Freebird

Folks, here is a very nice offer from KR1 (Kevin). You can't be the first to place an order because I've already done it. Here is him email to me. If you want one of these, please PayPal your $10.00 to dnelson@axcesswave.com and put "CD" in the comments box and I'll see that all the money goes into the fund. Don, I would be willing to help move this fund raiser along by donating 50 of my CD's "Freedom of the Heart". This CD is a mixture of country and inspirational songs. Many of the people who have bought this CD have bought it for themselves, or as a gift for parents, or just someone that needs a lift in their life. There are 8 songs on this CD: Let Freedom Ring, Best Friends, American Tribute, Listen to the Whisper, Man in the Mirror, Welcome Home, Proud to be an American, and Homeland. If Ventureriders would like to offer these for sale to members for $10 each, and have the money collected by someone for Ventureriders, they could send me the names and addresses where these need to be shipped, and I would be willing to ship them out and cover the cost of the CD's, packaging and postage. If you're interested, let me know and I will be glad to help out. Thank you. KR

Thank you all so very much. That includes those of you who have bid and those of you who have just sent donations. I'll wait until the auctions end and then send what we collect to Cliff.

That was pretty soon after I sent out the email about the fundraiser for Cliff's son. I kept it short with a link to the thread.

Thanks so much for all that you guys do. I promise to TRY and not ask again for a long time.

OK folks...I am NOT asking anything from any of you because I know that many of you have given to a number of causes here and I know that all of us, me included, only have so much to give. What I AM asking is that you spread the word among any other groups that you might belong to. ANY groups...motorcycle, car, gardening, whatever other forums, clubs, associations you might be part of....please help spread the word about this cause. It truly is a worthy one. I have listed 5 of our VentureRider Guardian bells on Ebay as a fund raiser for Cliffno350's son. Some of you have likely seen posts here regarding his ordeal and I just feel that I need to make some attempt to help. There is no way that we can raise the needed $15,000.00 among our small group here but by spreading the word to other groups, we may be able to help at least a bit. The following is a cut and past from one of the auctions that I just placed on Ebay. There are 5 auctions that are the exact same. Please forward the links to any and all that you think might be interested in helping. The links to the auctions are at the end of this post. If you folks would post this at other forums/clubs that you participate in, that would be great. PLEASE discuss it with the sites owners/officers before doing so just in case any of them might have an issue with it. If you know anybody who would like to simply donate a couple of dollars to this cause, you can have them paypal it to dnelson@axcesswave.com and I promise you that every dime of it will get to Cliff and his family. I do ask that you put "FOR CLIFF" in the comments box when you send a PayPal. Here is the text from the Auctions. I am selling 5 custom cast Guardian Bells with 100% of the proceeds (less Ebay fees if excessive) going to VentureRider member cliffno350. VentureRider.org is a motorcycle site dedicated to the Yamaha Venture, Royal Star Venture and Royal Star Tour Deluxe motorcycles. Though the site is dedicated to riders of these particular bikes, we have members who ride bikes of all makes and models. VentureRider is a family oriented "PG RATED" site basically dedicated to those who love to tour this great country and other countries on motorcycles of any kind. Cliff is one of our long standing members. His son has been diagnosed with Transverse Myelites. This is something that I knew basically nothing about but there is a lot of information about it at http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/transversemyelitis/detail_transversemyelitis.htm Cliff and his wife are great parents and luckily their insurance has covered much of the expense but not nearly all. The issue now is that they need to purchase him a special therapy bike. These bikes are about $15,000.00 and the insurance company has refused to pay for it. You can see what we are trying to buy here: http://www.restorative-therapies.com/ With all the other expenses, Cliff and his wife simply do not have the cash or available resources to purchase it on their own. With this bike, Cliff's son does have a chance of someday walking again. There is no guarantee but it does give him a chance. Folks, I know that if it were one of my children, I would be doing everything that I can to get them the help that they need. I know that I can't, on my own, raise $15,000.00 for them but I have to believe that together we can make a difference. This is no scam. You are more than welcome...even encouraged...to visit us at VentureRider.org and see that we are real. I am the owner and founder of the club and my username there is Freebird. The site is 100% free so feel free to check it out and feel free to ask there about me. We have over 4,000 members and I will be starting a fund drive there also. I had some of these bells custom cast for our members before the holidays. I have a few left over so decided that I would offer 5 of them here with all proceeds going to Cliff and his family. NOTE: I did not say all PROFITS..I said ALL Proceeds. I am donating my cost for the bells. The only deduction will be actual PayPal fees and I'm only saying that just in case we get lucky and some big spender REALLY bids them up so that my fees are beyond what I can afford. Folks...if we could collect $5.00 from 3,000 people, we could change this young man's life. How often do most of us have the opportunity to make a REAL difference in a particular person's life. Let's do this folks...PLEASE ...let's make this happen. The Legend of the Guardian Bell Legend has it that Evil Road Spirits have been latching themselves on to motorcycles for as long as there have been bikes on the road. These Evil Road Spirits are responsible for mechanical problems and bad luck along a journey. Legend goes on to say that by attaching a small bell onto your bike, the Evil Road Spirits will become trapped inside the bell where the constant ringing drives them insane, making them lose their grip until they fall to the ground. (Ever wonder where potholes come from?) Legend also has it that the mystery of the Guardian® Bell carries twice as much power when it is purchased by a friend or loved one and given as a gift. Show someone how much you care. Offer them defense against the Evil Road Spirits! Give a Guardian® Bell and share the Legend of Good Luck it offers to a motorcycle and its rider! Here are the links to each auction: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=300191677958&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=020 http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=300191678005&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=020 http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=300191678040&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=020 http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=300191678078&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=020 http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=300191678128&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=020

Finances, Financial Manager......same thing. I'm STILL not getting one.

WOW...really surprises me that some of you are just now getting them. Sorry it took so long but I guess we can't do anything about the postal system. Anyway, glad you like them. I still have more if anybody missed out and wants some. Here's the info for anybody who may have missed it. http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=17406

I've still got mixed feelings about it. Wouldn't mind taking one for a test ride though. Doesn't matter, the finances say NO NO NO.

Now that's funny right there...I don't care who you are.

I like pretty much anything except RAP/HipHop. I grew up with parents who listened to Tammy Wynette, Bill Anderson, etc. I actually still like country music from time to time but my music as a teenager was Deep Purple, LEO, Pink Floyd, Three Dog Night, Marshall Tucker, Eagles, etc. but also really liked James Taylor, Carol King, many others. I still like classic rock, country, a lot of different artists. I also like Sade, Sarah Mclaughlin, many other newer artists. If I could post the albums here from my Ipod, you would see a GREAT variety of music. Even some Louis Armstrong.

Looks nice but sorry, I'll stick with my PCs.

That's really a nice looking bike. I like the paint scheme and also the extra trunk carrier. I hope you get many miles of smiles out of it.

I like her...er...I mean IT.

Mine has been on for over 8 years and no cracks yet. I think the key issues are to make sure that the holes are drilled correctly so that no stress is put on it by forcing the bolts in and then not overloading it.

Some of you may be close enough to stop by. Steve has posted here and seems to be a good guy. We are having three nights of open house, door prizes, food, bands and seminars during our three night HOT WINTER NIGHTS Open house. Check out our website for details www.allsportinc.com February 19, 20 and 21st. 2008 Thank you Steve Armstrong

Here's one that I ran across the other day. I guess you would have to remove the trunk though. http://www.discountramps.com/dog-carrier-motorcycle.htm

Back when the first gens were being built, Markland made a lot of accessories for the Venture. Those look like the highway boards that I've seen that were made by Markland for the first gen. I think they are still around but make mostly Goldwing accessories now. I don't know if they make anything like that any longer.

Now Larry..."normal" might be a bit of a stretch. How can she be married to the Squid Man and still be "normal". At any rate, glad to hear that she will be back to ... uh.... her usual self.

About the only way would be to replace the straight bars and not grind them down quiet as much. Would be easy to do though.

It was GREAT. You've set the bar pretty high if you plan to do better than that one. We are glad you have joined us.

That is pretty much it. Here is a thread that might help some. http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=503

Since I am no longer making the centerstands for the RSV, there have been some requests for the measurements of the bracket. Here is one that I quickly through together to get the measurements from. Not that the large holes on the U bracket and the straight bar are 16 mm. The ground out part at the bottom of the bar is so that the stand breaks over the proper amount. This varies per stand. I always put them together and then grind it out until the stand breaks JUST over verticle. Too much and it is hard to get the bike off the stand.

Take a look at this thread. Brand may be different but installation should be the same. http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=8810 Be sure to note that from my personal experience, ground and negative are NOT the same thing on these tachs. Make sure that you hook ground to a ground and negative to the negative side of the coil.

I posted this reply to your request in the welcome thread. Hope it helps. Go to this link and download the service manual. Section 3 page 2 has the maintenance schedule. It is a bit aggressive though and most of us don't follow it 100%. Change the oil on a regular basis and you are pretty much good to go. http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1828

I've briefly owned an '83 standard and I had an '88 White Royale. If I were ever to buy another first gen, I would be looking for another white '88. That was my favorite first gen.