Prairiehammer

So, for our edification: which transmission do you have? And I agree with djh3, replace the filter and use the gasket that comes in the kit.

How did your required balance weights compare to the ones that were done "professionally"? How many ounces did it take to balance statically?

Hey, Mike, if you want to bring that Lincoln out my way, I'll let you have the D491 off my '83. Just bring your rear wheel with ya when ya come!

That is a pretty big pill to swallow. For that kind of money, I suspect you could get TWO D404. So what if they last half as long? If there is anybody selling a Kenda around your neck of the woods, they have a tire for Ventures that is load rated well. Amazon sells the Kenda, too. A guy I know put them on his laden LD ridden Venture. Only been a while since he installed it, so I can't speak of mileage. IIRC, it was $113 from Amazon.

Can't speak of personal experience with D404, paired with anything. I assume that only the D404 is local to you? Too bad that is all there is around you. Sounds counter intuitive but check with your local Harley dealer. I've discovered that our tire size was common on certain Harleys. Can't think of the Harley model right now, but call 'em. Maybe they have an E3 or ?

While it is not a funny name, there is a town in Pennsylvania (not far from Puxatawney), that is named Glen Campbell. My father is/was named Glen Campbell (yes, with one 'n'). We made a detour while returning from New England, just to photograph the town sign, fire house and Post Office. The Postmistress postmarked a blank envelope for me to send home. Not a funny town name, but it made me sad and proud at the same time. "A town named for my Dad."

Dave, I like your highway board mounts! I have Markland highway boards that look very similar to yours, with the exception of the mounts. Currently, the Markland boards I have are mounted to the top of the engine guard, but it appears the mounts might be able to clamp on the engine guard further back. I've not tried, since I need more leg room not less. Perhaps we could work a deal?

Since it is a 1979, it is not technically a Venturer. Yamaha offered the fairing and saddlebags as accessories in the earlier years of XS11 production.

What year is the XS11?

Where's the pics? Are the saddlebags and fairing stock? If so, you might have the Venturer (not Venture, but the predecessor to the Venture). http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x124/venture-spain/fotosWeb/Venturer.jpghttp://www.xs1100-frw.de/HOMEPAGE_03/XS%20Modelle/XS11_81er_H.jpghttp://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/Gallery%20%20A/Yamaha%20XS%20Eleven%20Venturer%20%201.jpg

I feel your pain, brother. I am 6'4" and I too cannot find any highway pegs that don't cost me an arm and a leg. The Kuryakyn Offset Longhorn work pretty well when mounted on the forward vertical leg of the engine guards. They offer a fair amount of forward and rearward adjustment. But, they cost an arm and a leg, IMHO. A friend of mine, (Shorty, here) had them on his '87 and he is even taller than me and he swore by them Longhorns. But one big caveat (for me): he removed the lowers from the fairing to allow his legs to stay close to the bike when his feet were on the highway pegs. I really like the lowers on the First Gen and don't want to lose their benefits. There is a thread here talking about the leg room in general on the First Gen, with a bit of talk about the highway pegs. Here is a photo of Shorty's bike with Kuryakyn Longhorns. You'll have to look closely, though.

Wiz is correct; all Ventures have air assisted shocks. All Ventures have steel springs. The confusion is because the Standard Ventures (those without CLASS) have an internal spring and the Royales have an external spring. Why? Who knows. But all First Gen shocks will interchange; although the air delivery configuration may be problematic. For instance, one could put a shock from a Standard on a Royale, but you would have to rig a coupling to join the hose from the CLASS compressor to the hose that is on the Standard shock. As far as I can determine, the hose mounted on the shock (whether Royale or Standard) is not removable from the shock without damage.

Since Paul can't post a pic, I will offer up another as his proxy.

Thanks Paul, for the correct answer. Here is an unedited pic of my submission:

Kick it back and find this.

Neil, I think Steve was playing around with the photo. Here's a more likely pic. http://www.fedrotriple.it/agg_2009_01/1969-bsa-rocket3.jpg

1954 Honda 220cc GP Isle of Mann wanna be http://www.hondatwins.net/forums/attachments/21684d1361850813-motorcycle-story-golden-years-1.jpg

Close enough, I suppose. This was a spy shot of the Rocket III prototype: http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/photos/prototype-spy-concept/Triumph-RocketIII2200ccCruiserPrototype.jpg

What is it?

1991 Merlin 4500 cc Rolls-Royce prototype motorcycle [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgxDwbDXCBw]Lucky Keizer's Rolls Royce Merlin 5L V-Twin Resurrected - YouTube[/ame]

I'll bet you nobody here knew about this bike. LOL

Mike Hailwood on the Honda 250 Six http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tHkx2afavDg/UR-5C9bEvbI/AAAAAAAA2WU/Z1TBq-5HYXA/s1600/Mike+Hailwood+@+Honda+250-6+Hockenheim+1967.jpg

1966 Honda RC166 - 250cc 6 cylinder 4-stroke http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d58/RD350b/yoshida_rc166.jpg

OK, I'll give you that excessive aluminum anti-seize might manifest itself on the electrode, but I personally do not see any anti-seize on the spark plug threads.

Good show, old chap! I really like your concise and yet complete write-up of what has transpired. By chance, could you elaborate on the pilot screw settings that are current? I agree that it seems as if one cylinder is dropping in and out (the surge) at low speeds, but a couple things I noted when I see the spark plugs: Number 3 looks significantly richer than the rest; perhaps that is the cylinder that is flaky? Number 2 appears to have melted aluminum bits on the electrode. That can't be good.