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V7Goose

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Everything posted by V7Goose

  1. V7Goose
    Sorry you guys are having problems with a leak - that crush washer from the non-fouler (or any spark plug) is not really intended for sealing liquids, but it worked fine for me. No idea what torque - I just used my calibrated wrist on that. If yours is deforming unevenly, maybe you are cranking on it too hard? Two other suggestions - put a good several wraps of Teflon tape on the upper threads of whatever adaptor you are using. Next, check at an auto parts store or Ace Hardware for copper washers, usually used on oil plugs. The copper is soft and deforms enough to fill any small gaps. Goose
  2. V7Goose
    You didn't say which bulb you replaced. I believe this is documented in the owner's manual, and IIRC, the bad bulb is on the side NOT flashing fast. Easiest thing is to turn on your 4-way flashers and check all bulbs for proper functioning. Replace the one that is not working. Goose
  3. V7Goose
    Any small screwdriver will do. Goose
  4. V7Goose
    I understand your problem. 10 AWG wire is large and sucks up lots of heat - if you try to solder two of them together, that sucks up twice a much heat. You need a good soldering gun to do this. If you can't provie enough heat, the wire sucks it all away before it melts the solder. If you have problems and want to use a crimp connection, I suggest you at least tin the individual wires first (tinning is coating the wire in solder so the individual strands are stuck together). The only solution to this problem is to find a soldering iron or gun that puts out enough heat to do the job. Goose
  5. V7Goose
    I understand your problem. 10 AWG wire is large and sucks up lots of heat - if you try to solder two of them together, that sucks up twice a much heat. You need a good soldering gun to do this. If you can't provie enough heat, the wire sucks it all away before it melts the solder. If you have problems and want to use a crimp connection, I suggest you at least tin the individual wires first (tinning is coating the wire in solder so the individual strands are stuck together). The only solution to this problem is to find a soldering iron or gun that puts out enough heat to do the job. Goose
  6. V7Goose
    Sorry, I do not know the answer to your question for your specific engine. I know that the settings on The RSV have all been a bit different on each carb, but that may be simply because three of the four carbs have different jet sizes (not so for your bike). Tuning by ear (really by tach) is actually pretty simple and fairly accurate, in my experience. With everything else in good working order, turn out a mixture screw to find the highest RPM, then turn it slightly back in to just notice a drop (probably no more than 1/4 turn in). I used this method on an Venture recently, then when I checked it some months later with an exhaust gas analyzer, all carbs were VERY close - looked like I might have just slightly turned each screw in a tad bit too far, resulting in a final CO % that was excellent, but a tiny bit leaner than I selected with the analyzer. If you do not have a shop tach, I know of a free one that you can put on a laptop and it uses the sound of the exhaust. It works really well, but ONLY if you know some details about it. It will only monitor a very narrow range of RPM for any specific setting, so you cannot just fire it up and rev the engine to see the RPM change. But that narrow band works great to watch for minor RPM changes from the mixture screws. Goose
  7. V7Goose
    I will never advise someone to go beyond the recommended maintenance intervals from the manufacturer, but the fact is, most engines will go well beyond the recommended interval for a valve adjustment before it has a problem - here is why: The recommended intervals are based on AVERAGES, and that average is not for when an engine breaks (or burns a valve), but for when an engine shows the need for an adjustment BEFORE it burns a valve. Therefore, if half the engines show at least one valve needing adjustment at the recommended interval, the other half will have all the valves in spec. This is why so many people can say they had their valves checked and all were good. That does NOT imply you are safe to ignore it. Here is an example, using all completely made-up numbers just for the sake of an example - The manufacturer knows, based on their own longevity testing, that a particular engine usually does not suffer any valve damage until at least 50,000 miles, and those that are damaged by 50,000 miles usually begin to show an out of spec measurement by 30,000, so that is the recommended check interval. If they are all checked at 30,000 miles and adjusted if needed, only a very small number will ever suffer damage from misadjusted valves. But if the engines are not checked until 50,000 miles, quite a few more will be out of spec, and some will be damaged. The odds may still be in your favor that your particular engine will just be out of spec by that time, but you still have an increased risk of damage if you choose to gamble on it. I know that the Venture uses a different tool for adjusting the valve shims than the majority of other modern Yamaha engines. Some comments above say it is the same as certain older Yamaha engines, but I personally have no knowledge of that. I think there is a valve shim kit and tool that has been making the rounds among members here for no cost - if you can use the shims there, great, else buy what you need and contribute any shims you remove to the kit when you pass it on. I have not used this, so I am just going from memory - a simple search of the forums should turn up more info on it. Bottom line for me is that it is always best to follow the suggested maintenance interval. Goose
  8. V7Goose
    As Tom said, we think we have our act pretty much together again - his new bike is set up and he is moving around. Should be on the road again this morning, shooting for Marfa tonight - maybe we'll see them spooky Marfa Lights? More later... Goose
  9. V7Goose
    No Rudy, l_g is not you, that's Lowell. When I made those original posts Lowell was the only one who had come over ("l_g" is his ID here, and I was only trying to be a little funny, not digging anybody about not coming over to meet us). I didn't know your ID here until now. Really sorry I didn't think about including notes the next day that you had come over and spent so much time helping us mount the tire and take care of things after we got the tire in on Tuesday! Both Tom and I feel tremendously fortunate to have met you on this trip, and we were really touched that you called this afternoon to check on how things were going. It has been tough on us to be stuck here all week, especially after the crash, and your friendship and concern really helps! I sure hope if you ever get over towards Fort Worth you give me a call - we'd love to get together with you, and you always have a place to stay with us!! Thanks again for all your help and friendship, Goose
  10. V7Goose
    If your dry compression test is in specs, then all rings and valves have to be good (as in not too tight - they could still be too loose, but that won't cause bad fuel mileage). Now your main possibilities remain fuel mixture and ignition, along with carb sync. Goose One caveat on the valves - I hate to keep throwing doubts, but think it is important to cover all bases. There is a SLIGHT possibility that you have one or more valves too tight, but still read good when cold. If the adjustment is borderline, the valve will close fully when cold, but slightly leak when hot. I'd just store that info and not worry about it unless you can't fix the problem with anything else you try - then I'd probably want to check them just to be sure.
  11. V7Goose
    You don't really need to pull the drive shaft and grease it - that is a good thing to do if you want, but not really necessary (I have 60,000 miles on my 05 and have never pulled the drive shaft on it). All you need to do is pull the rear wheel, pop the circlip holding on the hub with the drive fingers and pry them up with any type of curved bar or crowbar. Clean the pins with steel wool and grease them, slip them back in the wheel and pop the circlip back on. Last thing is to smear a little grease on the drive splines and put it all back together when you are ready. Goose
  12. V7Goose

    New Ride

    V7Goose replied to dkip's topic in Watering Hole

    Glad to hear you found a ride you like. That bike is pretty new, mileage speaking, so you could still be in the shake-down phase where all of Yamahaha's lousy assembly torque lets stuff fall off. Better start at the front fender and work all the way back, checking the tightness of all the chassis bolts and screws you see. Won't take long, but you might find stuff loose. Make SURE you check the shifter pivot bolt! Locktite is advised there. Goose
  13. V7Goose
    Even though I have the cutout switch, I left it on most of the time. During normal conditions in the day I would rather turn off the driving lights than the carb heaters, but neither is necessary unless you are running other electrical accessories. The only extra cold weather stuff I have is grip heaters, which are very low current, so I didn't need to turn anything off. I did play with the switch a little, but since I did not actually have too much electrical load, it didn't make much difference. I was surprised that the voltage didn't drop a little more with them on, so I will be double-checking the circuit after I get home. Goose
  14. V7Goose
    Yes, the leak is absolutely covered under warranty. But to answer your other question, the only issues you have when it leaks are some popping on deceleration and dirty exhaust gas on the chrome near the Y (which wipes right off). Goose
  15. V7Goose
    Me glad you happy bud, that what really counts! But All I was sayin is that some folks are joiners who search us out just for general information and camaraderie, and others won't even come here when we personally find them and invite 'em. In between are the ones that have a problem which drives them to search for information, and because they have the problem, you are guaranteed to hear them complain about it. Goose
  16. V7Goose
    All great information from someone who knows that particular bike. I knew I should keep my yap shut about anything but the modern stuff! I'll try harder. Goose
  17. V7Goose
    There was some discussion earlier in this thread about whether or not you should grease the splines on the drive shaft, especially the large end mating with the pinion gear. The answer is absolutely yes. It is immaterial if that is bathed in oil or not (and I don't know), but the shop manual specifically calls for greasing both ends of the drive shaft with Molybdenum disulfide grease. Just thought I'd clear that up. Goose file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/ADMINI%7E1/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.jpg
  18. V7Goose
    That mechanic is complete fool. If I was in your shoes right now, I would be VERY worried about my bike (and I am not exaggerating). The fact is, that snap ring does absolutely nothing except hold the final drive clutch hub in the rear wheel. I doubt if there is any real risk if the snap ring is missing, since the axle nut will ensure the rear end cannot come apart. But the ring missing probably would allow the clutch hub splines to move some where they mate with the drive gear, causing improper wear. There is absolutely no way to remove the final drive clutch hub from the rear wheel without removing that ring (or breaking something). But even when the ring is off, the clutch hub (pins) usually needs to be pried up with a curved bar to get them out. Goose
  19. V7Goose
    I'd go with the parts breakdown for the right year, make and model. The carbs have changed on these bikes quite a bit (just based on the part number changes - I don't know the specifics of WHAT changed). Make sure you set the float levels with the spring in the float needle NOT compressed. I cannot comment on the rubber plugs you mentioned - on the current models the mixture screws have cone-shaped brass caps on them, not plugs, and when the caps are removed the screws stick out, so there is no way to use a "plug" to cover them. I have never looked at the carbs on your model. A tight valve can absolutely cause your problems - I have seen it on other engines. And we have no idea how long it might have been leaking, so it is quite possible that no damage has been done yet even if it is bad. They are due to be checked anyway, so best to do it. These engines run VERY well on only three cylinders, so you want to make sure all are firing equally. Do a compression test (both dry and wet with leak-down); read your plugs and check how fast the header pipes warm up when you first start it. In addition, since you are messing with the carbs anyway, you should get a similar slow-down and speed-up from the mixture screws on each carb - that will be a big indicator of how uniformly each cylinder is working. Goose Oh, ANY significant vibration from these engines when they are not being lugged is a sign of a problem, usually just poor carb sync. And popping on decel is caused by lots of things that affect combustion (and poor gas mileage, of course). Make sure you check carefully for any vacuum leaks before you try to set the mixture and get it running again.
  20. V7Goose
    If it doesn't have the whine, that sounds pretty decent, depending on what accessories it might have. I have not actually checked resale value on that bike to be sure, but the price is certainly in the ballpark. You don't really have to worry about any other issues since you will still have 2-3 years of the unlimited mileage warranty to take care of anything you find. The only thing else I might suggest is to take the VIN to a Yamaha shop service desk and have them check the computer to see what work it has had done. That can give you a clue about either past problems or quality of maintenance. When you actually buy one make sure to let us know how old and how many miles it has so we can point you to the things you should check. Goose
  21. V7Goose
    I can only advise you to take a good test ride, covering at least 10 miles and including highway speeds so you can listen to the bike you are about to buy and decide for yourself. Frankly, I think very few of these bikes have an obnoxious whine. But some obviously do. Even though you think you see a lot of discussion of it here, I disagree. The few owners who really have the problem are certainly going to post and ask about it - maybe that is the only thing that drove them to find our site at all. It is highly unlikely that many owners that do NOT have the problem are just going to spontaneously find a forum and start posting that they don't have any problems! I have worked on a lot of these bikes, and I have yet to hear one where I noticed the whine when I reved it, even when bending over the engine and listening for it. If you go back and look at EVERY post here about the whine and start writing down the name of every person who says they have it, I doubt you would even get 50. I don't know for sure; because, I have never done that. But I still maintain there are very few of these bikes with that problem. All engines make some internal noises. I'm sure you have heard the whine a big truck makes as they run up through the gears. Metal-to-metal contact makes noise. The only issue is if the natural engine noise is loud enough or at a frequency to be obnoxious and spoil your ownership. We all know that has happened with some of these bikes, and I feel for those owners. But I still think the number is low and the chance of a new bike having the problem is slight. Goose
  22. V7Goose
    (with apologies to Bob Dylan) Well, I guess it is time for a new update here. Everything has been a total comedy and tragedy of errors since we hit this miserable place last Sunday! Ya know where I said above there weren't any 150/90-15 tires in this town? Well, THAT was wrong! When we were out buying Tom's new bike yesterday, I found the needed tire in THREE different bike shops that told us on the phone they didn't have any tires! So much for having to special order a tire from California, paying $130 for overnight shipping, and waiting around a day to get it!!!!!!!! Can you say "Angry?" Sure you can. Tom's blowout with that new golden tire we needlessly ordered is well documented in a different thread, so I won't re-hash it here other than to note his bike was totaled by the insurance company; that's why he was out buying a new bike. He initially found a new 2009 Venture S at a local dealer and made a great deal for it on the phone. Unfortunately, when we went to pick it up, the dealer started giving him some static about fixing a couple of very minor scratches, which escalated to an exchange of insults and a less than polite invitation to "GET THE $^%$ OUT OF MY STORE!" from the general manager. It is safe to say they don't put the customer first there. Oh well . . . No other Ventures within many hundreds of miles, so we went to another shop and he bought the ONLY Goldwing in this town! Not something I would ride, but at least it has nice paint. I guess it should for an extra $8,000! There are not a lot of touring options available here if you don't want to accept a paint shaker. Sooooo, now we sit another couple of days waiting for a radio and some other stuf to be overnighted to the Honda shop for the new bike. Hoping to get back on the road by Sunday. Goose
  23. V7Goose
    There is no reason to consider modifying the existing power circuit in the fairing. Just putting in a new plug in the hole that already exists behind the seat is so easy I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't do it if they need the power. You can pick up a plug at any auto parts store for under $10 and some wire with a 20A inline fuse for about $5 - Shouldn't take more than 15 minutes to install. Then you have an option - if you WANT something to turn off with the key, you plug it into the fairing; if you want it to stay powered, use the plug behind the seat. I find it really handy to charge my cell phone by plugging it in to the rear socket and then just letting it sit in the bag behind my backrest. Goose
  24. V7Goose
    I wish you the best of luck, Redneck, but I cannot agree with you. Very dangerous to ever put a bigger fuse in an existing circuit. The fuse is there to protect the wires, and the wires cannot handle the increased load without overheating, possibly causing a fire. And using one of those dinky compressors to do more than add a pound or two of air to a tire takes a LONG time (in "burn up the wires" time). Goose
  25. V7Goose
    You are correct that most vehicles exclude the battery (and tires) from the normal warranty - but NOT on the Royal Star. You got a copy of that warranty when you bought the bike, or you can read it here: http://www.yocracing.com/warranty/Venture.pdf Note in the Specific Exclusions: "2. Battery deterioration caused by improper maintenance and/or storage." Since the battery is specifically called out and ONLY excluded for that one thing, then the warranty MUST be honored for other failures. Goose
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