fredfloon

Hey, thanks for the reply, and the steer to your email. I regret that i moved from RI two years ago, now live in colorado springs, co. Sorry i am tardy in my reply, but i check the venture account only ever so often. Yhanks again for the reply...tom

oK....so I'm sitting at a red light with a car behind me (also stopped)....light turns green, his foot slips off the clutcha nd his black dodge charger bashes me in the back. Low speed, old freddie is unHarmed, although his black royal star's rear fender in mashed in about four inches, and the lense cap is shattered. Left turn signal cycles rapidly, indicating loss of ground there; right side OK. He was a nice young fellow, very respectful, most unhappy with his actions and very sorry, which was nice. A nice knucklehead...could have been a Nasty a-hole, so batting .500. Here's my question: how hard is it to replace the rear fender? I think it is fairly simple, but i am concerned about the wires that run under the fender, and their connection to rear lights. Anyone replaced arear fender before? Insurance claim is in, but thinking about doing it myself, if there is no magic involved...also, any possibility of "hidden damage" from something like this? Is there anything else on the bike that should be checked or might be damaged in a rear ender? Thanks, ff

I'm back...the three weeks promised for delivery turned into about eight, something to take into account if you're in a hurry to get/install. To their credit, the manufacturer did not charge me 30 bucks for delivery. I was prepared to be thoroughly pissed off about the delay but the shock is beautiful to see, a serious piece of equipment. If i can figure out how I'll post pictures... I installed it today and could not find torque requirement for the rear shocks. I'm certain that they're in here somewhere, but i could not find 'em, anywhere. After a long search, i discovered an online copy of the service manual, and the settings are: Upper bolt: 43 ft/lb Lower bolt: 36 ft/lb You heard it here first! More later....still a couple of weeks away from finishing the winter maintenance period and won't be able to report on how the bike handles until then. I don't fthink it could be any worse than it was prior to replacement, and will advise

I'm back...the three weeks promised for delivery turned into about eight, something to take into account if you're in a hurry to get/install. To their credit, the manufacturer did not charge me 30 bucks for delivery. I was prepared to be thoroughly pissed off about the delay but the shock is beautiful to see, a serious piece of equipment. If i can figure out how I'll post pictures... I installed it today and could not find torque requirement for the rear shocks. I'm certain that they're in here somewhere, but i could not find 'em, anywhere. After a long search, i discovered an online copy of the service manual, and the settings are: Upper bolt: 43 ft/lb Lower bolt: 36 ft/lb You heard it here first! More later....still a couple of weeks away from finishing the winter maintenance period and won't be able to report on how the bike handles until then. I don't fthink it could be any worse than it was prior to replacement, and will advise

For the record, I thought I'd include this missive in the string here for background and info for interested parties. I sent Dee dee@epmperf.com at YSS the following questions questions and he provided the attached answers: *************************** From: Fred Floon To: Dee- Still looking at options, but rapidly reaching a decision. Can you provide answers to the following? -Is the shock rebuildable?Yes -Can you advise the warranty period?2 years -How long to get the shock once ordered?2 - 3 weeks -What is the procedure if a warranty claim is made? You have to get the shock back to us at your cost, we do the repair and return at our cost. -What kind of configuration do you recommend for the following: The same shock that was quoted. The spring will be selected to your weight when the shock is built. I weigh 245lb/ride solo In my gear, probably 260lb About twice a year I go touring, add another 30 LB to that So I'd need a shock which could support 260lb on a normal basis With a requirement to take as much as 300+ for 2-3 weeks a year. -Can you verify the price? Klaus passed Model MZ 506-255 TR at $ 499.00 + shipping extra.Yes, that is it. Total $ 529.00

OK, i've read every post on the site regarding rear shocks, and they vary from 2005 to the present. Right now i'm looking for current info, based on opinion or actual experience--either will do...So of the three readily available aftermarket shocks, (not counting OEM, which is a piece of dog crap, no intent to insult dog crap) which is the best, and why? My research has revealed the following: Hagon. $469 YSS. $499 Works. $879 Figure $30 for shipping...OK, except for the obvious (hint, involves greenbacks) what breaks out one shock from the other? Why does the Works cost so damned much? Anyone have anything good or bad to say about any of these? Anyone know of any other shocks on the market? Thanks for the help, Fred

Can i change the circuit breaker from 5 amps to say 15_20 amps without blowing up the electrical system? I need to run a 12 volt air pump which has blown the 5 amp fuze tout de suit (PDQ) both times i've tried. Any thoughts? FF

Question: any ramifications with increasing the cb amps on the power port (cigarette lighter) from 5 to something that would handle a 12 volt tire pump? When i tried to use the pump, it blew the fuse....any thoughts? Thanks ff

Question: any ramifications with increasing the cb amps on the power port (cigarette lighter) from 5 to something that would handle a 12 volt tire pump? When i tried to use the pump, it blew the fuse....any thoughts? Thanks ff

I cut my stock windscreen down in the spring. No problem to do, I used a hand held jig saw. In fact, I did it twice, when the first time didn't lower it enough. The stock windscreen is a danger in the rain; you just can't see through it...throw in your helmet visor and glasses, and maybe the dark, and you risk your life riding behind it. Advice: cut it down or get a new one. I found the stock also detracted from the ride. Riding behind a fairing and looking through it, as opposed to looking over it, removed the...intimacy? from the ride: hell, I might as well have been in a car or on a gold wing (o: This is what I did. First time: -I removed the fairing, easy enough to do. Then I traced the pattern to which I was going to cut the fairing down to (if that makes sense) by taking a brown paper bag and cutting it open so it was a single long piece; I cut out the rectangular bottom out of the bag and threw it away. -I next took the brown paper bag and traced the curve of the top of the windsreen onto it using a magic marker. -Next I moved the pattern down two inches, made certain it was "plumb" side by side, then transferred the design to the fairing using an erasable whiteboard marker -I next took masking tape and put it on either side of the pattern to protect the lexan/plastic from being scratched by the saw. -Put on ear muffs and glasses, and proceeded to cut the fairing along the line I'd drawn. I was surprised at how easily the plastic/lexan/whateverthehellitis cut: no problems. It showed no tendency to shatter or splinter, which is what I was afraid of prior to starting. I was using an old hand held jigsaw with...14-20 teeth per inch on the blade, as I recall. -When completed with the cut I mounted the fairing on the bike so I could smooth the very sharp angle on the fairing lexan using a palm sander and working my way from 200 grit to about 400 grit sandpaper. I used the special but expensive atomic powered lexan plastic sandpaper only available by special order from Home Depot, and kept in a safe in the back (that last part is a lie; I just used regular old wood sandpaper, worked just fine). I went back and forth over the new cut for about 30 min total and smoothed the edge just fine. It will be obvious to you how long to do this: it's self regulating. -This is not rocket surgery (or is that brain science?) and can be done in less than a couple of hours the first time. less the second time. Make certain when you replace the fairing that you get all the screws in place that hold down the fairing. There's one hole on the fairing which is closed: make sure one screw goes through this into the fairing, it keeps the fairing from coming out if you hit a bump: don't ask me how I found this out. I cut it down another two inches about two weeks later because it was still too tall. (Note: this was just a tad too much cut down, I thought at the time, but I've come to like it) Second time I just left the screen on the bike, applied the masking tape on both sides of the plexiglass, and cut away. I tried to keep the saw going in one motion from start to finish so as to prevent irregularities in the cut. I was only partially successful but the post cut sanding did a remarkable job of taking off a tad bit of lexan with each pass, smoothed out the "bump" just fine. Take a little or a lot off, just stop when you're done. level of difficulty: maybe four out of ten. If you have a hand held jig saw and a hand sander and can use a screwdriver you're home free. Good luck, FF:happy34:

New member…just bought a 2004 Midnight Venture through Ebay last month after riding a ’91 HD Electra Glide since 1994. I wanted to share some initial impressions of the bike (note, after only 750 miles) and getting it ready to ride. First off, this is a great site: most of the work I’ve done on the bike has been inspired/made possible by the excellent examples made right here. Kudos to all who’ve done the grunt work of posting advice, capturing the maintenance procedures, taking pictures of the procedures, and posting them here. Well done! This is a neat bike, too. Unlike the HD—where you can do your own maintenance but it’s hard—I can do much of my own routine maintenance, and maybe some not so routine stuff, too, if required. I like the high build quality, the great chrome, and the high end parts that went into making the bike. It’s a quality piece of machinery. This bike is huge, it’s a monster; it makes the Harley look like a sports bike in comparison. Top heavy, too, it took me awhile to get used to it. HD carries its weight down low but as a penalty it scrapes the floorboards with little lean effort. The Venture has more than an inch of clearance on the HD, which contributes to its top heaviness, but makes it much more maneuverable, and I have yet to scrape a the undercarriage. Lots of power and smooth on the road. I was impressed from the start by the bike: very solid, very high quality parts and assembly. Made for the long haul. A design that dated from 1999 but space age compared to the ’91 Harley. Four cylinders and four carbs compared to two and one on the HD. Different power generation, too: all that nonsense you read about Harleys making their power down low with torque is true: they are torque monsters, making useable power from low RPMs. The Venture makes plenty of power but via revs vice torque. I found I had to be careful not to lug the engine, but after I bit I caught on. Doesn’t help that the bike doesn’t have a tach (fixing that via aftermarket add on), and how expensive would it have been to add a clock somewhere on the dash? I rode today and it was 22 degrees: engine temp gauge would have been very nice (BTW, the secret to riding in the cold is electric gloves—you heard it here first). I believe the big reason the old owner got rid of this bike is because it was due for its 16k maintenance. I suspect he make a visit to the dealer, who took stock of the situation, and advised him that the damages would be usual 800 bucks plus the cost of a new tire. The rear tire was shot, even though the e-bay site had described the rear tire as being in good shape and “changed this riding season,” whatever that means. Good shape for Zimbabwe, maybe, unsafe to ride on in the USA. So, including new rear tire, one large, at least, to keep the black bike running. I think he didn’t need to spend the money and decided to sell it and cut his losses. My good luck, at 16k it’s not hardly broken in. Specific thoughts: Fluids: I changed the engine and final drive oil. I read with interest the ongoing discussion regarding oil weight and brand. This one’s a no brainer for me: I use the oil that Momma-Yama recommends in the owner’s manual (Castrol 10W-30), but I prefer synthetic. Ditto for the final drive, used Castol synthetic 75W-90. Thanks to the great instructions I got here, also had no problem replacing the coolant, although it took awhile to get everything pulled apart. Glad that’s a job for every other year! I used a 50-50 water coolant mix I found at the local auto parts store (Prestone), guaranteed to be silicate free. Rear tire/rear end: as I mentioned, tire was shot, wear bars showing all around. Replaced with an Avon Venom…wanted a Dunlop Elite 3 but couldn’t find one that was not back ordered, and I’m a VERY IMPORTANT GUY in a hurry. BTW, I ordered one of those Carbon One jack contraptions: pure magic, and the best money I’ve spent to date, and you can’t safely do the maintenance without it. I pulled off the rear tire so I could do the 16k maintenance myself: wasn’t certain if my local shop could do it, and I wanted it done right. Got myself some Honda Moly Paste 60 as recommended here, and lubed the drive shaft (no issues getting the drive shaft back into the U-joint, maybe I was lucky), and the rear wheel…clutch fingers? Sure enough, they had not been lubed out of the factory and were dry/rusty…easy enough to do. Brakes: Never had a bike before in which the rear brake wore faster than the front brakes. Doesn’t seem natural to me, but that’s how it was: front brakes good for another 10k at least (replaced prior to?), rear brake pads shot and unevenly worn, just as this forum had . I cleaned up the rear caliper (just like I read about here) and swapped the pads (ditto) and will ride the bike for a few days until the replacement pads arrive. Question: is the rear brake a bit under gunned for the stopping duties on a 900 lb-ish motorcycle? Does this explain the rapid wear? Plugs: no drama, old ones looked great at 16k, leading me to believe that they could have stayed in for another 16k or more, but I swapped them out anyway. Also a no brainer for me: I used exactly what the manual specified, cost about $2.50/ea at the local auto parts store. Carbs: smelled of gas with fuel economy in the low 30s…sounds like a carb synch was in order. Pulled out my old Carb-stick (Stix?) that I used on my ‘79 BMW R100 RT (great bike!): only two carbs. The HD, of course, uses only a single carb, so the Carb-Stick had not gotten much work in the past decade or so. Bike was badly out of synch, both between 1-2 and 3-4, as well as between the two banks. Noticeable improvement in tractability after the effort, although the idle fell way off. Cranked up the idle but the bike didn’t feel right so I re-resynched the carbs. Sure enough, the change in idle speed upset the synch, so did the entire process over again, making certain the idle and synch were adjusted in tandem: this is a dynamic process. Waiting on next fill up to see how the fuel economy is doing. I’m pretty sure it can’t be any worse than it was. Windshield: Very tall, almost too tall for me, and I’m 6’5”. Fully agree with the comment on this forum that the tall windshield in the dark when it’s raining is unsafe—it is. Next purchase will be either a new ‘screen or saw blades to cut it down. That will have to be replaced BTL (before too long). What’s next: Rear shock groans, but doesn’t leak, I need to put in the two ounces of brake fluid down the Schrader valve and see where that takes me. Other than that, I think it’s about ready to go, unfortunately, winter’s here, so in depth evaluation will have to wait for awhile.

do mounting directions come with the Tacho? How hard to install, and how easy to blow out every electrical connection in the bike if done improperly? thanks, ff