zagger

If (like me) you like the normal concept of "foot = rear", "hand = front" then de-linking makes good sense. I did it when I first bought my '83 several years ago. I'm not so sure that the other various brake upgrades are worth the effort. De-linked brakes with the regular '83 stuff seem to give pretty typical brake performance (compared to other bikes I own). zag

If you can post a picture of the installed filter, I'd sure like to see it! zag

Sunny today for the first time in weeks. Gonna get out on the bike after it warms up. zag

Yup - I remember tracing every single wire to figure out whether I could live without it or it had to stay. Takes awhile, but you might be able to cut out some of the confusion and toss those wires in the trash. Good luck. zag

Wow. I had forgotten how much stuff is jammed in there. Years ago, I chopped and hacked until the pile was much smaller. Best of luck with your work. zag

I didn't attach any name to my bike. My riding friends started calling it the "black beast" and so that's its name zag

"The days are getting longer and nights are getting shorter and it wont be long and we can crank up the bikes and head down the road for a ride." That's a nice way to look past the upcoming freeze. I was feeling pretty gloomy and was dreading the need to walk the dogs and probably carry them home after their feet get so cold that they won't walk. zag

More laws. Perfect, we don't have enough. F'em. zag

Looks like the crash bar did its job. If the ground bar and scraped fairing are the only issues, then I'd say you came away from the accident with pretty minor damage. I'm sure that you can figure out why the caliper is dragging and get it working again. zag

18 years old - bought an early 60's 650cc Triumph TR6 in need of work. Was semi-chopped and fast. The ape handlebars saved my butt by keeping me from going over the front during a sliding stop caused by a car pulling out in front of me. When I rebuilt the engine I discovered why it vibrated so much - the pistons moved together (one on compression while the other was on exhaust) with big crankshaft counterweights to try smooth it out. I guess that some engineer at Triumph thought that would be a good design idea. zag

If they are not "out", they will leave sooty stuff on your chrome bumper. zag

[h=2]This time of year, warm weather means[/h]Riding, of course! Beautiful day today with nothing but rain, low temps, and snow in the forecast (here in WI). So I got out on the bike to enjoy the last of the last nice days. Even though I had already given up and put Stabil in the gas, etc. etc. zag

I'd have thought that the motorcycle of the future would have a windshield and front fender. Maybe even a back seat! And after 124 miles my current bikes just need some gas to keep going. What do you do to recharge the thing after 124 miles? zag

Was riding in rural western Wisconsin this afternoon and nearly got nailed by a running buck who popped out of the brush on the side of the road only a few feet to the side. It seemed that he would smack into me so I instantly raised my leg in an attempt to kick him. He wheeled around and headed off the road and my kick missed. Not sure if aggressively trying it kick him helped anything, or whether he just changed his mind at the same moment. My riding buddy was about 10 feet ahead and didn't see a thing. A few years ago I had a deer run into the road and jump over my motorcycle front wheel, nearly hitting the bike lights and windshield. Unbelievable how fast it happens. I didn't have time to brake, steer, or do anything. I tried deer whistles many years ago on my car. I think it was the car that got totaled by hitting a deer jumping directly into the road, go figger. I'd try the new design if there is any chance that they work! Geesh. zag

VerntureVet, I pulled off one of the pod filters to show you the flow restrictor - basically a washer with a 1 inch hole. I guess my memory isn't completely shot. zag PS I'm giving up trying to figure out what is shown in your sig pic. Wanna give me a clue? Thanks.

It's been eight years, so I hope I'm remembering correctly: Each inlet has a machined plate (like a metal washer) with a 1 inch diameter hole to act as a flow restriction. I did calculations on the airflow restriction created by the stock airbox and then calculated what was needed to produce a similar restriction for each cylinder. It should also be possible to measure the pressure drop across the airbox inlet at various rpm's and recreate the same pressure drop with whatever you want to use as the air inlet/filter arrangement. Measured pressure drops are probably going to be more accurate than pencil and paper calculations. I also added Vboost valves (from a Vmax) and found that leaving these valves slightly open improves the engine performance a little bit - not a huge effect, but noticeable via my "seat of the pants dyno". Of course, since these valves allow a single cylinder to breathe through two carbs, they also affect the airflow through each carb and affect the pressure drop across the machined orifice. All this just to ditch the airbox! zag

Each carb has a thin wall aluminum tube sticking straight upward with a pod type air filter on the end. Each tube connects to a carb using a short rubber sleeve with hose clamps. The intake filters aren't protected from rain, except when the bike is moving where the frame, electronics, etc. tend to keep water off them. I cover them with plastic cups if I have to park in the rain for more than a short time. My carbs are a little higher than normal because I have Vboost valves mounted under them (from a Vmax). zag

1. no 2. not sure what is "better" - the windshield still needs to be cut to the correct height 3. yes 4. all shields should be cut so that you can see over them 5. probably not if the windshields are cut to approx. the same height 6. totally! zag PS My batwing experience is from my honda cruiser, not my venture.

"WTF do we do short of flashing beacons and 150db exhaust ?" I'd add a couple of extra bright lights on the front of your bike. For some reason, lots of people can look right at a single headlight and ignore it. Perhaps it is because we are surrounded by reflections of the sun? That's my theory, but who knows. I've had good luck by adding extra lights positioned as far apart as possible. Horns and extra tailpipe noise are pretty useless IMO since the car/truck driver is in front of you, windows rolled up, music playing, kids goofing around, texting, etc. etc. Ever since I started adding extra lights on the front of my bikes I've had virtually zero incidents of being pushed around. Unfair? Yup. But it is what it is - and I prefer to avoid being hit. If they tailgate, I just motion for them to pass or I hit it and leave them far behind in a few seconds. No close calls since I was a teenager, 44 years of riding ago. zag

I added the V-boost but kept the '83 valves and drive train - runs good with the boost cracked open but I'm guessing that the rest of the experience depends on modifying the intake system. Let us know the details! zag

Sorry, I did all of the carb work about 7-8 years ago and the details have faded from my memory. I kept some written files with measurements and such but I went through them and don't see final details on the jetting. I'm sure that I thought I'd never forget - but I have. A wide band air/fuel sensor with digital display was very helpful to "see" what was actually happening inside the engine under different conditions. The one I used was like this: http://www.innovatemotorsports.com/products/db.php Innovate Motorsports has quite a few different systems and they have added new designs over the years. One nice thing is that the sensor and gauge can be wired into the bike so that you are able to observe the actual combustion situation under different riding conditions, speeds, acceleration, etc. I didn't use any of the data logging but you do end up with a pretty good mental picture of the engine combustion after using it for a few rides. It is necessary to solidly mount the sensor into the exhaust flow far enough from the exhaust outlet so that outside air doesn't mess up the readings. This requires welding a short threaded bung into one of the pipes where the sensor can be screwed in. The threaded bung can be plugged when the testing is done. Of course, it is also necessary to sync the four carbs, but I assume this is a pretty standard procedure for most DIY folks. After a couple of misadventures using fluid filled tubing (slurped down by the engine), I rigged up a sensitive mechanical gauge with damping inside the tubing created by a couple of inches of threaded rod jammed inside the tubing. The restriction created by the small passageway along the threads steadied the gauge reading. Without some sort of restriction, the gauge simply flies all over the place. "With the exhaust dumped right after the combination chamber having no muffler" Isn't that just freak'n loud? My bike is far from quiet and it has four mufflers, one for each cylinder, with baffles and an adjustable flow restrictor inside each of them. Hope this helps. zag

Kinda resembles a Vmax engine. zag

I did not dyno the engine and don't have access to the equipment. It's been a few years since I did the work, but I believe that I did change the jetting due to the many changes I made to the intake system on the engine. Each cylinder has a separate intake path with a pod type filter as well as a separate exhaust. I did adjustments based on a wide band air-fuel mixture sensor which I mounted into one of the exhaust pipes (a threaded connection welded into the exhaust pipe) and removed after the testing was completed. My observations on the manual V-boost are strictly seat of the pants. I wouldn't say that I've seen the V-boost valving add a huge power increase since my normal riding isn't at the top end of the RPM range. And cranking the V-boost open for a split second, right before shifting, isn't very practical and it would be very hard to judge the actual effect. On the other hand, for general riding speeds, etc. having the V-boost valves slightly opened does appear to increase the power down in the normal RPM range. This hasn't been confirmed by any measurements - just my opinion based on riding it. Gas mileage seems good - typically in the mid 40's. The V-boost is interesting to mess around with but I wouldn't suggest that it will transform the overall Venture engine into some sort of superbike! I have no idea how difficult it might be to install if you are using the stock Venture intake system since the valves do raise the carbs. In addition to the engine mods, I also stripped off the bags, fairing, covers, etc., etc. so my bike is undoubtedly somewhat lighter than a typical fully equipped Venture. That is another way to increase acceleration. zag

Since the lights dim, it would seem that current is flowing from the battery into the starting circuit and the battery voltage is being dragged down. Sounds like the handlebar switch is working, the solenoid is making good contact, but the starter motor is dumping the power back to ground (negative terminal) without turning. The usual situation with a bad solenoid is that you hear it click as it attempts to make contact, but the contact to run the starter is so poor that the starter cannot turn. The battery voltage is not affected by this since there isn't a high current flow from the battery. So I'd bet on a bad (or mechanically stuck) starter motor. Note that everything in this analysis depends on your observation that the bike lights dim down when you try to start it. If light dimming isn't true, then I'd bet on a bad solenoid. zag

"Mainly because the venture master will support the angles you can get on the handlebars (IE: adjustments). Other masters (for 4 piston calipers) will work fine, but can be a PITA to get level enough to take the cap off without spilling or get full enough for comfort. Brake fluid ruins paint, so I'm fussy about spilling it." I use the stock master cylinders and reservoirs for the front brake and clutch. Although they sit at an angle due to my non-standard bars, by turning the handlebars all the way left or right, they can be made to be level so that fluid can be checked/added. The lids on the reservoirs seem pretty tight and they have worked fine like this for several years without leaks or problems. zag