Freebird

Just ask. Done.

OK...I THINK I managed to do that. Please try it and see if it asks you for a password. If it does, it will be the same as the rally discussion forum password.

LOL....yea...I thought about that when I did it but hey...I didn't choose the guys username.

Absolutely....I can't even imagine what he and all are going through.

Just wanted to extend a big public thanks to Playboy for his excellent tech article on repacking the swing arm bearings on the Royal Star Venture. http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?p=709132#post709132

Thanks to Vincent, AKA: Playboy, for this EXCELLENT tech article. Packing Swing Arm Bearings 1. Remove the rear wheel as you normally do and your halfway there. 2. Drain the final drive and remove the speed sensor wire and four acorn nuts and simply pull out final drive and drive shaft. This is a great time to catch up on a lot of those little maintenance items. . http://www.venturerider.org/Swing%20Arm/swinga1.jpg 3. Un clip the speed sensor wire from the swing arm and remove the clamps from the brake line. So you don’t have to hunt for them later re insert the clamp bolts back into the swing arm finger tight. Just allow the caliper to hang over out of the way. Be sure and check pads for even wear. 4. Now its time to remove the shock and the dog bones or leveling links. Before removing top bolt from shock remove seat and right side cover. http://www.venturerider.org/Swing%20Arm/swinga2.jpg 5. Un clip the shocks vent line located beside battery on right side. Then remove round black plastic cover where you add air to rear shock ( it just pops out ) http://www.venturerider.org/Swing%20Arm/swinga3.jpg 6. Remove the nut from the valve stem. http://www.venturerider.org/Swing%20Arm/swinga4.jpg 7. Now just work the vent line and air line down from top and pull out top bolt from shock. http://www.venturerider.org/Swing%20Arm/swinga5.jpg 8. To remove Y pipes you will need to remove left side cover also. Under the lower section of the Y pipe loosen clamp closest to the rear. http://www.venturerider.org/Swing%20Arm/swinga6.jpg For the section attached to rear cylinders you can loosen that clamp as well or remove the two nuts on the flange going into head . http://www.venturerider.org/Swing%20Arm/swinga7.jpg Remove the bolt where the mufflers slide on . http://www.venturerider.org/Swing%20Arm/swinga8.jpg 9. Now you can just work the Y pipe out and to the rear. http://www.venturerider.org/Swing%20Arm/swinga9.jpg 10. Next pop off the chrome covers on both sides. http://www.venturerider.org/Swing%20Arm/swinga10.jpg you will notice a bolt head on the left side. 30mm I think remove this bolt from the left side . http://www.venturerider.org/Swing%20Arm/swinga11.jpg This bolt requires 72 ft/lbs on re installation. 11. On the right side you will notice a Allen head bolt with locknut loosen or remove nut then remove bolt . http://www.venturerider.org/Swing%20Arm/swinga12.jpg This bolt only needs 5.1 FT/lbs of torque. Locknut requires the 72 ft/lbs. Don’t worry about the swing arm falling out when you remove the bolts. Now you can work the swing arm out from under the bike with just a wiggle. http://www.venturerider.org/Swing%20Arm/swinga13.jpg The rubber boot protecting U joint should come out with it . http://www.venturerider.org/Swing%20Arm/swinga14.jpg 12. Place the swing arm in a vice with drive shaft side down. Pull of the rubber boot so you can see the back side of the right side bearing. Insert the left side bolt from the inside. http://www.venturerider.org/Swing%20Arm/swinga15.jpg Using a wooden dowel rod tap out the bearing and seal. This will allow minimum distortion to seal so you can re use it . http://www.venturerider.org/Swing%20Arm/swinga16.jpg 13. I used a seal puller on the right side seal because I had one but working carefully with a screw driver or very small pry-bar you can get that seal out with out much distortion. 14. Inspect bearings and races for pitting or wear marks I doubt you will find any unless this has been neglected for a very long time. My bike was @ 30k and had some grease still on bearings Probably just what the factory put on them. 15. Re-pack your bearings with a good quality grease. Insert the right bearing and reinstall seal flip over the swing arm and repeat for left side. 16. Reattach the rubber boot and work the swing arm back up into the bike. Don’t worry about the trying to get the boot back on just yet. Just get it in there where the swing arm bolts will be close to lining up. Lift the swing arm up and slide something under it to support it. . http://www.venturerider.org/Swing%20Arm/swinga17.jpg 17. Reinstall both bolts just enough to get the threads started good and then work the rubber boot back over the U joint. Long handle needle nose pliers and a monkey hook are real handy here. 18. Tighten both swing arm bolts. The left bolt must be tightened first. Remember right side is only 5.1 ft/lbs and locknut is 72 ft/lbs. 19. Everything else goes back in reverse order. Don’t forget to lube those pivot points on the shock while your there. Something that works well for me when it comes to reinstalling final drive and drive shaft is that I pull the driveshaft off the final drive, put the bike in gear, I then insert a large Allen wrench into the hole of the driveshaft where the spring fits for a handle and install the driveshaft into the U joint. You can turn the gear on the end of shaft to determine that your in the U joint and not beside it. Hope this helps because it is not the dreaded job I thought it would be. Could have done it in a afternoon but it was a 100 degree day and trying to take pics on all the steps took some time. Vincent aka PLAYBOY

Basically the TCI is the ignition module. It controls the entire ignition system. Coils, rev limiter, timing advance, etc. They are a common problem on the earlier Ventures that are getting older but I've not heard of any issues with them on the RSV. I have a spare because I upgraded mine to a Dyna 3000 aftermarket unit so that I could tweak some of the settings. I really don't want to sell it but would be happy to send it to if it is something you want to eliminate as the problem. It's not too difficult to swap out. You have to remove the battery and the battery box to get to it.

Deleted my post. Just realized that this is for a first gen. My information was useless.

I was hoping that somebody else would jump in here on this one because I honestly don't know what they heck could be causing that and it is the first I've ever heard of it. Almost sounds like the rev limiter is malfunctioning and shutting you down but I've NEVER heard of that happening before. I also haven't heard of any TCI units going bad on the second gen bikes. If nobody else has any suggestions though, I have a spare TCI that I could send you for you to test it.

Well good luck. Let us know how it works out

Is this going to be for cold weather? I can see where that MIGHT work if you are trying to warm the seat but if you attempting to cool a seat, it just seems that you are going to blowing engine heat into it.

I love Mobil 1 oil and use it in everything that I own. It costs a bit more but I think the benefits outweigh the cost. I don't feel the same about the filter though. I know that a quality filter is very important but I think that there are a lot of quality filters out there for MUCH less than $20.00.

I agree. Those numbers are NOT for the newer RSTD. I honestly didn't think that there was any difference in the RSV and the latest RSTD models in gearing or in HP.

I used the Super Tech and was able to find one the last time I changed my oil. I will likely use Purolator though if I don't find it next time. I've also used Napa Gold and like them fine but don't have to drive as far to get the Purolator.

Yea, I have to admit that is pretty cool. I did some more looking and it is electric. They are estimating 200 miles per charge at 65 MPH. That is exceptional. They are also estimating around $20,000.00. A lot of money but less than I expected.

Really sorry to hear this Tom but glad that it turned out to not be a stroke. Hopefully they will find something minor that they can easily treat. Let her know that she, and you, are in our thoughts and prayers.

I've never heard of them. I Googled them and then entered my zip code. It said "service not available in your area".

I was visiting a customer yesterday in Ohio and found out that she rides. She rides a very nice older and highly customized Harley Super Glide shovel head. Very nice bike. Now this lady is absolutely beautiful. Probably mid to late 30's based only upon the fact that she has an 18 year old daughter. Very sweet and fun lady. She told me a story about stopping by a local sandwich shop to pick up lunch to take back to her office. There was a new guy working behind the counter and he was going on and on about his new bike. Then the guy looked at her and said "yea, just picked up my new bike. Going to a meet this weekend. You should come by." She said that he went on and on trying to be really cool but then he screwed up. He told her "If you stop by, maybe I'll let you clean my bike". Oops.....very bad suggestion. There was a fairly good lunch crowd waiting by now and in front of all of them, the asked "what kind of bike did you buy". He replied that he had bought a brand new Harley Davidson Sportster. That was all she needed to know. Her reply to him was "Very nice, you will enjoy it. I actually started out on a girl's bike too". Game, set, match. She said that he had nothing else to say after that.

You DO not. AND...I was NOT using it this time to trailer my Venture. I was delivering somebody Else's bike. AND...I DO NOT HAVE A GREEN VENTURE.

Very nice. I guess if you aren't going to ride a bike, that would be way up there on the list for a replacement.

Nope, it just BLEW and I pulled over almost immediately. I was pretty surprised when I saw how bad it was. I had checked the air pressure before leaving and then checked it again immediately before heading home. The trailer was empty on the way home so that was good. The tires had a lot of tread and I saw no cracking but they ARE old.

He DID say that it would leave a 1st gen with ease. I'm thinking NOT a PT Cruiser.

It is just a small device that allows you to easily calibrate your speedometer. A lot of us here have added them. http://www.healtech-electronics.com/

Some of them may be different but I've found on all that I've checked that the ODO and the speedometer are both off but not by the same percentage. Most of the speedos are off about 7.5%...maybe 8.5...I don't remember now. Most of the ODO are off about 3 percent. Correcting the speedo actually make the ODO off the other direction about 4%.

I appreciate all the comments folks. You've given me some GREAT ideas. I'm sure I can get it going now. Luckily, I did have a spare with me.