Prairiehammer

Thank you, Jamie for this information. Ironically, I had your second VIN already recorded in my database. I discovered it at a salvage auction in Tennessee. It was a maroon Standard, not Royale. (The '26H' in the VIN denotes a 1983 Standard). The build date for the 26H008DA004184 is either 02/83 or 03/83. If you would like a copy of the Excel database, PM me with your email address and I will send it to you. Thanks again.

KISA, as you probably know, the metal strap is not original. It is a patch. The lower fairing mounts to some of the same screws as the upper fairing, but technically, you could mount the lower fairing without the upper fairing and vice versa. Here is a picture of an undamaged lower fairing.

Nice color! And bike! But does it have electronic cruise control? And where is the trunk and passenger backrest? Intercom? CB? AM/FM? Cassette?

Back in my hot-rodding days, I had "cut-outs" on my Fairlane. Pull the cable knob and I had open headers. Push the cable knob, closing the exhaust cut-out, and I had a streetable and almost legal exhaust system.

Bumpity, bump

I bought a new CB750 in 1974. I put a Kerker 4 into 1 header on it after a year. Rode the heck out of it for four years, then I bought a new 1978 Kawasaki Z1R and promptly installed a Kerker on it and rode the heck out of it for several years until I bought a 1983 Venture Royale. I GAVE the CB750 to my brother and he rode it for several years, even taking it to Washington state for four years. He sold/gave it to a friend of his, who had it for several years. Finally, he tired of it and my brother asked if I wanted my old Honda. Shoot YEAH! Bottom line: I have my old CB750, my first bike, still with the Kerker. Now, I wish I had my Z1R, again. And I wish I had my first Venture Royale, again. And I wish I had my first car (1966 Fairlane 500 with a hotted up 390, with Hooker header and glasspacks).

Here is the OEM gasket on eBay: Travel Trunk Lid Saddlebag Seal 54K 2847F 00 XVZ12 XVZ13 1983 1993 | eBay

My FIRST: a brand spanking new 1974 Honda CB750.

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There is not many choices for the 1983-1985 caliper seal kit on eBay. Yamaha part number 26H-WO047-50-00 has been superseded by Yamaha part number 31A-W0047-00-00. Doing a search for that part number on eBay returns just two discrete hits. Two are for OEM seals from Boats net and Partzilla (same seller) and two identical from Motosupplyco. If it were me, I would stick with Yamaha branded seals. Cheapest, too. 31A-W0047-00-00 | eBay

Attached find the instructions for mounting the Baker Air Wings to the Venture Royale. Baker no longer sells complete Air Wings for the Venture Royale, but replacement parts, ie. the arm brackets specific for the Venture Royale ARE still available from Baker. The rest of the components that make up the complete Air Wings are generic. Replacement Parts Air Wings, ABA-26HCD-32-00, Installation Instructions.pdf air wings, Install Instructions.pdf

Yes, The fairing (upper and lower) and side covers are the same. Obviously the trunk and saddlebags are not, but you knew that.

Annotated pics of the primary fuse block with glass fuses and another pic of my revamped primary fuse block along with the second OEM fuse holder as well as the auxiliary fuse block I added.

Agree that new fork springs will probably be in order and also agree that Progressive® springs for the MKI and MKII are the same SKU, however, has anyone noticed that the 1983 Yamaha front springs are unique; different part number from 1984-1993. Another thing I have pondered: The MKII weighs variously 49-64 pounds heavier than a XVZ12TK. And yet the same springs from Progressive®? Perhaps that explains why the preload varies so much among users. Weight, Venture.pdf

Currently -10°F, with 18mph breeze, I don't know what the wind chill is...prolly about -25°. But hey it IS sunny , for now. Detailed Forecast Today Sunny and cold, with a high near 7. Wind chill values as low as -20. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph. Tonight Increasing clouds, with a low around -3. Wind chill values as low as -10. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm. Friday A 50 percent chance of snow after 7am. Cloudy, with a high near 21. Wind chill values as low as -10. South wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. Friday Night A 50 percent chance of snow, mainly before 1am. Cloudy, with a low around 18. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. Saturday Snow likely, mainly after 7am. Cloudy, with a high near 31. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Saturday Night Snow likely, mainly before 7pm. Cloudy, with a low around 14. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Sunday A 50 percent chance of snow before 7am. Partly sunny, with a high near 18. Sunday Night Mostly cloudy, with a low around -4. Monday Sunny and cold, with a high near 10. Monday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around -1. Tuesday A slight chance of snow. Partly sunny, with a high near 24. Tuesday Night A slight chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 7. Wednesday Mostly sunny, with a high near 14.

The proper torque is indeed 5.8 ft/lbs, however that value is usually too low for the common foot/pound torque wrenches to properly register (if at all). Obtain an inch/pound torque wrench and torque the bolts to 69.6 inch/pounds.

That is true, IF the Starting Circuit Cut-Off Relay coil is energized. The SCCR coil is energized through the IGNITION fuse (Brown input, Red/White output) and then through the kill switch. Do you have battery voltage after the IGNITION fuse on the Red/White wire?

Attached find an annotated pic of the stock First Gen Venture Royale (please don't call it a "RSV") showing the fuse block as from the factory. Also attached is a pic of my refurbished fuse block. Note at the top of the pic the black plastic box emblazoned with "FUSE". This stock fuse block has four ATC fuses in it (audio backup, audio CB, fan, hazard). Your schematic has combined the five glass fuse block and the four ATC fuse block into one nine fuse block. As you can see, that is not how it actually is. I will recommend that before you spend much more time on this bike's electrical gremlins, that you upgrade the fuse block. Once you have that upgraded, then subsequent problems will be narrowed down to discrete connections and/or switches.

Ken, what are the issues with your current carbs? "Hard starting"? Meaning the engine turns over, but it is reluctant to fire? Is this issue occurring with a cold engine or when the engine is warmed up? How does the bike perform after getting it started? What is your fuel mileage? Have you replaced the spark plugs? How many miles on the bike? Has the engine compression been checked? Have you checked the valve clearances? What is the idling rpm of the warm engine? As you may now realize, hard starting can be caused by many things, not just the carbs. The 1983 carbs are not inherently more troublesome when compared to other years. Finally, because all Constant Velocity carburetors (the Venture carbs are CV carbs) are intrinsically altitude compensating, rejetting to compensate for the high altitude is a finicky endeavor, where the science of such is mostly misunderstood and usually becomes a trial and error experience. Unless you were to miraculously find a set of brand new carbs, it is likely that you will still have issues with any used carbs that you find. Unless the carbs you have are actually "worn out" (an oft used but incorrect phrase, since unless there is excessive wear at the throttle plate shaft, the carbs are not "worn" out). All the Venture carbs share major and minor components with each other and with the First Generation V-Max. Thus, parts to refresh and make the carbs like new are available. The one fly in this ointment is the mechanic's skill and attention to detail. Here on this forum we regularly encounter users who have had their Venture carbs "rebuilt" and yet continue to have problems. Most problems after the ersatz rebuild are a result of incorrect and or incomplete "refurbishment" and or poor quality parts. Elaborate your particular issues here and we will help you to restore efficient and reliable operation to your carbs and to the Venture.

Hitting the Black Velvet are we, Doug?

I am not positive on the physics of the 'lift' hole or vacuum port, but it appears if this hole is upstream of the needle, that the slide will be sluggish in raising. All I DO know, is that every manufacturer says the hole should be oriented toward the engine side/butterfly. Including Yamaha.

Shinko and Kenda make both front and rear tires in sizes for our Venture.

First of all, Doug, mralex714 asked: What is the minimum thickness of the rear rotor for an 86 VR? The correct answer is 4.5mm. The minimum disc (or rotor) thickness (front and rear) for a 1983-1985 is 6.5mm (0.26 inch). This information is found on page 5-4 in the paper factory manual.