Freebird

Well actually, this is my 6th Venture although 2 of them were basically bought to resell.

Pictures coming soon. Just waiting for a couple more things to arrive and then I'll get it finished up.

OK....I know that a lot of people name their motorcycles but I never have. Just never do come up with anything. But I guess I'll name this one. So @bongobobny posted to my Facebook a while back that due to me buying a Harley and then coming back to the RSV that I should name it "CROW" because I would be eating some. I actually kind of like that. It seems to be a fitting name due to his reasoning, the fact that it is black, and it kind of meshes with the "Freebird" username. Of course I could also just name it "Freebird". So what do you think? Do you like that? Do you have other suggestions? Let the name calling begin.

That is just plain stupid.

No...it's fine.

Well...I had no idea it would rate so poorly in Off Road Capability. That's a KILLER.

No, it doesn't hurt the bike at all. Just irritating.

I also agree with Rodney. Sometimes a different oil will make a huge difference. Now this can start a huge oil debate because everybody has a different opinion on which oil is the best but all I can say is that I run nothing but Mobil 1 Racing 4T and it seems to work the best for me. The only weight it comes in is 10W/40. It is a motorcycle specific oil so has no friction modifiers and etc. that could cause your clutch to slip. Whatever oil you decide to try, just make sure it's not a standard weight automotive oil with the energy conserving label. Those are the ones with the friction modifiers that could cause your clutch to start slipping.

Very unlikely that it's a bearing issue. Almost unheard of with these bikes. Most likely the clutch basket. The only possible cure is to order and install what is referred to as the "I" basket. The bikes come with different series of baskets that vary the clearances. Most come with, I don't remember, "H" series I think. Quiet a number of people have replace it with the "I" series. In some cases, it almost eliminates it completely in others, it usually reduces the whine and moves it to a different RPM range that you are not in as much.

Actually, lubing the speedometer is a first gen issue. Not on this bike.

I don't know of any loud screaming sound that is caused by the wind. Some of these bikes have a whine that is caused by the straight cut gears and some have a chirping sound caused by the clutch basket. Neither of those are anything to worry about. There have been a handful of issues though with bad or misaligned rear ends. That WOULD be something to be concerned about. There is an article in the tech library about how to properly align and then re-tighten the rear differential. That would probably be the first thing I would check.

They are made by @Carbon_One. I just bought a set of them and I think he only had a couple sets left so you just need to contact him to make sure he still has any. Here is his ad in the classifieds. Just a note. You will also need to order a pair of clamps that connect the brace to the crash bars. Larry will give you links to two different types. One is made by KuryAkin and the other is a three piece clamp by Cobra I think. The three piece type is about half the price and that is what I went with and they work fine. http://www.venturerider.org/forum/photopost/showproduct.php?product=12&title=carbon-one-crash-bar-braces&cat=15

Already copied it to the Tech Library. Thanks.

No rocks. The bike had Trucklite HID's in the headlight and passing lights when I bought it. I have no idea what they should look like but they seem to work OK.

Many of you have seen us discuss the brackets for the lower wind deflector but I replace mine yesterday with some polished stainless ones and this is what I found when I removed the old ones. This is very common and something that you need to pay attention to. They were like this on both sides and no doubt I would have eventually lost them as I did before on my '99. This came off a 2005 model with just over 19,000 miles on it. One of the first things that I checked when I bought the bike was the rubber bumpers and sure enough, they were missing. [ATTACH=CONFIG]105415[/ATTACH] Now if yours are not yet cracked, you need to make sure that the rubber bumpers are there and that they are touching your fork covers. That will prevent them from vibrating and eventually cracking. If they are not touching, you can simply bend the brackets back until they do. If you have one or both missing, here is an easy fix. I did this on mine just after buying it but it was obviously too late. This cheap and easy fix can be done in just a few minutes. Go to your local hardware store and pick up two rubber expansion nuts. These are the rubber expansion nuts with what looks like a brass threaded insert. Not sure what the insert is made of but it's not important. I don't remember for sure but I think that this one was about 3/4 inch long. You will need to remove the bottom screw that mounts the plastic to the bracket. Looses the top screw. That will allow you to pivot the plastic deflector to the side and insert the screw into the expansion nut. Tight and you are done. Very easy fix. [ATTACH=CONFIG]105416[/ATTACH]

Many of you have seen us discuss the brackets for the lower wind deflector but I replace mine yesterday with some polished stainless ones and this is what I found when I removed the old ones. This is very common and something that you need to pay attention to. They were like this on both sides and no doubt I would have eventually lost them as I did before on my '99. This came off a 2005 model with just over 19,000 miles on it. One of the first things that I checked when I bought the bike was the rubber bumpers and sure enough, they were missing. Now if yours are not yet cracked, you need to make sure that the rubber bumpers are there and that they are touching your fork covers. That will prevent them from vibrating and eventually cracking. If they are not touching, you can simply bend the brackets back until they do. If you have one or both missing, here is an easy fix. I did this on mine just after buying it but it was obviously too late. This cheap and easy fix can be done in just a few minutes. Go to your local hardware store and pick up two rubber expansion nuts. These are the rubber expansion nuts with what looks like a brass threaded insert. Not sure what the insert is made of but it's not important. I don't remember for sure but I think that this one was about 3/4 inch long. You will need to remove the bottom screw that mounts the plastic to the bracket. Looses the top screw. That will allow you to pivot the plastic deflector to the side and insert the screw into the expansion nut. Tight and you are done. Very easy fix.

I don't think that we've ever really talked about first and second gen Royal Stars very much but I would say yes, When they came out with the new Royal Star in 2005, it was a much different bike that the earlier Royal Stars. I would definitely consider it a second gen.

Ed, first of all, you are still in our prayers. I can only try to imagine what you are all still going through. I don't have a lot of parts laying around but I do have a handful of things that are yours if you need them. I have two side covers from a silver 1999. I also have a good ignition module as I replaced mine with a Dyna 3000. I'll look around and see if there is anything else but when I bought this bike, he had gotten rid of all the stuff that was replace with aftermarket replacements. Also just replace my lower wind deflectors with some stainless one so I have the stock plastic ones. Brackets are starting to crack but could be repaired.

Yea, he really does a good job on these. I'm going to back spray those under the fairing soon. Just waiting on a couple of things before I split the fairing so I only have to do it once. When I have it apart, I'll remove those clear deflectors and paint them black on the backside. By the way, the OEM clean lower deflectors wouldn't have been around too much longer. The brackets were cracked about halfway on both of them.

OK...added just a little more...but this is it...no more. Polished stainless lower wind deflectors and brackets from @slowrollwv

Always happy to help when we can.

Most videos are just too big to upload here and use too much bandwidth. The way to do it is to upload it to YouTube and then link it to here.

Done.

Several weeks ago I got this email from the corporate office. Now due to the fact that my work computer doesn't need to access to the client software at the home office, it really didn't affect me and I upgraded to Wndows 10 anyway, with their OK. For those of you who have not upgraded and don't want to though, this would prevent the automatic upgrade. Microsoft is going to be more aggressive forcing windows users to update to the newest version 10. Unfortunately in our environment, our critical Client Access software will not run if windows 10 is installed over it. Therefore please do the following to curb the upgrade from installing on your PC. 1. Start -> Type in Windows Update and select the search option from the list. This should open the Windows Update dialog box. From there you can select "Change Settings". A new dialog box will open. 2. Below Recommended updates make sure the selection box is unchecked. This will prevent Recommended updates from installing along side of Important updates. Click OK to apply the settings. You can now close out of Windows Update.

Just to clarify....there is not actually a PORT but there is wiring for one. I don't know why Yamaha chose to advertise the port where it isn't actually there. As said, there is wiring for one under the seat. Two wires with a white connector. There is also a "plug" just above the side cover on the left side of the bike that can be removed and a port put in and then connected to those wires. Some people have found a connector to match up with it. Some of us just cut the thing off and add our own connectors.