N3FOL
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Posts posted by N3FOL
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When you said that your bearing on the rear wheel went out, what kind of symptoms did you notice? Just curious.
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cecdoo has a point there.
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How long would a windshield last on your bike before they replace it? So far so good on my end and I don't want to open up the fairing yet until I really have to.
Three cracked windshields??? I hope your dealership can narrow down the cause of the problem and have it resolved and fixed. Going back and forth to the shop can also be a nuisance.
Do you have any pics of your cracked windshield?
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I repacked mine at 26k. It was a pain but there was also plenty of grease in there from the factory. I cleaned out the bearings and repacked them with black moly. Since the bearings only travel a small amount, not like a wheel bearing, I believe that one packing should be sufficient. If you feel play with the swingarm it may be time for a new bearing. As far as adding a grease fitting I believe this was also discussed years ago. It seems the bearing rides in the cavity of the cross tube of the swing arm, if memory serves me, and its not in an enclosed area. You would almost have to pack the whole inside of the swingarm with grease. Most likely you would have to weld in some stops with the races removed, but somehow I dont think that was feasable.
One more thing: Make sure you have a good quality allen socket when you torque those swingarm bolts back to specs. I think they torque to 76 ft lbs and just as my torque wrench clicked the socket broke off in the hole.
Glad to know that even at 26K, the swing arm bearings still had lots of grease. As I am just imagining how much involved this job is going to be...looks like a major tear down. There is a dealership in our area that offers pre-paid maintenance on bikes, so I may have to look at that option down the road.
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That is so sad to hear. Our economy is in real bad shape. Hopefully Goodyear or Firestone takes over managing the company and bail them out.
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Freezing Rain last night and then 40's today. It may clear up enough to get a ride to and from work tomorrow and then no more
for the next 3 days. Snow is forecasted to come our way this Sunday. -
That cheap charger you had in '93 was probably not an Automatic type and continously charge the battery until it boils to death...been there ...done that...
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jrcain32's is a '99 and your is also a '99. Does this tell me that after 9 years or so, my '07 Venture will or may have the same leak down the road.
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Is that the guy from the 'Sponge Bob Square Pants' show?
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I also have the same thump on the front when I hit a nice bump, but no thump on the rear. I've always thought that it might be my forks with 0 psi...I may be wrong.
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Wow. Thanks.
Hello uechi kid. Great to see you posting on this forum. Lots of good information and interaction here. I am still quite active in the Kawa forum...stop by once in awhile over there.
Regards.
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You are very right...love the backroads around here and there are several spots that are great for 4 wheel fun too...just watch out for Bambi.
I also feel that I will do ok here, if that is untrue...my priviledges as a member had been already taken out by people that run this forum long time ago. I do ask a lot of questions and will post my opinion on anything that I know. If I have no idea as to what is being talked about, I don't even post at all...simply reading along.
I have great luck with my D404's on my last bike and got 15K+ on the rear. D404's are on top of my list. Avons...time will tell on my side. Ride safe.
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Thanks for the link.
Now I have to figure out how many miles that will be from PA. to AR. AZ.
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I wasn't really trying to push you into changing out your stock tires early, although I do think that would be a wise decision. I was more concerned with your having enough information to decide what you really wanted to put on next.
Nobody could convince me to change out my stock Brickstones early either. And like you, I didn't really think there was anything wrong with them. In fact, I defended the handling of the RSV with OEM Brickstone tires on several forums back then. Yes, I did notice the very heavy feel at low speeds, but I didn't have any problem with it; and after all, this IS the heaviest touring bike sold! What else would I expect? And at anything above 1st gear, it didn't seem to have any problems at all. I made several trips to the Texas Hill Country and the Ozarks and had a blast in the twisties. But that was when I had nothing else to compare to them on the RSV. To top it all off, I'm the kind of person who just can't waste anything - I even over eat when I KNOW it is better for me to throw the extra food away! So even if I had really believed the tires were as bad as they were, I probably would have just worn them out anyway.
But there is just no way to adequately describe how much of an eye-opener the first set of Avons were on that bike after living with those cruddy OEM tires! Bottom line is that just because I could ride the RSV with Brickstones on it didn't mean they were a good choice.
Goose
Glad to hear that you are well satisfied with the Avons. As far as my Bridgestones are concerned, I will be very happy to get over 10K on them and perhaps more on the front. However, I always change tires in sets and keep the old front tire as a spare. Right now I don't worry too much about my OEM tire and put my attention to enjoying every single mile I put in my Venture.
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Sometimes I take it to the next level and do a little Blasting and Interacting... OK I thought you were yankin my chain with the Fellow Rider thing... No Prob with that I just don't hear that used much except for maybe a sarcastic time or two... I've been on here since 05 but who's countin... The site crashed a while back and all that old stuff got lost... The V2K uses Radials I believe cuz I'm considering going to a 150/80R-16 to better match my Radial Car Tire in the rear... maybe even a Bridgestone cuz all thos Vulcan riders seem to like them.. But Goose is right the Bias RS Bridgestones suck... I didn't know how bad until I swapped them out with Dunlop 404s..
No problem on my end as well. I am just as thrilled that someone is responding to my postings. Keep up your good work on this forum for riders like us will need everyones take on their good and bad experiences.
My previous bike came with D404's and they are ok tires IMO.
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Sounds like a great get together next year. I cannot promise anything yet, since we are looking at August of '09 to Arkansas. Anything can happen between now and then on my schedule. But if you have a link for the event, I will make sure to mark my calendar.
I've heard of good things about Avons not just from Yamaha riders, but also from other bike owners other than Yamaha. One thing I like about the Venture is that all the weight disappears once you take off from 1st gear.
I am still a little ways before I buy my next set of tires and this discussion is absolutely a great way in keeping up the awareness to all Venture riders as to what type of equipment works and what does not work.
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Hydraulic fluid from clutch slave? I assume they're still using the same setup. It would run down the frame to the kickstand and drip from there. Clear fluid and feels like oil.
What does the winner get for a prize???!!!
Dan
I see his bike is a 99, so if I am not mistaken his is also a 2nd Gen Venture. When my previous bike sprung a leak on the jugs, it bothered me a lot. Hope he can narrow down what that fluid is and whether or not it is a true leak.
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Yes may be right about Bridgestones. I don't disagree on your opinion. See, I came from a Vulcan 900LT and slow speed handling was 'crappy' on OEM Dunlops and Metzlers....then I eventually sold it and went for the Venture. To tell you the truth, I personally do not see any problems with my Bridgestones since I am not really too aggressive on my throttle lately...at slow speeds on my Venture it is significantly easier to handle than my previous Kawa900 bike that is half as light in lbs. Being only 5'5" and 170 lbs., I find it very easy to handle a Venture.
If I am made of money, I will replace my OEM tires just for curiosity on to try a different brand. Maybe not yet, so I cannot give you an accurate response on Avon and Dunlops mounted on a Venture.
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Thanks for the Welcome. I see that you joined this forum in '06. I hope you are also having a blast interacting with forum members.
I try to be as friendly as possible, so I would use nice words as 'fellow rider' and/or comrade. I know that a number of Kawasaki V2K owners are currently using ME 880's and couldn't be happier with their decision and I've never heard in the Kawa forum of tire failures from heavy cruiser riders. BTW, some also had switched to the Darkside and are fairly pleased with the handling.
Since you live in Maine, I hope you are able to get some riding in despite the cold temps. It has been ugly weather wise in PA for the rest of the week, but I am contemplating on getting a nice ride this coming Thursday.
Regards.
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The winner gets to help jrcain32 fix the leak.
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N3FOL I think the point you're missing is... Metzelers are "Thee" tire to run on 99% of the motorcycles out there... I used to run em on my GW and I swore by them... They would outlast Dunlops & Conties 2 to 1... My tire guy swears by them and thinks they're the greatest... But on the Yamaha Royal Star line there have been lots of issues with them... Ply separations, blowing chunks, and blow outs... I won't run them on my RSV, But I am running a Car Tire on the back... Some people consider that to be risky but I don't think it's as risky as running a Metz... We've heard all the excuses from Metz... Rider abuse, under inflation, overloaded, and "Oh it's just the Brazil made Metzs"... Well I've heard of a few German Metzs with issues too...
Hey if it was just a few fat guys with big Ol'Ladys that don't know how to work an air gauge I'd be the first guy on here calling it BS... I don't know how long you've been here or on other RS Forums but it's way past a few fatties..
Not really missing a point yet my fellow rider. I have not explicitly said that I will buy Metzlers for my Venture and options are always opened. I am also not saying that all the bad claims that Venture owners complain about Metzler tires is hard to believe, but I am definitely going to put myself on the cautious side and decide as an adult to weigh the risk involved.
As far as being around in this forum is concerned, I joined 3 months ago and enjoyed every moment that I spend reading and posting my opinions. Sounds like you decided to use a car tire for your Venture and I wish you all the best and stay safe while riding out there.
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You folks can argue all day and those of you who think that the Metzlers are good tires then you have made your decision and that is your right. For those of who who are unsure though, LISTEN to V7Goose. They are NOT good tires for our bikes. There have been MANY reports of failures on our bikes. Yes, there have been failures on other brands too but nothing near the number of reports that we get on the Metzlers.
The under inflation argument just doesn't fly with me. You would have to convince me that only those who use Metzler tires are ever guilty of running their tires under inflated and since many of those who have experience failures have run other brands before and after then they ONLY run the Metzlers under inflated. Yes, it is important that we watch the air pressure of our tires but it's pretty pathetic that these particular tires come apart if the pressure isn't kept that high.
Bottom line. They are crappy tires and Metzler should be sued for continuing to sell them and blame the riders.
Sorry folks but these are my opinions and the opinions of many who have experience with these tires. If you are convinced in your own mind that they are good tires then by all means, do what you think is best but for those of you who are unsure, please don't buy or use them. There are several very good tires on the market for our bike. Avon, Michelin, Dunlop....there is no reason to take a chance.
It would really be nice to have some kind of a poll in this forum as to what tire manufacturer they are currently using on their Venture. I am interested to find out. We will never know exactly what the problem is with the Metzler tires until someone sue and have NTSB do a real investigation and ultimately a recall. I am glad that there are no loss of life that I've heard so far...this reminds me on the crappy tires that Firestone had years ago (SUV tires).
It is also sad to know that Metzlers continue to blame operators on their tire failure issues. You are right there are still a lot of good brands out there available for our Venture and I may stick to the OEM brand when it comes the time to replace my tires.
Ride safe and remember to always check your tire pressure before a ride.
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Someone at home might be playing tricks on him.
for the next 3 days. Snow is forecasted to come our way this Sunday. 
Noise
in General Tech Talk
Posted
You will definitely love the Venture. The whine that members had complained about is fixable. Not all members report the same symptoms and help is just a thread away. I do not notice any whine on my Venture yet, so I am keeping a close ear...the 5 year factory warranty will give you peace of mind.
Have fun shopping for your new Venture.