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DesertRider

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  1. DesertRider
    Looking at the max. load ratings on some of these tires and I'm wondering, on these bikes, what the weight distribution is? Say these 1st gens weigh about 800 pounds, then add 70 pounds for a tank of gas, oil & filter, plus another 250 pounds for the rider, clothing, leathers, boots, gloves, helmet, keys, pocket knife etc..., that's roughly 1120 pounds. How much of that weight load rides on the front tire and how much on the rear ? Is it about the same for the RSV's ?
  2. DesertRider
    I did put a few miles on her today. Even ran her out of gas several miles from the house I'm embarrassed to say. Luckily one of my neighbors happened by after I had walked about a half-mile and felt sorry either me or the bike, probably the bike but I didn't ask which, I was just happy to get a ride the rest of the way. Been plunking away at it for 2 or 3 months now, using it to ride to work during the week and wrenching on it on the weekends. I still need to get all my plastic back on it before I forget how it goes on, and the mufflers are still off too, makes that loud vrooooom sound. Naw painterman, you won't trap me into losing any weight. Got too much time and money invested in this biker-gut !
  3. DesertRider
    Very nice. Better extend the backrest to support your neck until you get used to the throttle.
  4. DesertRider
    Well after letting my poor ole venture sit on the back burner for a couple of years or longer, I have finally gotten some things done to her this summer that she's needed for a long time. A front fork rebuild, replaced the wore out upper fork tubes with some nice ones I got from Dingy, and a new set of progressives front springs. A new windshield, replaced the dead speedometer that was showing 92k with an e-bay model showing a mere 42k, new Dunlop tires front & rear, new fuel filter, new fuel hoses and clamps, and today I installed the coolant-bypass valve upgrade kit from skydoc_17 which by the way came with an excellent set of instructions, dumped the coolant and flushed the system several times with distilled water until it drained sparkling clean, then refilled with fresh 50/50 coolant and set the bypass valve back to flow through the thermostat, and last, put a new speedometer cable including cable housing on to replace the eternally wore-out chirping one. I think I saw her smile at me just now. I can't believe how patient she's been.
  5. DesertRider
    Thanks Dano. The fender slots are not broke. They slide over the metal clips welded to the gas tank and that seems like that's all it needs. I did find two pieces of plastic that look like they might have fallen from the bike so I put them in the clips to snug up the fit of the fender. Maybe they were from something else ?
  6. DesertRider
    I "think" I got it right. I put the tabs in the metal clip that's welded to gas tank, then slid the fender slots over the metal clip with the tab wedged between the back side of the fender slot and the gas tank. Fits real tight any way.
  7. DesertRider
    Last weekend I had to pull my gas tank off, the first time I had done that. In the process I lost the two gray tabs that hold the rear fender in place not knowing they were there. Well, I found the tabs and am in the process of putting them back in but I'm not sure exactly where they are placed since I didn't remove them myself, they just fell out. I thought they would go in the little metal tabs welded on the back of the gas tank, but then they are too wide to go through the slots in the fender, so now I'm not sure how they go ?
  8. DesertRider
    My hi/low switch did the same thing a few years back to me but mine would always work on low but rarely worked on hi. Worked on it a few times but could never get it to stay working so I added a second wiring circuit and fuse and mounted a toggle switch on the left compartment cover for my hi / low switch.
  9. DesertRider
    That looks just like mine, oh wait, his seat is still black, mine is red and needs recovering again. Good price too but 2028 miles from me. 1983 was a very good year.
  10. DesertRider
    If I could afford it, I would love to have one of those new Electra Glide Ultra Limited's. But I can't and probably never will so I'll remain happy as always with my 1983 Yamaha Ultra Venture Standard Limited, which will most likely outlast me !
  11. DesertRider
    The fuel economics of motorcycling is one other enjoyment we get out of our scooters. Mine is pretty consistent with my driving habits - 40 to 44 mpg in town driving. On the highway, the slower I go the better mileage I get, the faster I go the more gas it burns. If I'm on an old back road or highway where I can cruise for long periods at 55 to 60 miles per hour, it's not unusual to get 50 mpg, I've done that several times. Driving 60 to 70 miles per hour, it drops off to the low to mid 40's mpg. Over 70 miles per hour and it drops even faster. At 75 to 85 miles per hour on the interstate I get about 34 - 35 mpg which I still don't consider too bad. I'm not sure how you would average all that out or if mine is typical or not. I have heard one or two 1st gen owners say that they consistently get 50+ mpg out of theirs no matter how they ride. Mine won't do that good, it burns more gas at higher speeds, but I'm still happy with what it does.
  12. DesertRider
    Mom has been feeling some back pain for a few days now. She's going to see the bone cruncher in the morning but I offered to go get her some otc relief tonight at walmart pharmacy. At walmart, I finally settled on a back-pain rub that sounded good (Stop Pain roll on), got checked out, got on my scooter to head home. Put the bike in 1st gear and lifted my right foot to the peg as I started rolling and the darndest charlie-horse type cramp hit me in my right-side lower back and down the back of my upper leg - Whooooa horsey ! Man I had to come to stop real quick. Got off, walked around the scooter once, got back on and the the sky was blue again As bad as Rachel feels I didn't mention it to her but I hope she leaves me a little bit of that stuff.
  13. DesertRider
    Another venturerider just offered me a new petcock valve, thanks bongobobny ! Here's a pic of my work in progress yesterday - how do you like that nice garage floor ?
  14. DesertRider
    Hey Dano ! Thanks for chiming in. Yep, I'm proud of myself today. I'm not real real real mechanical but I'm not afraid to tackle a big job if somebody kind of helps me get started with it, so I always ask before diving in too deep ! As for the mufflers being off - the sound is TOTALLY AWESOME if you like loud bikes - my wife says it's ear-splitting but she's a woman right ?. Louder than any straight-pipe V-Twins Harley or metric. I actually like it and wouldn't mind running like that for a while if I thought it wouldn't hurt the engine. It seems like it has more punch at low speeds than with the mufflers.
  15. DesertRider
    All Done - thanks to all my friends on this board ! Went for a little ride and the only thing I have to go back on is for some reason my left-rear turn-signal is out. Probably the plug under the seat, no big deal. No leaks, drips, or drop accumulations anywhere.! With all the plastic off, side covers, bags, trunk, and the mufflers out of the way, that drive line does make some noise going down the road. With the mufflers off you have to let off the gas to hear the drive line but it sounds like the rear-end whine that RSV owners complain about, or used to complain about. Thanks again fellas, I wouldn't have attempted it without ya ! Thanks bkuhr for the suggestion to just put the old valve in the open position and re-use it. I am ready to ride it tomorrow for listening to that one ! as for the fender - I saw how the rear fits the front part at the top. But the tabs on the bottom are missing. They were probably there since the fender has always stayed in place, but fell out when I was taking it apart. I'll look for them tomorrow, they're probably still there where I was working. For now, I have put a couple of screws in and have it wired tightly in place until I can find or replace the tabs.
  16. DesertRider
    Well, I did a speed-clean (now that I know how to get it all apart I'll be more thorough when I have more time, need to use it tomorrow if possible). Took the valve apart and put it in the "open" position, and am now re-assembling. I have one question. What holds the front-half of the rear fender in place. I am nearly ready to put the seat on and that fender piece is loose and I don't see a thing that holds it in place. Don't tell me now that I've forgotten something ?????!!!! Will be ready to put seat on and gas it up as soon as I find out something about that fender.! ***UPDATE**** I did a jury-rig with a couple of screws and heavy wire to hold the fender in place - will do it right later. It's almost all together. I'm leaving the bags, trunk, side covers and mufflers off till tomorrow. Yes, you read right - the mufflers. ! That out to be a hoot when I pull up at the office tomorrow ! Going to get gas - running out of daylight fast !
  17. DesertRider
    The float and sending unit look close to new. Very clean, even the float. The tank looks pretty clean but when I poured out the remaining gas (which by the was was less than 1 pint ! I almost didn't make it back yesterday ! ) it has a very slight rusty tint to the color. Not very rusty but you could see a slight rust tint to the color. Looking in the tank with a flashlight it's mostly pretty clean metal with a few rust pimples. I attribute that our near zero humidity year round here. What would be the best way to clean this puppy up ?
  18. DesertRider
    Thanks guys. I'm just about there (I think) --UPDATE-- It's all the way off guys. I wouldn't have tackled it today if you hadn't told me it was not too bad so and you were right, it wasn't bad at all. I thank you all for that and the pics too dingy, that helped. The only bad part about the whole thing is I had to remove that daw-gone set screw from the filter that I just spent all morning long trying to put back on ! Overall, it' not to dirty in there, mostly heavy layers of dust. I'm going to pull that float now and take a peek inside.
  19. DesertRider
    Thanks fellas. Am trying to run down a valve now. Partshark has new oem for the 83 for $32 + shipping. If I don't hear from pinwall Ill order that one. I have the battery ground disconnected and the seat off. I also have the center pod cover off and the filler-neck boot off, and I have the small frame cross-brace off, the one behind the filler neck, but golly-gee - I never removed the tank before - what do I remove next ? Will the tank lift straight up or out one side ? The tank has about 1 gallon of gas in it. I made a trip yesterday and didn't fill up when I got home. I have about 4 hours of daylight left here. It would be nice if I can have the tank out this evening - what a way to spend a holiday huh ? I love it !!
  20. DesertRider
    I have a spare instrument cluster but the window is also clouded over so I won't offer that up to you, probably as bad or worse than what you got. As for the the view windows on the clutch and brake hydraulic tanks, I cleaned them out real good and dried them with brake cleaner, then jb-welded over the windows, inside and outside, to stop fluid leaks. It actually don't look too bad but my bike is kind of rough around the edges already anyways so I don't recommend that kind of fix if yours is still pretty shiny and nice.
  21. DesertRider
    Thanks for being considerate snaggletooth ! I started to just plug the fuel lines with a wooden plug and not mess with the valve - sure wish I had done it that way now. I don't believe I can get vice-grips on it now. I have jb-kwik welded a washer where the old square knob was. In a couple more hours Ill see how that does. That jb-kwik aint really very quick when you're waiting on it. I emailed pinwall about a valve. Looked on ebay, there is one with broken handle just like mine ! guy wants $25 for it + $10 shipping. I should put my busted parts up on ebay. haha ! I guess the tank has to come out to replace the valve ? If I can get it open I might just leave it in the open position for the next 27 years haha.
  22. DesertRider
    I changed out my fuel filter this morning - hate lining up that set-screw that holds the clamp to the fuel tank. When I went to open the fuel valve back up, the little plastic square knob on the fuel shut-off valve shattered like glass. As a temporary measure to get the gas turned back on so I can use it, I'm going to try to jb-quick weld a make-shift knob onto the sheared off plastic that's fairly flush with the metal valve body. If that don't work, anybody got any other ideas ? Also - when I cut the gas off, the indicator in the knob was vertical for on. I think I turned it one/quarter turn to the left to turn it off. Before I put any turning pressure on a glued on know, I wanted to ask if anyone with a working petcock can check and make sure that as you face the valve from the right side of the bike, that the valve needs to go 1/4 turn to the right (if it was a screw that would be the tightening direction to turn it on). Anybody got a petcock valve for sale ?
  23. DesertRider
    thanks for posting the picture - mine does not have that punch mark.
  24. DesertRider
    I bought a Yausa for my 83 back in 03 and it lasted until last spring - 7 years. The one I replaced it with I bought from Autozone this year. I was thinking it was a dry cell but maybe it's an agm but it is noticeably heavier than the Yausa. And It's got more cranking power than the Yausa did when it was new. Just hope it lasts as long as the Yausa.
  25. DesertRider
    Yes a picture - ... Don't know if this is what he's talking about or not. Two flat spots, each about 1/4" x 3/8" on the left side of engine above the output shaft. below the left-rear exhaust manifold. If so, mine has an inscription of some kind on both spots. One on the left looks like the number 97 but am not sure. One on the right resembles the number 99 but not exactly. Looks like it was inscribed by hand.
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