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Captain Murph

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  1. Captain Murph
    I've purchased tires from Tires Unlimited for about 5 years and have always had quick delivery, great pricing and quality product. Yes. The Elite III's aren't available in the fronts, but the RWL Elite II's still are. Here's the front (for about $125.) http://www.tiresunlimited.com/ALL%20TIRES/Dunlop/dunlop_491.htm For the rear, you can go with the Elite III (Bias) here: http://www.tiresunlimited.com/ALL%20TIRES/Dunlop/Dunlop_EliteIII.htm I find this Dunlop combination to give me good performance and the reliable wear I've always had with Dunlops. Murph' 84 & 86 Royale
  2. Captain Murph
    I'm also going to get a Cee Bailey. The optical quality of their windshields apparently makes them stand out from the crowd.
  3. Captain Murph
    Probably not, but they might if they have equipment for welding stainless steel.
  4. Captain Murph
    For Everyone's Info: I am parting an '83 with an will have a frame (or even a rolling chassis if needed) with a NJ title.
  5. Captain Murph
    If you don't win the auction of don't want to wait, I have a couple of them. Murph'
  6. Captain Murph
    I think this is just a matter of semantics. I've had a thread about "bottoming out" which was cured by replacing the sagging springs with new Progressives. When you refer to "topping out" are you meaning that the forks are extending to their limits (like abruptly falling into a hole) or simply making a clunking noise as they "work" with no particular attention to whether they are extending or compressing? If you are able to grab the bars and bounce the bike to hear a clunk sound - I believe we are talking the same thing: Your springs are weak and need replacement. In my case the level of fluid or even air preload made little difference. They were simply too short from sagging. Murph'
  7. Captain Murph
    I sent you an email about your parts request, but thought I'd jump in to the discussion too. As someone once said: "I feel your pain". I had exactly the same thing happen to me on an '84 and started thrashing around with thoughts of "replace this" or "replace that". Before you do anything further, go through the bleeding one more time with this specific order (after making sure rear master is completely full and plug reinstalled. 1. Triple tree junction fitting (just crack, you probably don't have a bleeder). 2. Front anti-dive. 3. Front caliper 4. Rear caliper If you check the archives here at at www.venturers.org you'll find that some of these can be very stubborn. In particular, don't underestimate how much air can be trapped in the uphill region between the rear master and that junction at the triple tree. If you have even 1/2" to 1" area where there is air with fluid on both sides, your master will simply compress this air and not move fluid. Not only won't you get a pedal, you won't build enough pressure to move that air slug along. You must get the air out from between the master and that junction first! After you get fluid out there, you are assisted by gravity in bleeding the fronts and then the rear. I've heard of some who used this technique successfully. After getting fluid at the junction and tightening up, they attached a line to the caliper bleeder (yeah, this is not the order noted above, but it is the closest to the junction), put that line in a glass jar with fluid in it and simply let the system drain overnight. If there is any trapped air it seems to be at above atmosperhic pressure and works it way down to the open end in the jar. Then, making sure again the the master is full, try to build pressure with the pedal to do the anti-dive. I've heard of this technique working magic for stubborn entrained air. I'll be happy to supply whatever parts you need, but (in my personal experience) parts might not be the solution. Murph'
  8. Captain Murph
    Brad: I might be able to help. I have two bikes that I'm parting and have one of the carb sets removed. Since I would only sell these are a set for cleanup/kits or just spare parts, I might be able to remove this and simply note its absence if I list on Ebay. Or, I can lift it off now so you can get going and you can find a cheapo set at your leisure where you can rob this part to pay me back and sell the rest. Check back with me via PM tonight. Murph'
  9. Captain Murph
    Yeah. Many times you'll be able to get the connector to make all the contact needed for normal operation by pushing or twisting, but this really does show that these connections are a problem. Until I repaired my first board (on my '86), I used to hold the connector in special way to get the system to fire up properly - every time I went to ride the bike. Eventually this stopped working too.
  10. Captain Murph
    Keep in mind that, while the engine is an exact change out, the carbs are different on a 1300 as well.
  11. Captain Murph
    You could ride indefinitely without making the fix and would not really have it cause more damage. When you get it apart and look at how the parts interact, you'll see why simply shifting 1-3-4-5 won't ever cause problems. The fix isn't really very hard, but is not for the faint of heart just because of all you need to remove and reinstall to get the engine out. I did it on an '84 I had about 8 years ago and remember that getting the engine back into the frame was the hardest part. Make sure you check out the step-by-step that a couple of folks have prepared. It is probably in the tech library here but definitely at www.venturers.org. You are right, these are amazing bikes. If you undertake the second gear project (same offer goes for anyone else here) PM me and I will arrange to ship (at your cost) the "press" I made when I did mine. While Scott McMartins write-up shows how you can make one (like I did) it might be easier to just spend the $10. to have it shipped. Murph'
  12. Captain Murph
    Some, many, most, it depends. Plastic, mostly. Brakes, some. Carbs 83-85 or 86-93. Wheels - all Mufflers, pipes, etc. - all Saddlebags - 83-85 or 86-93 Trunks - 83-84 or 85-93 Driveline components - some for all, others vary. Seats - all but rider backrests vary. And on... You really need to identify which parts you'd like to know about. When in doubt, you can check the online fiche at www.cyclepartsnation.com and look up any year. Murph'
  13. Captain Murph
    That's very true, but there is an alternative to the typical $150-$200 used price: Buy one that is damaged, but not in the same area where yours needs repair. If you carefully cut a section with a dremel cutoff wheel and splice it in to yours - using ABS cement (wipe the edges first with acetone), you'll end up with a very solid repair. Since (unless you are very lucky) you will be needing to repaint anyway, you can sand and hide the existence of this repair easily. Fairings that are damaged are still valuable for making repairs. Anyone have a damaged one they want to sell? I need a good left with a good back area.
  14. Captain Murph
    As far as I know, the fairings are all the same from '83 through '93.
  15. Captain Murph
    YES! I find that half of the CLASS controllers are fixed by doing only the connector pins. Most of the others that still don't work will if you carefully redo every single pin on that board. It is not that hard, but please make sure you aren't doing it with a soldering gun but a lower wattage (40-75W) pencil iron. Some of the other other components on the board might get damaged if you get things too hot. Good luck. While it is no guarantee, I will repeat again that these CLASS BOARD problems seem to be caused by component connnections not component failures.
  16. Captain Murph
    I'll take it. I have a couple others to repair and may get lucky returning this one from the dead! Greg Murphy 10714 Stoneridge Dr. Shelbyville, MI 49344 If you have a paypal account, I'll shoot you over $10. to cover sending Priority Mail or you can send a payment request to auctions@mascom.com Thanks.
  17. Captain Murph
    I have all these parts for an '83 or '84. If you suspect there is some flaw with a hose or the master cylinder itself, get in touch with me and I'll send what you need on a loan for troubleshooting. Murph'
  18. Captain Murph
    And, I might add that on the last two boards I've rescued, I did the typical connection joints and found that it still did not work. Don't give up. If those were the ones you did carefully and you still get error messages, do ALL THE SOLDER JOINTS on the board and your likelihood of it working is increased tremendously. It's not an exact science, but it seems that most of the boards don't really have component failures only connection problems. Murph'
  19. Captain Murph
    Well, some. But, you will find that most of them are horriibly expensive. Not all, but things that you might reasonably need that aren't used by other bikes (ie: Mirrors over $200 EACH). You will find many people like myself who buy and resell parts from many bikes that have economic reasons why one won't fix them. I'm currently parting an '84 and an '83 and, with notable exception of certain fairiing parts, have nearly anything you'd need. Don't hesitate to buy a First Gen due to worries about parts availablility. These bikes (IMHO) will go on forever. Murph'
  20. Captain Murph
    No, I'm afraid I dont' have one, but can only offer this tip. When you do get one, glue the hell out of it! Or, if you think you might ever want to take it off, use some SS (#4 or 6) screws and small washers and attach it that way. I was missing mine for the first 4 years of owing my '86 and, when I found one, made sure it wouln't come off again. You're not the first to lose one! Murph'
  21. Captain Murph
    Welcome, Scott: Once you get some more miles under your belt, you will certainly understand why the First Gen Ventures have such a rabidly loyal following. Everyone will probably chime in with tips, but here are a couple of observations. I've always used 10W40 in the fall/winter and switched to 20W50 in the summer. I've always used old Dino oil (usually Penzoil or Castrol GTX). I've never made the switch to synthetics on anything (gotta be a throwback to the past in some areas) and have had nearly 50,000 miles on my '86 with no noticeable engine wear evidence in the oil pan chip detector. Handling depends quite a bit on the type of tires, wear and tire pressures. I normally always run 40 in the rear and 34-36 in the front with Dunlop Elite II (F) or III ®. If you have a wobble, it might be cupping wear on the front tire or simply low pressure. I doubt that the fork brace will have much effect. I'd say that your mileage is a tad on the low side - particularly the way you desribe use. If the bike has been sitting much in the past few years, I'd run a good fuel system cleaner through in the next few tankfulls. Make sure you don't add too much; one of the typical automotive bottles should be good for about 4 tanks. These are great bikes and, while they may seem huge and complex, the combined knowledge of our compaderies here will make any knowlege challenge quite easy. Enjoy. Don't hesitate to ask. That's why we're all here. Murph'
  22. Captain Murph
    I just bought a very clean, low-mileage '84 and am working my way through a few issues. Probably the most troubling is the bottoming and nearly complete lack of dampening on the front forks. They are so bad that I can bounce them up and down (with or without brake applied) and hear them hit what appears to be the end of their travel. The PO had someone do a variety of work to this bike including "replacing fork seals" although I don't see any parts on the work order for over 6 hours of labor! Since I could see that there was a leak at the lower mating surface of the left anti-dive, I drained all the oil from that side. After removing the EAND, I cleaned and inspected the o-rings and grooves. They were not hard not flattened and had no nicks. So, I put them back in, put a light coating of Yamabond on the surface and tightened the bolts. After I put in 13.5 oz of 15W oil, I let it sit for 24 hours, aired it up to about 13 with the CLASS and found virtually no difference. While I have a spare set of forks from another '84, I really hate to do the swap and brake bleeding if I don't need to. There is an apparent adjustment at the bottom of each of these and some mention in the Tech area about the Service Manual "being wrong". All it says is to "turn the bolt to the maximum (??) position. Compress the front forks while applying the front brake. If the forks compress easily, the anti-dive system may be damaged. Is it worth fooling with this adjustment? Is it worth swapping out this unit from a different fork? Is it possible that the fork springs are so weak that this might be the only cause (It is 24 years old, but only has 31K). Could the mechanic that the PO used have misassembled something that would allow such clunky bottoming? (There are no apparent fork leaks). If he simply put the springs in upside down; would that allow this condition? Any ideas will be appreciated. Murph'
  23. Captain Murph
    Amen! I've brought 3 of these back from the dead in the last year; the last one did not work with all the "typical connector" joints resoldered. I figured I had nothing to loose, so I carefully did every one on the board. It works like a charm. I have another controller that I will do this week and, if it too comes back to life, I'll be putting it on Ebay. Murph'
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