love of motorcycles. But, I guess for many of you, it's snowmobile time. Try to stay warm. RandyA
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