van avery

We just returned from Scotland and Ireland trip too. Other that the main "motorways" , I'm not sure most of the roads have more that a straight 1/2 mile but you have to watch out for the free range sheep. The roads are also thinner that our roads with a bunch of tight curves where you could lose your head to a car or bus coming the other way. In Scotland our tour guide said a lot of the country roads were created by the sheep being hearded to market. Beautiful country.

Have you sprayed starting fluid around the intake boots with it running, If the idle increases then look for a vacuum leak? The orings under the intake boots maybe shot.

I live a bit south of you in Sweeny , about 60 miles S of Houston.

I like it on my 87 Royale on longer rides. It does make getting on and off the bike harder, can't swing the leg around as easy. Also have one for my 03 wing and it doesn't seem as comfortable.

There is Tecneu Poision ivy an oak cleaner. Available at Walmart and Walgreens ( at least here in Texas ). It the best stuff I have found but you need to follow the directions on the bottle. Also, I had a good friend that had a bad case and was having trouble clearing it up and the chlorine in the pool water helped clears his up. Good luck , the first time I had it down here in Texas I got to spend the weekend watching the welts grow together on my legs and that was after I got cortorizone shots and Benadryl pills and cortorizone suave etc from the doctor.

You might want to use an old headlight to test for the voltage. I had a case where I had voltage everywhere I should with the VOM but the main fuse would not handle any real load. tracked it back to one of the main fuses that looked good and carried 12 Volt until I had a load on it. Good luck

The hose goes down with 2- 90's in it to a port on top of the crank case. If its missing I would think there would be oil all over the valley and I would worry about crud getting in the crank case. Some people have just installed a small air filter on the crank case port and plugged the port on the bottom of the Air box.

Had the same type of problem with an 84 wing. Showed 12 volts with Volt but when I turned on the switch everything died. If you have an old headlight that works use that and track back to where it lights up. load will show where the weak spot is. I had 12 volt on both sides of main fuse with VOM but when I used headlight it shows the fuse was the problem and when I touched the fuse it broke in half'. I rode the bike 8- mile the day before. with no problem.

have you checked to make sure the rotor is not warped. I had the same problem on an 83 wing finally found that the rotor was warped like a bowl. This caused too much travel for the calipers t travel . Here are some pictures of what I found.

You can buy a repair kit for the clutch master cylinder. Typical one at http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-YAMAHA-FAZER-FZ750-VMAX-FJ1200-XVZ12-XVZ13-CLUTCH-MASTER-CYLINDER-KIT-/191572229480?fits=Model%3AVenture+Royale&hash=item2c9a983d68&vxp=mtr As for removing the master cylinder it's easier to remove it to the bench to work on. The lever needs to be removed , single bolt to remove and them remove the banjo bolt holding the hose, Don't lose the brass gasket/ washers on both ends of the hose connection. The hard part ( for me) was removing the internal snap ring that holds the plunger assembly in place , it located where the lever handle sticks into the body. Make sure to keep the brake fluid off the painted surfaces of the bike as it will eat the paint. I normally put an garbage over the surface under the cylinder. If you do get any on the painted surface rinse it good with water before it does any damage.

Here is another way. Buy the Butler ring only about $ 20 at http://www.glassact.com/gallery5.htm and then make a plate with three holes. Buy some longer bolts and ( make or buy) some short spacers for the bolts to allow the bolts to tighten assembly against the handle bars.

Try this address for the service manual. Rotor bolt 94 Foot pounds and cover bolts looks like 7.2 foot pounds torque http://labs.trunkful.com/vrmanuals/index.cfm

Have your bike on the center stand when you increase the pressure on the back shock. My bike doesn't raise when I increase the pressure while sitting on the bike. It also helped a bunch to install progressive springs on the front.

Got a chance to play with the bike again today. Took for short ride and could feel the second cylinder kick in and out. While back in the shop and checking fuel level in the carbs, the idle kicked up to around 3500 RPM and sounded much better. The tach started to preform correctly and things are much better. Guess it was an electrical issue and just needed to run some to get the kinks out.

Picked up a 85 VF700 virago a short time ago. Been sitting a couple years . Last license was 1996. Cleaned and coated tank and cleaned carbs twice. Seems to run mostly on the front cylinder. I notice that when I rev the engine the Tach will not show above 400 RPM it drops to zero and then when I let off it will return to normal reading. Could this be related to the reason the back cylinder is not hitting right? I took it for a 3/4 mile ride yesterday and then took the back plug out finished unscrewing it by hand ( not hot). Could it be a bad CDI or??? looking for ideas Installed new plugs today and while I was at it I checked the spark with the old plug and it seemed to fire fine. Is there a chance that I did not get the idle mix screw set correctly? Also , the back plug looked black like it had been running rich.

If you can find the right size clear tube you can insert the drain hose into it ( with tight fit) and check the fuel levels.

Just got done doing a tank on an 84 VARIGO. Last tag on the bike was dated 1995. Used the Kreem system. Called out to wash out with warm soapy water with rocks or nuts and bolts to break up the gunk. (Lots of time shaking tank) I used nuts and bolts so I could pull them out with magnet. I messed up and used one SS bolts but did get it out with long needle nose pliers. Then use their part A that was a slight acid that would clean up the rust and etch the inside of the tank leave in overnite if tank in bad condition and then rinse completely. This removed a bunch of rust and hardened gas. Rinsed this about 7 to 8 times to get cleaned up. When I rinsed this out I got a bunch more rust and hardened gas out in chunks. Then use part B to neutralize. This helps dry out the interior of the tank . Then use the kreem and keep rolling the tank around to try to completely coat the inside of the tank. waited about 6 hours and poured the rest of the kreem in and tried to get abetter coating. Waited several days before I put gas in the beast today and or course I cleaned the carbs and she lives again. The system cost about $60 at the local bike shop. I also used a hydroblaster before I cleaned with soapy water. Time consuming job but seems to have worked well. Used Duct tape to seal the openings during the process. Good luck

Your valves may be too tight. You might do a compression check.

Did you check the level in the carb bowls? Clear tube on the drain lines and check per the book on the levels. May be too full and flooding it out. I'm sure you using a fully charged battery, low voltage will turn it over but not start it. Have you checked spark on the plugs ? Good luck

You might check the top end of your plug wires they do corrode at times. If you cut about a quarter inch off the end it may help. A quick check to see if those cylinders are firing would be in order. Pull one of the front plug wires and install a plug in the boot and ground the plug body to the engine and see if the cylinder, start the bike and see if it is firing. IF it is, then try the other side. If they are firing then you need to look at the carbs.

Make sure you use the correct oil. Nothing with friction fighters or the like as later you cutch will slip in high gears. I use Rotella T for Diesel engines it is Jaso approved for motorcycles with a wet clutch.

Try http://www.carrot-top.com They have a bunch of that stuff. Their flags look like are 6' x 10'. Good luck

Good job now let's go for the green. But no Blarney

Brad, good to hear from you again. Glad to hear things are Going OK for you both. Thanks for what you are doing these guy's need the support. Hope to see you a doddles.

Bryon The boot cracks might not go all the way through the boots ( I believe they have metal inside the rubber). The problem I had was the Orings under the boots, Spray the boots with WD40 or starting fluid and the intersections of the boots to the cylinders with the bike running and if the idle increases in a certain area that were you look for the leak.