bongobobny

The 2nd gear issue is just one stinking thrust washer that goes bad, but you have to split the case to replace it with the beefier one. Yes, the 2nd gen Venture gears can be installed, but you may not like the ratio, for the 1st gens the 1st gen ratios perform better IMHO. The thrust washer is a lot cheaper than buying an entire gear set...

Yes, I did notice the V Twins!

The adjustable backrest was only available on the MK2, '86 - '93. The MK1's had fixed backrest...

Well, seeing as the post was from 2012...

Yah! Gary is a great guy, very helpful!

Yes, member Dingy (Gary Dinges) was selling them, but he isn't active here any more. I believe he is still active on the VMax Forum though. He was also selling them on Ebay...

When you get the tool, make sure you attach it to the torque wrench properly. The spanner should be at a 90 degree angle from the torque wrench, NOT straight forward. If you position it so it is sticking forward it will act as a torque multiplier and put more torque on the nut than it says it is...

Yup!! Contact Earl, member Skydoc_17 who is one of our member vendors and sells a nice conversion kit for the fuse block. Earl is a great guy!!

Yah, those are similar, but the ones for the venture are more rounded than pointy, as you can tell from the one I saw in the picture. BTW passenger floorboards are stock on the MK2 ('86 - '93) but only pegs for the MK1. The K2 boards can be bolted up on the MK1 but you have to fabricate a set of hangers for the exhaust, and use a spacer or washer on the one big bolt...

A bad slave will not make the clutch slip, it is energized when you pull the clutch lever. There is an issue with the master cylinder if the little relief orifice on the bottom of the reservoir is plugged, the hydraulic pressure does not get relieved so the slave does not completely disengage... Yes, you could have a leak from the slave cylinder, but it could also be engine oil leaking from the stator area via the rubber plug that the stator wires exit through.

Actually my wife once commented she was more comfortable on our old 1st gen than on our 2nd gen! I did move the trunk back on both bikes, but on the 1st gen I had to fabricate some extender brackets (flat piece of metal with holes) whereas on the 2nd gen it was a matter of using the second set of holes already in the trunk. IMHO ANYTHING would be more comfortable than the back of a Sportster, but YES, Ventures are rolling barcaloungers...

Picture 5. Those are Markland, I have a pair on my '84. There is another type floorboard that has brackets that bolt onto the bottom of the bike, those Marklands bolt onto the crash bars...

I was going to say "No problem" but see RandyA's thread in the Watering hole. Actually Heather, your assumptions also have merit too! It just seems like, the way he described it with the light bulb, it make sense for a weak battery, only because he said it dimmed a little on Acc setting then went dead on "ON"

Hmmmm, I am sometimes guilty of that! You are VERY welcome Randy!!!

We are caging it. Be in MI Friday afternoon/eve on the 28th. Leaving Haloween Mon morning late...

Hmmmm, voltmeter readings would be more helpful. the way you describe it sounds like a bad battery, Acc puts small load dimming the light bulb, On position puts a big load on battery, i.e. lights, etc draining the battery waaaay down. Did you try charging the battery?? Try that and take the battery to a local auto parts store, etc and get the battery load tested. Maybe your charging system crapped the bed. If you can read schematics, here ya go... http://www.venturerider.org/wiring/86-89%20Yamaha%20Venture%20Simplified%20Circuit%20Diagram%20Rev%20D.pdf

PS those rider floorboards are aftermarket...

Well, looks like you're in for a LOT of cleaning and refurb! Those engine side covers have some kind of aftermarket plastic bling covering the fact that your plastic louvers are probably broken. From what I can tell on your upper fairing pieces you have a lot of broken mounting tabs. The paint job is not stock. Hard to tell from the pictures but most of the plastic seems to be from an '87 which was gold, not the '86. All plastic is rebuildable and repaintable. Seat could be recovered, but chances are you can find a better one cheaper on Ebay, same for missing lower fairing piece. I'm thinking you will be better served replacing the headlight as there is probably rust stains inside as well! Jeff confirmed what you thought concerning surge tank, battery box, and what the aftermarket trunk and rear light assemblies are. If you explore this site you will find assembly and parts manual to give you an idea what is what...

As far as the clutch slave cylinder, you may be best served buying as new one rather than rebuilding your old one. Chances are the cylinder area is corroded and pitted and will need honing, making the cylinder oversized, which may result in new seals not sealing as good as they should. Many of us have tried rebuilding with mixed success. New ones are around $50 US from what I remember. If you have issues with companies not shipping to Canada or wanting an arm and a leg for shipping, and you fear the fine US Canada customs loosing your part, well we can relay the part over to you via Carl/Bongo shade tree import system...

Thought so...

Yes Carl, the horn is always hot via the "Signal" fuse with the brown wire. The ground comes via the pink wire from the horn switch. You can take a voltmeter and read the brown wire to ground and you should see 12 volts with the ignition on. If not check the Signal fuse, but that fuse knocks out a few other things as well, the anti dive solenoids, the neutral indicator, the Tach, the temperature gauge, the voltmeter, and the brake lights. Try hoking the horn directly across the battery to see if it works. Once you get the battery wiring fixed up if it needs it (common issue is horn switch contacts going bad) then use the horn wires to trigger a relay that switches 12 volts directly from the battery to a nice Wolo Bad Boy air horn, you will be glad you did!! Hmmmm, wonder if I have any of those collared rear shock bolts left, I used to have a couple, or did you get them from me Carl?? Not sure about the clutch parts but I do know the '86 up has the same design. I guess you could cross reference the part numbers...

Hey Ed!! Yes, I echo what everyone else has said, VERY glad to hear from you and that you are getting on with life! I'm sure it was no easy task to take on, my first wife and I went through an apartment complex fire but all we got was smoke damage. That fire was caused by smoking in bed and the guy got out all right. Nothing like what you went through! So you're in Tennessee now! Beautiful state IMHO. So now you can start attending some of the east coast events! Maybe see you at one of them!

I think it's gonna be sort of like the Victory Vision, you either love it or hate it, nothing between!

Well, to have someone competent do it I would say between $800 to $1200 fo0r a COMPLETE rebuild with new parts and setup to include syncing and mixture fine tuning. To do it yourself properly figure on around $400 worth of parts to make brand new again. There is an excellent DVD out there on rebuilding them... Now, there is a very interesting viable alternative here http://roadstercycle.com/yamaha_vmax_fuel_injector_cv_car.htm What makes you think the carbs need rebuilding?? Chances are if the bike sat for years they probably do, but hey, you never know, maybe a good dose of Seafoam and drive it like you stole it may be all that's needed. Syncing the carbs is actually quite easy with the proper tool like a Morgan Carbtune... Originally you were looking for a 2nd Gen, weren't you? Now you are looking at 1st Gens which are a complete different animal from the 2nd gen.

Ahhh, yes, send me your email addy or your snail mail addy (maybe better) and I will get them to you. Not sure if they will be helpful or not especially in the rear area but I tried. The install was on Adventurer's MM. He had to do a little trimming with the exhaust. Also, important information, make sure your kickstand is UP when you install or you will end up taking things off to get the kickstand up if you left it down... Been busy with doctors, etc. Just yesterday found out the pain in my side is Gall stones. I'm in stage 3 kidney disease but if I'm careful it may be years before I hit stage 4 and require dialysis. Since the international (come to find out some of the pictures were on my camera there, the other half are on a different SD card) I installed a hardwood floor in both the living room and hallway of my Stepdaughter's place, went to Virginia and bought a time share, and have had about 8 Doctor's appointments...