bongobobny

Yup, what Condor said!! Surprisingly over the course of the last 12 years, I have only heard of 3 catastrophic failures and one was caused by a hydro lock issue. On the other hand, I have heard of many 2nd gen Ventures going over 200,000 miles and still running strong. The only "minor" issues are the fuel pump going south, electrical issues such as the stator and the R/R going south, and clutches slipping for various reasons. If not properly stored, the carbs can get plugged up...

You are correct, the three stator wires do not care which pin they are on!

OK, after one year it would seem that they shouldn't have taken a "set" but you never know. Myself, having come from the aircraft industry, we would never reuse an O ring when rebuilding something even if it was only a couple of months old as compression plus heat equals deformation. I was just throwing that out as it is a fairly common cause for head gaskets to leak when they are replaced. The compound of the bolt cushions stay in the compressed state having taken a set, so the bolts are allowed to go in further without giving any kind of downward force on the valve cover, and the bolts themselves will bottom out and you think they are tightening down the valve cover but they are not. IMHO it is kind of a bad design that allows this to happen but who am I to challenge some Japanese Engineer...

Wow!! Has it been 6 years already?? Where does the time go?!!? Seems like it was just a couple of years ago! I miss you, my good friend! I have ALWAYS enjoyed your company!! We should get together some time...

One of the biggest issues with valve cover leakage is NOT replacing the rubber gaskets on the valve cover screws! What happens is those rubber "O" ring pieces are compressed, and the screws holding the valve cover down bottom out before the gaskets have a chance to seal!! You definitely need to replace those round rubber pieces when replacing the valve cover gaskets...

I agree with the above, but, with your video, it sure sounds like things are not spinning at the right speed. If you can afford it, do the battery cable update AND the 4 brush starter motor upgrade. A 2nd Gen starter can usually be found on eBay for around $60 and it is plug and play...

Yup, Randy, I'm sure that is another contributing factor in the MPG, but even with conservative driving, higher RPM's means more fuel consumption at speed... Hey, even without the conversion, a stock Venture can certainly pull a wheelie especially in second gear, or at least the MK1 could...

Yup, what Randy said. The VMax rear end ratio would be the same as putting a higher ratio set of gears in your car or truck. Being a higher ratio than the Venture, you will have more spunk out of the hole but your top speed in each gear will be lower. So, as Randy pointed out, where you used to be turning over a certain RPM for a set speed, your RPM's will be higher, which results in your MPG's going down. Not a drastic drop, but it will go down! As far as the price goes, that is a reasonable price but I have seen them a little lower. The problem being because it is VMax, the parts command a little more money. Yes, with the exception of that grey plastic piece, it should be a straightforward swap...

A quick test is to start the bike and then disconnect the battery, the bike should keep running if the charging system is working properly. There have been, however, a few cases where the R/R works fine cold, but after a while, it craps out once it warms up. This is the exception rather than the rule, but keep in mind it has happened...

Yup! I get around $23 every time I go to the VA Hospital in Buffalo. Lately, I seem to average at least twice a month. Heck, I even get around $10 just to go to the clinic in the next town over...

Yup!! I've met Mark in person as well and will attest to the fact he is a class act!!!

You just hit the nail right on the head, Blue Sky!!! Let's start out with a couple of statements! Can someone show me just where in scriptures either God the Father or Jesus the Son or the Holy Spirit or anyone for that matter ever commanded or even suggested we celebrate his birthday??? And, to top that off, just where in the Holy Scriptures do we know the exact date of his birth??? Now, don't get me wrong, I do respect the fact that we do indeed celebrate His birth regardless! It is a nice touch and a great practice even though there is no biblical basis for doing so! Without His birth, he never could have come to this earth to free us from sin and to provide us access to God the Father and to Heaven to ALL who believe upon his name, but what is even more important is his death, burial, and resurrection which leads to the defeat of death and eternal separation from God! What irks me is the total disregard in the true meaning of Christmas. We would rather decorate houses and trees (Hey, let's cut down our trees for Jesus) and try to outdo each other in the process. We hold dear songs that have nothing to do with the birth of Jesus or anything to do with God and treasure them as Christmas classics! And don't even get me started on "traditional" classic Christmas movies that are likewise! I'm not even going to mention Santa Claus and him being a false messiah... I'm not trying to be a Grinch or a Scrooge, go ahead and continue your Christmas traditions, all I am asking is to recognize the true reason for the season. Once again, BAH, HUMBUG!!!

^^^ What Carl said!! Also, yes, it is possible for a 30-year-old spring to lose its "spring" so if cleaning and lubricating the pedal doesn't work, try a new spring...

Cutting off your nose to spite your face, Dan?? Get your a$$ over there ASAP, that's an order, troop...

So very sorry to hear of this, Jeff! Molly was a good old girl and I'm glad I had the opportunity to meet her!! They aren't pets, they are family and it always hurts to lose them!!!

Yup, life is like a roll of toilet paper, the closer to the end, the faster it goes...

Ummm, backing my scoot out of a garage by being on it instead of walking it out. My foot hit some built up debris in the driveway and down I went! I know of a member who went quite a few miles (or in his case Kilometers) with his brand new cell phone on the trunk of his bike...

​Hehehehehehehehehehehe!!!

Dear Santa Please forgive my good friend Big Tom for actually lying through his teeth about being good. As you know he is quite delusional but you know he means well. I would consider it a personal favor if you show mercy to him and grant at least some of his Christmas wishes. Yours truly, your humble and faithful servant Bongo Bob...

Finally, put the bike to sleep yesterday after a final ride last Saturday...

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bah_humbug https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humbug Just a little edification so you know exactly what you mean when you say the term... Quite frankly, what Christmas is supposed to represent as opposed to what the world has turned it into makes me want to say HUMBUG!!!

Not sure what you mean by "ate the wire" on your cassette adapter, if you mean the audio wire leads broke off, well just eject the adapter and slap in a new one, they can be found for as cheap as $5. A while ago I bought a cassette adapter that is Bluetooth and it was less than $20 from what I remember. I just haven't tried that one out yet even though I've had it a year or so...

Well, for the price of Amzoil (I assume you are talking the "Purple" that supposedly lasts a VERY long time) you can buy lots more less expensive quarts of oil...

Yup! Where I live Verizon is the only carrier that gives me bars anywhere inside the house besides next to the window...

Send 'em over here!