farm1810

Does anyone make a replacement saddlebag for the venture / rstd that is maybe 3" wider on each side for a little more space? If no, has anyone purchased two used bags, cut out a center section then plastic welded it into the center of their bags / lid? I really like the look of the BeetleBags, but I don't see an application for the tour deluxe / venture. Thoughts?

I have a 2nd Gen RSTD with Venture tank, V-Max rear, Venture trunk, etc. I found that on trips when the low fuel indicator starts counting (before reserve is turned on) I have gone just over 17 miles before I start to run out of fuel. I have never fully run out of fuel, but my mileage is typically between 32 and 36 miles per gallon. On the low end pulling my little trailer, on the high end running 50 - 60 mph on the highway. If I run 75 - 80, mileage drops down. Generally on the interstate, 70 is just comfortable for me and the little bike sounds happy with the V-Max gears / RPM. Anyway, so twice I have gone 30 miles on reserve and not run out. A funny story. I mentioned I have a Venture trunk. It came with the helmet locks, but of course these were keyed differently from the ignition saddle bags, and original RSTD helmet lock. So I purchased a set of lock cylinders, ignition switch etc off of ebay with keys so all could match. I had swapped out all except the ignition switch. Oh did I mention I swapped the gas cap? So everything matched except the ignition switch that I figured I would get to later. So wife and I run off on a little Saturday morning adventure. No real plan, just a ride. We were about 40 miles from home and we were low enough on fuel that I was looking for the odometer to switch. A gas station came into view and not being familiar with the area, I figured what the heck, I'll stop for fuel now. Wife runs to the ladies room, I go to unlock the gas cap and... I only brought the ignition key and forgot the key that matched everything else. I had not way of removing the gas cap. Yikes! So we headed back home. I was doing the math on mileage and past experience about twice per minute the entire ride home. We did make it all the way home, had to use reserve of course. What an anxious little ride back for both of us.

I used these bars on my 2007 RSTD. In the top 5 improvements I made to the bike. In rank order: 1. V-Max rear 2. Venture Gas Tank 3. Flanders bars 4. Venture trunk 5. Stratoliner front wheel / tire 6. Hagen rear shock and leveling links (rise) Okay, maybe there were six. I replaced nothing else with the bar replacement. I did need to re-route some cables, but replaced nothing. These are discontinued I think. Good luck. R.

My wife and I were most unhappy with our original RSTD seat. We would call it a one hour ride seat. After much research and anguish over the cost, we splurged for the Russell Day Long seat. It was over $500 for the drivers seat mod and passengers with 1 1/2" of additional width added. We have never regretted our choice. We put a Venture gas tank on our RSTD which gives us some extra range. We can ride for the entire tank of gas and have no discomfort. That is a first for me and I am 58 years old having ridden motorcycles my entire life since 16 years old.

I too purchased an E2 for my RSTD. Wow! Had no idea a tire could make that much difference. When I bought my 2008 it had a D404 on it. So when it wore out, I bought another. It lasted 5200 miles. That's it. Then I put another D404 on it. It lasted just over 6000. We'll see how the E2 wears, but from what I have read 10K miles is not out of the question. The part I am still wondering about it is, does it really handle better than with the D404? Sure feels like it, but I am not racer either. Just general feel of the bike isn't as squirrely. I have put the leveling links (raised) the back end and put the Stratoliner front wheel / tire on it. That helped low speed handling tremendously. I have the Werks rear shock on it and have progressives for the front springs but haven't installed yet. Still have a D404 on the front, but have an E3 to replace it. Noticed dry rot cracks in the current front tire.

Anyone install the LED headlamp? Bucket mods?

To what degree did you have to modify your headlight bucket? How about the passing light buckets?

The recent thread about LED passing lamps took me to the Larson lights website. They advertise a 7" LED headlight bulb for $155. Has anyone tried it? Below is the link. https://www.larsenlights.com/7-round-led-hi-lo-headlight

Yeah, what Seaking said. I sit on my rolling stool, put both feet under the wheel (sort of) lift it with my feet and slide the axle through. I do this with the calipers off. Then I am not trying to line up too many things. P.S. There is something about the words "rolling stool" that sort of give me the creeps. After all, my wife sees my laundry!!

Thank you. I will keep you posted. I have the springs and oil. I have the back end apart right now mounting a rear tire and lubricating suspension pieces. It will be a few weeks before the front spring change. While I'm at it, I have a Dyno 3000 that I am going to try. I'm reading on there about settings folks have tried. We'll see. I have the V-Max gears in it so a few extra RPM will be helpful. That said, I have only hit the rev - limiter once ever. I'm not exactly a speedster anymore (58 years old).

Great point about the air forks. Are progressives a wasted investment on a Gen 2?

I have a 2008 RSTD and I am looking to put the progressive fork springs on it. Looking at an exploded view on a parts site it appears that I remove the top cap (along with handlebars, etc) and the springs will slide out the top without much hastle. I am going to change the fork oil at the same time so will have the bottom bolt out. Is there a reason to do a full disassembly on this just to change springs and oil?

Do I need to disconnect the Y pipes at the cylinder head to remove the pipes just in front of the mufflers? I removed the mufflers today as I was replacing a back tire. I could feel the rust on the pipes leading into the mufflers even though the heat shields are well polished chrome. I am thinking of removing them, glass beading, then spraying with heat resistant paint. How much trouble is this?

I am just wondering, has anyone drilled a hole in the swing arm tube, added a grease fitting, then pumped grease into the tube as a means of lubing their swing arm bearings periodically? This would be on a 2007 Tour Deluxe. The tube appears to be hollow in drawings. Thoughts?

I posted a question on the Tour Deluxe page. I have the 18" front wheel and have been running a 130/70 on it. I am thinking of going to a 120/90. Anyone ever do that? It is a little taller but appears that it will fit in the fender.