Prairiehammer

It is a shame. At first glance, things don't appear so bad on the bike or trailer, but dig a little deeper and one finds a virtually nothing undamaged. The instrument cowling was broken completely away, the faux cover is broken and was just placed on the bike, the exhaust down turns are packed HARD with dry clay from the median, the left side cover is broken, although it appears OK, the front fairing stays are both bent up, the trunk mounting rack and rear subframe are broken, the trailer swivel hitch bar is bent, the trailer hitch is bent up toward the trunk and broken, the trailer body and fenders are cracked, the trailer tongue is bent, the left muffler is broken off, etc. The only plastic on the bike that is undamaged appears to be the front fender. All indications point to the bike doing an upside down end for end flip (with the trailer) as well as a barrel roll or two. The trailer came to rest upside down and missing it's lid and contents while jack knifed and disconnected from the bike hitch, despite a big padlock on the hitch coupler. One safety chain was still connected, but the hook on the other chain was straightened out. Must have been some huge forces involved.

Some pics of the bike and trailer.

Well, fortuitously, I covered the bike (and trailer) with full coverage before my New England trip. The rig was totaled in an accident while on the trip. I am a little disappointed with assessed value for the motorcycle but satisfied with the verdict concerning the trailer, as covered as an accessory. Contents of the trailer were NOT covered under the motorcycle insurance collision clause. Perhaps my homeowner's insurance will kick in for the contents.

It's looking like we will be ABLE to attend, sans motorcycle. Parking for the cage going to be a problem? Dibs on the master bedroom.

I think it IS pretty simple. You have a bad solenoid. Contacts are probably burnt. I would replace it. An alternative to the pricey Yamaha is a 1970's Ford starter solenoid. It will function just fine for the job, but depending on the particular Ford solenoid you get, there may be some McGyvering for the mounting.

Mike, small world indeed. We were coming from COOK FOREST S.P. (having camped there the night before) on the way to Guilford Lake SP near Lisbon, OH. I don't suppose you waved when you went by our wreck?

Ride In Peace, Big Bird.

Hi, all. Thanks for the expressions of concern. We are both battered and bruised, but thanks to our ATGATT policy we endured the episode with minor injury. Our leather saved us a lot of skin. Most of the gear is trashed (worn through in several places) but better leather than skin. The bike and trailer are presumed totaled, but the insurance company has yet to evaluate the wrecked rig. From all indications, as Deb and I slid along the road (and "rumble strip") at 65 mph, the bike and trailer proceeded to flip, roll and end for end into the median. I am unclear as to how far the rig traveled sans riders, but the towing company rep said they picked up everything in the "debris field" that stretched for 230 feet. We made the local news: http://www.wkbn.com/2013/08/15/car-forces-motorcycle-into-median/ The other driver did stop, as well as a multitude of Good Samaritans. The young man was ticketed for improper lane change. And he had valid insurance. Don's explanation of the accident is correct. The kid simply wanted to get to the front of the line of merging vehicles and swerved into my occupied space in the left lane to overtake those in front of him. More to this storied New England Tour will come later. It was quite a trip even without the disappointing ending.

I dunno. Why don't you take them off and tell us how hard it was.

Drag Specialties. Here is an original VentureLine Installation Instructions with part numbers. The part numbers don't seem to be Yamaha numbers. Perhaps they are Drag Specialties numbers?

Where have I heard this before? Oh, yeah. Here: http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?p=775910#post775910 I'm glad you are going to get the pump fixed without replacing it. And thanks for the video. I'm sure it will help a lot of the Second Gen guys. (Since the First Gen fuel pumps RARELY fail. Go figure!)

They have more than one generation of Burgmans? Huh! Are the First Generation Burgmans faster than the Second Generation Burgmans, too?

Dan's next "bike" is a blue Burgman.

No. I've experienced some fair exhaust leaks on the rear headers on my '83, but I can't imagine that a leaky exhaust pipe would offer enough exhaust gasses to make any difference. Heck, most cars have an EGR valve that actually allows exhaust gases into the intake. I believe your bog and hiccups in the carbs is due to the modified air box. Try sealing the air box with some duct tape and cardboard over the missing air box parts and see if it still runs badly.

On the way home from picking up my Venture, I experienced the same thing...towing a trailer. That losing the clutch release was startling, but trying to take off from the stop sign at the end of the off ramp...with a cop sitting there watching while I herky-jerky away was just plain embarrassing. A flush of the fluid with new fixed it, when I finally got home. But I stopped a couple times while trying to get home to bleed it. (I probably flushed all the old out just bleeding).

Dan, I hope you are enjoying your birfday.

Here is a link for Colorado Plastics where they tested acrylic and polycarbonate windshields with the pros and cons: http://www.coloradoplastics.com/blog-0/bid/42625/Polycarbonate-Lexan-vs-Acrylic-Lucite To djh3: Home Depot carries both Lexan (Polycarbonate) and Optix (Acrylic).

If, IF it is just a bad stator/charging system you can swap good batteries from your riding partners for your depleted battery as needed. They will be charging your battery as you consume the energy in theirs. Keep swapping until you have to part ways and then borrow one or two charged batteries to take with you for the last 200 miles. I did that battery swap on the road from West Texas to Kansas (1000 miles) with my riding buddy when my stator was trashed on a CB750.

Is that your rig, McGovern? Who steers the bike for two?

How on earth did it get bent?

Remove the headlight assembly and reinsert, but ensure the housing tab fits into the adjuster mechanism properly. It's not hard, but a careless mechanic may not even bother to check as he unknowingly slaps the headlight back in. While you are there (inside joke) make sure the headlight housing is, in fact, engaging ITS tabs at the bottom. As for the dash going out, if the techie was behind the headlight, he may have knocked the connectors loose. So, again, when you remove the headlight and "while you are in there" , double check all connectors are secure.

Believe me, I am not being insolent, but did you take out/off the old gasket? Are the new gaskets from Yamaha or are they aftermarket? It is a necessarily tight fit, so be sure all rust and old gasket remains are removed.

We are embarking on our New England Tour this Saturday (August 3) and anticipate spending Sunday night at Fourmile Creek State Park, near Youngstown, NY after riding from Cleveland, OH area to Goat Island (Niagara Falls) then to Fourmile Creek. Anyone want to meet for Sunday supper in the area? My cell number is in my profile.

Bill, is there enough pad left on the worn ones to swap inside pad for outside pad? But, I am also suspecting an issue with the calipers. The four piston MKII calipers don't slide back and forth like the MKI calipers with just a single piston. In fact, the MKI pads did wear unevenly, but the MKII pads should not show different wear since all four pistons should move equally. Clean the pistons and clean and lube the pad supporting pins to ensure equal application on both pads.

Ruh Ro