Freebird

Stator In these instructions I may go into more detail then you need, but I don't know how experienced you are in repairing your bike so be patient. The removal and replacing of a stator coil is not a difficult task, all though you should be careful to use the proper tools . Before you start you should have: the new stator, gaskets for the flywheel and middle gear cover, new oil and filter, large tipped Phillips screw driver, 10mm,14mm,17mm wrenches and a 5mm allen. Removal To remove the bad stator; First remove left side lower fairing, the shift lever from the shaft that comes through the flywheel or stator cover and remove the "C" clip and washer from that shaft making note of it's orientation even marking the top with a marker because unless it is returned to the proper position the case will not fit properly, now remove the foot peg and shifter assembly. Next drain the oil from the engine then remove the six 5mm cap screws from the middle gear cover (the small cover at your left foot wile riding) taking note that the cap screw at the bottom has a copper washer that is used as an oil seal, carefully remove the cover (note: there are two guide pins that position this cover on the case and are normally a snug fit but can be removed with out prying ), you can now see two cables coming out of the lower rear part of the front left cover, follow these under middle gear until you get to a connector on each of the cables. Unplug the two connectors (one smaller then the other) and remove both cables from the retaining clip under middle gear. Remove the left case guard and the two phillips head screws from the flywheel cover and remove the round plate (note the oil slinger Position so you can return it in the right way). You are now ready to remove the eleven 5mm cap screws from the flywheel cover and remove it from the engine, As you start to pull the cover away from the engine it will start to come but then give you added resistance this is due to the magnet in the flywheel pulling on the steel in the stator, but a steady straight pull will remove it again with out prying. Inside of the cover there are two shafts and three gears used by the starter, if they fall out or come with the case put them back into position in the engine, also there are two guide pins that are used for positioning. Now that you have the flywheel cover in your hands find some rags to put the cover on as not to scratch it. Now for the hard part of the job the removal of the three phillips head screws in the center of the stator coil and the screw holding the retaining clip for the wires from the stator. These screws have Loctite on them and are tough to brake loose, so use a screw driver that fits tightly in the screws and have a friend hold the case. I have had to use vise grip pliers on the screw driver until I bought a phillips tip for my 3/8 drive. Replace the old stator with the new one and reassemble the engine by reversing the above instructions. Fred J. Vogt 1037

Pre-Owned Venture This article was written by a mechanic in 1988 who worked on all types and brands of motorcycles, but as you read it you will see the general points would be the same for all motorcycles. From a service standpoint, there are a few things to look at if you are considering buying a pre-owned motorcycle. Exterior cleanliness and mileage do not always tell the whole story. Service records are a good indication of the owner's attitude toward maintenance. If the owner takes the time to keep records of service and repair, he is most likely to have it done right and on time. Without the service record, you are just shooting in the dark and must rely on the seller's telling you the complete truth. Unfortunately, most people do not keep the best records. So here are a few things to be aware of: TIRES: Tires are the first things to check. Naturally, the depth of the tread and condition of the side walls are what you look at. Any cracking in the side walls or cuts or splits in the tread will have you buying a new tire in the near future. If the bike has new or nearly new rubber on it, always check the mileage on the speedo, and casually ask the seller how many times he has put new tires on the bike. This will give you an estimate of how much abase the machine has gone through. For instance, a Venture with 14,000 miles which is on its third rear tire but still has the original front tire is telling you the guy is into stoplight drag racing. This could indicate clutch wear as well. CLUTCH: Because the clutch is on the inside of the motor and you can't see it, you must ride the bike to check for slippage. This can be done at a moderate speed in fourth or fifth gear. Just fan the clutch a few times while under acceleration and listen to the motor. If the clutch is slipping, the rpm's will remain high after releasing the clutch lever. If the rpm speeds up and the bike does not, this machine is in need of a new clutch. The other tell tale sign is to remove the oil filler cap and smell the oil. If it smells like burned toast, this could indicate a problem also. OIL: Anyone who has any sense at all will probably change the oil before he tries to sell his bike. Nice clean oil looking at you through the sight window makes the machine a little easier to sell. But be careful even a bike with new oil may still have a little burned toast smell left if you check closely. Also, look at the underside of the filler cap for sludge or anything that may indicate what the rest of the inside might be like. With the motor cold and not running, stick year finger into the filler hole and take a sample of the scum on the inside motor case. A quick peek at the drain plug and oil filter cup will also let you know if the oil was just changed. There is usually a little oil residue left there after a recent oil change. Rear gear oil usually looks pretty clean because there is no internal combustion or clutch wear to dirty it. The drain plug has a magnet on it to collect the worn pieces of metal and such that accumulate there. Even though the gear oil is clean, the magnet will look like a dirty ball of metal fuzz. This is normal. But if any large pieces of shrapnel are found, you should look further to see where they came from. The rear drive shaft splines are impossible to check or see without removing the rear wheel and gear case. If you do buy the bike, it would be a good idea to pay for the hour and a half or so of labor and have it properly greased and inspected. This is for your peace of mind and may save you trouble down the road. A new drive shaft is only about 55.00, but the aggravation of this kind of trouble on the side of the road is not worth pinching pennies over, so if the splines are worn, replace it now. The drive shaft is not a failing part of the Yamaha Venture, but as the bike gets older and gets higher in mileage, a little preventive maintenance is a good idea. Scratches and scrapes can tell you a little about the machine's history. You may not be able to tell how many times ifs been down, or to what extent damage was sustained if the owner had it repaired, but you should check for a few things anyway. All body parts may not be the same color because they don't always fade in the sun exactly the same. But if there is an obvious difference in color, the part could have been replaced, so find out why. It could have been changed for a lot of reasons, but if it was the result of an accident, make sure it was replaced correctly. You may want to check with the repairing dealer to make sure no corners were cut to keep the cost down. A bent sub frame or mounting tab could cause a painted body part to crack later on. If it has been down on the right side, always check the water pump joint between the thermostat case and the pump itself. It's an L-shaped silver plastic piece and is very vulnerable to being damaged by the right case guard. Also on the right, make sure the throttle does not stick or bind up because of damage on the end of the grip from a fall. Ventures don't have a history of things going wrong with the radiator hoses. With that in mind, they have probably never been replaced. Check carefully for cracks and to see if they are still pliable and not brittle or hard. The coolant itself should be clean and free of dirt or sludge, never milky or brown (that color could indicate internal engine trouble). A sheepskin seat cover is nice, but look under it; it could be hiding a real mess. If you are partial to the stock leather cover, make sure it's fit to sit on. Trunk repair on early Ventures is not uncommon. Look at the bottom of the trunk for cracks around the mounts and lock assembly. A fiberglass repair kit is not a lot of money, but you will want to consider it when talking price. Light bulbs are not expensive either, but the instrument bulbs are not very easy to get to and some after market accessories have bulbs that are harder to find in stores. Brake pads are easy to check because they can be seen without removing anything. The rear pads can be viewed by looking between the right saddlebag and rear fender or from under the bag on late models. You may need to use a flashlight to get a good view, and if it has all the Venture accessories you may need to remove the right bag on early models. Once you have spotted the end of the brake pad, you should check to see that there is at the very least one millimeter of brake fiber between the rotor and the metal back side of the pad. One millimeter or less and you should replace the pads before they begin to damage the rotor. The front pads can be seen easily from each side and the same measuring specifications are used. If the Venture has rotor covers and caliper covers, don't worry, just look through the wheel at the pad on the opposite side of the bike to check the wear. The rotors themselves are almost impossible to destroy unless they were bent in an accident or run for a long time with brake pads that were completely worn out, and were metal-to-metal. If the rotors are blue and obviously were very hot at one time, spin the wheel and check to see if they are warped. An improperly adjusted brake pedal or lever will cause pressure to build up and the brake pads will drag on the rotor, causing it to heat up enough to turn color but not necessarily warp the rotor. Brake and clutch fluids should be clean and clear or a light color. If fluids are dark and have a lot of black "gook" in the bottom of the reservoir, they will need to be changed and flushed. This is caused by heat. The clutch fluid will turn dark faster because the clutch slave cylinder is bolted to the engine cases. This heat from the engine is transferred to the clutch fluid and turns it to a dark color as it is slowly cooked. The brake fluid used for the brakes does not get this hot unless the brakes are not adjusted properly, as explained above. it shows a good or even strong reading,. Battery: Because we change batteries about every two years their is not much to see here except to check the cables for corrosion this could mean having to replace them. One thing that's almost always overlooked is the fuse box. It has to be moved to check the battery but most people never look inside. "Why?" you might ask. Well, if there are no spare fuses under the lid, they had to go some where. If this is the case, ask the owner about it and you will probably get some interesting stories about what happened. If the Venture is covered with lights and accessories with all the bulbs burned out, look for bad grounds or dirty bulb sockets or even a loose accessory causing the bulbs to vibrate them selves to death. Electrical problems are something to avoid when buying a used bike. The fact that there is a problem is bad enough, but it's a lot harder for a mechanic to find the problem if you can't give him any of the history of the bike (or the problem) you just purchased. These thoughts on electrical problems may help to keep the sparks from flying after the sale! I hope these last three months have helped you to make the right choice. Of course, these are not all the things to look for. Any whine, grind, squeak or knock should be investigated, and if it's hard to roll or the levers and pedals are stiff or bind up, you should make sure they just need lubrication and not some new parts. Bill Daly

I agree...but it could depend on what extent you modified the air box. TOO much air would require re-jetting. Most people just start with one size larger in that case but to be honest, it's a long and laborious trial and error process. Not something that I would look forward to doing. Don

Yes...that is real close.

What year bike? If it's the second gen...'99 and up...it would be somewhere around a gallon...maybe a bit more. Don

VR-Exhaust Combiner Chamber Repair A.K.A. Fixing the Rattle in The Baffle by Robert Trim My second 1987 Yamaha Venture Royale Exhaust baffle began the 'rattle samba' a short time back. The devil is in the details and a picture is worth a thousand.... well you get the drift. Here's a way I did the surgery 1- You have to drop the entire exhaust system. a- remove mufflers on both sides first. 2 bolts on the rear of the chamber and 2 bolts half way down the mufflers accessible through the passenger's foot rest supports. b- remove the side panels, both sides. c- remove the lower fairing legs, both sides. The lower air dam and plastic cross brace. d- remove allen bolts holding headers to front cylinders. e- loosen 2 bolts in the clamps holding the combiner chamber to the front pipes. f- There are FOUR attach points holding the exhaust collector box to the bike. The TWO front attach are released by removing two 12mm NUTS located on a bracket near the front of the collector box which hold it to the bottom of the engine case. The TWO rear attach points are released by removing two 12mm BOLTS for the exhaust clamps at the bottom end of the rear headers; these are best removed by using a 10" socket extension angled up at a 45 degree angle on either side of the center stand. g- now the fun part... the chamber is not going to come easy. Use a pry bar on either side and work it lose from the rear headers. You will need to work the front headers lose and free so the chamber can drop down. 2- Cut open the chamber. 3- Remove needed baffle screen to get at the baffle. 4- Remove the baffle. 5- Bend opening shut. 6- Have someone weld it shut. It's stainless steel and needs someone with experience. 7- reinstall in reverse order. Make sure you put the chamber in place WITH the front headers attached. An extra set of hands is vital at this point. Here's some of those thousand word photos.... http://www.venturerider.org/baffle/StrippedSideSm.jpg Side plastic, mufflers and front headers off. http://www.venturerider.org/baffle/LowerSectionSm.jpg http://www.venturerider.org/baffle/BafUpperBolts.jpg It's easier to remove the parts with the bike on the center stand until you get to the rear header clamps. Put it on the side stand, use a mirror and drop light on the floor and look up between the frame tube and slightly forward. About the angle of the arrow you see above. The right side is easier to fine than the left so start with that one first. http://www.venturerider.org/baffle/MirrorSm.jpg http://www.venturerider.org/baffle/ScreenIn.jpg http://www.venturerider.org/baffle/CutoffToolSm.jpg The chamber is on it's back and this is 2 steps into the opening process. I used a cutoff tool to cut it open. WARNING... USE safety glasses and leather gloves when using the cutter. The above photo shows the left baffle liner screen already cut out and you can see the down pipe from the rear header connections. http://www.venturerider.org/baffle/BentUp.jpg Bend it open ONLY as far as you need to gain access to the baffle. I needed it 90 degrees open to get the cutoff tool in. If your baffle is flopping fairly freely (very common), open a little and grab with vice grips, twist and pull hard. http://www.venturerider.org/baffle/SideOpen.jpg Here both screens are cut out. http://www.venturerider.org/baffle/ECUbaffleSm.jpg My baffle had it's welds in place but was stress fractured along the bottom. I simply used the cutter to finish the break. http://www.venturerider.org/baffle/BaffleOut.jpg The rest of the bracket is fine so I leave it. It's spot welded top, bottom and in the front. With the chamber now open for air flow, this now exactly like the crossover pipes put between headers of a dual exhaust system on a car. The VR will now breath much easier. http://www.venturerider.org/baffle/DrillEndCut.jpg Carefully fold the flap back and work it as straight and as close to original placement as possible. Use a drill bit to create a termination hole at the end of each cut. Stainless will crack from any sharp point even after it is welded. http://www.venturerider.org/baffle/ReadyForWeldSm.jpg Ready for welding. A good welder will suggest that after welding the seam, a second layer of stainless be added over the seam. This will pretty much assure that the weld will outlast the bike. http://www.venturerider.org/baffle/CrackedBracket.jpg It is important to check for other cracks. This is the chamber mounting bracket on the top of the chamber. I did not see this until I gave it a good cleaning. This is a common problem. Get it welded as well. http://www.venturerider.org/baffle/BigWeld.jpg Big seam welded to perfection by the students at Salt Lake Community College's welding program. Good people to know. http://www.venturerider.org/baffle/BracketWeld.jpg Bracket crack all fixed. http://www.venturerider.org/baffle/ChamberReady.jpg Ready to go back in place. It's better to approach this from the right side of the bike. Slip the chamber back on the rear header down pipes and thread the bracket bolts on a few turns. Install the front headers into the chamber front inlets. This is a process of seating the pipes into the chamber and, at the same time, making sure the front header seats align flush. Soon as you get it dialed in, put the alan nuts on the front headers to hold them in place. Tighten the chamber bracket nuts. Then tighten the clamps to the front headers, then the header-to-head alan nuts. These are kind of a bear because there is a frame cross brace just 'almost' out of the way. You need a 5/16" longer length alan wrench to get it started. Install the mufflers. Replace the plastic parts and you're good to go. One additional tweak it to drill out the 2 baffles in the mufflers. You'll need a 1/2" drill bit welded to an 18" rod. Punch a few holes in the baffle on each end of the muffler for more air flow. Hope this helps if you need to do baffle surgery.

I have the Clearview shield with vents. Love it. Some riders also remove the lower wind deflectors in the summer.

Written by Fred Vogt, submitted by HDHTR. Thanks. To start remove the engine guard on the left side. 1.Remove the shifter and peg or floorboards. 2.Remove the oil 3.Remove mid-gear cover, (the case cover on the left to the rear) this will drain more oil and free the wiring to be removed. 4. Now remove the left front cover. NOTE: this cover is hard to remove because of the magnetic pull on the stator. Note: the position of the shifter shaft as you remove the cover. 5.Place the cover on a suitable work aria so we don’t scare the case. 6.Remove the retainer for the wiring. Remove the retaining ring [This is where you need the Impact Driver] Reverse the above steps to install Thanks to Fred Vogt. He has a picture for everything!!

Mic-Mutes Installation Mic-Mutes is a product designed and marketed by VentureRider member Bill Morphy. This is a fantastic product and one of the best things I have done to my audio system. The one thing I have always disliked about the intercom system on the RSV is the fact that the mic is always on. In order to communicate with my wife, I need to set the IC volume on at LEAST 14 and that is borderline if you are in a noisy area or running at freeway speeds. Any higher though and the wind noise picked up by the mics is really a bother, not to mention that it severely degrades the music quality. Mic-Mutes solves this problem with a totally integrated system which allows you to toggle the mics on and off by using the push to talk buttons for the CB radio. Operation is very simple...just press and release either button (front or rear) to turn both mics on. To turn them off, just press and release either button again. To use the CB...simply toggle the mics on and then press to talk as you normally would. After using this system, I can honestly say that no RSV should be without it. This is a quality product at a fair price and not difficult to install. The hardest part of the installation is stripping the bike down and getting it ready. This is not difficult but a bit time consuming. You will need to split the fairing, remove the seat, remove the gas tank. The Mic-Mutes comes with a small black module that will need to be placed either under the seat or near the battery area. I placed the module just behind the battery. Look carefully and you'll see it in this picture. http://www.venturerider.org/micmute/pic10.jpg The wiring is pretty simple and mostly plug and play. Under the rear seat, on the left side, you will see a 5 pin din connector. Simply unplug the connector and plug one of the included headset adapters in line with the separated plugs. http://www.venturerider.org/micmute/pic1.jpg Now you will do the same thing with the 5 pin din connector inside the fairing. There are 5 of these connectors inside the fairing, you want the one that is marked with the red tape. Simply unplug that connector and plug the other headset adapter in line as you did on the rear. http://www.venturerider.org/micmute/pic2.jpg Integrated into each headset adapter, you will see the telephone type jacks. There are two control module cables that come out of the black module. You will want to run the long one to the front jack and the short one to the rear jack. The best way to run the cable is along with the other wiring going to the front of the bike. As you can see in the following picture, there is a guard over the top of the wire way that you will want to remove to run the wires to the front. http://www.venturerider.org/micmute/pic3.jpg After the wires are run, just plug them into the jacks. http://www.venturerider.org/micmute/pic4.jpg http://www.venturerider.org/micmute/pic5.jpg Now that the headset adapters are installed and connected to the control cable, we have to connect the module to the passengers audio controller. This too is done under the rear seat. On the right side of the bike, near the trunk, is a 6-pin connector. Mic-Mutes supplies a tap slice connector to make an easy splice to this wire but I prefer soldered connections. Whichever way you decide to do it, you want to splice the yellow wire from the Mic-Mutes module to the green wire of the bikes connector. http://www.venturerider.org/micmute/pic6.jpg The next picture shows my connection soldered. Then just tape it up well and this part is done. http://www.venturerider.org/micmute/pic7.jpg The last step is to connect the power to the module. Most of you know that there is an unused power circuit under the seats of these bikes. It is located on the left side of the battery on the left side of the bike. It is simply two wires with a white connector which is not connected to anything. This is the easiest place to connect the power to the Mic-Mutes module. Again, Mic-Mutes supplies tap splice connectors for this splice but I chose to just cut the factory white connector off and use butt splices to connect the power. Very simple. http://www.venturerider.org/micmute/pic8.jpg That's it folks. Just put everything back together and test. Mine worked perfectly and does exactly what it is advertised to do. Try it, you will like it. For more information or to order, check it out at http://mic-mutes.com/

Submitted by bbstacker: ok, actually it was easier than I thought it would be, if you just jack up the front of the bike so the wheel is off the ground it is easier. first the front half of the fairing comes off, you have the small chrome strip on top with 2 screws, then you have 7 more for the front half of the fairing, 6 on the back and 1 under the headlight, then the windshield, 8 small screws holding that on. Once you have the front half of the fairing off, you may have to unplug just a few of the cables, I did the bigger round ones, because once you take out 2 nuts that hidden behind all the cables, once you get those off, you can pull the other half of the fairing away from the triple tree. Now you need to make sure you have a good pad laying across your tank for your handle bars to rest on. There 2 allen bolts on the front side of the triple that hold the bracket on for the fairing, take off the handle bars, then the big nut and washer holding the top of the triple tree. Just loosen the 4 bolts (2 on each side)used to clap the top part of the triple tree to the forks, take the top part off, you then can slide the 2 top fork covers off, there will be a big washer and rubber gasket inside. Before you loosen the 4 (2 on each side) bolts on the bottom part of the triple tree, make sure you mark where the forks are set, so you can measure up 1 inch from that mark down to top side of the bottom of the triple tree,once all the bolts are loose the forks will probably slide on you. All you have to do is either slide the forks up or down to get your 1 inch, lock one side then measure and lock the other side, put the covers back on making sure you put the washer and rubber gasket in correctly, put the top of the triple tree back on,then the washer and nut, tighten that then reinstall the 2 allen bolts, everything is just in reverse putting it back together. All this may sound complicated but trust me it is not, it's about a two hour job, that is unless you get it back together and forget to put the two forks covers back on like I did and have to take it apart again. I didn't take any pictures, I should have. As far as the kickstand, no problem, bike still leans on it the same just shorter, I will say the bike comes up on center way easier also. If you find you don't like it it's easy to change it back, myself, no way will I change it back. I have 40 lbs of air in the shock, I ride 2up and pull a trailer, (one that I made)and no the pipes don't drag. Hope this explains it well enough, if not send me an email and I'll try and do a better job. I would find a hard time believing you won't like the new ride. Good luck, any questions be sure to email me, I've been riding for over 40 years and do most of my own maintenance and all of my own mods. Hey I know this isn't for everyone, but that's what choices are all about. Take care and ride safe. Picture courtesy of Rosebud.

I'll continue using Mobil 1 MOTORCYCLE SPECIFIC. Thank you...thank you very much.

Gas Tank Removal Removing the gas tank on the RSV or the Royal Star Tour deluxe is very simple. The question does come up here from time to time though so here are some simple step by step instructions. RSTD may vary slightly. http://www.venturerider.org/gastank/tank1%20(Small).jpg Step 1: Remove the cowling around the gas cap. http://www.venturerider.org/gastank/tank2%20(Small).jpg Step 2: Use a pair of pliars to squeeze the tabs to unplug connector from metal tab. http://www.venturerider.org/gastank/tank3%20(Small).jpg Step 3: Unplug the connector. http://www.venturerider.org/gastank/tank4%20(Small).jpg Step 4: Remove the vent hose. http://www.venturerider.org/gastank/tank5%20(Small).jpg Step 5: Remove single bolt on rear tang of tank. http://www.venturerider.org/gastank/tank6%20(Small).jpg Step 6: Remove push pins that hold bib in place. http://www.venturerider.org/gastank/tank7%20(Small).jpg Step 7: Rubber covers just pull off front mounts. Remove covers and then allen head screws. http://www.venturerider.org/gastank/tank8%20(Small).jpg Step 8: Turn fuel petcock to "OFF" position and them remove gas line. http://www.venturerider.org/gastank/tank9%20(Small).jpg Step 9: Simply lift tank off and set it aside. You are done.

Pictures are working. What problem are you having?

VentureRider.Org was started on July 21st, 2004. The object of this site is very simple. To bring together folks who enjoy friendly discussion of the Yamaha Venture, Venture Royale, Royal Star Venture and Royal Star motorcycles. What started as a very small group of owners has become the most active site on the Internet dedicated to these bikes. Though most of us share a passion for these particular bikes, we welcome all riders who enjoy the company of a friendly community of riders who have a desire to lend a hand when needed, share a cold drink when possible and simply enjoy the company of other riders. On August 15th 2006 there was a major server crash and we lost two years worth of messages and member information. At that time, we had over 3600 folks registered here. After a total rebuild of the site, the numbers are still coming back and the great technical information lost is being reposted as we continue on. This is a very informal group. We don't feel the need for a lot of club officers, rules, regulations. We do have some basic guidelines for our organization though. These are guidelines that the majority of the members reached a consensus on long ago. Edited by V7Goose: The original intent of the founding members was that this site is, always has been and always will be free to all. Don Nelson, Freebird, spends almost unimaginable time and effort personally creating and maintaining this site for the benefit of all members, and for five years he personally covered 100% of the costs for software, hosting, bandwidth, etc. A few members donated to Don in an effort to help out, but they were only a small percentage of the members here. In 2009, Don and his family were beset by some unexpected health issues and large medical expenses that forced him to make some hard decisions about continuing to spend his own money on this site. As a result, the members here were quite vocal that we needed to implement some form of membership fee so that those of us who enjoy this site would all begin to share in the cost. At this time, the forums are open to all to read but registration is required for posting a new message or replying to an existing message. Registration is just $12/year, is easy to do and helps to protect us against spam. Just as important is the fact that this site is PG rated. There are a lot of sites on the Internet where people can look at pornographic materials, use vulgar language, etc. We do not need that here. By keeping this site PG rated we are able to reach a wide range of people. Please respect this simple guideline when posting here. Although we do not have many rules, keeping the PG rating in all things would be Rule #1. We have also tried to keep political discussions to a minimum here. Many people have very strong political opinions, including me. Again, there are a lot of places on the Internet to discuss politics and I've never seen any good from mixing politics with motorcycle discussion. What starts off as a rational discussion always seems to turn into a heated debate and it usually gets personal before it ends. All of the same things can be said for religious discussions. Rule #2 would be that politics and religion are two subjects that will not be tolerated. The last rule, Rule #3, is that all discussions need to remain civil. That is not to say that we do not expect disagreements, and even some "lively" discussions where it is clear that opinions are held strongly by some individuals. It does mean that personal attacks and insults are not acceptable. Our primary focus here is motorcycles, motorcycle touring, technical discussion, etc. This site would get pretty boring though if no other discussion was allowed. We have become much more than a website here. We have become friends and many of us have met in person as well as here on the site. It was the motorcycles that brought us together but it's the friendships that keep us together. As in face to face meetings, conversations other than motorcycles will often come up. We have specific areas for just that type of discussion and we encourage folks to please try to post in the appropriate areas. If a mistake is made and something is posted in the wrong area...it's no big deal...we will either overlook it or move it. The main thing folks is that this site should be not only helpful but fun as well. I hope that we all remember that first and foremost, we are friends. This is the kindest and most considerate bunch of folks I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. There are no cliques here and no secret groups within our group. If you are new here, simply introduce yourself and you will be warmly welcomed.

If you would like larger sizes of the drawings, download the attached zipped files. Don

I have small VentureRider patches available for anybody who is interested. Price is $3.00 each and that includes shipping to the USA and Canada. Payment can made via PayPal to: PayPal to: dnelson@venturerider.org These are oval and about 3 1/2" wide and 2 3/4" tall.

If you have not had the opportunity to check out Roadrunner Magazine, you don't know what you are missing. It is a publication that is truly dedicated to motorcycle touring with fantastic photography and a great ride map in each issue. They also over VentureRider members a discount so check them out. http://www.rrmotorcycling.com/ Club discount code - vencr5

We appreciate the vendors who offer us discounts. These vendors differ from our Gold Star and Silver Star vendors in that they do not officially support nor link back to the VenturerRider site. They are not contributors to our contests and rallies. The decision to offer us a discount is a business decision. It is a win-win situation. We certainly appreciate these vendors but encourage our members to first try and support our Silver Star and Gold Star contributing vendors. If you are a vendor who wishes to be listed in this section, please contact me at dnelson@venturerider.org with your proposal.

Noooooo....not my bike. I still have my '99. I wish I would remember who sent this to me so that I could give the proper credit.

Yes...they should work.

A big thanks to Cougar for his excellent work on this article. ETCHING the 6 gal RSV tank First of all this Job Sucks. I had purchased my 2K mm RSV last year with only 5k on it. You would think that the tank would not be rusty inside of it. (WRONG) The Previous Owner apparently never topped his tank off during our very cold winters in Iowa! That was one thing that I always did on my past bikes and never had a problem with RUST! So this is how I went about doing this project if you ever decide or have to do it. Here is a picture of my first Filter change about 4 months Before the ETCH Process http://www.venturerider.org/kreem/thumbnails/1.jpg http://www.venturerider.org/kreem/thumbnails/2.jpg http://www.venturerider.org/kreem/thumbnails/3.jpg http://www.venturerider.org/kreem/thumbnails/4.jpg http://www.venturerider.org/kreem/thumbnails/5.jpg #1- Drained all of the fuel #2- Remove tank #3- I brought the tank down to my local car wash put my Quarters in and flushed the tank out for about 5 Min's. BOY did a lot of rust pour out then! I figured that I had Over a full cup of RUST in my tank from the start. #4- Remove tank and place it on a towel up-side down #5- Remove the Sender (most likely it will be rusty) http://www.venturerider.org/kreem/thumbnails/6.jpg Mine was always reading (NOT FULL) every time I filled it up.... should have been my first sign! So I order a new one at Yamaha the part # is 4XY-85752-00 and the cost is around $56.00 . #6- Take that old sending unit and HACK it up! with a dermal and a pair of cutters http://www.venturerider.org/kreem/thumbnails/7.jpg what you want to end up with is this http://www.venturerider.org/kreem/thumbnails/8.jpg this will be your first (PLUG) Then you will place that part (the old sender) over the hole http://www.venturerider.org/kreem/thumbnails/9.jpg and bolt it on! #7- Now remove the fuel pet-cock and make a plate and bolt that on with the same screws that hold the pet-cock on. Use some gasket sealer or make a rubber gasket.. http://www.venturerider.org/kreem/thumbnails/10.jpg http://www.venturerider.org/kreem/thumbnails/11.jpg NOTE::: DO NOT USE DUCT-TAPE (it will NOT work) Now that all the EASY stuff is done! http://www.venturerider.org/kreem/thumbnails/12.jpg OK the FUN PART! , I used product called KREEM You will probably hear horror story's about the product , but I have always had pretty good luck with it.. Its far better then paying $1200 for a new tank. or I guess you could eBay one for about $125 and have it painted. What I did was WAX the tank real well, then I put a good amount of VASELINE all over the tank.. this will save your paint job. as it worked excellent for my project! (when all done with the project I went back to the car wash and washed the VASELINE all off with the high power soap and water) THE RSV Tank took TWO bottles of KREEM. My results are awesome and the Kreem Stuck Real well I also bought a minnow battery power pump at Wally-World for about 6 bucks and had the air line in the tank for about 3 days or so. Another NOTE: after I took off the Plastic and the Bib. there was also RUST around the top part of the tank where stuff bolts onto, I used some Auto Touch-Up Paint to stop the rust after a I cleaned those parts off to be rust free again. the bib and plastic Cover will cover the mismatched color anyways. ---------- these are some other people that have done this ----- Coating Your Gas Tank Interior: The kit is a 3 solution (bottles) program. Before you start, first degrease the tank with your own dish washing soap. I used regular liquid dish soap, then did it again with Simple Green. You would be amazed at the amount of rust and crap I got out of the tank just by doing this. This is a good time to drill out the breather hole in the tank neck. With all the gas fumes gone, I increased that little hole to almost ¼ inch and added another one, opposite, on the other side. This was discussed here many times. Now the hard part is to seal up the tank for the acid bath. These chemicals are NOT paint friendly and you have to be extremely careful using them. You cannot pour them in and out without getting some on the tank. The tank has to be covered with plastic & plastic tape to prevent contact. The pickup tube hole is easily plugged by taking a small piece of metal and drilling a couple of holes to line up with the ones in the tank. A rubber gasket under the metal plate does the trick. The hard one is the tank filler hole. I tried a few different methods with not great results. I even used an automotive expansion plug in the hole. Everything leaked. Finally, I took a double layer of heavy plastic bag and pushed in into the hole. Then I forced the gas cap in while holding the key open and slid it into position, released the key and wiggled the cap it to set the locking prongs. That worked. I was ready to start the kit. The first part is an acid bath that I kept in for about 24 hours with agitation every once in a while. Tilting it this way and that got the solution to all interior parts. There was still rust in the filler hole area, so I used an old toothbrush to get that clean. Dumping this out revealed a lot more gunk. This stuff must have grown in there because I was very careful with what went into that tank. A good rinsing out and draining was next. There was still a lot of water sloshing around in the tank even after through draining from both holes. I used an aspirator and some oxygen tubing to suck the rest of the water out. The next bottle is a conditioner/water remover. This was sloshed all around the tank to absorb the excess water and coat it with solvent to receive the tank coating. A couple of minutes of this and it was dumped and aspirated out. Finally, the white paint like, Kreem coating was dumped in the tank, and the tank sealed. The tank was rolled every direction possible to get this stuff all over in insides. The tank was opened up and aired per the instructions and then re-agitated for another coat. The Kreem was dumped back into it’s original container (about half came out). There was still some liquid inside and the tank was rolled around every hour and placed in a different position so the coating wouldn't puddle in one place. After a day of drying, this process of coating the tank with the white liquid was done a second time. After a good drying, the holes can be cleaned out and the petcock reinstalled. I have a nice clean white interior now. These tanks are bare metal. The only manufactures that coat their tanks are Harley and BMW. Go figure. Chuck C. ----- MORE----- I have used Kreem w/ v good success, but as with most things in life, the preparation is the most important part. Four important fine points to consider: #1 - Tank preparation: The inside of the tank should be completely free and clear of all loose particulate (i.e rust, dirt and sludge). Even more importantly, it must be totally devoid of any and all hydrophobic (oily) substances, including any and all traces of gasoline, oil and grease. To achieve this, I drop two 8" lengths of medium size linked chain into the tank, then pour a small bottle of liquid degreaser full strength in and slosh vigorously with all the openings capped off. Do this good and long, and don't forget to invert the tank and get all of the surfaces degreased up around the filler neck, as well as the very top of the inside of the tank. Next, add about 1/2 gallon of the hottest water you can get, and add this to the degreaser and the chains still in the tank (don't pour out the degreaser yet... leave it in there) and slosh it around again. The degreaser will emulsify (turn milky white) and hold all of the oils in suspension... this is a good thing. After you are quite certain that you've degreased all surfaces... give it one more slosh just for good luck. Then, pour out the entire mixture and fish out the two chains. After that, pour about a TBSP of hand dishwasher detergent and about a gallon of very hot water into the tank and slosh thoroughly (note: you can use automatic dishwasher detergent here, but as it is formulated to be very low sudsing, it is more difficult to determine when all of the residue has been removed via rinsing.) If you degreased properly in the last step, this wash should produce mongo volumes of suds... also a good thing, as suds are an indication (in this case) that the oily residues (read gasoline) have been successfully removed. Follow by as many cold water rinses as necessary to remove all traces of detergent. Only now are you ready to phosphate etch the metal in the tank with Kreem kit bottle #1 (Phosphoric acid). Although the directions call for a specific quantity of hot water to be added to the quantity of acid provided, IMO it is better to have a FULL tank of etching solution than to have the exact proportion of acid to water. In the case of an XS650 tank, this amounts to adding perhaps 3.75 gallons of HOT water (3.25 for early tanks) to the acid, as opposed to 2.5 gallons, which (I believe) is the quantity specified in the directions. Again, as in the degreasing step, it is vitally important to have the etching/phosphating solution come in intimate contact with ALL inside surfaces of the tank, including up and around the filler neck. Seal all the tank openings and slosh that bad boy around, but after you're through sloshing, don't forget to slightly crack open the stopper on the filler neck, or the hydrogen gas evolved from the chemical process will blow it out of the hole and across the room, probably splattering phosphoric acid solution on your nice new paint job (don't ask). #2 - Dewatering: The small bottle of solvent (Kreem kit bottle #2) is MEK (a close cousin to acetone) and is a very good water remover. After you have thoroughly rinsed the phosphate solution out of the tank, it is time to get things dried up and ready for the polymer coating step. Actually, "Dry" may be a bad word to use here, because the intention is NOT to get the inside of the tank dry from all liquid residue, but rather only to get all WATER residue out. The inside of the tank will still be wet when you are done with this step, but it will be wet with MEK, which is perfectly fine, because that is the same solvent which is used in the polymer to keep it dissolved. Caution: do not dawdle after using the dewatering solvent. IMMEDIATELY go on to the polymer coating step. If you wait too long before you go to the next step, you may "flash rust" the inside of the tank, which will require starting over. If the inside surface of the tank begins to physically dry out, you're taking too long and are in danger of forming flash rust. Get you ass movin' boy! #3 - Coating: Conservatively speaking, there is enough polymer in bottle #3 to do AT LEAST two (probably three) XS650 tanks. What this means is that, unless you have two or three tanks prepped all at once, you are going to not use all of the polymer provided in the kit. You must remove the excess polymer from the tank that you are working on. Follow the instruction very carefully here, rolling the tank around for a few minutes, then letting it set on one side, followed by rolling around again and letting it set on another side, repeating until you are secure in the fact that all interior surfaces have been thoroughly coated. After that, you MUST pour out any remaining polymer, or you will have a puddling problem. Even after you pour out the excess, you must continue the process of rolling the tank and then letting it set on alternating sides, while the remainder of the polymer still in the tank forms a non-moving film. #4 - Drying/curing time: Probably the one most crucial mistake leading to premature failure of Kreem coatings (after improper degreasing) is insufficient drying or curing time before putting the tank back into service. After you are satisfied that the majority of the polymer in the tank has skinned over, follow this procedure: Remove all stoppers from all openings, both top and bottom (filler & petcock holes). Turn the tank upside down (preferably on a hot surface like your black asphalt driveway at noon in July (January if you're in Oz) and block it in place so the filler neck is facing vertically straight down. Then, rig up a small air pump and hose and stick the hose into the tank from the underside through the filler opening, being careful not to allow the hose to touch the inside surfaces. An air pump from a fish tank fits this bill perfectly. Turn on the pump and let the forced air dispel the vapors from inside the tank, which will aide drying and curing. After a few hours, you will no longer be able to smell vapors coming from the tank. It is then safe to move the tank, but DO NOT use the tank yet. Move the whole rig up into your hot, oven-like attic and allow the air pump to run for another two days minimum, with the hose still in the tank. One day is probably enough, which is why I always do it for about a week just to be sure. It pays to watch the weather and plan to Kreem the tank on a day that is going to be sunny, hot and dry, if at all possible. If you add the above tips to the (already pretty good) instructions included with the three part Kreem kit, you will end up with a well sealed, carefree fuel tank for many years to come. Good luck! Bill in Yardley, PA I really hope nobody has to go through this Yucky Job,. but at least now some will have some idea of what will take place if ever you need to do this job! Jeff

Printed with the permission of Mark Lawrence For a LOT of other good information, please visit his site at: California Scientific http://www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/FilterXRef.html

Repairing Broken Windshield Trim Tabs The great things about this forum is the fantastic ideas that we get from each other. This one is so good and so easy that I sure would like to take credit for it but the fact is, the idea came from expanding on a post made by SteveO where he used these type clips to take the slack out of the holes that the tabs actually snap into. His post gave me an idea for repairing the tabs that were actually already broken. The tabs on the back of the plastic chrome windshield trip break very easily. Most people who have ever had the piece off, have broken at least one of them. The following is an easy way to repair them to better than new condition. I had a couple of them broken off and this is so much better and stronger, I actually broke the other two off and did this on all of them. Here is a picture of one of the broken tabs. At most auto parts stores, you will find these clips. They were called "Speed Nuts" at Autozone and I believe these were size 14. It was the smallest ones that they had. Here is what they look like when you take them out of the package. Now...as the top picture shows, there is a center "bar" or "Support" in the center of what is left of the broken tab. In order to slide the "speed nut" over the broken support, you will need to cut the center out of the back of the clip. Also, because the clip is just slightly too wide, you'll have to shave just a bit off each side of the back side of the clip that you just cut the center out of. I used a Dremel tool with a thin cutting disk to do both. Here is what you end up with. Now, simply slide the clip over the broken support and you have a brand new clip that fits right into the slot where it should. It fits pretty tight but just to be sure, I filled the grooves with two part epoxy. They aren't going anywhere.

Thanks to Cougar for this excellent write-up FYI- Picture's of Rear Tire Removal Well, With all the searches and Folks Changing out there REAR TIRE. I learned A Lot today from you guys! And I said to myself ** SELF ? ** why not try this and takes some pics for other folks? Ok, here go's... I did what most of you said ! I did remove the Bags Because I had a hard time getting that little part out for my new Bag Rails. So they were off and Thats when the light went off and figured I have these Brand new Michelin Commanders laying around so I went to work on this project today.. With a Few emails to Mr. FreeBird! I got the Job Done! (thanks) Then I went Ahead and removed Both Mufflers (tell ya why in a bit) http://www.venturerider.org/wheel/thumbnails/attachment_029.jpghttp://www.venturerider.org/wheel/thumbnails/attachment_007.jpghttp://www.venturerider.org/wheel/thumbnails/attachment_025.jpg Then I Used a 1 1/16" Socket and took the main bolt off http://www.venturerider.org/wheel/thumbnails/attachment_019.jpg Then Remove the Rear Brake Caliber and place it on the passenger foot rest. This is also a good time to loosen the pinch bolt on the right side. The axle will NOT slide out if you don't. http://www.venturerider.org/wheel/thumbnails/attachment_014.jpg Then undo the bolt for that swing arm thingy. http://www.venturerider.org/wheel/thumbnails/attachment_011.jpg Now this is were I was glad I did remove the Left side bag and Muffler Cuz I could not for the life of me get that darn MAIN AXLE BOLT out with out having to take my socket extension and hammer it out.. http://www.venturerider.org/wheel/thumbnails/attachment_003.jpghttp://www.venturerider.org/wheel/thumbnails/attachment_010.jpg Here she comes! http://www.venturerider.org/wheel/thumbnails/attachment_005.jpg KEEP IN MIND THAT YOU PUT THIS WASHER BACK IN THE RIGHT ORDER WHEN PUTTING BACK TOGETHER! http://www.venturerider.org/wheel/thumbnails/attachment_008.jpg After the Shaft gets about half way is when I could pull the rest of they way on my own. http://www.venturerider.org/wheel/thumbnails/attachment_005.jpg http://www.venturerider.org/wheel/thumbnails/attachment_027.jpg Note: My bike was on a Lorin Lift. So What I did was have that rear tire about a half inch off the ground when I pulled that Axle. (worked great) http://www.venturerider.org/wheel/thumbnails/attachment_018.jpg Then I lifted just a bit more and pulled from the right side until the tire kinda fell on its own. http://www.venturerider.org/wheel/thumbnails/attachment_016.jpg Now the FUN PART! I just kept lifting http://www.venturerider.org/wheel/thumbnails/attachment_024.jpg MORE http://www.venturerider.org/wheel/thumbnails/attachment_026.jpg AND MORE http://www.venturerider.org/wheel/thumbnails/attachment_015.jpg AND MORE http://www.venturerider.org/wheel/thumbnails/attachment_017.jpg Man it was getting Scary! sheesh! http://www.venturerider.org/wheel/thumbnails/attachment_021.jpg Even with more room left the lift on my jack the tire Came right out! *VBS* PLOP! http://www.venturerider.org/wheel/thumbnails/attachment_004.jpg http://www.venturerider.org/wheel/thumbnails/attachment.jpg Put back together in reverse order ~S~ I also did this as well. Took the main rear Diff off and there was no grease on the Splines. http://www.venturerider.org/wheel/thumbnails/attachment_013.jpghttp://www.venturerider.org/wheel/thumbnails/attachment_020.jpg http://www.venturerider.org/wheel/thumbnails/attachment_002.jpghttp://www.venturerider.org/wheel/thumbnails/attachment_022.jpg http://www.venturerider.org/wheel/thumbnails/attachment_009.jpghttp://www.venturerider.org/wheel/thumbnails/attachment_012.jpg http://www.venturerider.org/wheel/thumbnails/attachment_028.jpghttp://www.venturerider.org/wheel/thumbnails/attachment_006.jpg This is what my Rear Brake Pads look like at 5,100 miles. http://www.venturerider.org/wheel/thumbnails/attachment_023.jpg then I did the Front! (easy) And the lift kept the bike very stable even after the front Tire was removed.. I am impressed with the lift. When my tires get done being Mounted and Balanced I will go into the HUB and get that all greased up as well! (this was very simple after I got it all figured out and the help from reading what you Pro's had to say. Its just sometimes I need to SEE a picture to make me understand more *LOL* I hope this will help folks if needed.. I know I sure could have used something like this. ( this is on a 2K MM with 5,100 miles on her) Jeff P.S. PLEASE add any comments in case I made a mistake ! Thanks! NOTE: this Job could be done in 30 Min's with Pictures *LOL*file:///C:/VentureRider/wheel/showthread.php_files/rasberry.gif PLEASE READ ! OTHER NOTE'S BY, Denden, When you're re-assembling it... After you put the driveshaft in, put the differential on but leave the 4 nuts only finger tight. Then install the wheel and axle. Torque the axle nut to 110 ft/lbs. After the axel is torqued, THEN tighten up the 4 nuts on the differential. John Drummond, "Wrenchman" When you go to install the drive shaft a small diameter wire like an old antenna mast works great for holding the yoke up so you can slid the driveshaft in. Once the shaft makes contact with the yoke you can pull the wire out, and slid the shaft in to the yoke. This might take a try or two to get it in but works pretty well for lining up the yoke. Buz Rutan, "Naturbar" The author of the article says "I could not for the life of me get that darn MAIN AXLE BOLT out with out having to take my socket extension and hammer it out.." here is my addendum: On my 07 RSMTD - at the end of the axle shaft there is an place to use an Allen Head wrench - if you will turn it counterclockwise (loosen it) the axle shaft comes right out with no hammering (clockwise - or tightening to replace shaft)- also if you have slight pressure on the wheel assembly (i.e. tire resting on floor)while removing the axle it makes it much easier to remove.