Freebird

You will have to get it from a Yamaha dealer. Boat.net is usually about as cheap as anybody but you can check around. Here is a link to it at boats.net. A little over $300.00 http://www.boats.net/parts/detail/yamaha/Y-4XY-16150-09-00.html You might also try Stadium Yamaha in Irving, Texas. Several members here speak highly of them. They actually show the standard clutch basket for $248.00. The "I" basket should be the same price if they can get it. http://www.stadiumyamaha.com

Not sure how you are coming up with the rear ends going out a lot. In the more than 10 years that this forum has been up and thousands of Venture owners participating, I have only known of a very few people who have had rear ends go out. It has happened but is certainly not a common occurrence. Now as for the whine. Yes, that could be a problem. This is a much more common problem. I wish you had searched here before buying the bike and you would have gotten some good advice. The main advice would have been to take a very good test ride first to make sure that there is not excessive whine that you may not be able to live with. There has been a lot of discussion here about using different oils, oil additives, etc. but to be honest, swapping to the "I" basket is really the only real chance of reducing it and even that may not get rid of it entirely. Some people have gotten rid of it almost completely, some have reduced it to a tolerable level and some have reported that it didn't help that much. My personal opinion is that it will likely make a big difference and at LEAST make it tolerable. The "I" basket is pretty much a permanent fix. If it does indeed solve the problem, you are unlikely to ever have to do it again.

It's a bit surprising that only 53 people have voted in this poll. Is it because you don't care to attend the rally at all or because it doesn't matter what time of the year it is held. If it doesn't matter, then select no. But please vote. At this rate, it is starting to confirm my message questioning whether or not we should even have it.

There aren't many options and most are best done with longer cables. You will see some that have replaced the cables and some who do not. It is possible to re-route cables and make them work and that what some have done. The best way is to replace the cables with some that are 2" longer though.

I had to go to the DMV to register the two Waverunners that I bought a couple of weeks ago. I bought them in South New Haven, MI so I took the Michigan titles to the DMV in Medina to get Ohio titles and get them registered. Now I've been here before and have been generally impressed with the friendliness of the people working here. Not the case this time. I knew when this older lady called me to the counter, just by the tone of her voice, that this was NOT going to be a good experience. I gave her all the paperwork and told her that I needed to get them registered. She spent a long time looking if all over and said, so one of them was a '99...what was the other one. I explained to her that the trade ins were '99 models, as shown buy "Trades" on that line item. I told her that the ones I was registered were new 2015 models. As indicated by THAT line item. She studied it for a while and said....so one is a '99 and the other a '15. I went through it again and she said "well I don't understand any of this". I started to show her again and she made some remark about not needing my help. So she stumbled around for a while and said again, "I just don't understand this at all". I said "well I would be more than happy to help but you have made it very clean that you prefer to stare at it for as long as possible". That didn't make her very happy. She then said "ok, I know what to do" and she proceeded to go to her desk and start working on it. She looked up and said "it is going to be $176.00 per jet ski". I told her that I didn't think that was correct and that I had already paid most of the taxes when I bought them. Michigan collected 6% tax and all I had to pay was the 3/4% more that Ohio charges. She looked again and said "yes, that is what I'm doing". I told her that it wasn't correct and sounded about $40.00 high. She told me that she worked here every day and likely knew more about it than I did and she proceeded. A full 45 minutes later, she summoned me back to the counter and told me it would be something like $186.00 per ski. I asked her to show me the breakdown on that number. Well what she had done was charged me for the entire purchase price and in Ohio, for new vehicles, you deduct the value of the trades from the taxable amount of the new vehicles. I pointed out to her that she had done it wrong and explained the problem. She looked at me like I was completely stupid and called over another employee. That person flat told her that I was correct and that she had done it wrong. She headed back to her desk mumbling about how she would now have to redo everything. About 30 minutes later, she summoned me to the counter again and finally had it right. She was complaining about having to do it over and I had enough of it. I was probably a bit louder than I needed to be when I told her that if she would just shut up for 30 seconds and listen that she would have gotten it right the first time. That finally soaked in and she apologized, probably because everybody else was staring at her. So, then I have to take that paperwork next door to actually registered the skis and trailer. I stood in line there for about 30 minutes and finally got to the counter. This young lady was actually very nice and it was a pleasant enough experience. So more than two hours after getting there, I headed home with my new titles and registrations for the skis and plate for the trailer. Stopped a Walmart and picked up a couple packages of boat numbers and headed home. Got home and was looking at the serial numbers on the Jet Skis to make sure I put the ride numbers on the right ski and guess what, they made a typo on the serial number. They had it correct on the title but made a typo when they did the registration. Back in the car and back to Medina to get it corrected. They close at 5:00 and I walked in at 3 minutes until 5:00. There were about 8 people ahead of me and I knew I was going to be there for at least another hour. I saw the nice young lady who had made the mistake come out of a back office and wave at her with the papers. She asked what I was doing back and I told her that she had made a mistake on the registration so she motioned for me to come on up. She was very apologetic and took care of it quickly but that was another one hour round trip. So....I finally got it all done but NOT the way that I wanted to spend an afternoon. I'm sure that NONE of you have ever had any issues at your very efficient and friendly tax supported DMV offices. Probably just one of those days.

Yea...and you had to go and change it's diet. See what it did to you?

My cars - Mobil 1 My Road Glide - Mobil 1 My boat - Mobil 1 My Waverunners - Mobil 1 Ventures that I have owned - Mobil 1 My lawnmower - Mobil 1 I use the motorcycle specific Mobil 1 in bikes.

I think that this has been some useful discussion so far. Something else that I suppose should be mentioned is that the date can be good or bad depending upon the location of the rally. I know that when I lived in Texas, September was often one of the hottest months of the year.

Kim, Just enjoy that Jet Ski. I mean, your on the water, what could possibly go wrong. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7J0IN7iFvw

Yes, it has been done. @StarFan did it to his. You won't see major results though unless you also go to bigger carbs and a big air kit. Carbs are not a direct bolt on and require a machined adapter to install.

Each year it is suggested by some that the date for the International Rally be held at a later time. Primarily in the fall when the temperatures are cooler. I have always resisted because we have a few members who would not be able to attend after schools are back in session. So this is a simple question. Would having the rally after the schools are back in session prevent you from attending the rally?

I'll let that discussion take its course. There was also a post that suggested the rally be held on October. I have to say, we LOVE riding in the fall and the temperatures would be so much better. The problem is that though many of our members are older and have no children in school, some do. We also have members who work in the school systems. So my question is, how many people are affected by holding the rally on a date where schools are back in session? Are you affected? Let us know please. I think I'll also start a poll about this. You can vote in the poll here: http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?108209-International-Rally-Date-Question

Putting a Jet Ski into the lake is not that hard. Just practice backing it up at your house. A little trick that helps those new to backing a trailer, place your hand on the bottom of the steering wheel and just turn it the direction that you want the trailer to go. Steering from the top takes a bit more practice as it's counter to what you are used to. As for the oil change, I don't know about the oil for that model but you should buy the suction pump and do it yourself. I've not checked with a dealer but have read that they charge in the $150.00 range to do it. Very simple to do if you simply buy the suction tank. You can pick them up at any boating type store and I think that even Harbor Freight sells them. People ask questions about all kinds of things here and there are some members here who are much more knowledgable about these Jet Skis than I am. I had never owned one until this year but after pulling the engines about 4 times on those first ones that I bought, I've learned a lot. So feel free to ask your questions but I just don't think that setting up a special area for such things is something that I want to start. What would be next? I just think that it's important that we stick with the Venture and Royal Stars as the main focus here.

We are really enjoying our Waverunners though they are not near as fast as what you bought. I think I found top speed on mine on Sunday at just about 56 MPH. Yours should do much better than that but having already come off one at around 40 - 45 MPH, I'm OK with the slower ones. As for an area for such things, my initial thought is no. There are some very good jet ski forums out there and it is just my opinion that we can't be everything. That being said, I am open to the opinion of others so if I'm wrong, tell me.

Yes, THANK YOU. Now we have two choices. Keep them coming folks.

OK...discuss as you wish but all I am saying is that it is pointless to offer up locations unless somebody is willing to host it there. If somebody wants a rally in a specific place then they should also be willing to host it and/or put together a group to host it. Every year just a bunch of wishes and wants are submitted but nobody is willing to step up and do it. Once we have a list of locations with volunteers to handle it, we will then have a discussion and vote to reach a final decision. Any location submitted without a volunteer associated with it will not be included in that discussion and vote. As for Canada, if somebody wants to step up and volunteer to hold it there, it will be included in that final decision making process. I don't know if it stands a chance or doesn't. My main concern is that many Americans do not have nor will get passports. I may be wrong though and the vote will determine that.

Some of you are getting off track already. Like I said, it does no good to simply offer locations. Only offer a suggestion if you are willing to organize something there.

To get this going, I'll throw out the first one. Maggie Valley, NC I will step up and offer to be the point person for this location. I will take care of all the arrangements and etc. Yes, it is far to the East for some people. That is why this thread is open to anybody wanting to jump in and offer to help somewhere else. So my submission is for Maggie Valley, NC. I am volunteering to take care of it if this location is chosen. This is very preliminary. I don't have pricing, possible room discounts, etc. But here is the place that I would target for the host hotel. http://www.smokyfallslodge.com

I posted a topic a few weeks ago questioning whether or not we should continue having an International Rally. It seems that most folks do want to see it continue but also with less prizes and etc. So I think we will try that next year. This will just be a meeting place, some good planned rides and visiting. I will leave it up to the hosts whether or not they want to cater a dinner one night, do a restaurant, whatever. Maybe there will be some door prizes but nothing fancy I don't think. Again, just will be left up to whomever decides to host it. So where should we have it? I am going to approach that topic a bit differently this time also. I usually ask you people where you want it to be and we end up with a long list of favorite places but few people who are actually willing to organize it. So, I'm not asking this time where you think it should be. I'm asking WHO wants to volunteer to do the work. Host the rally. Set up hotel discounts, find campgrounds, etc. So that is the question for this thread. Who is willing to step up and host the 2016 International Rally. I'll give this a week or two. If we have multiple volunteers, then we will put it for a vote. I will also say that it should be somewhere different than recent rallies. For example, we've had two in Indiana and one of them was just a couple of years ago so I doubt there would be enough interest in another there so soon. That is not to say that it has to be a place where we have never been. Colorado, Arkansas, etc. were great locations and they were several years back. So.....are YOU ready to host it? If so, let's hear your idea.

and another senseless death. Just because people are doing too many other things when they should be concentrating on the road. So sorry to hear it.

It all comes down to what kind of insurance you have. I bought my '99 new in '99. I never carried anything but liability on it. Most of the bikes that I've seen totaled were totaled only because of the price of new plastic. If you only have liability and want to repair it, it wouldn't cost very much if you buy used parts off Ebay and wherever you find them. Of course if it's the other persons fault as in this case, then you should be good to go on their dime.

You actually have a third choice. A new Dyna 3000. It retails for 299.99 but can sometimes be found at a discount from some vendors. Several of us have gone to it just because of the adjustments that it allows in the rev limiter, advance, etc. Simple direct plug and play install. A quick Google search found this one. I know nothing about this company but the price is good at $212.00. http://cycleplicity.com/products/100131-dynatek_d3k7_4_dyna_3000_series_ignition_system_for_yamaha.aspx?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=Yamaha-RoyalStarVentureMMLimitedEditionXVZ1300-100131GSMakeModelFitment&utm_campaign=GSMakeModelFitment&adtype=pla&kw=&utm_term=&adpos=1o2&network=g&gclid=CJbgnrDplscCFceQHwodEiUCyg

Good idea my friend but one that I don't know how to do. Sorry. Maybe I'll look into it but don't know an easy way to make it happen.

It's simply up to the host of the event to add them to the calendar with all the correct information. I would think that the location would certainly be essential. Some folks just forget that not everybody has been here since the beginning and what they think is well known information, may not be to some. This was a good reminder. Thanks.

Isn't that about the same price range as the optional reverse on the Hannigan kit? Sounds NOISY but the one I heard on a Hannigan sounded noisy also. I think that both are basically a starter motor.