RSTDdog

This my first Ford with the Triton V8 and Coil on Plug (COPs).So I have no CEL but can feel a miss/skip every once in a while, replaced all eight spark plugs with motorcraft platinum and all eight boots and made sure connections were clean and tight. Still feels like one or maybe two intermittently misfiring. Van has 91,000 miles, Still has 5 original Ford Coils, 2 coils with no brand identifier and one Denso coil 673-6000. Consistent with prior owner records of replacing two coils around 45000 and I'm guessing the Denso went in around 75000. Have access to a Actron C9587 Scanner that does a lot but doesn't appear to read misfire history codes and didn't give me any stored codes. Googling says you need a scanner that does mode 6. It will cost me $80-100 just to have someone scan it and tell me which coils are the culprits. Denso part number 673-6000 on Rock Auto are only 22.78 each and are Made in USA from reviews elsewhere of other Denso COPs I have read (but not that specific part number). So diagnostic charges is more than half way to jus buying all eight. What's the VR.org consensus? Just replace all eight COPS and be done with it? Thanks in Advance

For those finding the 130 tire skittish or loose, how are your steering head bearings? Loose steering head bearings can make it fell loose and a larger tire will mask that some. I run the 130/70 -18 Stratoliner front rim with an Avon Venom bias tire. The avon tire feels looser than the 130 70-18 bridgestone radial I had before that came with the rim. That said I'm at 25,000 miles and haven't re-torqued or repacked my steering head bearings. In my case I have never had any scary handling or feeling like I can't push it further in corners. Just wondering if steering head bearings, fork spring selection, etc makes the difference where some people like the 130 and some don't.

So the bike ran fine with the K&N set up other than fuel smell? You should not be smelling raw fuel at 45-50 with K&N filters. You have another problem. Fuel leak, stuck float, float set to high. Cracked fuel line? if the ends are deteriorated the inside might be also. Ditto the fuelfilter and I would check and replace all the fuel lines. Is the fuel tank full? If it runs good with a full tank but starts bogging below 1/2 tank then check the fuel pump. How long have you owned this bike? Need more info/background.

on the calendar for me.

There is a campground near Fort Pickens at the Gulf Islands National Seashore, west end of Santa Rosa Island (Pensacola Beach). Been years since I camped there so not sure what it is like now. My Brother went Camping on St Georges Island, also years ago. Another nice area, but I don't have a camp recommendation is the Florida Nature Coast, Steinhatchee area where the Suwanee River meets the Gulf. All delta marsh, no beaches per se but nice area. If you stay in the panhandle/Gulfshores, hit the FloraBama lounge at least once. 182 to 292 to Perdido Key and Gulf Beach highway going east or 182 to Fort Morgan going west along the beach is nice. from Gulf Shores head north on 59 then west to Alt 98 that runs along the east side of Mobile Bay through Point Clear. You can Continue on north go under I-10 and pick up the highway 90 west causeway across mobile bay. A couple good seafood places on the bay. You can hop back on 10 west, take Dauphin Island parkway south til the end and take the ferry back across mobile bay to Fort Morgan and 182 back to Gulf Shores. I grew up in Pensacola, dated a girl that lived in Gulfport Ms, did a lot of "ridin around" caging it in my 72 Ventura.

EGA, while nice to have access to, will only let you set the mixture at idle ( %CO is all yamaha ever gave a spec for IIRC) . Not sure how you define bad gas mileage or what you think it should be compared to what it is, but if its really bad, just setting the mixture screws is not likely the main culprit. Assuming the carbs each have good vacuum and sync well and the mixture setting is the only problem you have, the difference in fuel mileage between setting it by putting them all the same # of turns out, setting by ear or with a tach using lean drop method, or setting by EGA, is probably negligible to 2mpg at best. If this bike is relatively new to you, make sure its running on all four (they run well on just 3), carbs are clean, no air leaks (cracks in the plastic YICS boxes on early models come to mind), fuel tank condition, lines filters, etc.

Yes a first gen basket will work as will a Vmax basket. Some first gens (86-93 maybe) did have a whine and as I recall (been 25 years) there was yamaha service bulletin to address whine in the first gens. If the gears were match mated at assembly there would be no or very little whine. Those bikes without whine are luck of the draw on the gear set match at assembly. First three characters in a yamaha part number following the XXX-12345-00-00 convention indicate the model code which is the first model that part was used on. Digits 456 of the Yamaha VIN# is the model code. Does not apply to Bearings and fastener part numbers which are mostly numerical and folow the XXXXX-XXXXX-XX convention, however for bearings, the 4 digit common bearing number (6303, 6304, etc) is often imbedded in the Yamaha Part number and some fasteners have the bolt diameter and length in the middle 5 of the part number i.e 93XXX-06M24-00 is a 6 mm bolt 24mm in length. Look up some part numbers and you will see what I mean.

My AIS is intact and the exhaust does not pop. When I did have exhaust pop on decel I found it was related to the carbs. I removed carbs, disassembled, cleaned, set the float levels and replaced the o-rings on the needle valves, re-install, carb sync, popping went away. Unless you bought your 09 before today in 2009, it is still under the 5 year warranty. Dealer should fix the popping issue, likely carburetor related.

How many miles when the RR failed?? What brand of battery is that ?

If you do a search on posts by Miles, when he was here he was going to have a rear wheel custom made for his rstd so he could run radials on it. He sold the bike before he did it but the thread has discussion about the wheel company. I think he was going to have the stock wheel converted to a 16" or 17" rim size. 16" is the smallest rear rim size for radials. I believe he was investigating using the same size rear radial as the gold wing and having the stock RSTD rear rim modified accordingly. If I find the thread I'll post the link. I don't think there are any off the shelf swap options for the rear like there is for the front (i.e. Stratoliner, Roadliner wheel). In theory an FJR rear rim should bolt to the final drive, since you can swap in an FJR final drive the same as you can a Vmax drive. Assuming the FJR rim offset is the same as ours, the other Problem is the FJR weighs half of what our bikes weigh, and you probably can't get a tire in that size with the correct load rating for our bikes.

Never mind sorted it out. Thanks

And Air Compressors..............

Valves on these motors tend to get tighter not looser. Most people report the engine sounding nosier after a valve adjustment. With 21000 miles on the clock, the first valve adjustment is not due until 26000. My friend who is a mechanic showed me burned valve out of a stock RSTD motor with 96000 miles on it. Never had valves adjusted. These bikes are set up pretty rich stock. K&N's and drilled mufflers typically won't be that lean to burn valves. If the PO let it sit and ran it with a partially plugged main jet, that's another story. How low is low on compression? Are the numbers the same on all four? Holding Throttle wide open when doing test? All four plugs are out and the battery fully charged? Did you add oil to cylinder and see if compression came up? Is oil over full or does it smell like there is gas in the crankcase? Did the bike sit? Are the carbs clean? Will it idle off the choke when warmed up? All four exhaust pipes are hot at idle? have you confirmed good spark on all four cylinders? If it will idle and run warmed up, Before I pulled the heads, I would drain the oil and replace if you haven't already. Use something cheap, you will be changing it again. Then get Yamaha Spray Combustion Chamber cleaner or equivalent and a bottle of Ring Free. Pull the fuel tank and run on test bottle. Mix fuel with Yamaha ring free in the test bottle and spray combustion chamber cleaner alternately into the cylinders as directed on can. let sit as directed. Reinstall fuel tank and run a tank of fuel through at the clean up dosage using Yamaha Ring free (2 oz per gallon, read bottle). Have a spare set of plugs on hand and a way to change them. If its a carbon build up or stuck ring issue, that typically should cure it. it will run like crap for while and smoke until it starts cleaning up. Depending how bad it is you may have to repeat the process. Change the oil again after doing this. If you still have low compression after doing the above, everything should be relatively clean when you do pull the head. If you pull the carbs, you can inspect the intake side of the head through the intake boots for carbon build up. If you pull the valve covers you can check for a stuck valve. If its an intake valve, you can probably free it up spraying cleaner through the intake side with the carbs off and working the valve. On the exhaust side you can pull the head pipe for access. Anyway, Some on the bike service you can try before doing a complete disassembly. RSTDdog

There are pics in the thread I linked in the post above yours. Also pics in album in my profile. Granted not pics of Ace50's bike but pics nonetheless. You will find that you will like the radial on the front. I switched to bias to have matching tires. More discussion inthe thread I linked.

Original Engine?

Roadliner or Stratoliner wheels will work. Direct swap no mods, uses the stock RSTD axle and spacers-The S model wheels are polished, that's what I used. More info and pics here http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=46995 Ace50, What tire do you have on the Stratoliner wheel? Are you running the radial that comes on them or a bias tire? RSTDdog

From the owner's Manual Consumer Information-Warranty General Exclusions c. Abnormal Strain, neglect or abuse Warranty Questions Q. Will the warranty be void or cancelled if i do not operate or maintain my new motorcycle exactly as specified inthe owner's manual? A. No. The warranty on a new motorcycle cannot be "voided" or "cancelled". However, if a particular failure is caused by operation or maintenance other than as shown in the owner's Manual, that failure may not be covered under warranty. My RSTD Owner's manual does not specifically state not to tow a trailer, however it does state don't exceed the load limit or add bulky accessories that can affect the handling steering suspension etc. The argument could be made that a trailer is a bulky accessory that affects the handling suspension and steering of the motorcycle. That being said, Yamaha fixed Zip Code Dave's engine under warranty after investigating the failure, and he pulls a trailer, has accessories, and was using non specified oil and an automotive oil filter IIRC at the time of his engine failure. Don't remember if he was pulling a trailer at the time it failed, but his trailer hitch was on it when it was getting fixed. So could they deny the claim, possibly. Will they?? In all likelyhood, probably not depending on the circumstances, type and extent of the failure.

Pinwall Cycles doesn't have any??

Handy (I think that's the brand name) makes the gray lifts you see in most MC shops. Don't know how much they are, I think around 1000.00 or so. They have side extensions available for 4 wheelers and trikes. That's what I would buy.

They won't announce a new model until the majority of existing Venture stock is depleted which i consider a nice courtesy to their dealer network. They will be discounting leftover 2013's as it is now and probably still some 2012's around. Announcing a new model would all but kill sales of leftover units.

Appears to answer a question nobody asked.......

Also check their full page magazine ads (road and Track, Motor Trend, Etc)for Super Coupons. They are discounts on specific items and often cheaper even than the sale price with 25% off. You can't use a 25% off coupon with a Super Coupon priced item. I bought a US general Black 4 drawer roll around cart for 99.00 with a super coupon from a mag ad. Reg 199.00 In store sale price is 159.00 and the 25% only gets it to 119.00. Nice cart. Nicer than the Kobalt one that Lowes sells for 169.00.

Did he get the brand new one with electronic cruise control? They added it this year I think with some other updates. Nice bike. From what I have read not ideal for the passenger.

Did you get the factory quick release windshield with your RSTD? If so,as Soledad suggested see if you can fit the RSTD windshield mounts to the Memphis fairing. You will need to do some level of fabrication to make this work.

I know there was a discussion here about replacing the points. Then I remember either googling or following a link to a discussion thread in the UK that was archived so the pics didn't show up any more. That discussion was about replacing the points in the fuel pump and adding a circuit that prevent the points from burning and claims to not have had any more failures. From what I remember he was copying a circuit used in a similar type fuel pump. Someone earlier also mentioned adding a condenser to the circuit which makes sense. XV1100SE How Many miles when your fuel pump let go? Also talk to the dealer about your old one. On warranty the dealer has to hold the part for 90 days typically, and if Yamaha doesn't ask for it back, which in many cases they don't, the dealer will just pitch it. Ask them if you can have back if Yamaha doesn't ask for it back.