skydoc_17

Hey Steve, WELCOME to the Forum! My first ever First Gen. was an 86'VR, Boy did I love that bike! (By the way Tom, Thanks for the kind words!) Because of my "Little Shop By The Creek" here in Pennsylvania, I buy direct from Yamaha at a "Jobber" Discount. I share that discount with the Forum Members. I am more than happy to quote you pricing on ANY item that Yamaha offers. If my price is better, I am happy to order parts for you. If you find a better price, then "Nothing Lost"! Because you are planning to spend some serious money on rebuild kits for your calipers, this is an excellent time to consider the R1/R6 front brake upgrade, and possibly De-Linking the front and rear brakes. I can steer you in the right direction on either of these projects, or just help you get lower cost rebuild kits. It would be my pleasure to help you with this project, Steve! (And Thanks again Tom!) Earl

Hey Ron, This is a VERY Good Question! I am more than Happy to adjust the length of the Brake and Clutch Lines to accommodate Risers or Handle Bar Changes! Feel free to PM me with ANY adjustments you would like to make to one of my Line Sets! Earl.

When talking with both Mark and Glen, I could tell that both of these owners were concerned about the "Future" of their bikes! In many cases, this would have been the "End of the Line" for these First Gens. When it happened to me, I was "Kicking Myself" for spending good money on a bike that turned out to have a major electrical problem. My own 87'VR almost became a parts bike as a result of the Fuse Box Issue. As luck would have it, I didn't give up on the Old Girl, and neither did Mark or Glen. As I have said MANY Times, I applaud ANY member that has the courage to keep their bike on the road, and I try to help everyone that has that courage. My hat is off to Mark, Glen, and of course Marcarl for his generous help in keeping these wonderful machines on the road! There are very few places on the internet, (Or in real life actually) where a group of people from all walks of life come together as a "Family" to share their stories and their "Fixes" to keep their bikes running. I am sincerely Proud to be a part of this Family, and am Honored to share my knowledge of these bikes with the other Forum Members. I have NEVER been much of a "Joiner" when it comes to being a part of a group. The "Magic" that Don Nelson has woven here has transcended my ability to resist the temptation to be a part of this group! Believe me when I say that I have tried to NOT click on the Forum every single day to get my "Fix" of the latest updates on who went where, who repaired what, and even what other bikes the Forum Members are buying and riding. As it is with my own "Family", I want to KNOW that everyone is safe, happy and able continue this passion that we all share, THE RIDING OF OUR MOTORCYCLES! No matter what you ride! Thank you again Mark and Glen, for reminding ME of just how lucky I am! To be able to be part of something MUCH greater than any single one of us! I wish that EVERYONE had a group of people that they could count on as much as I have been able to count on the members of this group! That remains to be my hope for the future. Even my wife Jean said "Great Job"! She was VERY impressed that you saved your bikes Mark and Glen! (Yep!, She's a keeper!) Earl.

Saddlebum is correct! When you screw a steel fastener into an Aluminum Case, the expansion/contraction of the steel is different than the Aluminum. I personally use a touch of Anti-Seize on the threads of the bolt to insure that the bolt can be removed later on. I believe that the cartridge filter is of a much better quality than a "Spin On" filter. Out of all of the Maintenance items on our Ventures, this filter will punish you the most if you get "Heavy Handed" during the install. FWIW, I have had really good luck drilling the head off of the bolt, removing the canister, and vice gripping the remaining remnant of the bolt out. Here again, if you get careless with the drill bit, (I always center drill the pilot hole first) you will not only destroy the bolt head, but also the canister as well. But there are NO special tools needed using this method. My brother is an electrical genius, but you can't let that boy tighten ANYTHING on a mechanical assembly! He has the "Paws" of a bear, and unless you NEVER want that fastener to come off again, I usually do the final assembly work, and leave the "Heavy Lifting" to him! Just sayin'. Earl.

This is GREAT news, Don! We lost one of our two Bichons last year. (The female) She had Diabetes, which up until then I didn't know a dog could get. Fortunately, my wife Jean is a retired nurse and was able to give her the Insulin shots. We have not fully recovered from the loss, so I am VERY glad that everything turned out OK with your Fur Baby! Coming from a farm/wildlife background I never thought I would be so attached to an animal. NEVER! When our male Bichon passes, I am not sure what the future holds for my wife and I as far as animals are concerned. It was as bad as losing a child! I still find my wife weeping from time to time because of a picture, toy or feeding dish left from our female dog. Very Glad that this all worked out Don, Earl and Jean.

WITH THE SECOND GENS. BEING OUT OF PRODUCTION SINCE 2013, THIS MEANS THAT THERE COULD BE SECOND GENS. OUT THERE WITH BRAKE AND CLUTCH LINES THAT ARE 24 YEARS OLD! IN AN EFFORT TO KEEP THESE BIKES SAFELY ON THE ROAD, I HAVE CREATED A REPLACEMENT BRAIDED S.S. LINE TO REPLACE EVERY BRAKE AND CLUTCH LINE ON YOUR MOTORCYCLE. THIS S.S. LINE SET IS A DIRECT BOLT ON REPLACEMENT, THAT REQUIRES NO MODIFICATIONS TO THE BRAKE OR CLUTCH MASTER CYLINDERS OR THE CLUTCH SLAVE CYLINDER OR BRAKE CALIPERS! IN THE PIC BELOW THE LINES ARE MARKED “A” THRU “E”. LINE A- LOWER RIGHT AND LEFT FRONT BRAKE CALIPER LINE. LINE B- REAR BRAKE CALIPER LINE. LINE C- UPPER BRAKE MASTER CYLINDER LINE. LINE D- UPPER CLUTCH MASTER CYLINDER LINE. LINE E- LOWER CLUTCH SLAVE CYLINDER LINE. THE COST FOR THIS S.S. LINE SET IS $250.00 WITH FREE SHIPPING IN THE LOWER 48 STATES. OUT OF THE COUNTRY SHIPPING WOULD BE ACTUAL SHIPPING COSTS. I DON’T MARK UP SHIPPING COSTS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL FORUM MEMBERS! I ACCEPT PAYPAL AND PERSONAL CHECKS FOR PAYMENT. I CAN ALSO PROVIDE R1/R6 4 PISTON CALIPERS AND HIGH PERFORMANCE BRAKE PADS TO FURTHER INCREASE THIS UPGRADE! THANKS FOR VIEWING MY AD! SKYDOC_17.

Hey Sajmon, Welcome to the forum! I feel bad because I can't communicate in your language! But here is the answer to your question. On the MKII VR's (1986 to 1993) motorcycles, the left front caliper is in fact a 32MM pistoned caliper and is "Linked" to the rear brake caliper, (Rear Caliper is 34MM also) which is activated by the foot pedal. The right front brake caliper is 34MM and is activated by the lever on the right side of the handlebars. The left front caliper has smaller pistons because it works in conjunction with the rear brake caliper. I hope this answers your question, and I apologize for not being able to express this to you in a language you can understand. Earl.

WELL Don, I am SOO Jealous! You NEVER called me "EARL DARLING" when I first joined the Forum! OH, and WELCOME to the Forum, BILL DARLING!!, So There Don! LOL! Might be a bit of "Cabin Fever" going on here! Earl.

Hey Don, I'm STILL not sure how you ever made a living sellin' stuff when you have the Subscriptions hidden so well! JUST KIDDING! Thanks for helpin' a brother out! Earl

Somehow, the vision of you in a cowboy hat, boots and a vest on at a "Pink Floyd" concert is going to take a few therapy sessions to remove from my addled brain!! LOL!! Just kidding Don, have a great time, don't eat any mushrooms, and don't forget to practice making the "Peace Sign" before you go, By Golly! (Jean just smacked me in the back of the head after reading over my shoulder, I hope you're happy!) Love ya' Man! Earl and Jean

Hey Don, Sorry I was late! Well, surprisingly enough I'm sorry I was late to the party on this one! Having had to remove a few of these over the years, you did the right thing. The pic indicates that NON- Distilled water was mixed with the Anti-Freeze. The Phenolic material that this pipe is made from is a Strand Reinforced Plastic. Unfortunately, minerals like Calcium and IRON attach themselves to the Strands at a molecular level, and cause the Phenolic material to expand. This is why you are seeing "Rust" in an Aluminum Block with a "Plastic Tube" inserted into it. If this is an MKI Bike, you are going to want to have a good close look at the Water Pump as well. My guess is you will put this back together with a new gasket, it will overheat, and you will think it is the head gasket again, when in fact it will be a bad water pump. Of course, this is just my Opinion. These engines are known for being dependable, so "Something" took that head gasket out. Here again, "Just My Opinion. It would be worth a water pump gasket to check the Impeller of that pump. Just an FYI, the mixture ratio for the coolant is 60% Anti-Freeze to 40% Distilled Water. The other issue I have seen that will take out a head gasket is if the CDI from another Venture has been installed in this bike. (A 1983 or a 1991 to 1993 CDI will not function properly on a 1984 to 1990 bike) Just thinking out loud here. Let us know what you find out Drew, you have peaked my interest. Oh, and don't be afraid to call "Bull S***" on me if you replace the gasket and it turns out fine! I am here to learn, just like you are, my friend! By the way, WELCOME to the Forum Drew, It appears as if it didn't take you long to get to the "Meat and Potatoes" of it all. did it? Earl

Hey Mark, Thanks for the kind words! And Thank You Marcarl for installing that Fuse Box Upgrade Kit for Mark! When I first joined VR.ORG some 14 years ago, I had chatted with a few members on the forum and was going to meet them in Gettysburg Pa. for a "Meet and Greet". I live close to Pittsburgh and this was going to be a pretty long ride on my newly acquired 87'VR. about half way there, I went across a set of railroad tracks, and my old style glass fuse box just fell apart. I was stranded on Rt.30, miles from home, with few tools on a bike I had just purchased! I never made it to the meet, and had to call my brother with a trailer to come pick me up. When I got home, I decided this was NEVER going to happen to another VR.ORG member, ever again! I created the Fuse Box Upgrade Kit, installed it on my bike, (and my 89'VR as well) and have offered it to hundreds of members over the years. This was one of the first "Kits" I had ever put together, and the rest, as they say is history. Every kit that I offer is "Battle Tested" before I offer it to the forum members. The fact that I can contribute to keeping these wonderful machines on the road has been a passion for me all these years. It has been my mission to give the forum members the courage to work on their bikes to keep them running with replacement parts and upgrades that have kept MY bikes running for so long. When I hear stories like this, knowing that this could have been the end for such a beautiful motorcycle, and it being the original owner to boot, it makes me smile. Thank you Mark for sharing this story with me, and the other forum members. This is what drives my passion, and it is a victory for EVERY First Gen. owner, knowing that they too can repair their bikes, and continue riding these amazing machines. As my Dad would often say, "It's not the destination Son, it's the Journey"! Earl

Hey Dallas, I sent you a PM with my PayPal info, Please let me know if you got it. If you didn't, my personal email address is: skydoc17@gmail.com. Let me know if I can help you with this project! Earl.

Hey Bret, I admire your courage to share this issue with us! Here is what I did to install arm rests on my Venture to make MY wife more comfortable. I went to Home Depot and purchased several pieces of GRAY Electrical PVC Pipe and fittings in 1/2". The 90 degree sweep "Elbows" worked really well and gave the supports for the armrests a nice look. I then built the armrests with the PVC and found a place to connect them to the mount for the seat. The PVC was easy to work with, and if I made a mistake, I cut the bad part out and replaced it with more PVC that worked better, or looked better. When I had what I was looking for, I took the "Mocked Up" PVC armrests to a local Fab Shop and had them made out of metal pipe and plate. Chrome Plating was out of my price range, but a nice powder coating from a local shop made the armrests look like they came with the bike. I hope this gives you some ideas on how to tackle this job, Bret. Also welcome to the forum. I hope this gets your wife riding with you again, it worked for me! Earl

Thank you gents for the input. I usually take ANYTHING on the internet with a grain of salt. The thing about this YouTuber is that after he presents the "Story" he then debunks the Myth in the end which is different from most "Info Guys". He doesn't appear to have an agenda, but I am willing to admit that I might have been mistaken about that, and that's why I asked for your input. Thanks for all that commented, and please feel free to express your opinion if you see a pattern here that I am missing. Even at my "Advanced Age", I try to keep an open mind and always welcome constructive criticism. Earl

As I have mentioned before, I retired after 53 years from Tool and Die Machining in the Aerospace and Petroleum Industries. Now being retired, to say the least has caused quite an adjustment in my life and the things I do day to day. My wife Jean, is the typical "Early to Bed, Early to Rise" type of person. Up at 4AM, and usually to bed around 8PM. I on the other hand, am a bit of a "Night Owl". Staying up sometimes well past midnight. During my adjustment period, I have turned to YouTube for my evening entertainment. Now that I finally have time to investigate things that interest me, I have taken advantage of this block of time between when my wife retires for the evening, and when I can finally "Turn my brain off" and get some sleep. I have my favorites as far as content goes, a few motorcycle channels, some off road channels, but the one channel that has peaked my interest lately, is a channel called "The Why Files". The Narrator, who goes by the name AJ, does an excellent job of explaining many "Hot Topics" that I find very interesting, using a format that reminds me of the days when reporters just stated the facts, and didn't "Cross the Line" between stating the facts of the topic, and NOT adding drama, or personal opinion to cloud the issue at hand. This has been refreshing, and allows me to come to my own conclusions based on the information that has been researched and is presented. I am going to leave a link to a random Video that will allow you to see for yourself ALL of the episodes he has produced. He also takes suggestions on future episodes he is willing to investigate if there is enough interest, but his list of things that he touches on is vast, and his delivery is very high quality. I have NO vested interest in this channel, but this forum has some very astute members in it, and I thought you might enjoy his reporting style, and the topics he covers. If this is not "Your Cup of Tea" so to speak, I apologize for interrupting your regularly scheduled programming! LOL!! Here's the Link: I would be interested in any comments you would have about this style of reporting. (Don, if this belongs in another part of the forum, please forgive me!) Earl

Hey Don, Speaking from experience, a tent down by the pond would be a great relocation option. You could then "Rent Out" the Big House and make a fortune! Our recent winter evenings would be exsillerating, (to say the least) but other than that, would be a piece of cake for a true frontiersman such as yourself! LOL!! I do remember being at one of your legendary Maint. Days during the first week in June and suffering only Minor frostbite so maybe a traditional "Brick and Mortar" home might be a better choice! Just thinking out loud here, Earl

Hey Don, This one has really hit close to home with me, my friend! Our "Old" property had acres of grass and when our daughter went off to college (To hunt for a husband!) we downsized! It's been 12 years, and now my wife Jean is longing for a condo or something with NO grass, NO scratching snow off of the walkways, and she says "Room Service would be nice!" LOL!! Because of my shop on the property, I'm not ready to give that up just yet, but there MAY come a day when the creative juices aren't flowing any more. JUST NOT YET! I can fully understand why you would like to make your life a little easier, and in my opinion, you deserve it! Do what you feel is the best thing for you and Eileen, and I am sure everything will work out for the best! My dad used to say, "If I knew I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself!" He was a wise man, as are you Don, I'm sure you will make the right decision. Just don't forget to give us your NEW Address! Earl and Jean.

We are "Blessed" here in South Central Pennsylvania, we have a local chain convenience store called, "Rudders" (Like a 7-11, only much nicer) that sells ethanol free 91 octane and I run it in all of my bikes as well as all of my lawn equipment. I pay a bit more for this fuel, but the results have been worth it in the long run. My 87'VR is tuned strictly for performance, (VMAX Carbs., VMAX Cams, VMAX Intake Valves, FJR FInal Drive, etc.) where as my 89'VR is tuned for economy. Even pulling my trailer on the 89'VR I get well into the 40's MPG, and have hit 50 MPG Solo. (If I keep my wrist under control) Unfortunately, I can't say that with the 87'VR. What I do notice with all of the equipment I own is the fact that I have very little if any Carb. issues from the fall of the year until the spring of the next year! Both bikes, and all of my lawn equipment including my lawn tractor and snow blower start right up, and run every time. The other thing I do is to run AGM batteries in the bikes, lawn tractor and snow blower. When I keep them on a tender during the winter months, I average 6 to 8 years per battery. (My lawn tractor is going into it's 9th year, but I oversized this battery when I replaced the original!) They are a bit spendy to purchase to start with, but overall save money in the long run due to their reliability and life span. As they say, "You get what you pay for", and in the case of the ethanol free fuel, that has worked out to my advantage. When traveling on the "Open Road" on my Venture, I can't always get the ethanol free fuel, but because I am usually burning through more than one tank in a day, I don't sweat that much. When I get home, I always fill and store my bikes with the "Good Stuff" so to speak! Earl

Hey James, Isn't that like stealing Cable TV or something!! LOL!! Just kidding, very clever!! Earl

I was chatting with my son Kyle in California on the phone over the weekend, wishing his family a Happy Thanksgiving while he had me on speaker phone. I happened to mention that "Grampy was sending his girls and son something for Christmas by mail this year" Monday afternoon when my son got home from work, this is what he came into the house to! I later get a text from him and the attached pic. with the text saying: DAD, For the love of GOD, don't EVER mention sending gifts to the kids by mail again!!! The dogs don't have a sense of time, and I have NO idea what in the heck the girls were thinking! I love you DAD, but you're killing me here! Kyle. OOPS! Happy Thanksgiving to ALL of the Forum Members from Earl and Jean.

Hey Ronnie, My nephew is an IT guy, and he turned us onto Mint Mobile. If you purchase it by the year, it's $15 a month. When we ordered the phones, we mentioned that ATT was the best cell tower coverage at my nephew's suggestion, and when they sent the SIM Chip, it was set up to ping ATT first. We all use Samsung phones and in the settings you can actually select which towers to ping first. When we traveled to California from Pennsylvania, I adjusted the phone in the settings for the best coverage while traveling across certain states, and it worked like a charm. The service is straightforward, no hidden fees, you get 4 GIG of data every month, but if you need more, you can double it for $10. This has been better by far than ANY Senior Plan offered even by the government for seniors. We had ATT and Verizon over the years, and the pricing and service were just awful. Being the skeptic I am, I tried the "One Month FREE" plan they offered at the time, beat all of the bugs out of my phone, (They even let us carry our "new" old phones over to the new plan, and keep our numbers) and when I was all warm and fuzzy about it, I purchased the 1 year plan, and have never looked back! Three years and running, still not a single issue. They even offer deals on new phones to go with the plans. NO CONTRACTS! If you don't like it, switch to something else at the end of the month. The way things are today, this is pretty much the FAIREST deal I have been able to find on cell phone packages. I hope this helps you Ronnie, It sure made my life easier. Earl

Hey Guys, This is just an FYI, NOT a shameless plug for the S.S. De-Link KIt! Rebuilding one portion of a 37 year old braking system on ANY motorcycle just puts excess pressure on all of the other elements of that braking system, in my opinion! My "Guess" is that the rear proportioning Ball Valve is stuck, and not allowing fluid to pass to the rear caliper. That valve was such a hassle that Yamaha doesn't make it any longer for any of the First Gens. (And stopped making it almost before the end of the run of the First Gens!) It was a good idea...on paper, but the nature of brake fluid makes it a sticky mess if you don't maintain the flushes of the brake fluid. Along with the proportioning valve getting "Glued" in the closed position, are the caliper pistons on your 37 year old brak system. With the position of the rear caliper behind the engine, and trapped between the rear bags, overheating was a real issue. This is why the rear M/C looked so bad, I can't tell you how many First Gens. I have received at the shop and had to go through the entire braking system, even without adding the De-Link Kit Upgrade just to get the calipers functioning again. Almost every one! The major design element of the De-Link Kit was to take the proportioning valve out of the system every bit as much as it was to convert the bike to the right hand brake lever working both front brakes and the foot pedal working the rear brake. There is NO rebuild kit for the proportioning valve, BUT a good disassembly and cleaning of the front left and rear caliper, as well as the proportioning valve without replacing any parts is the very minimum you are looking at here. You don't need to do the De-Link unless you absolutely can't get the proportioning valve functioning again. Also DO NOT get BrakeKleen on the Seals inside the Calipers!!! The seals will swell, and you will never get them back into the caliper bodies again! I have ONE final tip for bleeding out the brakes on these bikes, and that is if you are not cracking EVERY Banjo Bolt and EVERY connection point starting at the Master Cylinder and proceeding to the proportioning valve, and then to the rear caliper, (or in the case of the left front caliper, the M/C, then the connection up by the steering head bearings, then to the left front caliper) you have NO idea where the blockage is and i can guarantee that there will be AIR trapped in the braking system somewhere along the line! Period!! To simplify this, crack the first banjo bolt closest to the M/C, briskly compress the foot pedal or brake lever, close the banjo bolt, do it again until ALL of the air is gone at that joint. Move to the next connection, repeat. I find this works best with a "Helper". My wife's right leg is twice the size of her left leg from stomping on the foot pedal of First Gens!! LOL!! I have several Vacuum bleeders here at the shop, and NONE of them work on these bikes! NONE! I do use a positive pressure bleeder on Autos and Trucks that works very well but I haven't been able to adapt it to the different motorcycle master cylinders. YET! Because of my shop here in South Central Pa. I buy direct from Yamaha and am happy to share my discount with the forum members. I also offer the De-Link Kit for the members that are going to keep their bikes and want to upgrade their braking systems. I fully understand it is very hard to justify spending hundreds of dollars on improving the braking system on a 30+ year old motorcycle that you most likely paid $800 dollars for. BUT the fact remains that you need to be able to STOP that motorcycle or you are NOT going to be able to ride it safely OR sell it safely. That's why I suggested just cleaning everything up without buying new parts and bleeding the system properly. I haven't added it to the "Member Vendors" section of the forum yet, but I also offer a direct bolt on S.S. Line Set for the Second Gens. as well. If I can help you with new parts, or if you have other questions, or you are interested in the De-Link Kit I offer, please feel free to PM me. Earl

Hey Brian, Welcome to the forum! The reason you are only putting 4.3 gallons of gas in your tank is because the other .7 gals. of gas is the "Reserve" portion of the fuel tank. To access that last .7 gallons of gas you would need to switch the fuel petcock from "Run" to "Reserve". Remember to switch the petcock back to the Run position after you fill up your tank. I hope this answers your question! Earl

Hey Chuck, Both Jean and I will keep you in our prayers! Hang in there, old friend! Earl and Jean.