86er

I think most mc utility trailers are only 150 lbs or so empty. (My homemade wooden trailer is only 160#) So I think you'd be hard pressed to get one up to 500 pounds. Maybe with a load of firewood or something. I pulled mine full of camping gear and 2 coolers (1 inside, 1 on the tounge) for 5671 miles this summer. The only thing I had to do was increase the tounge weight for stability. Since I couldn't really do any better with repacking the trailer, I pulled a 20 lb rock out of a creek in Colorado and tied it on the tounge! That settled it down. Other than that, you just have to ride like you are invisible and have no brakes! And no, I wasn't at that Restaraunt in NM for the margaritas (it was too early). But I did have some excelent Huevos Rancheros with green chile sauce! And JJ, I'm glad to hear you got a new bike. You gotta get back on that horse! What did you get? I hope you were smart and bought a 1st Gen!

Man John, I'm sorry to hear you were hurt. I hope you heal quickly (and the doc keeps you on some good "don't care" pills!!). I saw your post on too many deer in your area. Was that before or after your encounter? Either way it sucks; and it's a potent reminder that we really have to stay alert. I know that all of us here will be praying for your speedy, and pain free recovery.

A "friend of mine" let his 1500 'Wing fall over, in traffic in Branson, while it was running and it died, he had help to stand it back up but it woukdn't start. He (and his wife) pushed it to the side of the road. It wouldn't start for ten minutes; until he turned the ignition off and then back on to reset the safety switch! i've thought of this the couple of times i've dropped mine! Yeah, I admit that;>)

Try 3M body side moulding tape. I saw it at NAPA in Ga. today. They also have it at WallyWorld in the auto dept.

Thanks Brad, Did you see the post by George about the EBay stuff: "Update: I found this on E-Bay, pull up this " Item number" 220018002288"? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Performance-Plugs-Cables-Yamaha-Venture-Royale-XVZ_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ35594QQihZ012QQitemZ220021449314QQtcZphoto Those look good too. I like the yellow wires. Let me know what you think. BTW. I put on the batt cables that I got from you at Vogel... all I can say is AMAZING. I didn't expect that much difference. I couldn't find the post on the easy way to install so I zip-tied the new cables to the old and had a friend pull as I pushed. I also used a piece of the old neg with a new end to run from the ground at the engine to a frame bolt. I figured it couldn't hurt. I also recomended your cables in another post. Thanks again.

Does anyone have info on replacing the plug wires on a first gen? Can I go to resister wires and regular caps, and do I need 7, 8, or 8.5mm wires? I seem to remember a good tech article here BC, but can't find anything now. Gonna do a long trip in Sept and need to fix up the bike.

Yeah, Good times even with the rain, huh Brad!?! You just have to try and ride faster than the raindrops!

If you have a trunk rack, you can cut a piece of aluminum to fit inside the trunk with holes matched to your rack mounting screws (you might need longer screws). Then take a Wally-World seat-back organizer and pop rivet it (or install snaps) to the aluminum and screw it to the top of your trunk. A friend did that for his Electra-Slide and then moved it when he changed to a RoadGlide. He didn't want to pay HD's price for the organizer! I plan to do that when I mount the trunk rack on my 1st Gen. Now I'm just using two visor organizers on the sides held with double stick tape. The best I've found is 3-M car moulding and trim tape. There is also always Monkey Snot (3-M weatherstrip adhesive) that will hold to most anything!

It definitely looks good! I can't wait to finish painting mine to match my 86. Here is something that I recently posted in the "What about trailer brakes?" thread about my experience along these lines. I have pulled an 83 homemade trailer and a TimeOut "H-D" trailer behind my 1st Gen. They both weigh around 160# empty and , with another couple hundred in stuff, have had no problem stopping or pulling them other than the fact that without a swivel hitch your bike will not lean as far as you might like, and will feel like it's "pushing" you through a turn! I learned this the hard way at Deal's Gap! Didn't crash but I sure sucked up my seat! As you can see from these pics, that's about all the lean I can get without lifting the trailer's wheel! Best advice: Get a swivel hitch! You can always add a swivel hitch. Here is a link for one that's $70. It's at the lower left of the page. http://www.neoshotrailers.com/options.html Someplace I have more info on swivel hitches but I can''t seem to find it now. When I find it I"ll post it.

The first time that happened to me was the second day I owned my bike. I was in a sweeper at about 95 when it started to "porpoise" on me. I thought I would have to have the seat surgically removed from my butt!! It also has a pronounced wobble when breaking hard into a tight turn. People kept suggesting stearing head bearrings but I pushed and pulled and shook but could not feel any looseness. Since I can't afford to replace the the front springs and fork brace at this time I have been living with it. I found that trail braking when it started (to unweight the front end) helps. But just b-4 Vogel I had it jacked up with both wheels off the ground and moved the handlebars just off center and they snapped back to center! And I don't think Yamamaha uses self centering bearings ! I had the same problem on an 82 Maxim that I bought and had to fix before I ever rode it. It seems that the races developed divots where the ball bearings sit. I went to Yamaha and the ballbearings were around $3 each and there were, like, 20 or 30 of them! So I ordered 3 and the races. Then I went to Ace Hardware and found the same size ball bearings for 15 cent apiece. I used those and rode that bike another thirty thousand miles with no problems. I assume that the bearings on the Venture have the same problem and I plan to repalce them soon. Sorry this is a little long winded, but try getting the front wheel off the ground and move it just off center. If it snaps back to center and stays, then you might have stearing head problems. Before the site crash, I think I remember something on here about replacement bearings that are pressed and not ball and race. If anyone knows about them or where to get them, please let me know.