V7Goose

I have NO doubt that everyone here who thinks they got better gas mileage from some special plug actually BELIEVES it, but they are wrong. I would be more than happy to run side-by-side for four or more tanks of gas (two tanks regular plugs, then two tanks magic plugs in your bike) with anyone who believes this, just to prove they are wrong. That is the ONLY way to accurately test - actual MPG is meaningless, since there are just too many variables. But when you ride with someone on a similar bike, you can effectively compare how much gas both bikes take each time. I am willing to dedicate a day and 400-600 miles to this test - who is willing to take the other side? I'll even donate a brand new set of stock plugs to your bike to start out! C'mon, it should be worth it to someone here to do this test, just on the chance of maybe seeing me eat crow if it turns out that I am wrong instead!! Goose

There is no adjustment possible. All of your symptoms are consistent with the weak factory spring, and it usually happens by 40,000 miles while the friction disks still measure 100% of the original factory spec (meaning they are not worn at all). Goose

I don't think this is correct. "Bookmarks.html" is normally generated as an export from IE (such as when you initially install FF and import favorites). You may find multiple copies of this file on your computer, but it probably will NOT have your most recent additions. Better add a new and unique bookmark, then check the file you are saving to verify that new item is REALLY there! I'm pretty sure about this, but just slightly hedging my bets until I jump on one of my desktop computers with decent speed to complete a full search for that file! Goose Here is an easier way to ensure you always have the most current copy of bookmarks in FireFox - If you have more than one computer, just use the Xmarks add-on to magically keep the bookmarks in sync on ALL of the computers.

Now send me your bad coil so I can check it all out and find what is wrong! Please! Goose

I am using FF 3.5.2 with almost no problems here (have it on four different computers). The only odd thing I have seen is that new private messages do not seem to generate a prompt to view them. Goose

If one bulb is somewhat dimmer than the rest, the contacts are corroded and it is not drawing as much current as normal, and that will cause the problem just like a dead bulb. Goose

Page 9-6 of the service manual lists three possibilities: wrong turn signal bulb Bad flasher relay Burnt out turn signal bulb Unless you recently changed one of the bulbs, it is probably number 3. Of course, anything that keeps a bulb from lighting, such as a broken wire or bad contact in the socket, will cause the same symptom as a burnt out bulb. Goose

I have now received one coil from Cougar and two from wkboard. In addition, I have tested my own coils (2005 with 70,000 miles), and dismantled/inspected the caps on a 2004 and a low mileage 2008. I hope to get more coils to continue testing, but I can begin to draw some conclusions from what I have seen thus far. As noted in a previous post, Cougar's coil was put through a full battery of tests, including an automotive oscilloscope and a heat test. The coil itself passed all tests, but the cap had high resistance. When I dismantled the cap, I found a layer of oxidation on the end of the internal spring that goes deep inside the cap (near the end where the wire attaches). After I cleaned the end of the spring and reassembled the cap, all was well. Of the two coils wkboard sent me, both coils check out fine on the bench, but one cap (from the right rear) was absolutely bad. I have not yet hooked these coils up to my bike and the scope, but I feel fairly certain they will pass all tests that way. When I dismantled the caps, both had heavy corrosion on one end of the spring. After cleaning and reassembly, the good cap, which had been within spec on resistance, was improved with lower resistance. But the bad one was completely shot! Turns out the resistor was bad, and the more I played with it, the worse it got. All of the caps on my bike had heavy corrosion on one end of the springs, but still had good resistance too. I found the same thing on all four caps on the 2004 I worked on at Vogel last week. On the one cap I dismantled on a low-mileage 2008, the spring was NOT corroded at all, nor was there any sign that there had ever been any dielectric grease on it. Conclusions thus far: I suspect that 90% or more of all the bad coils we hear about are REALLY bad caps, and the coils are fine. The corrosion I find on the springs is always on the end near the wire, but I cannot find any cause for it - when I look inside the cap with a bright light, it is always perfectly clean. The cap is completely sealed and also has a rubber boot around the wire and top, so there is no way any moisture can leak in that way. In most cases, cleaning the end of the spring on a wire wheel, or simply rubbing it on concrete, solves the connection problem and puts the cap back in spec for resistance. There is a possibility that the corrosion on the spring is actually a red herring and is not affecting the connection in any way. The problem might actually be the connection on the resistors, and just unscrewing the internal parts and then reassembling the caps may be what is cleaning up those connections. I will need to work on several more coils before I can test that possibility. From my experience with the one bad resistor, it seems that they are a little delicate and cannot be cleaned the same way the spring can. More to come if I get more coils to test! Goose

It is NOT a 1-hour job - more like 4-6 hours without distractions. But it needs to be done. I won't change anyone's mind here, so I'm not trying to do that, but those folks that suggest it is OK to ride 100,000 miles without a valve check are the primary reason I won't buy a used bike - few people are honest with a prospective buyer about that kind of abuse! For those people who have not actually already decided what they are going to do (or not do), I'll suggest they read the first part of my writeup in the tech library to get an insight on why they should consider actually doing scheduled maintenance. In addition, you should understand that most modern engines have the valves TIGHTEN UP as they wear, not get loose, so there is never any noise. And since these engines run pretty danged fine on just three cylinders, you can easily ride on all four with a couple of burned valves for several hundred thousand miles and not know it. And when you DO finally discover it, well, can you say 'big bucks'? Sure you can. If the valve seats are not replaceable (and I seriously doubt they are on this engine), you better start pricing new heads now! OK, that's all I'm gonna say. Goose

You did good to NOT buy that bike. I wish more folks would take our advice here and ensure a decent test ride on the specific machine they are considering, then NOT buy it if it is not up to their expectations. If you compromise and assume you will get used to something, you probably will never be happy with that machine. There is a big reason why some fairly new Royal Stars show up for sale with low mileage, and that reason is usually the exact same reason why you won't want to own one of them! What I am trying to say is that these bikes are great machines, and most are kept for a long time and ridden a lot. When somebody dumps one quick, it often indicates a real problem. I wish you luck finding one being sold so soon WITHOUT any problems - it does happen. Goose

Just made it home from Vogel - 1,010 miles - just a bit longer than the 980 we did on the way there 'cause we explored some great roads on the way out of Georgia. Several folks told us about 180, just behind the park, but nobody mentioned 60 - what a fantastic ride! But I gotta say I was embarrassed as I neared home - passed a trailer with both an RSTD and a Venture on it! Seems this Hardly disease is spreading faster than the swine flu - now folks are going out to buy a quality bike at a reasonable price and STILL putting it on a trailer instead of riding it. But it's probably not their fault, maybe that disease keeps them from knowing what they are doing? Maybe I need to open up a Venture Trailerer forum so these people can gather together? Sigh . . . But Jneed53 and I had a GREAT ride! Even riding in the rain is always better than any day NOT riding (or trailering). Was good to see y'all, Goose

Now c'mon Bill, that just CAN'T be right! You should get WAY better mileage than that on the trailer! You can't really compare your mileage with what those who actually RIDE the bikes get. Goose Hey, How's that new bike look on the trailer? I assume you checked it out and made sure it was an appropriate image before you bought it; you wouldn't want to look bad pulling it around, ya know?

I'm siting on a park bench in Georgia right now, so I don't feel like finding the references and posting them for you, but do a search on my post about Colorrite paint. You may have problems in a year. Short story - on my 05 Silver bike, the initial results were excellent, but hte clear coat began to yellow in a year, and it is getting VERY VERY bad FAST! I would NEVER use their paint again. If your color is one of the darker ones, it may not be so bad. Good luck. Goose

Jut an FYI - getting an e3 to seat on a 2nd gen wheel is not a typical problem for that tire. I have mounted three so far,a nd all have beaded up easier than most tires for me. A lot of it really does have to do with the tire being shipped with a tie strap pinching the beads together - that fouls up any tire! Goose

Oh No! Not ANOTHER trailer boy? You guys need to buy Hardleys if you ain't gonna actually RIDE them things! Goose

Had a great ride today too - 780 miles from Fort Worth to Albertville, Alabama. Lots of rain in places, but still fantastic day. Should see y'all at Vogel Tomorrow. Goose

Your 05 should still be under warranty, so if you can't figure it out, get the shop to fix it for you before it is too late. Your shock should hold the same pressure for YEARS. It should never leak. Most likely, it is just a loose valve core. The oil and air parts of the shock are completely separate. The air works like a spring (just like a ball), and the oil works to dampen the spring and make it not bounce. The most common failure of this shock is for the oil to leak out, but the shock continues to hold air and bounce a lot. Good luck, Goose

I have been in the hobby a LONG time - spent many years breeding African Rift Lake cichlids, worked in the business part-time (so I could get wholesale discounts), etc. My fish room used to have 66 tanks in it, with a 200 gallon and other large show tanks in the house. I say all that so you can decide if you want to buy anything I say. In the majority of circumstances, an under gravel filter is fine. Not good with fish who do a lot of digging, but there are ways around that problem too. I don't recommend not doing regular maintenance and cleaning filters, but if you have a tendency to let things like that slip sometimes, a UG filter is far better than other types. You can use either air-stacks or power head for circulation on the UG - both have benefits and drawbacks, but for your needs, either is fine. Power heads are easier until they burn up and die (many brands don't last two years). To work the best, a UG filter needs fairly fine gravel (smaller than pea-gravel, larger than sand). For tanks that do not need to maintain high alkalinity (you don't), you can't do better than sand-blast gravel from the hardware store. You'll want about two inches of it over the filter plate (the amount is not critical). Goldfish are tough, but most grow pretty big. They are also a "dirty" fish (meaning lots of waste), so a 20 gallon tank may not be big enough for 10 of them (depending on size now, of course). Don't waste your money on more tanks until you learn about this hobby and decide you want to do more. You don't need any heater, even in the winter. I can't try to teach all about the hobby here, but one more comment - most people setting up a new tank kill several tanks of fish before it stabilizes. ALL filters must have two types of bacteria growing in them to break down the poisons. It takes 3-6 weeks to get the filters going under normal circumstances, and that time is when everyone kills fish. The BEST possible thing you can do after you get the tank set up and have the fish in it is to go to a fish store and ask them to clean some dirty filter media in a small bucket for you - the water should look like mud when they are done, the more muck in it, the better. Now take that bucket home and dump it all in the new tank. The water will clear in a day (with your filter running, of course), and the filter will now be fully operational and removing the poisons. Goose

You didn't say how much oil, but if it is just a few drops, this is completely normal after several thousand miles of hard running, ESPECIALLY if the oil level is a bit high. The crank case vent connects to the air plenums above the carbs, so all the hot oil mist that doesn't get sucked into the carbs collects on the inside of the plenem boxes and eventually works it's way down into the drain hoses. This is also why the left rear carb gets terribly nasty with oil film and dirt over time - some of that oil misses the drain hose while on the side stand and works it's way out the rubber tube above the carb and eventually makes a mess out of it all. So, three things to know and do: Make sure the oil level is NOT above the full line at the sight window when the bike is held straight up - that will make this problem much worse. Periodically spray some engine degreaser up on those left-side carbs under the tank when you are getting ready to wash the bike, then the hose will just blow all that ugly stuff off for you. No worry about aiming a spray nozzle up there - bikes are designed to get wet, and there is nothing in there to hurt. Once that oil starts to drip from the vent hoses, it will continue for quite some time, even if you correct the oil level. Nothing to worry about here, just know that it is the normal effect of oil mist coating the inside of the air plenums and vent hoses and SLOWLY working it's way down to drip out. And when you see a bunch of nasty black mess on the end of your side stand at the end of a long day, well, that is just the same oil mist that has been coming out those vent hoses while you are riding. So no worries, mate, just enjoy the ride and keep some engine degreaser in the garage! Goose

In saying I refuse to believe that they have spark, I was not for a second trying to imply they did not make a real effort to find and fix the problem - just getting those coils covered under warranty shows more than indifference and laziness! But while I think they may actually care and try, I don't necessarily think they are competent. The fact the supposedly trained mechanic didn't know how to check a coil is a pretty big indicator of that. Furthermore, even generally honest folks are often reluctant to admit their own mistakes or incompetence, so claiming they have spark now could simply be saving face by "proving" the old coils really needed to be replaced. Finally, there is always a slight possibility that we have a weak spark in free air, but one that is not strong enough to flash in a compressed rich fuel mixture. And then there is the fact that I'll never believe those original coils of yours were really bad without testing them myself, so if you have spark now, you had spark in the beginning! Now, if you can work on the bike today, here is your real chance to put the spark question to rest! Just pull one of the rear plugs and hold it next to the engine and see for yourself. Even if you don't want to pull a plug, use a long nail or piece of coat hanger as a substitute. It is great you found you have some warranty coverage now that you know the shock is bad - that is another $600 or so right there! Hope they can pull a miracle out of the hat for you on that one. But if not, it may make sense to try and find a shop that will order you one and let you return later to get it - a trip back might be cheaper than buying a new shock yourself! Heck, if that new shop you are going to is really as helpful as they sound, they might go ahead and order it for you, then let you pull your old shock and mail it to someone locally to exchange for you. Best of luck in it all, Goose

Just as an FYI, there IS a wire running between the VP pin on the Ignitor and one of the flasher relays. This same white wire also connects to the fuel meter, the throttle position sensor, the cruise control, and the audio system! I have absolutely no idea what this wire does, but it certainly suggests that there is a common cause for the fast-flash of the signal lights and failure to run, as well as the possiblility that the problem is coming from a seemingly unrelated part of the bike. So I am going to revise my troubleshooting just a little. If all the items I have already identified check out correctly, and the bike still will not run with a known-good ignitor, I would then pull ALL the fuses except the minimum needed to run the bike (probably just the main fuse and the ignition fuse) just to see if that made any difference. If it does, then I'd put them back in, one at a time, until the bike quit working. That would tell me what circuit to focus on. Like I said, probably not much help, but I'm throwing out everything I got . . . Goose

This is liable to be a bit long and disorganized - I'm just going to "talk" through it in a stream of consciousness type way - sometimes that helps me see new things. First of all, I initially dismissed any thoughts of the signaling system being part of the problem. This bike has a number of self diagnostics, but none in the signaling system that I know of other than the fast-flash for a dead bulb. The unknown part for me here is that the signaling system is computerized, so it is not easy to diagnose without a detailed understanding of the computer and its internal programming. I guess it could be possible that a defective signal computer could somehow be causing a problem with the ignitor, but frankly, I can't really imagine how. I'll note at this point that I have NOT yet gone back to the schematic to examine it from this point of view. I think it is more likely that a bad ignitor could be somehow affecting the signaling computer than the other way around. I think I would just pull the signaling fuse and try to start the bike that way. It does seem possible that we could have a bad wire or plug somewhere that provides either a 12V or ground to BOTH the signal computer and the ignitor, which could be causing both problems. Now let's get back to the engine not running. For the engine to run, all we need is compression, fuel in anything close to a reasonable mix, and spark at the right time. And to diagnose this bike, we must remember that it was running perfectly except for a couple of random and sudden engine stops. And since it ran perfectly again after several of those incidents, that virtually proves the compression remains good, along with the cams and valve timing. So I will now briefly focus on the fuel issue. For this, we can be very thankful this engine is still carbureted, AND that it has four separate carbs. The beauty of our carburetor is that there are no electronic controls that can affect its basic operation. This means that as long as the float bowls are full and the piston and intake valve are operating normally, it MUST be inducing the same amount of fuel into the cylinder now that it was a couple of days ago. The only exception to this would be if the internal passages had somehow become suddenly and totally blocked. So that is why we are happy to have four carbs now - there is absolutely zero chance that all four of the carbs could have become totally blocked at the same instant (and even less chance that this could have happened several times, then magically fixed itself!). Here we must remember that this bike will run on two cylinders, so anything that is wrong MUST be affecting at least three of them. In addition, there was no indication of faltering or misfiring at any time that would have been characteristic of a fuel problem. So I must conclude that the carbs themselves are fine. But there is one test that I would do now before I completely dismiss the fuel issue: Open the drain valve on one carb and completely drain it, catching the fuel in a small jar or something so we can see how much comes out. Now close the drain valve and turn on the key until the fuel pump stops clicking. Finally, re-drain the same carb and verify the amount of fuel that we get is about the same as the first time. If so, I would completely ignor the fuel issue for the rest of the troubleshooting. And this brings us back to the spark. In my not so humble opinion, THIS MUST BE THE PROBLEM. In a PM, Seaking stresses that the shop assures him they "have 4 solid blue sparks on 4 plugs." Frankly, I do not believe this, and I won't believe it until Seaking tells me he has seen the spark himself. So if I am convinced the problem remains with lack of spark, let's walk through all the things I can think of that might affect it. It cannot be the 'usual' ignition switch failure that many people have experienced, since the bike still has normal power and cranks. But as I have documented several times above, the ignition switch as a second section that is not power related - it simply passes a ground to the ignitor when the key is on. I do not know what specifically we would see if that ground was missing (from a bad switch), but it is reasonable to assume the ignitor would not fire. Seaking says the shop tested the switch with an ohm meter as I instructed, and it was good. But if I don't believe them about the spark, I'm not inclined to believe anything else either. It cannot be the Kill switch, since that would stop the bike from cranking. It COULD be the emergency stop or "rollover" switch, but if it was bad, the check engine light should flash 9 times when the key if first turned on. It cannot be the coils for two reasons - first, NOTHING would have caused all four of them to fail at the same instant, then start working again, then fail simultaneously again, etc. etc. Yes, a fault in the 12V supply to the coils could have easily done this, but that is not bad coils, it is a bad wire. And secondly, we now have four brand new coils in this bike! It COULD be the pickup coil, since that is what signals the ignitor that the engine is in the correct position to fire the plugs. I have no idea if that coil has been properly checked or not. Besides the presence of a spark, it must happen at the correct time in the compression stroke. On most older engines, this is controlled by a mechanical advance unit that effectively changes the point when the pickup coil (or points) cause the spark. But our pickup coil is mounted in a fixed position and the timing cannot be changed - all this is done electronically inside the computerized ignition module (the Ignitor). So if the spark is really happening, but it is at such a wrong time that it cannot fire the engine, either the pickup coil has come loose (hard to imagine that we could be getting any spark at all if that happened) or the Ignitor is bad. So now we are left with the Ignitor. This computerized electronic ignition module has a lot of different inputs and outputs that can affect if it works at all, and what else works on the bike (such as the grounds from the neutral switch, the side stand switch, the emergency stop switch and the ignition switch, the power to energize the fuel pump relay, the throttle position sensor, etc.), and I won't pretend to fully understand the interaction of all of these; it is just not documented. I have not spent time dwelling on things like the neutral switch or side stand switch since those would also prevent the bike from cranking. To me, most of the evidence seems to point to the Ignitor as the culprit here. At this point, I'd look to find one from a working bike to sub in. If the bike still doesn't start, then I'd go back to checking each and every connection to the Ignitor plug in an attempt to find a bad wire or missing signal. I doubt if any of that will be much help, since I think I already covered it all before, but it is all I can come up with at this time. I hope the new shop has a competent mechanic who can quickly find the problem! Goose

Sleeperhawk, this intrigues me, since I cannot find anything in the SCR relay that would cause that problem other than the fuel pump not working (the SCR has a seperate fuel pump relay in it). Do you know if your problem with that bad relay was the fuel pump not running, or was it lack of spark? I dismissed the SCR as a possible problem for Seaking since everything he posted sounded like a sudden engine stop without any missing or faultering that would have been very noticeable from the carbs running dry. Goose

Just an update for anyone tracking this - I heard from Seaking a while ago - they finally got all four coils changed, and it didn't fix the problem (no surprise there). I'm actually typing this more as a recap for Seaking when he gets back on here, since we were both on cell phones and had a difficult time hearing each other. The shop claimed they had spark now, but the bike still would not start. I don't believe they actually have spark at all, but that is critical to knowing where to go from here. If they can actually show Seaking a sparking plug, that would eliminate all of the other things I said to check and prove the problem has to be fuel (actually, lack of fuel). I suppose it is slightly possible that all the fruitless cranking over the past few days has fouled the plugs beyond all hope, but that seems pretty unlikely too. So I told him that if they really have spark, they need to open a float drain valve to see if there is really any gas in there. But I believe they are just saving face by claiming they have spark, and the problem is still a dead ignition. I couldn't tell from what he said on the phone, but it didn't sound like they actually have checked the things I listed way back in post #7, so we may still be at square one after waiting several days to change good coils. My best advice at this point is to actually check each of the items from the above post and let me know the results. I am virtually certain it is an electrical problem that has killed the spark in all cylinders, but it is very easy to make mistakes when trying to troubleshoot without real information or being able to actually touch the bike! Goose

Glad you made it, but your sure picked a nasty place! I have always called the Dallas/Fort Worth area the armpit of Texas, but by comparison, Houston has to be the groin! Just as hot and about 1,200% humidity!!! There is a big reason why they spent so much money putting in enclosed walkways over the streets between most of the buildings down-town. Best of luck finding work. If you want to come up here to the armpit to check anything out, you have a place to stay as long as we are here. Just give me a call. Goose