zagger

Or you could just get a new one without a hardened steel thing stuck in the aluminum threaded hole. zag

A new frame? Hurts my head just thinking about what that would involve! I'm guessing that my raked-out 83 venture wouldn't fit into their fixit program. zag

Keep in mind that just below the reservoir is the cylinder with various little sliding seals that produce pressure when you pull the lever. Aluminum conducts heat very readily and as you attempt to heat one area, you are quite likely to overheat the little seals that aren't designed to take any heat. In my opinion, the effort to save your old junky reservoir probably isn't worth it. Of course, it could be an interesting life experiment which you wouldn't have if you simply got one that worked! You will look back on all of this as a minor blip in your total rehab effort. Mine was as junked up as yours and I cannot remember much of anything about fixing it! zag Oh yeah, I forgot your question. The answer by checking on google: Brake fluid does burn. DOT3, DOT4, and DOT5 all burn, and all about the same. It's not an explosive fast burn like gasoline, but a slower burn like vegetable oil, or a bit faster than candle wax.

Not bad luck - it's just old stuff. You will eventually be happy that you didn't ditch it. I looked on ebay and found this one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1983-83-Yamaha-Venture-XVZ1200-XVZ-1200-Left-clutch-master-cylinder-lever-perch/263443751565?hash=item3d5678a28d:g:JlcAAOSwmudaBdfj Getting broken bits and taps out of a hole can be a real misery. I don't think that I have ever been successful. Broken drill bits and taps are pretty brittle and it seems like they continue shattering as you try to hang on and twist them out. If the fluid level window is cracked into a million pieces (like your current one), I would suggest removing it and plugging the hole. I vaguely remember that a nickel fits pretty good. I used some kind of epoxy to hold it in place - something resistant to brake fluid. I just looked to see the coin denomination on my bike but I had squished epoxy over it. Sorry, I don't remember the epoxy I used, it has been a long time. Probably not the typical hardware store stuff that isn't resistant to anything. Looking through my shop inventory, I'd guess that I used an epoxy called PC-7. https://www.amazon.com/PC-Products-167779-Two-Part-Multipurpose/dp/B008H4QSAW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1519674954&sr=8-1&keywords=epoxy+pc7 Otherwise, this might be a good time to become friends with McMaster Carr - they have everything. You might be due for a miracle but if not, you might want to consider starting over with a reservoir that doesn't have anything stuck in it! Don't give up just because of stupid little stuff like this. zag

The Mama Tried motorycycle show happens in Milwaukee at this time of year. http://mamatriedshow.com/ I went with a couple of friends but had to wait in a line 3 blocks long outside in the freezing cold with high winds. And after entering the building, you were forced to submit to guys with wand type metal detectors. My friend had his pocket knife confiscated by these pricks. I saw what was happening and slipped my little pocket knife into my shoe and it wasn't detected. This morning I checked their website and they do not mention any rules regarding knives, guns, or whatever. And there weren't any warning signs by the doors. I will never go to this again. Afterwards I was asking myself why I didn't just tell them to get screwed and walk out the door. I guess that after driving for an hour, paying to park, and waiting in the cold in a long line, made me more compliant than I should have been. What a bunch of sheep we have become! I really hate the "weapon free" mentality that seems to be accepted these days in public buildings. Of course, my little knife is hardly a weapon - maybe I could poke somebody with the scissors? If someone wants to shoot up a place, it seems logical to me that they would pick a location where everyone has been disarmed and cannot resist - just like that kid in the news that recently shot up a public school. The anti-gun folks are so naive that it just makes me want to scream. The show was ok but very crowded - $10 to park, $18 to get in, $8 beers. Not worth it. Talked to one guy with a long chopper and he had to have guys haul his bike up the steps to the third floor where the show was taking place. The elevator wasn't big enough. All vendors selling crap on the first two floors - didn't look much but noticed one guy selling skate boards, wtf. My friends said that I should enter my chopper Venture in the show next year - I'd rather jam my swiss army knife scissors in my eye! Any ideas on how to dump crap on their dumb show? zag

If you are riding just for the enjoyment (not commuting to work), then I'd suggest that you find little used roads with no traffic. Cage drivers fiddling around with their cell phones are a menace and I prefer to stay well away from them. I would imagine that BC has lots of rural roads with little traffic. You just need to find a route from your house out to the nice roads which avoids as much traffic as possible. Just my 2 cents after 48 years of riding. zag

Garmin Zumo with tunes loaded in and earbuds. zag

Yup, tenting would be my plan. My Honda Sabre is set up pretty good for long trips - waterproof hard cases and extra gas tanks with a fuel pump. My venture is really just for local cruising although it is really comfortable - just too much cop-bait. Still haven't gotten a ticket for not having a horn, but maybe some sharp trooper will check it out. F'em. zag

I'll go. Probably take my touring bike instead of my venture chopper - the beast just attracts too much cop attention. About 850 miles from Madison, WI. zag

Well, that doesn't sound good. I've been planning to go to the Chicago show this weekend (just to scratch the mid-winter itch) but I guess I rather not drive all of the way there, pay stupid $ to park and stupid $ to get into the show, if there isn't anything interesting to look at. I've got enough leathers and wouldn't talk to a lawyer no matter what. I was kinda hoping to convince my riding friend to get a bike with a lower seat height and maybe seeing the choices would help him make the leap. He had a knee operation last fall and so I had to ride his bike to its winter storage spot - a very tall bike where it was hard to touch the ground. The winter blizzard conditions in Wisconsin seem to be dissipating, but the snow coming to Chicago is still in the forecast. I won't purposely drive into Chicago in a winter snowstorm! zag

My Venture has 4 pipes, one for each cylinder. Each pipe has a muffler with baffles and a steel washer mounted on a shaft near the outlet so that the back pressure can be adjusted. Once you find a setting that seems to work well, the washer can just be left in position. I thought that it was interesting to have 4 exhaust pipes mostly because most people assume that the bike is a V-twin. When they see 4 exhaust pipes, they know for sure that it isn't a V-twin! So, I guess, I built the pipes mostly for the amusement factor! But they do sound good and the engine runs great. I also like not having a conventional gas tank. Most people cannot figure out where the heck the gas tank is since a tank under the seat is pretty unusual. I like the low position since it helps keep the center of gravity low on the bike and makes it feel much lighter than it really is. zag

I used stock 1200 venture carbs with the Vmax boost valves (fully open, they allow each cylinder to pull from 2 carbs). Rather than trying to install some automatic operation of the valves, I simply operate the boost valves with a bicycle shift lever mounted on the end of the left handlebar grip. Since the shift lever has 5 positions between fully closed and fully open, it is possible to just leave it partially open if that seems to help the engine. My venture runs best when the boost valves are left open just one "click". Unless the engine rpm's are quite high, the venture motor cannot use all of the extra air and gas provided by the boost valving in the fully open position. Fully open all the time doesn't seem to produce any obvious negative effects, it just doesn't help performance. I'm really not sure if the engine could ever use the total output of the boost valving since I really don't spend much time with the engine at max rpm's. It is kinda fun to mess around with, however. For my venture, I installed three different things to tune the air/fuel performance of the engine: flow restrictors inside each pod filter (just a washer with a machined ID), variable restrictors on the exhaust outlets (just a disk which can be tipped inside each muffler), and the Vmax boost valves between the carbs and the engine. Overall, it runs great with excellent acceleration and gas mileage in the mid-forties. zag

Got my venture from a website: https://www.crashedtoys.com/ It had been rolled and a lot of the plastic was smashed. But since I planned to strip it down, I really didn't care much about the plastic bits. In the end, quite a few of them were ok and I sold them online. My venture proved to be a very fast bike which I've been riding for quite a few years. Some of the guys in the Slimey Cruds motorcycle gang liked it so much they asked me to join their bunch. Gonna head out to drink beer with them tonight. zag

Hey Cowpuc, Not sure about "Franky". All of my biking friends started calling it the "Beast" and so I guess that is its name. zag Stuck on a rock in a river. At a local bike meetup.

Each cylinder has its own exhaust. I put baffles into each muffler section so the overall sound isn't overly loud. I don't remember where I got the baffles, but I made the final section of exhaust pipe so the baffles (roughly 18" long) would slide in. I put an air/fuel sensor into one of the exhaust lines so that I could actually see whether the engine was lean or rich under different power demands. It was running overly lean so I put an air restrictor into each of the air intakes (each carb has its own filter and inlet tubing). The restrictor was simply a large steel washer with a machined ID designed to produce a little flow resistance and keep the carbs happy. Looking at the air/fuel gauge, it was easy to see if the engine was operating in the proper zone. Without the gauge, I'm not sure how anyone could figure out what was going on. It is made by Innovate Motorsports. It does require a threaded port into the exhaust system, but once the tuning is done you can take out the sensor and cap off the threaded port. Each of the exhaust mufflers also has a disk clamped onto a steel shaft which goes across the exhaust outlet. The exhaust backpressure can be changed by tipping the disk a little bit. When everything is happy, the disks can just be left in place. zag

Geesh, pitch whatever safety things you find. I cannot even think what the heck they were, but I sure don't miss them. I eliminated all of the stock wiring and just put back what was needed. If you ditch the plastic fairings, then the stock wiring becomes exposed and needs a new home. My venture is very fast and feels quite light since all of the engine weight sits low. I'm sure that you will enjoy your bike after "remodeling". zag First winter's work - exposed stock wiring:

Thanks for the vid! I grew up in the UP very close to the lift bridge in your video. In fact, it looks like you were headed out into the woods where my mother still lives. Did you get a chance to ride up to the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula? Although most of the UP has straight boring roads, Hwy 41 up to Copper Harbor is quite good on the last 20 miles or so. Lots of interesting scenery. zag

Good to talk with you on the phone. If I can ever help with anything, feel free to call me. Of course, posting your question gives me (and others) a chance to think about the answer before responding! It sure looks to me that you are on the final victory lap! I really think that you will be pleased with the final result. zag

Nice! I saved the link in case I need to do wiring in the future. zag

Just another thought: If you find yourself needing to crimp on wiring connectors, I would strongly suggest that every connector should be soldered after it is crimped to the wire. It does take a little more time, but the final connection is not going to be damaged by water. If you don't already own a decent soldering station, then this would be a good time to get one. A cheapo soldering iron that plugs into 110VAC power is not very easy to work with and produce good solder joints - usually they have a single tip which cannot be changed. A professional grade soldering iron has a small soldering iron with a selection of tips and a detached power supply that is the part that plugs into 110VAC power. This might be a good place to start: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Delectronics&field-keywords=weller Weller is an excellent brand which has been around a long time, but I'm sure there are others that are also good. zag PS Just another thought about soldering. Bike wiring is usually VERY oxidized which means that solder won't "wet" the copper and create a good electrical connection. On my other bike, I recently had to solder 3 wires to replace a bad connector from the alternator. In order to get a decent solder joint, it is necessary to fan out the little individual wires inside the larger wire and scraped them with something (I use a knife blade) until it is obvious that the copper is exposed. Then use solder which has flux in it - or even use a bit plumbing flux to help create a good solder joint. Most solder is designed by folks who assume that the thing to be soldered is relatively clean. Copper wires that have been exposed to the elements for 30 years are not what they considered. However, it only takes a minute to scrape a copper wire clean enough to make a good solder connection. And a small tin of plumbing flux has enough extra mojo to help the situation. Just wipe off the excess melted flux after making a good solder joint and seal it up with heat shrink tubing. Hope this helps.

It might be possible to buy new rubber boots to protect those connectors - but I wouldn't bet on it. Another type of protection is "fusion tape" which is a kind of stretchy rubber tape which only adheres to itself. https://www.mcmaster.com/#fusion-tape/=1b88gtu Pretty weird, I guess, but each surface of the tape is coated with some chemical which creates the bond. The only way to remove the tape is by tearing it or cutting it. It works well in a protected area where it doesn't get sunlight exposure. On the tapes that I have used, it seems that sunlight causes it to break down. Of course, take a minute to verify that the connector terminals look good before sealing them up! zag

Since you are really digging into things on your bike, I'd suggest that an original yamaha service manual (not owners manual) would be a good investment. No point in getting an after market manual put together by some publisher when you can get the real thing. The one on ebay for $55 might be a good choice unless you can find the same thing someplace else for less cost. I do have the service manual as a pdf which I could email to you (would need your address) but, frankly, having a paper copy is much nicer when you are out in the garage working on something. zag

If you cannot find an original connector, I would imagine that standard female spade connectors could be found at a hardware store which would work. Usually they are specified simply by the connector width (like 1/4") but recently I've found weird male spade connectors which are super thin metal and require some crunching down on the female spade to make a reliable connection. Of course, if you get to that point, saving the two connectors which look OK would be possible if you break apart the black connector housing and pull out the good ones. The stock plastic housing on the three connectors doesn't really do anything other than allow all three connectors to be attached as one. zag

The widow looks like it was never connected to anything (very corroded terminals). Looking on the wiring schematic, I see a red/black wire labeled "Acc Terminal" (I'm assuming accessory terminal). I'd guess that red is +12V and black is ground (just a guess). By the way, do you have a complete yamaha service manual? If you don't, you should get one. Like this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Yamaha-Original-1983-84-XVZ1200-Models-Factory-Service-Manual-Motorcycle-Repair/302603126205?hash=item46748d45bd:g:vsMAAOSw4GVYHrsY&vxp=mtr zag

Well, that connector is junk. Time to solder in a new one. I wonder if a dealer would have that connector? I just looked on ebay and didn't find one. zag