TonyLudwick

Battery is new and tests good 12.7v. When I check the voltage with the engine running, I get 14 volts at idle, and it goes down with an increase in rpms. At high rpms it went as low as 13.75. Is this normal? I would have expected the voltages to be the other way around with lower voltage at lower rpm and higher voltage at higher rpm. What started this whole process is that I went to start my bike last Sunday and the lights came on but when I hit the starter button lights went out, engine didn't start. Went through this a couple times. So i hooked my battery tender up, and sure enough it was not up to charge, which I have never had happen during riding season. In the past, I had plugged the tender in during riding season periodically just to see if the battery was up, and every time I did. the green light came on right away indicating that it was up to charge. So i never bother to plug it in during riding season anymore. I have not had any problems since installing the new battery, but with going on this trip, I wanted to be sure that my charging system wasn't malfunctioning. So after riding the bike a few days with the new battery, I decided to plug the tender in to see if the green light came on right away, and it didn't. I made sure that the battery was at full charge by putting the tender on over night. Rode the bike to work, lunch, and back home. When I got home I plugged the tender in to see if the light turned green right away and it didn't, it took about a half an hour. So that is what got me concerned. If I check the voltage on the battery directly after unplugging the green lighted tender, I get 13.5 volts and it slowly trickles down. 12.7 is the lowest it has been. Still curious about those high and low readings with the engine running.

Good Afternoon, I am due to leave on a trip to the Bikes Blues & BBQ Rally in Arkansas, and just found out that the charge on my battery is not being kept up. I found a link to trouble shooting steps on the Venturers website that I plan to go through. My question to all of you who may have had this happen is : Is there any most common thing that would be the cause of this? I just am very pressed for time and was just wandering if there is any one common cause that ya'll would recommend checking first. If it involves any particular part that needs to be replaced such as a regulator/rectifier. Is there any way to obtain one quickly. I am due to leave Thursday at 6:00am. Any input would be appreciated. Regards, Tony

Should Universal Joints be replaced at any particular mileage on a Second Gen? Regards, Tony

My 2005 Royal Star Tour Deluxe has between 25K and 30k miles on it. I am getting ready to replace both tires. When is it a good idea to replace the front wheel bearings, and is this something that I could do myself, or would I need special tools to do it. Also, should any bearings in the rear wheel be replaced, and would it require special tools? Has anyone had to do either of these and performed the maintenance themselves? Regards, Tony

Have any of you RSTD or Second Gen Venture owners experienced what appears to be a bent rear axle? When re-mounting the rear wheel after a tire replacement, I noticed that when I rotate the rear axle, the wheel orbits as if the axle was made that way in order to align the rear wheel. Have any of you experienced this and opted to replace the rear axle? Any feedback would be appreciated. Regards, Tony

i have a 2005 Royal Star Tour Deluxe with a Venture Tour Pack and Quadzilla Fairing. My wife and I each weigh about 190. I currently have Metzler ME880s on front and rear. Front size 130/90-16 M/C 67H Rear Size 150/90 B 15 M/C 80H Front Pressure 38 psi Rear Pressure 46 psi I have been having problems with the tires cupping. Question #1 What Tire Pressures are people running on the second Gens to prevent cupping? Question #2 I am considering giving the Michelin Commander IIs a try. Has anyone tried these, and what are your opinions of these tires compared to other tires such as Dunlop EIIIs, Metzler 880s, etc. Is there a consensus on what the tire of choice is for second gens? Thanking you in advance for your feedback. Regards, Tony

Yeah, I am referring to the axle seal that is in the bearing retainer housing that holds the ring gear/axle assembly. I didn't know if the assembly had to be pressed out of the housing to replace the seal, or if there was a way to remove the old seal and install a new seal without removing the ring gear/axle from the housing. i originally thought that I had a leaky drain plug, but found out that this seal is leaking and flinging oil out of the gap between the plastic dust cover and the hub, and ends up on my rim. i wonder if this seal was just defective because I haven't noticed where anyone else on this forum has had this problem. But maybe I just didn't use the proper keywords for my search.

Thanks for the replies Gary and bknsaddle. How long have you had the shock, and how heavy is the typical load that you have on the bike, i.e. Riders/Luggage/Etc.?

The oil seal has been leaking on my 2005 Royal Star Tour Deluxe. I have ordered a new seal (Axel shaft seal) and O-ring. Can someone point me to a post or link on the proper procedure, or tips for replacing the seal? Thanks in advance. Regards, Tony

I am in need of replacing my rear shock on my 2005 Royal Star Tour Deluxe. I was about ready to purchase one from Works Performance when I learned that Hagon makes a shock that seems to have the same features as the Works Performance shock. Does anybody here have any experience with the Hagon shock, or have any feedback on whether or not it is as good as the Works Performance shock? Thanks in advance. Regards, Tony

I have a 2005 RSTD and have experienced the same issues as you with how the bike handles, and also, I have a 30 inch inseam. I have also read a lot of the posts that you have read. My main priority was originally to lower the bike and I was going to get the Barons lowering kits for front and rear that would lower each by 1-1/2 inches. There were three reasons I didn't go with the Barons kits: cost, I did not like the idea of lowering the front with a method that would reduce the amount of travel in the front suspension by 1-1/2 inches(I did want to lower the front 1-1/2 inches, just not that way), I only wanted to lower the rear 1/2 inch in order to accomplish lowering the front 1 inch more than the rear to create the same effect as leveling links. For lowering the front, I preferred the method used by Venture owners on this forum involving sliding the forks up through the triple tree. This lowers the front without reducing travel in the forks. The problem is, on the RSTD, the bars are in the way of the forks, preventing you from sliding them up. The way the speedometer mounts to the bike further complicates things by making it difficult to get the bars out of the way of the forks, I was determined to lower the front the Venture way and accomplish leveling at the same time. I also needed the bike lowered more than just 1 inch. So here is what i did to my RSTD. Lowered the front 1-1/2 inches by sliding the forks up through the triple tree. Bought some 3 inch risers from DZ-Custom on ebay in order to provide room for the forks to slide up. Built front and rear stilt brackets for my speedometer so that it would sit in the same position on top of the bars. Made my own rear 1/2 inch lowering kit by following the instructions on the leveling links post on this forum, only with the hole centers 7 inches apart. I did have to re-route my front brake hose slightly, but that was the only thing that I had to re-route. On top of that, I was in need of a new tire and went with a 130/90. I was nervous about changing this along with the other mods but the dealer had the 130/90 in stock but not the original size. All I can say is WOW! It is a TOTALLY different bike! The first time I rode it after these mods, I took it up to the ABATE course in the Iowa Western Community College parking lot and effortlessly did a U-Turn in "The Box" first try! I may have been able to do it with the bike unmodified if all I did was practice The Box, but I had not ever succeeded at it and it had been over a year and a half since I tried and came close. Another added bonus was the way the risers brought the bars back toward me a couple inches(no more shoulder strain). Rode up to Sturgis at 80-90 most of the way without issue. After the above mods along with my "Rick Butler" modified venture pillow top seats, I was in heaven the whole trip. The only other mods I am going to do is a Utopia backrest and a Quadzilla fairing. I also need to trim the fork skirts 1-1/2 inches as they sometimes hit when I hit a bad bump. I have some pictures but not all yet. When I get the rest of the pictures I will create a separate post on these mods. Leveling, Lowering and improving ergonomics, all in one swoop. I wish I would have done this three years ago.

Actually, I didn't have mine on. I just was careful not to squeeze too rapidly because I assumed that would happen. I also had my bike level on a jack with the bars turned all the way to the right. I would also recommend covering any bike parts that are underneath the clutch master reservoir. Brake fluid is not good on the paint. I got mine a little full and got a couple drops on the lower left fairing.

I had the same problem as you when trying to use a vacuum pump. Gave up and just did it the old fashion way and was done in 5 minutes. Fill the reservoir, Hook a hose to the bleeder, Use a wrench to control the bleeder. Squeeze the clutch lever 8-10 times and hold to grip, open bleeder 1/4 turn or so or enough to bleed fluid/air out, close bleeder, repeat until no more air bubbles and firm clutch squeeze, (keep an eye on the fluid and make sure you keep it full enough not to pump air. My hand got tired from the squeezing, but I did not have problems like I did when I tried using the vacuum pump.

Thanks for the replies. I had typically ran about 45-50 lbs of air in my stock shock regardless of riding one or two up. The only thing that would cause me to put more air in it is if I loaded the bike up with luggage or decided to pull a trailer some day. I don't mind paying more for a works shock if it is going to last and not need rebuilding every time I turn around, which is why I am asking if people can share their experience with the works shock as far as how often they had to rebuild it and how they liked it compared to the original. Just tying to capitalize on the abundance of experience many of you have in order to make an informed decision.

My 2005 RSTD Rear Shock is toast, and of course is out of warranty. The thought of having a works shock that can be rebuilt makes a lot of sense to me. My question is: Is there any of us second geners that switched from the stock that are sorry they gave up the air adjustable functionality of the stock shock? Also, does anyone know about how long a Works shock lasts before needing a rebuild? I also have noticed a wide variance of how long the stock shocks are lasting for different people. My RSTD has 13,000 miles on it. Has Yamaha corrected the problem with the replacement shocks? The guy at Works asked me if I pull a trailer. I currently do not and don't think that I will, but I did not think that I would have added a Venture trunk either, but I just did. If I add a trailer later, is this something that I can adjust for on the Works shock, or do i have to start over form the design process? Has any of us had any experience with this dilemma, or had the same questions and gotten answers?

Ok, so I've determined so far, that I am going to attempt to build my own lowering kit for the rear of the bike in order to get a height that is in between Barons and Stock, and to save money as well. Now for the front. The thing that really bothers me about any of the front lowering kits I have seen is that they all seem to reduce the amount of travel available inside the fork it's self. Also, once you go cutting or drilling parts inside the forks as required by these kits, you can't go back without buying new parts. My preferred method of lowering the front, would be to slide the forks up through the triple tree as some of the venture owners have done. But as I understand, You cannot do this on a RSTD because of the handlebars. When I was looking around on Barons site they had these riser extensions and I was wondering if I could get the clearance that I need under the Bars for the forks to slide up by using something like this. The only thing that I am not sure of is how the speedometer is mounted or if I would have enough slack in the cables to do this. Has anyone tried it? Here is some links to the parts that I am talking about: http://www.baronscustom.com/catalog/display/2077/index.html http://www.baronscustom.com/catalog/display/2081/index.html http://www.baronscustom.com/catalog/display/2079/index.html http://www.baronscustom.com/catalog/display/2083/index.html

Mike, using the mid length dog bones, would it still be necessary to relocate the caliper?

The front kits I was referring to, lower the bike without sliding the forks up the triple tree. I don't know logically how it works until I see it. The links to the two front kits are as follows: This front kit contains just the spacers. http://www.baronscustom.com/catalog/display/559/index.html This front kit contains the spacers, progressive springs and gold valve emulators. http://www.baronscustom.com/catalog/display/560/index.html This is the Rear lowering kit. http://www.baronscustom.com/catalog/display/565/index.html All of the above methods reduce travel on the suspension to accomplish the lowering. I am assuming that the progressive springs in the second front kit are stiffer in order to make up for 1.5 inches less travel. Mike, have you had any more issues bottoming out and scraping since you are using your custom bones? If not, I am inclined to try this method for the rear. I am just trying to get some feedback on the front kits because both require taking the forks apart and I would like to do it right the first time. Mike, how much do you and your wife way together and have you ever bottomed the front out? Regards, Tony

Good Afternoon All, I have read just about every thread on lowering that I can find on this forum, but I have more specific questions. Like many others, I am concerned about dragging parts but I am also concerned about bottoming out. I thought that If I gave you specifics you may be able to help me decide what to do. I have a 2005 Royal Star Tour Deluxe with Venture Pillowtop seats with the Butler mod done to them. I also have the Bub complete exhaust system which does raise the mufflers closer to the sadlebags. I am 5'7" with a 30 inch inseam. My Wife and I weigh 340 lbs together, about 170 each. I have been considering buying the Baron Lowering kits for the front(one with emulators and springs) and rear. I also intend to add a scootworks trunk and a quadzilla fairing in the future. Given our weight and my plans for future mods, do you think I would have any problem bottoming out on front during quick stops or rear while going over bumps riding two up? My next question is: if these kits would be a good fit for us considering our situation, is it worth the money to go with the full blown Baron front lowering kit with progressive springs and gold valve emulators rather than just the spacers? I don't want to spend this kind of money for nothing, but either way I would have the forks apart and would like to do it right the first time. Has any one here used these kits on a newer RSTD that weighs about the same as we do? I would really appreciate any input, opinions or experiences. Regards, Tony

Good Afternoon All, How much play should the top rear shock bolt have in it? I decided to inspect the swing-arm assembly before I start to put her back together, and discovered play when I raise the swing-arm up and down. Is there a bushing in there that can be worn out already, or is this normal. I would guess it is probably somewhere between 1/32nd and 1/16th of an inch, and appears to be concentrated on the top rear shock connection. Have any of you experienced this?

Has anyone tried oil additives to solve this? One that comes to mind is the Lucas Oil Stabilizer that is commonly sold in auto parts stores. It is supposed to make the oil stick to the gears and other moving parts more. The only question I would have is would the product be compatible with a wet clutch? The gears involved are spinning at a high rate of speed constantly throwing oil off of them. If you could come up with a way to get more oil to stick to the gears, this may deaden some of the sound. I have not tried this, but has anyone else? Here is one testimonial. http://www.lucasoil.com/articles1-2585/TonyGardmenusesLucasHeavyDutyOilStabilizerin They make motorcycle oil as well. http://www.lucasoil.com/pages3-19/CycleDivision Regards, Tony

Thanks again for all of the great info. Hat-Tip to Goose, Hunter, and RSTDdog for suggesting to check the balance on the rear wheel. I went ahead and serviced the rear-end using Freebird's post of Cougar's write-up that Keith referred me to and had absolutely no problems. There was not much grease on the splines, and none on the pins that insert into the wheel. RSTDdog, the rear tire is fairly new as I ran over a nail with the original. Earl, I have the original Brickstone on the front and a Metzeler M880 on the rear. I typically have inflated them to the specs in the manual. Besides better fuel economy, how else would I benefit by running them at 40 and 42? My mileage has been lousy and I have a carb sync on my to do list. Now for the next question. How much play should the top rear shock bolt have in it? I decided to inspect the swing-arm assembly before I start to put her back together, and discovered play when I raise the swing-arm up and down. Is there a bushing in there that can be worn out already, or is this normal. I would guess it is probably somewhere between 1/32nd and 1/16th of an inch, and appears to be concentrated on the top rear shock connection. Have any of you experienced this? Regards, Tony

Thank you for the great responses. The rear wheel was out of balance. Regards, Tony

Good Morning All, Last time I rode my 2005 RSTD, I noticed a vibration at higher speed. My RSTD has about 9830 miles on it. I have read several posts here about greasing the splines in the rear hub and the drive shaft. I would like to do this before a trip that I have scheduled for the 24th. Can any of you direct me to existing threads with step by step instructions on what must be removed to accomplish this? For instance, is it necessary to remove the rear fender and the exhaust header pipes? I am mechanically inclined, but I haven't ever removed the rear wheel on a shaft drive motorcycle before. Also, I have read threads where people have ruined seals trying to remove the drive shaft. I want the bike to be safe for this trip, but at the same time, I don't want to do anything stupid that will end up causing me to not be able to take the bike on the trip. So can any of you point me in the direction of some step by step instructions of this process? (Pictures would help if available.) Thanking You In Advance. Regards, Tony

I don't know about your model, but some bikes have tubular strainer screens attached to the petcock tubes that stick up inside the gas tank, one for the main tube and one for the reserve tube. Dump the gas out of the tank, remove the petcock from the tank, inspect and clean strainers with spray carb cleaner, verify that flow is good through the petcock. It sounds to me like this is a fuel delivery problem between the tank and the carbs. Could be a faulty fuel pump if your bike has one. Hope this helps and Good Luck! Regards, Tony