[Another stalling question of a different sort]

So here's the deal; my '06 RSV seems to enjoy leaving me on the side of the road once or twice a year, seemingly without a warning of more than a few seconds. There's been no consistency as to when it happens. I'd had it gone through shortly after purchase last year as it wasn't running well. A new ignition coil along with cleaning the carbs seemed to turn everything around. A month later I was leaving work, almost cold engine, and before even leaving the lot it sputtered and died. Only way I could get anything out of it was to use full choke and it would seem like it wanted to run but would die within 30 seconds or so. After about 10 minutes of trying, it started cleanly and ran great. A month later I was in traffic on a somewhat warm day and it started sputtering at a light and stalled when I tried to take off. The tank had about 4 gallons in it at the time but wouldn't restart no matter what I did. Had it flatbedded to my local Yamaha dealer and darn if it didn't start immediately They had no idea what had happened, especially since they had so recently serviced it. 14,000 miles and zero problems later it did it to me again 2 weeks ago! This time it was about 80 degrees and I had just come off an expressway running at 60 mph and it died seconds after waiting at the exit light. Again, it started after many tries with choke on full as if it was getting very little gas and the choke was "keeping a balance" on the A/F ratio, and has run great the almost 1000 miles since. I've run Seafoam through it, checked the plugs and they look great. Any ideas?

I never have old gas in the tank as I ride so much. Even in winter the tank is kept full with ethanol formula stabilizer in it.

[Hard downshifting]

The upgrade I did is the one with the heavier spring plus the addition of an extra full disc to replace the half disc. Skydoc_17 sells them here. The downshifting is easier now when the bike is cold but still a little tougher when hot. Neutral seems to be more difficult to engage now also but for the benefit of the upgrade I can handle the little quirks.

[Hard downshifting]

So I just did the clutch upgrade this weekend and finished off with an oil change today, then took it out for a spin. What a surprise to find formerly smooth as silk downshifting now be in need of a very firm push on the gear shift. Upshifts feel no different at all. Same brand and weight oil as I had before so nothing new there. With the clutch engaging sooner could it not be possible that the linkage might need some adjustment? BTW, the clutch upgrade is absolutely WOW! Nothing has changed at all, same temperature, same oil, but upgraded clutch.

[Fairing trim removal, how to?]

Yeah, I was surprised to find them glued in place but got them off just fine. Didn't matter about getting the WD-40 on it as the fairing was going in for a repaint anyway, had lots of gouges and scratches from poor storage before I got it. Thanks to all for the input.

[Just curious, How many Wing Riders do we have on the site?]

Started out my riding days with a beautiful '86 Wing but as anyone who's ever had one knows, they're death on the stators so after replacing one and having that die in a year I became a RSV rider. Venture is much more comfortable for the really long rides although you certainly feel the extra weight in the handling. Still have the Wing though, just ordered an alternator conversion kit so I'll have a backup for when the Venture needs work, or just a change of rides

[Fairing trim removal, how to?]

I've removed my fairing on my 2006 RSV for painting, as it has a few scratches on it. I need to get the 2 small pieces of trim off. Do they simply pry off? As they're only plastic I'm afraid I might break them if I don't do it right. Thanks in advance......

[Extending Drivers Footboards On Royal Star]

I bought generic folding highway pegs for my 2006 RSV and mounted them right there on the crash bars behind the lowers. They look great and give me a few more inches to stretch out. I'm 6'3" so this was a good move for the long trips. Only downfall is they can't be folded in as they come close to the gear shift and brake pedals at the angle I have them installed so that my feet won't slip off but it's a small price to pay for the added comfort.

[Oil ????]

Thanks for the input, I'm getting Rotella tomorrow. The Valvoline 4 Stroke is SJ and JASO rated but I wonder if maybe 20W/50 is maybe just too "thick" between the plates and causing the slippage, sure doesn't seem like at 40,000 miles the clutch should be shot as someone at the dealership said it probably was, especially since I couldn't make it slip before. Mechanic there tried to tell me 40K was just about the time the clutch goes bad on RSV's but I'm not buying it from past bike experience.

[Oil ????]

When I bought my '06 Midnight Venture I was told by the previous owner that the bike had always had used 20W/50 semi synthetic but he didn't know what brand as the previous owner had passed away so he had 1 change done following that regimen, then sold it to me. I did a change 2 weeks ago, went to Valvoline 4 stroke MC oil, JASO certified of course but not synthetic, and next day started noticing clutch slippage on moderately hard acceleration. Now I see that 20W/50 isn't recommended but something thinner. Could this be the reason for my slippage? Before the change I'd had towed a trailer w/ 2 up and never had any slippage no matter how hard I hit the gas. Also, are the synthetic blend oils the semi he was referring to? I'm going to Rotella ASAP and hope that corrects the problem. Any comment?