VentureT
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Posts posted by VentureT
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Just wondering if anyone else from my neck of the woods is heading out to Port Dover on Friday? The weatherman is still calling for decent weather.
Andy
I'm going.
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Wanta ride to Brantford? if nothing else it would be a good ride, and it would be good to meet you.
Sure, at some point....things are a little nutty right now at work but at some point I hope things settle down.
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My mufflers had close to 100,000 on them when I changed them out for some newer stock ones. I changed them out because I had drug holes in the bottom of them from scraping around turns.
Good to know...thanks....that is 100,000 Miles, right?
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I didn't read all the posts, but one thing came to mind and I will just throw it out there. Is there a possible exhaust leak in the header pipes before the mufflers, perhaps around the y?
Don't think so...Last shop I went to said there was a leak around the area where the slip-on's attach to the exhaust. I wrapped it up with some muffler tape then put the slip-ons back on...seems to work...for that issue.
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Oh...so one shop was playing with the carbs! In that case flb_78 may be quite right. If someone fooled with the carbs without really knowing what they were doing than they certainly could have messed things up royally. And no, there is no " packing" to burn out in the stock mufflers. That sounds like a shop to stay away from. Allwx is correct to a certain extent regarding fuel mileage and driving habits. If you use gentle and minimal throttle moves in higher gears at lower rpm's then your mileage should be OK. Where the problem occurs is when people grab a "handful" of throttle at low speed in higher gears to get better acceleration. There is not enough low end torque in these motors to handle that so a lot of gas gets dumped into the cylinders and gets sent unburned out the exhaust. That manoeuvre works well with a big twin with lots of low end torque, but the Venture motors get their torque at higher rpm and will accelerate better if the motor is at higher revs (Not necessarily near red line) when given a lot of throttle. It depends on your driving habits.
It sounds like you need a knowledgeable carburettor person to have a look at your bike.
Unfortunately, that is likely to be expensive. Unfortunately I'm not familiar with your area so I can't suggest any good shops to use. The closest one to you that I can think of is still only in Burlington. They have a good reputation, but I've never used them myself. Perhaps someone else can come up with a suggestion.
Andy
Thanks
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You do not need to rejet for the pipes unless you replaced the entire exhaust system. The head pipes are the restrictive parts of the exhaust. You can not "burn out" the factory exhaust because it's all metal. There is no fiberglass packing on the inside.
Your carbs are off. Way off. You need to find someone who knows what they're doing on the carbs for a V-4.
OK, good to know, thanks...my bike is an 2003...so, the stock pipes should till be ok? Anyone had to replace them before?
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Hey everyone,
Spring is here in Ontario and I have been doing some riding. Still getting disappointing fuel economy....switching to reserve at about 200km(124 miles) and sucking fumes at 250km (155 miles) to a full tank.
After my valve job (see thread), I am still backfiring on deceleration & when changing gears (ranging from pops to bangs) but it is a little better than before. Sadly, this 3G worth of work did not fix all my issues.
I am running Baron's bag slash pipes, which have been packed. Never re-jetted because Barons told me I would not have to.
No carb readjustment/needle shimming after the valve job.
Getting frustrated with spending all this money and not having my problems fixed.
Any input is welcomed...any suggestions on who to go to in the Barrie, Orillia, Midland Ontario area is welcomed.
For clarification, the one shop I am not going to anymore repeatedly farted around with the carbs and only made it worse. This was prior to the leak down test and valve job.
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Well that is unfortunate, but at least you can be reasonably confident that you don't have a valve problem. How's the compression now? Would be worth a new leakdown test to make sure that cyl is actually holding compression as it should.
Regarding the popping. If you've still got your air induction system intact and it is functioning properly, you should get *some* popping on decel. That is normal, and is a sign that the air induction system is working properly.
The poor fuel mileage could be ascribed to another cause, of which there could be very many, including things not yet mentioned such as dragging brakes, wheel bearings, stuff like that. If your motor compression is up to par and all four carbs are well tuned, then you might start looking at those areas if you haven't already.
Someone else has mentioned the idea of keeping engine rpm high due to the overdrive nature of 4th and 5th gears. Myself, I ignore all of that and ride the bike exactly like I ride every other bike. I upshift early, keep it in 5th as long as I can. I do not shy away from a gentle throttle roll-on from 40 mph in 5th on level ground. The bike pulls fine in that gear, and I get a consistent 42-44 mpg on regular gas.
I think the keep-rpm-high theory made some sense on the original Royal Stars that had the 60hp motors. Those were dogs. Mine couldn't pull 5th gear into a gentle headwind. But the Ventures are a different animal, well able to be ridden just like any other bike and turn in good numbers along the way.
Don't have any noted issues - not sure I really want to pay another $400 for a leak down test again though.
Thanks for the other ideas.
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I was just going over your thread and I have a possibly stupid question, but I'll ask it anyway. Do you keep the motor revved up or do you shift into the higher gears as soon as possible? These bikes live on revs and there are a number of threads attesting to the fact that many of us, including me, get better mileage when winding out these motors. I only very rarely use 5th - typically on a major 4 lane highway when travelling at around 120 KPH. The pipes you mention would usually require re-jetting and possibly some work with the needles. If not, you may be running too lean and among the symptoms would be backfiring and poor gas mileage. I normally get between 250 and 290 km before going on reserve and I like to rev that motor when I run - it may sound quiet to the outside world but from the seat, it sounds great! I used to get some backfiring but very rarely any more ... and the only change has been the way I ride compared to the way the previous owner rode. It's as if I "cleaned" something out by pushing it more. As well, I have run the proper amount of Seafoam through several tanks of gas and that probably helped or even made all the difference. If the shop actually did the valve work, it would seem the problem is either with the ignition or the carbs. My money is still on a lean running condition due to the pipes, but re-jetting is complicated if you are not knowledgeable or mechanically inclined. It would be nice if you could find someone with a set of stock pipes they could loan you to see if that helps things.
Andy
I wouldn't say I change gears as soon as possible but I am not trying to redline it (if we had a redline) either. I do a lot of highway (multi-lane) riding so I do use 5th a lot.
I had run sea foam through last fall with no change - prior the leak down test, with no improvement.
I did have stock pipes on it but the shop I went to said the packing was all burnt out of it. I already had the pipes I have on now once before then took off to put back on the stock pipes for a quieter ride. I had these non-stock pipes wrapped to dampen the noise.
I understand there is no way to re-pack stock pipes due to not being able to get into them - any truth to that?...Anyone?
So, being a mechanical idiot, here's a question I have....If I am backfiring, I understood that there was raw fuel being dumped into the pipes and reigniting. If that is the case, would I not be running too rich, as opposed to too lean?
My wife in her infinite mechanical wisdom (NOT!!!) seems to think that these Barons pipes are the cause of the poor fuel economy - not rejetting, carb settings, etc.. I hate having to say, yes dear, you are right...so someone chime in here. lol
Thanks
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Hey everyone,
Spring is here in Ontario and I have been doing some riding. Still getting disappointing fuel economy....switching to reserve at about 200km(124 miles) and sucking fumes at 250km (155 miles) to a full tank.
After my valve job (see thread), I am still backfiring on deceleration & when changing gears (ranging from pops to bangs) but it is a little better than before. Sadly, this 3G worth of work did not fix all my issues.
I am running Baron's bag slash pipes, which have been packed. Never re-jetted because Barons told me I would not have to.
No carb readjustment/needle shimming after the valve job.
Getting frustrated with spending all this money and not having my problems fixed.
Any input is welcomed...any suggestions on who to go to in the Barrie, Orillia, Midland Ontario area is welcomed.
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I hope this turned out to be a tremendously successful initiative. Kudos to all involved and supporting a fellow rider.
Trailer Raffle Has Concluded. No more ticket sales. Winner will be drawn soon. Thank you all very much for your support.As most of you know, Dano hit a dear on his RSV about 3 months ago and spent a good a long while in the hospital. He is home now and doing outpatient rehab but it is going to be at least a few more months before he is able to think about working again. Dano is self employed so no work means no money. Those of you who have been fortunate enough to meet him and Rose know that they are just great people. Dano is one that is always there when anybody needs his help but now he could use our help.
Jeff and Margaret kindly donated the trailer that they bought and loaned Aussie Annie and Quickstep to use during their travels in the USA last summer. We are going to raffle this trailer off with all proceeds going to Dano. If you have no interest in the trailer and but with to donate to the fundraiser anyway, that would be great also. The trailer is a 1994 Cycle Mate. It had new tires installed last summer and the wheel bearings were all repacked at the same time. Now please be aware that this trailer is presently being stored at a members house in Washington State. Getting it home will basically be the winners responsibility but I know that as a group,, we can do a trailer relay and help get it to the winner.
Rather than all the funds going through me or somebody else, I think the easiest way to do this will be to have you send your donations directly to Dano. The tickets will be $10.00 each or 3 for $25.00. If you use PayPal, PLEASE do NOT mention anything about a raffles as PayPal does NOT allow their services to be used for raffles. When you sent him the money, click on the "personal" tab and mark it as a "gift". That way there will be no PayPal fees held out of the donations.
Now this will be an extra step and a bit of an inconvenience for you but if you are actually sending a donation and want to be included in the raffle, you need to send me a private message and let me know that you have sent Dano the donation and how much it was so that I will know how many tickets to be added to the raffle in your name. I will not be sending out ticket stubs or anything like that. At the conclusion of the raffles, I will use a random number generator to choose the winner.
So let the fun begin. I hope that many of you will help out. If you can't send $10.00 for a raffle ticket, then $1.00, $5.00...whatever size donation will still be appreciated. It all adds up.
Here is the info for Dano. You can use this email address to send funds via PayPal. Just got to paypal.com, login, click send money, enter Dano's email address, click on the tab that says personal, mark it as a gift and send. If you don't use PayPal, you can send a check, money order, whatever to this address.
Dano's PayPal email address is:
His home address is:
Dan Obert 8699 W 800 N Indianapolis, Indiana 46259-9402
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Just when you thought you completed your mental checklist of hazards:
Inconsiderate / rude / inattentive drivers
pot holes
animals
here comes one you wouldn't expect....
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friend of toms and he has been in a mvc in dublin ga and needs help call his dad bill at 508-997-5672 if info need ,please call
All the best for a speedy and successful recovery.
MVC = motor vehicle collision.
Ride safe everyone.
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What brand and octane rating of gasoline do you normally use?
Any way to obtain some pictures of the engine while it's apart?
Varies...usually 87% but if riding with my wife on her Victory Vision, premium (91 to 94%) due to her bike requirements.
I didn't get any pictures...I'm hoping first thing tomorrow the head is on it's way to get rebuilt.
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So the head is off the bike with the big leak -the exhaust ports/valves on the affected area appear a whitish colour like they have taken a fair bit of heat - different than the others. Seems like the guy is right from what I saw...in my humbly uneducated opinion.
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Does it use any oil? Reason I ask is, back on my 97 RSTD the motor started using oil at around 18k miles. It caught me totally by surprise. The pattern was, change the oil, no consumption apparent until the oil had about 2k miles on it. Then, between 2k and the 3k oil change interval it would use about a half quart. Probably related to viscosity breakdown, but it was a change from what had been the pattern for the first 18k miles. Other than that, the engine ran fine.
Then, at 26k I did my first valve adjustment. One of the intakes had no measureable clearance at all. My smallest feeler is .0015 and it wouldn't go into the gap. I just about had a cow! That is the reason I no longer wait until the interval on the first adjustment.
It is possible that intake was slightly damaged. Fuel mileage on that motor was never acceptable. I could barely break 32 mpg riding at a gentle 60 mph with no headwind.
I probably should have gone to the dealer with it under warranty, but I never did. AFAIK the bike is still alive. Must have well over 100k on it by now. It had over 70k when I sold it. The high mileage makes me doubt the valve damage. Seems like if there was a chunk out of a valve it would have gotten larger over time, but this motor never changed after that 18k point. It was extremely smooth and reliable. Just got crappy mileage and had to have a few oz of oil added between changes. I never did a compression test on it.
Not using any oil.
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I'm not clear on why making a (presumably small) valve clearance adjustment would make any difference at all on a leak down test. A change of only 3% is probably within a tolerance of variation. Whether 86% or 83%, that's a lot of leakage compared to the other three cyls with their sub-20% readings. Seems like one cylinder dragging ass like that could definitely make for bad mileage. If it was me, I'd just cut to the chase and pull the offending head off and have a look at the valves. If it's the cylinder instead of a valve, the head would still have to come off to fix that. You can't live with a near-dead cylinder, it'd drive me nuts! I'll bet the bike shakes more than normal, too.
I really haven't noticed any extra shaking.
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A valve adjustment on these bikes is about a four hour job. You think he went thru all that for a leak down test ?
He did the leakdown test, told me the numbers, then suggested the valve adjustment...he said that might fix it...but it only improved 3%...that's when he said I need a valve job and said he was nearly certain that would fix the issue.
Thanks for getting back to me on this post - EVERYONE.
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Hopefully you won't have to pull the heads off. but if a valve repair job ends up being necessary, to save money you could pull the heads yourself and carry them in to the shop for him to do the work. Specialized tools and know-how are required to do a proper valve repair/valve job. but pulling the heads is not such a big deal, IMHO. An awful lot of the expense of this would be the pulling and reinstalling of the heads. I wouldn't be surprised if it would save you 50% or more of the cost.
As for what you are saying about fuel efficiency... 200 or so km per tank. Is that on a 6 gallon expenditure? If you fuel up with 2 gal left in the tank, then that distance isn't bad at all. But if you fuel up with fumes left in the tank, then it is pretty poor unless you're riding 100 mph all the time.
Well, the guy has pulled it apart at the shop (I am a bit of a mechanical idiot) so I would rather pay to have it done and done right, seeing as I don't know anyone handy that way.
As far as fuel efficiency goes, that is the full 6 gallons - pretty crappy.
Thanks
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Mileage wise 97K equates to about 60K in US miles, which really isn't a lot of miles for these motors. I have a hard time believing there would have to be a valve job done on it. Thats not saying that a valve isn't cracked, but like FLB 79 mentioned I would check the adjustment. Lots of things can make the bike pop, AIS hoses disconnected, Y pipes cracking (which is an issue) The leakdown will give erroneous results if it's out on the shimming. Something is telling me there's a bit more to it. There are unscroupulous folks that will say whatever they can to get a meal ticket (not saying this is the case) but I would check some lesser invasive things before I even considered a valve job.
Thanks Squid! I hope I am not getting bent over again. I linked the ports a while ago - they all seemed to be connected fine (mod from here). He did the valve adjustment with only a 3% improvement. Would the Y-pipe cracking give me such poor fuel mileage? Again, 200-250 km / tank. I have heard this guy is honest but....i dunno what to think anymore about any bike guy in my area.
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I dont think you said what the leakdown numbers are on the other cyls, but if they are ok, only one cyl needs the work. This is info that Ive heard over the years, that a complete valve job may just hasten the end for the engine due to much improved compression causing blowby to start on engines with already significant wear. Just the one cyl should have its valves done is my opinion, maybe that can get the costs down a bit. Lets hear it from you all, what say ye?
The other numbers we all in the teens - between 13 and 16. I understand anything under 21% is ok.
Good point about the effect of the valve job....scary thought though.
Thanks again.
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Thanks for the replies guys.
I have about 97,000 km on the bike. I was told the valve adjustment only improved the leak test reading from 86 to 83% on the one cylinder. (I hope this makes sense because I am not a mechanic by any means).
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So, after 2 years of having a couple of local shops (with the same migrating staff) adjust carbs for poor fuel mileage and backfiring (particularly on deceleration), I went to another shop after they couldn't seem to fix the issues. He was asking a series of different questions about valve adjustments, etc that the other shops weren't. He said he wanted to do a leak down test...One reading was a wopping 83%. So, I understand I am in for a valve job after getting jerked around with carb adjustments for 2 years to try to fix my measely 200-250 km per tank and decel backfiring.
The new-to-me shop is a one-man shop, charges a much more reasonable hourly rate than others I have been going to, and has been seemingly much more knowledgeable.
One question...just because I am tired of being jerked around....what does a valve job on an 03 Venture generally go for?
I understand between the leak-down test, the valve job and whatever else comes into play I am looking at the better part of 2500-3K.
Thanks
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Thanks guys.
Just got off the phone with Alexis from Butt Buffer Canada. She says, right now, she is looking at a 2 day turn around for seats she receives, either through ride-in or shipped in, for rebuilding.
She seems quite knowledgeable and come highly recommended.
I think that will be my choice. Rates seem reasonable (less) compared to other seat businesses I have seen on the forum as well
http://www.buttbuffercanada.com/
1.800.891.6946
She does heated seats too.
No Low beam
in Royal Star Venture Tech Talk ('99 - '13)
Posted
I had the same issue....needed my high/low beam switch rebuilt.