Seaking

I honestly don't know if this will help you at all but based on my past experience with this bike.. If you're running the bike at 70-80 mph and the engine quits, and all the electricals are still running, the radio, console etc, and you're able to restart the bike, read on as this is what happened to me a couple of years ago. I had a very similar problem with my 2006 a couple of years ago, sounds like the same symptoms. The fix to mine was replacing the fuel pump and it's been going on strong ever since.. and yes this problem puzzled the tech reps so much that I ended up with over $2000 of new parts under warranty as they hunted for the fix.. but it was the fuel pump in the end, confirmed and fixed by a second shop ace mechanic who identified the problem in 15 minutes.. If you're running the bike at the speeds you mentioned, and the bike suddenly quits (engine shut down, but all electricals still work, radio, gauges etc) then this sounds like a fuel feed problem. At those speeds the pump is working harder than at city speeds and heats up and breaks connection at the electrical contacts.. (this was the case with my bike). The pump was weakened and overworked because of a filthy fuel filter that caused the pump to work harder to suck the fuel through that filthy fuel filter. I had changed the filter when the bike acted like it was running out of fuel at 1/2 tank level.. once the filter was changed then all was good again but unfortunately the damage was done to the pump and it subsequently failed a few months later with those symptoms I described. At first, the pump will fail occasionally, and at the weirdest times, then more often.. sometimes requiring a soft tap with a wooden handle and then it dies.. or it just up and dies cold on ya.. at the wrong place and time. Best of luck, please DO let us know what the final fix was when the bike is fixed.. Cheers

LOL no probs, my tank was near empty and it only takes a few minutes to take it off and re-install.. Best of luck with your project.. Cheers

Hi there.. the measurements are 10.5 inches across and 23 inches long from the points you indicated in your photo.. Hope that helps. Cheers

I never fully appreciated the joys of a liquid cooled bike as I did yesterday while stuck in an exhausting long tail back on the highway in South Dakota in 100F weather.. while the Venture was able to keep its cool while slowly edging along with traffic for an hour, a few air cooled big twins were pulled over to the side of the road, I'm only guessing the heat got to them.. Gotta love the Venture!

Congrats! I rolled over the 100,000 mile mark on mine this year.. its an 06 that I bought in July 08's with 20,000 on it.. It certainly is good to about hear about the gent with over 300,000 on his bike.. =) An awesome bike for sure, well capable of racking up the miles when properly maintained.

And with the leveling links you'll feel likes is yet another new bike.. they are worth the effort to install.. like night and day.. Glad to hear to hear you're enjoying the E3s

I have both and can honestly say both are quite nice. The Clearview is a tall and wide version which I would mostly use when its cold up here for better wind protection but I did notice lower gas mileage due to how much frontage it has to high winds.. but in the summer time I use the F4 windshield which I had to cut down to 13" as the stock height was right in my line of vision. Both windshields will take rainx nicely and I tend to clean them with Pledge, of all things.. it makes the bugs a lot easier to clean off each day.. very nice. The one issue I do have with the tall & wide windshield though is when riding in the rain.. At highway speeds, the rain slicks right off and you can see clearly through the shield.. but at city speeds, there isn't enough wind to pull the water off and the type of rain we typically have up here is the thick misty drizzle and I found myself trying to sit higher in the seat to look over the Clearview (shoulda gotten a shorter one or cut it).. The F4 is really scratch resistant as they claim.. I've had it for two seasons, and except for where a rather large rock hit it, the finish is still flawless. I thought the shield would crack or shatter from the force of impact (rock fell off an oncoming dump truck at highways speeds) but nothing more than a loud WHACK and a slight mar where it hit.. I'd say a lesser shield would have suffered damage.. I've taken a crow to the Clearview and except for the mess, no damage or marks on it either..

I have the HID on my RSV, and hooked up with a Harley rider who had an LED headlamp on his bike.. We compared the brightness and 'reach' of the lights during the day, dusk and darkest of nights.. During the day, the LED headlamp didn't really stand out much at all, he has to ride with the highbeam to be seen.. The HID catches your attention right away, it seems (high or low beam) At night, the HID had the longest 'reach' to throw bright light out far ahead at high beam.. the LED headlamp seemed to have a bigger splash of light all around the front of the bike (not to say the HID didn't either.. but the LED seemed a little better) With low beam, they appeared to be about the same, yet the HID seemed to be able to reach out a little further in some way.. Keeping in mind that the lens and housing of the two lights are different (the LED head lamp has a 'lens' to shoot the light through, while the HID uses your standard RSV light bucket.. The HID cost me $70 while his LED cost just under $300.. Personally, I would say both do the job, though I have to say I like the HID better for it's light throwing abilities over his LED.. and cheaper too.. Matched with the Sun Spots LED highway lights, my bike throws a lot of light to the front and sides, and the power savings allow me to run my USB charger, GPS, radios etc without worrying about the load on the bike's charging system..

I can sympathize with others who say that the RSV isn't a nice handling bike at low speeds and yes, the leveling links helped a lot but after 100,000 miles on the bike on slabs and back roads, I absolutely love the bike.. On the highway and back roads at speeds the bike handles great. Most people find the low speed stability and handling of the bike quite difficult, as did I at first but with a lot of practice, it gets a lot better. I had taken the advanced riders course several times and burnt out the clutch a couple of times (keeping the revs way tooooo high).. I finally sorted out that problem with some more practice and able to keep the revs a lot lower and able to perform the maneuvers properly.. With the bike properly dialed in; steering head bearings, proper tire inflation, leveling links, adjusted throttle cables and flushed clutch system, adjusted rear swing arm and equal pressure front forks, you can do wonders with this large bike.. There are a few tricks and techniques that help a lot with slow handling of this bike that most already know about but for those who haven't tried it yet, here's a few.. Keeping the revs up a tad keeps the bike stable while dragging the rear brake while turning the bike sharply at slow speeds. (Take a few breaks in between runs to allow the bike to cool off helps as well) Sitting closer to the tank places you in a better position on the bike and leaning your shoulders forward while turning the bars also helps getting the bike around.. One of the big fear factors I had with the bike in the beginning was that feeling of the bike wanting to drop when I locked the steering against the stops.. But gently popping the clutch (gently) will pick the bike upright.. usually at that point where you feel you have to peg your foot down to prevent the bike from toppling over, pop the clutch a bit and it brings the bike back up.. It did take me a while to get that technique right but wow, it does wonders.. Don't be afraid to lean the bike over hard in slow speed maneuvers, you can do this by riding one butt cheek on the high side of the seat when turning.. (if turning to the left, the bike leans hard to the left thereby tilting the ride side of the seat up, and you have more weight on your right butt cheek on the seat, sitting almost upright, leaning forward a bit as you turn the bars..) it feels weird at first but wow, it does wonders for pulling a u-turn within a two and a half car parking space.. I used to have a lot of trouble trying to do the "iron cross" in a 10 meter square setup, but now able to do it in an 8 meter square setup.. its a lot of work but it's doable with a lot of practice, and it builds your confidence to toss this big bike around tight corners and small spaces.. Don't forget that riding it 90% mental and 10% physical (perhaps 15% physical because of the weight and size of this bike but you have to push yourself to keep trying and practicing with this big bike to get confident in being able to make those slow speed turns. Luckily the bike has nice guards under it for in case you do drop the bike and most likely you will until you get your skills up, but for me, it was worth the few times the bike did drop against the guards.. As for the heel toe shifter on this bike? ergh, I'd like to chop off that back part but the only time I do use it is to tap the bike into neutral when not sitting on it.. just a gentle tap down on the heel part (when in 1st gear) and it finds neutral nicely.. The other reason I don't want to chop it off if in case I injure my big toe then I would need it.. ya never know lol.. There are some nice handling big bikes out there, the Goldwings, Victory Cross Countries and Electraglides that can toss and turn well, but the Venture can keep up no probs, but you have to practice a lot.. The Venture seems to have it all, though.. she'll go all day and then some more..

How does it compare to the $70 HID headlight kit? The HID throws light out a long way and is visible during the day time on low beam.. I've had mine on the bike for 2 years now without any probs.. Some LED headlights have been reported as not being easily seen on low beam during the day time...? I had also switched from the cheapo LED spot lamps to the Custom Dynamics and found them so much better.. brighter, no noise interference in the radio and more reliable..

To add to the other fine suggestions already offered, I would add to change your fuel filter as well.. these often get neglected due to their difficult locations (I relocated mine so I have no excuse not to change it on a regular basis).. a clogged fuel filter will make your fuel pump work harder and prematurely fail.. (learned that one the hard way) Carb synch, carb cleaning, valve clearance check, vacuum leaks ect.. should alway be done on an older bike, especially if you don't know much of its previous history.. Personally, I wouldn't put synthetic oil in an older bike with high mileage (you didn't state the mileage on yours).. I could be wrong on this but my personal feeling is that though synthetic oil is more slippery than dino-oil, its also quite thin and doesn't take up the gaps caused by high mileage wear and tear.. (There's a more scientific explanation for it but can't remember it off hand).. something like that.. As Goose mentioned, don't be afraid to drop the hammer on the throttle, these bike perform well when it's in the power band.. and then some.. I only got the rev limiter once in third gear.. and you're going quite fast before that happens lol.. Fun bikes these, you're sure to enjoy yours when you get the bugs out of it..

The whole carb synch procedure doesn't take long once you get used to it.. just a matter of removing four vacuum plugs, hooking up the manometer to the four vacuum port and doing the adjustments via 3 different screws (two screws accessible from right side, one for each pair of carbs, while the one on the left adjusts to match the two sets..). The longest part of the whole process is the adjusting the synch, depending how meticulous you want them to be.. you end up adjusting the pairs of carbs, then match them up, then re-adjust the pairs if they fall out of synch, and match them up.. fine tuning the adjustment can take a while but with practice the whole procedure can take less than 15 minutes.. I just did mine today after changing the pipes (Rineharts replacing the RKs) and the synch was out enough to need adjusting again... Some people find that locating the adjustment screws tricky but once you know where they are, its all easy-peezy. I used a carbtune in the past but was suspect of it not working properly (rods sticking, needing a cleaning?) then used the dial gauge type but the bouncing needles were, for me, hard to see properly.. I've since purchased a calibrated liquid type manometer and the difference is like night and day as to how precise you can get the synch done up properly. The task is simple and easy to do, I typically check the carb synch after an oil change.. There is a guide in the tech library that shows you how it's done.. easy to follow.

I had that problem on mine after a while and it was resolved easily by adjusting the throttle cables.. mine had a bit of slack in them and once tightened, never had a problem after that.

I have the hidden hitch with plastic end cap for when not using the hitch, keeps the looks clean and hardly noticeable until you slide in the hitch end. I also have the three flag pole adapter to fit it. Works nice, easy to install.

I had that same problem with one set of HD pipes I have and had to use the wrap around clamp to resolve the issue. The HD pipe bottoms out on the inside of the clamp shown in the photo.. Using the other type of clamp (looks like a heavy strap with a cross bolt pulling it together) will allow you to push the HD slipons up the pipe more to eliminate the gap... if you go to a HD shop they should fix you up with the other type of clamps easily enough. I'm able to use that clamp in the photo with my Rineharts and an older HD pipe but not the newer one.. Go figure..

I ordered new ones today, $6.95 CDN each.. not bad.. I was just surprised that all four would leak at the same time.. or perhaps enough now to make it more visible.. might explain that occasional misting residue behind the jugs at the odd time.. Hmm .. Thanks again!

Thanks M8.. best to get new ones, mostly because how easily one of them slipped out.. The dime shim is a good 'emergency' tip as well, in case of leakage out on the road.. I read up on the tech info to flush so I think I have this one covered. Another thing added to the winter project list Again, many thanks to all who responded with assistance. Cheers

Thanks for the info, gents. I used a spark plug to tap into the drain and was surprised at how 'too' easily it came out.. odd. Might well order new ones and yet still do the coin shim trick for additional peace of mind. Are they supposed to be a tight snug fit or a loose fit? But it makes me wonder why these decided to leak when parked outside for a few hours in the cold? I wonder what happens to those who park their bikes in unheated sheds etc when the temps drop well below zero for days.. Might it be that the fluid wasn't the proper mix or type for this climate area? I do recall having it flushed a while back but can't remember if it was done locally or down in the USA on a road trip etc. Thanks again, much appreciated.

Hi folks.. Yesterday I had the bike parked outside in the cold for a few hours while cleaning out the garage (30'F or less with the winds?). Today I noticed a noticeable green coolant fluid puddle under the bike, about the size of your flat hand on the floor.. I pulled the cooling fins off the front right cylinder and saw where coolant leaked out of the hole (as seen in photo). I think this is the frost plug? The bike was not run that day nor were any leaks apparent before. I pulled the other three covers off and saw the same thing but not as much fluid leaked out as on the front right cylinder.. Best that I can tell the majority of the fluid on the floor came from this cylinder. What's the remedy for this, a quick fix or an expensive repair etc? Any info would be highly appreciated.. Thanks in advance.

I'll second that as well.. I've tried the ABS weld and glue method but they eventually broke off too.. but a good dab of JB Weld does the job well.. One of the lock down latches broke off 2 years ago and the JB Weld fix has been good ever since. (helps to rough up the mating surfaces to allow the JB to get a better purchase on the parts. Cheers

"Ideally" when installing the tank mount bolts, you would be able to hand tighten them almost all the way before having to torque onto them. If you can't seem to get the bolts in most of the way by hand, there is seriously something wrong 'somewhere'.. It could be as simple as not having the tank lined up properly, or worse, the threads are so munged up that you simply can't a bolt properly started. good news, a good machinist should be able to tap you some new holes and provide you with the proper bolts to match. Since this has happened to you twice, more investigation is required before you're caught out on the road with a late breaking bolt..

Thanks, much appreciated.. worse case scenario is to get the double if he's no longer making singled and grind off the extra lug

To save wattage on the bike in order to run electrical riding gear, you can change out more than your signal lights.. Headlights 65/55 wats OEM: HID light 35 watts Highway lights 35W each = 70W: LED highway lights, 12W each =24W LED signal lights and brake lights... minimal difference really.. So by going HID and LED highway lamps, you're saving up 76W or so that go towards heated gear.. I only tried a heated vest once in the cold and found it too hot.. The other alternative are the battery operated gear.. good for a day ride and rechargeable. I can't remember where I'd seen them, though did run into a couple who rode with it and they loved it. Not blistering hot, but easily keeps the chill off..

Always good to hear! I checked their site and saw that they only have the 'two ball' mounts left, and after a quick check on the bike, wonder if it would be too tight a fit against the left mirror mount?

You can find it at just about any automotive shop (pep boys, even Wallmart).