dingy

Attached is the valve shim sheet in a different format. Try and see if it will open in your software. I had to put it in a zip file, software on this site would not allow an upload of an XML format file. Gary

This thread may help with those pesky math calculations. It is an Excel spreadsheet to calculate required shims based on existing clearance and existing shim in motor. Would work best if you had a laptop in garage while you are adjusting valves. http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=43410 Also attached is a form that can be used to record the valve clearances as you take the readings. Open the attached picture & print it out. Gary

How much do you pay for a gallon of 'Real Gas"? Is it the same price as the ethanol at the other pumps or do they charge a premium? Assuming a cost of $3.00 a gallon for ethanol, the real gas would have to be under $3.15 a gallon to justify the increase of 5% mileage. On the other hand, the real gas would not be detrimental to the rubber components in the fuel system, so there may be a long term payback there. But, judging by the limited amount of places that sell it in Ohio, the majority of the time, on rides of any distance, ethanol is the only choice. Gary

The brake relay is a fairly simple circuit. 12V+ runs first through the front brake switch, then to the rear brake switch, then to the brake relay coil. Other side of brake relay coil is grounded. Positive side is energized any time key is on. Both brake switches interupt the current flow to the brake relay. The coil on the brake relay is normally energized. Pulling the relay will turn off the brake light, as the light works through a normally closed contact. This contact is opened by the energized coil when neither brake is depressed. When the relay is pulled, there is no path through the contact to light the brake light. Check and see if you have 12v+ at front switch connector, (key on), then check at back connector, then check at brake relay coil. At some point you are losing continuity in this circuit. Below is a link to wiring diagram. http://www.venturerider.org/wiring/99-09%20Yamaha%20Royal%20Star%20Venture%20Simplified%20Circuit%20Diagram%20Rev%20B.pdf Gary

I do believe I was wrong on this. Just looked at wiring diagrams and dash is not a good indicator. 95 bottles of beer on the wall Gary

When I was doing the wiring circuit diagrams, the identifying thing I found between the Standard & Royales was the dash layout. The wiring is very different between the two dashes, wiring harness connector are different. The Royale version has the clock at the bottom of the dash and also has the instrument panel dimmer control on the fight side of the dash. Also has gear position indicator to left of clock (shown in 5th gear) 1st picture is of a standard dash and second picture is a Royale dash (the three LED's above the center CMU were added by me, not on a stock unit, also red line indicator on tach is 7,500 RPM's on stock unit.) Gary

I prefer the MKII setup with the 'Double D' mod. I have 96 RWHP and it doesn't slip at all. Believe me, I have given it many opportunities to slip. The MKI setup is more difficult to increase the clutch pressure. I talked to a guy that was selling the Barnett springs and he told me they were the same spec's as stock. I don't see any benefit from the Barnet pressure plate, unless it is machined different at the spring seats in order to compress springs more. If you do increase clutch pressure, it would be a good idea to change the two clutch rubber hoses to stainless steel. The rubber ones will expand even more with the extra force required to engage the clutch. Gary

If you did the 'Double D' mod on your MKI, it would have had to been modified at some point with an MKII clutch setup. The 'Double D' mod entails the installation of a second diaphragm spring. The MKI's used 6 helical coil springs, and would not directly take the "Double D' mod. If an MKI is upgraded to an MKII clutch pressure plate setup, the crankcase clutch cover must be changed to an MKII at the same time. The MKII clutch stack up is more than the MKI, and the MKI cover will not fit over the clutch. Don't ask me how I know this. The "double D' mod will eliminate any slipping, but the clutch lever pull is much harder than stock. Gary

If it would fit in, I would try it. Gary

It's here and it's a thing of beauty !!! Thanks Jack. Gary http://i1007.photobucket.com/albums/af193/gdingy101/DSC00489.jpg http://i1007.photobucket.com/albums/af193/gdingy101/DSC00490.jpg

This is correct but there is another factor or two to consider. This is somewhat long, and is based on my experience, other peoples opinions may differ. Most of the text refers to the 84-93 (and RSV) motors. There is an explanation of the 83 difference. Static timing is the amount of advance that is hard coded into the system at the crankshaft/rotor connection. This setting is not adjustable on the Venture motor. The setting is determined by the relationship between the journals on the crankshaft and the positioning of the pickup coil trigger magnet on the rotor in conjunction with the placement of the pickup coils in the stator housing. The rotor to crankshaft connection is fixed with a woodruff key. This setting determines the static spark advance for the motor. The second system is an electronic advance based on engine RPM's. In the case of the Venture motor this is determined by the pulse coming from the #2 coil that is input into the TCI. The equivalent setting on a auto engine that was pre electronic ignition system would be the set of mechanical weights in the distributor. As engine RPM's increased the weights would be forced outward by the spinning of the distributor shaft. This advance was controlled by the size of the weights and the stiffness of the springs. Normally, the mechanical advance would be at full advance in the 2,500 to 3,000 RPM range. The change of the timing is done by moving the plate that the points are mounted to rotationally around the distributor shaft. The third system is the vacuum advance. On the Ventures, other than the 83, this is 'Manifold Vacuum'. As the carb butterfly's are opened, manifold vacuum reading rises to closer to atmospheric reading (14.7 PSI). This is due to the positioning of the vacuum source. It is between the carb butterfly plates and the cylinder heads. When the motor is idling, the piston creates a closer to zero vacuum reading as it moves downward on the intake stroke, since the vacuum source is connected below the butterfly plates, the sensor reads this lower than atmospheric vacuum. The manifold vacuum reading rises to nearer atmospheric pressure as the butterfly's are opened.This is due to the vacuum sensor now being exposed to the higher atmospheric pressure source. Once the motor RPM's level off in relationship to the butterfly opening, the vacuum reading will will return to a somewhat lower reading but still closer to atmospheric than at an idle condition. This is useful in determining load demand that the motor is responding to. The Ventures use an electronic sensor that is attached to the #2 intake manifold between the cylinder head and the carb. This sensor uses an electronic strain gauge that senses the vacuum, then translates this into an electronic signal that is input to the TCI. The equivalent setting on a auto engine that was pre electronic ignition system would be the vacuum advance unit that is attached to the distributor. This unit functions by pulling on a rubber bellows in response to vacuum change, this unit is very similar to the cruise control bellows on the venture. This bellows movement is hooked to the plate on the distributor that controls the advance setting. The 83 Venture is basically identical to the 84-93 engines (and the RSV's) except it used 'Ported Vacuum'. This vacuum source is above the throttle plates in the carbs. When this source of vacuum is used, the vacuum is nearest atmospheric reading when the butterfly's are closed. When the butterfly's are opened the suction from the piston moving downward on the intake stroke lowers the vacuum reading above the butterfly's. This difference is what makes the 83 TCI unique. It must interpret the vacuum signal opposite that of the 84-93 (and RSV) motors. Mechanically the 83 motor is identical to the 84-93 motors as far as the mechanical ignition timing is concerned. The crank, pistons, stator and pickups are basically the same. The 90-93 motors differ from the 83-89 motors in that these motors use a single coil pickup system. This also entails a change in the magnet located on the rotor. The 90-93 TCI's cannot be used on an 83-89 motor due to this difference. The 83 TCI cannot be used on an 84-89 motor without modifying the #2 carb to provide a ported vacuum source above the butterfly's. A TCI from an 84-89 motor can be used on an 83 motor by plugging the port above the butterfly's and connecting the vacuum sensor hose to the port on the #2 intake boot. The TCI receives three signals, one from the pickup coils, one sensing the motor's RPM's and one from the vacuum boost sensor. It uses these three signals to determine the amount of ignition timing required. All timing starts from the same place. On the Venture motor, this starting point is fixed. It is set at a static advance of 5 degrees before the number one cylinder reaches top dead center on the compression stroke. The four stroke engine, the type of engine the Venture uses, has the crankshaft rotate two times for each time the engine fires. The downwards movement of the piston begins and the intake valve opens, allowing the fuel/air mixture to be drawn into the cylinder as the downward movement of the piston creates a vacuum. This is called the “intake stroke” and fills the cylinder with fuel/air. About the time the piston reaches the bottom of its stroke, the intake valve will close, making a seal and the cylinder is now a closed system full of air/fuel mix. The piston then begins to move upwards compressing this mixture, hence, the term “compression stroke”. When the piston reaches near top of the stroke, the spark plug fires, igniting the fuel/air mixture which burns in a rapid manner forcing the piston downwards. This is where the power comes from and is called the “firing stroke” or “power stroke”. As the piston nears its bottom point, all of the air/fuel should be burned and needs to be forced out, or exhausted, to make room for a fresh charge of air/fuel. Thus, the exhaust valve opens as the piston travels upwards and the rising piston forces the burned residue out of the cylinder on the “exhaust stroke”. Near the top of the exhaust stroke, the exhaust valve closes and the intake valve opens so the whole process can begin again. In first glance, the spark plug would fire as the piston just begins its downward cycle on the firing stroke. But, the air/fuel mixture is a controlled burning, not a violent explosion. The burning begins near the triggering device, the spark plug, and moves across the top of the piston and the combustion chamber until the entire air/fuel mixture is burning. Ideally complete full burn should take place when the cylinder has moved slightly downwards, or at about 20 degrees after Top Dead Center (TDC). This is the point at which the crankshaft journal is at the apex of its rotation and any further rotation of the crank initiates the downward movement of the piston. The burning process of the air/fuel mixture causes a chemical change to the gasoline molecules. As they change from a liquid state to a gaseous state, the volume of the molecules increases, thus causing the piston to be forced downward to allow for this increased volume. Also involved in the need for advance is the very slight delay involved in the firing of the plug. If the mixture were signaled to be ignited at TDC the piston would be traveling downward by the time the spark plug reacts to the coils collapsing field which generate the arc across the spark plug. This seems like an instantaneous reaction but is not. There is millisecond or two for this reaction to occur. When an engine is running at 1,000 RPM's the crankshaft completes a full revolution 16.6 times a second. In a four stroke engine, every other revolution is a power stroke, so each piston is firing once every .12 seconds (120 milliseconds). When the RPM's are at 7,000, the piston is firing every .017 seconds (17 milliseconds). If the timing is advanced too much, pre-detonation (pinging) occurs. This is a condition that happens when the expanding air/fuel mixture happens too soon and forces the piston downward while the crankshaft is still moving it up during the compression stroke. The Venture TCI will advance the ignition timing by about 48 degrees at 2,800 RPM's with a nearer to atmospheric vacuum reading (open butterfly's). This timing curve is shown below which is from the VMax service manual and does vary somewhat from the Venture., it is shown because I believe the Venture nomenclature is wrong that identify the curves in the service manual. The format of this curve is in a 2D format, it does not show the 3 three factors that control timing fully. http://i1007.photobucket.com/albums/af193/gdingy101/VMaxtimingcurvefrommanul.jpg The next picture is taken from the software that is supplied with the Ignitech ignition module that several of use are using on our Ventures. By looking at the timing advance in a 3 dimensional format, it is more apparent as to the relationships between the 3 inputs controlling timing. The lower left corner is the 0,0,0 point. Zero RPM's, Zero advance and lowest vacuum reading. Vacuum on this chart is indicated by the symbol 'TP' on the lower right side. This is due to the Ignitech unit is shown as using a Throttle position sensor to supply the unit with the somewhat equivalent input as Vacuum. The Throttle position input is used with most modern fuel injected systems. It is not however, an indication of engine load that is more useful in carburated engines. The reason for this is that if the throttle is half power position, the optimum timing advance is different while the engine is under load as it accelerates. I think that all of us that are using the Ignitech unit are using a vacuum sensor in place of the throttle position sensor. As can be seen more apparently from this depiction of the timing curve is that the advance is at a larger amount when the engine is at a higher RPM with with either the closest to atmospheric vacuum, or at high RPM with somewhat low vacuum reading. When the motor is operating at mid range RPM's and mid range throttle position at steady RPM's , the advance is in the somewhat flat area, towards the center of the graph. http://i1007.photobucket.com/albums/af193/gdingy101/Ignition3Dmap.jpg The same timing curve as shown in the 3D graph above is displayed below in a data input format. The Throttle Position (Vacuum) is on the left side of the chart. The vacuum is depicted in a range of 0-100%. 0% being the idle condition and 100% being the closest to atmospheric reading the vacuum the sensor detects when the throttle is snapped open. RPM's are shown across the top. The boxes in the middle are the advance settings at each intersection of a given TPS (vacuum) and RPM point. http://i1007.photobucket.com/albums/af193/gdingy101/Ignition3Dflatmap.jpg A link to the best thread detailing the Ignitech unit is at: http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=40414 Gary

The 83 wiring hookup is identical to the 84-89 units. The 86 TCI will be a plug & play replacement, no other changes needed. Jayceefolly, PM me with your address and I will get the 86 unit sent out to you. Gary

The 15 - 16 number you mention is the rims mounting diameter. In a given tire code such as 150/80-16. The 150 refers to the width of the tire in millimeters. The 80 refers to the Aspect ratio - This sidewall's height is roughly 80% of the tire's width. The 16 refers to the rims mounting diameter. The one number which is fairly set in stone is the diameter number, you have to change rims to change this number on tires. The other two numbers are some what more flexible. There is the maximum width that can be mounted safely on a rim, as well as the maximum width that the suspension will allow due to frame members rubbing wider tires. Tires are one of the topics that have the most varied opinions on here. Second would probably be oil, followed by charging systems. Gary

You are correct Gunny. From what I know about rich/lean conditions, lean will run hotter than rich. This is due to the heat from the combustion process will be expelled through the tailpipes in the form of unburnt, but heated fuel molecules. The unburnt fuel is a direct path out of the engine for the heat. I was just asking about the soot on the tail pipes as this is an easy way to tell the difference for someone as to if the bike is running rich. If it is rich, there is probably another system fault in the cooling system that is causing the overheating. Possibly incorrect thermostat bypass valve setting, low coolant level, malfunctioning thermostat are some possibilities. If it is running lean, then this could be the source of extra heat. I am not really sure which way the rich/lean condition would swing, if at all, due to a timing issue. Gary

Sent you a PM regarding 86 TCI. If it is still the TCI from the 83, and the bike has 86 thru 93 carbs on it, there is not an easy way to reconfigure the vacuum line. I t is doable, but would require drilling the #2 carb body for a fitting to receive the vacuum line. Carbs would probably need to be removed from bike. The 83 TCI in effect is possibly retarding the ignition, or at least, not advancing it when engine is under higher power demand. This would result in the air/fuel mixture being ignited later than optimal in the power stroke of the piston. Are your tail pipe tips covered with soot? This would be an indication of running rich, which could be a result of incorrect timing. Gary

Sky_Doc 17 has the shim listed in classifieds. http://www.venturerider.org/classifieds/showproduct.php?product=2718&title=vmax-final-drive-shim-21&cat=22 I think it needs to be .027" thick. (+/- a smidge) I made one out of high strength gasket material I had lying around. It is the same bolt pattern & profile as the rear swing arm. Gary

I have seen the same configuration that is in the right picture at a Harley dealer. We were ta a dealer this summer for demo rides and one of the bikes in the showroom had the same metal extender on the bottom of the foot peg. i don't remember if it was a Harley or may be a Buell. Gary

Below is a link showing how this change was made on a 1st gen. Stock turn signal lenses dyed red & 1157 socket installed in original housing. http://venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=47227 Lenses have not faded over this summer any that I can notice. Gary

90% of the time I have the set of stock pipes that I gutted out to the last baffle. I can swap them in about 15 minutes. Once I got used to them, I quit swapping. I have never had a louder bike, but the straight set seems to give bike some more power. Navigator likes quieter set, but she doesn't ride that much. Gary

None that I have noticed. I have about 6000 miles since I put them on. I have had the mufflers off a few times to swap between my quiet set and the straight pipe set and they were always tight. Gary

Below is a picture of one of the brackets bongobobny mentioned in previous post. Bracket is 1/8" aluminum x 1 1/4" wide. I can't get a length measurement or hole to hole distance. Top was rounded and bottom cut at angle to match horizontal line of muffler. Gary

The wheel ratio to the speedo cable is 3 turns of the cable per 1 revolution of the wheel. I have a spare wheel cable gear head that I verified that on. Reason I didn't use 5 LED's for the arrows at this point is I am planning on also putting in a series of lower wattage LED's that will light with the tail light circuit. I will determine if I can do that when I see what the circuit board configuration will be in the turn signal housing. I am unsure at this point if I will be able to have room for all the traces on the board to light the turn/brake LED's. There will be physical room, but the overlapping circuits may pose a problem. I originally intended on using dual wattage LED's, but that is proving to be difficult as I have to switch both the positive & negative side of the LED's, in different circuit paths. This is dictated by the configuration of the turn signal switch contacts. Due to the design of the turn signal switch, once a turn direction is selected, the switch outputs a continuous positive pulse and a momentary negative pule on different wires. The negative pulse is only for the duration that the switch is pushed right or left. The positive signal remains on until the turn signal is manually canceled by pushing in or down on the switch (depending on MKI or MKII). The cancel circuit over rides this constant on condition if the signal is not manually canceled. As it is now I am looking at about 25 transistor circuits to control front & rear lights, canceling & dash functions. I am hoping to use an eprom for majority of transistors with a 556 dual timer chip to control flash rate & self canceling. Self canceling will be determined by either distance traveled, time or a combination. Also possible is a speed increase over a given setting. The relay based version of the circuit indicates it is doable, but complex. Gary

On the 1st gen instrument cluster there is a reed switch mounted above the speedometer cable input. This reed switch senses the turning of the front wheel and outputs a signal to the cruise control & turn signal cancel circuit. Picture attached below. Does anyone know if this reed switch pulses 1 time per revolution of the speedometer cable or a different number? I don't have a spare cluster head to check for this, and don't want to dig into the one on the bike. I am working on a digital circuit to replace the flasher/hazard relays and the turn signal cancel circuit. I will use the count output by this reed switch to determine the distance the bike has traveled and use this input to cancel the turn signals at some distance traveled point. I know the front wheel circumference and the number of revolutions the cable makes per wheel rotation. With this info and knowing the number of times per cable revolution the reed switch pulses, I can calculate distance traveled. I am going to replace the bulb in the rear turn signal housing with 15 LED's arranged in a pattern that can produce five independent arrows circuits of 3 LED's each. Second picture below. These five arrow patterns will be sequenced to give the appearance of a moving banner in the direction of the turn. At this point I plan to light first the inboard arrow, then at about 1/5 second intervals light the next arrow until all five arrows are lit, then turn off the first arrow, then each of the other arrows at the same 1/5 second interval, until all are off. This will give a full sequence every 2 seconds. This sequencing will be repeated as long as the turn signal switch request is on, or the self timer cancels signals. Also, there will be a brake light circuit that will activate all the LED's steady in both turn signals when the brake is activated. If a left or right turn signal or hazards are activated, the brake light for the corresponding side in the turn signal housing, or both in case of hazards, will be deactivated allowing the side to flash. Center brake light will function as it does now. If I have room in the turn signal housing, I will also mount lower wattage LED's for tail light function. I have an analog (relay) circuit designed that will do the sequencing and brake functions using the existing outputs from the turn, hazard & brake switches. I will convert that design to a digital version which will be fairly compact and low power consumption. I am estimating about the size of a cigarette pack. This controller will also control front signals and dash indicators without the sequencing or brake light features. Gary

The tuner & amp have the same part #'s from 84 to 93 in the parts fiche. The 83 parts fiche did not show a p/n in the copy I have. It shows 'Unavailable" where the p/n should be listed. Gary

Working on a concept to put sequential turn signals on rear of bike. A series of pulsing LED arrows that work with the turn signals & hazards. LED's will be mounted in existing turn signal housing. Controlled by a digital circuit I am developing. Brake light will also activate turn signal lights and work in conjunction with turn signals. Gary